Chicago - Mike Ditka's

I will admit to knowing next to nothing about sports.
I've been to a few college football games, but more for the experience than the actual sport.
I typically spend Superbowl Sundays cooking, eating, and reading a book.
In fact, the only sport that I have any conversational knowledge of is English football, but that's just because my boyfriend is obsessed with it.
The moral of the story is, don't expect me to understand sports references.
Which is what I explained to my dad when he told me we should go to Mike Ditka's.
Supposedly a steak haven of downtown Chicago, it was soon explained to me that Ditka's is the upscale sports-themed restaurant owned and managed by former football player and coach Mike Ditka (see Dad, I'm learning!).
All I needed to hear was steak haven and I was down.
Once we got to the restaurant, however, their Friday Fish and Chips special was too much for me to pass up. Sorry steak, but seafood was calling.

I didn't make the wrong decision. These were quite literally the BEST fish and chips I've ever had. Granted, I haven't been to Britain, but I feel like Ditka's fish could go toe-to-toe with anything across the pond. Just my opinion.
Of course, it didn't hurt that my enormous pile of fried fish and potatoes was supplemented by this amazing loaded baked potato

Cheese. Bacon. Chives. Sour cream.
Oh. My. God.
I'm not ashamed to admit I ate the whole thing.
And, of course, there were the other dishes that paraded onto the table during the night.
The glorious salmon platter:

The classic filet:

(so sorry for the awful blur! but I had only one shot before the steak was cut into)

This delectable banana cream pie:

And a phenomenally oversized serving of chocolate ice cream that I enjoyed all by myself:

And now an aerial shot:

While I may not have understood the importance of all the sports memorabilia that decorates the restaurant, there is one thing about this place that was loud and clear.
Good.
Food.

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A Blonde at Bimbos

When I spent the past weekend at Kalamazoo, Smashburger wasn't the only restaurant I visited. My boyfriend and I hit up our favorite pizza joint within two hours of my arrival.
It's kind of a funny story how this place ended up as one of our favorites. Last year, when I was making my typical weekend visit, we headed downtown for dinner and a movie. Most of the restaurants were bars, and seeing as we couldn't drink, we were looking for something a little more our style. Running a bit short on time, we popped into a pizza joint called Bimbos. On a whim, we ordered a medium pizza with pineapple, ham, and bacon, and were instantly hooked. We're now regulars here.

The worn look of the old brick building implies that the restaurant has been a family gig for several generations. And sure enough, the counter is covered in old photos signifying how the restaurant has changed hands through relatives.
I assume the original owners came straight from Italy, because this pizza is truly some of the best pizza I've ever had. Crispy crunchy thin crusts piled high with toppings and sliced into squares.

This time, my boyfriend and I took our pizza to go. 

Behold the most amazing combination to ever sit on top of bread. Sweet and juicy pineapple, thick cut ham, and bacon, bacon, bacon.

If you ever find yourself on the west side of the state, head downtown to 338 E. Michigan Ave and grab yourself a pie. 

I'm already having withdrawals.

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Steve & Rocky's

It's incredibly difficult to find good seafood in the midwest. With no oceans nearby, shellfish must be flash-frozen and trucked across the mainland, hiking up the price. As a result, most restaurants opt for the cheaper and less-tastier options, like boxed and frozen fish.
However, in this barren space of land and lakes, several beacons of culinary mastery taste as though they have their own ocean somewhere back in their vast kitchen.
One of these beacons is Steve and Rocky's.

Their newly re-vamped decor matches the underwater luxury of their menu. Everything is light, wavy and feels as though you're dining just off the coast.

This restaurant has been a favorite of my parents' ever since they moved here from Florida. So, naturally, it made sense when my mom invited me to Steve and Rocky's for my dad's birthday dinner.

Here's the birthday boy!

The menu at Steve and Rocky's changes daily, but I had to check out their extended summer menu. (Psst! Note the lunch prices! This place serves excellent dishes for lunch at more-than-reasonable costs)

While the summer menu was certainly tempting, I had to try one of their traditional entrees.

First up - fried green tomatoes and prosciutto in a creamy tomato-basil sauce.

It tasted a bit like a fried tomato parmesan!

Next, the dinner entrees. Mom opted for salmon..

The birthday boy got the 28 oz filet and potatoes...

And I got the scallops and gnocchi..

Remember how I said good seafood is hard to get in the midwest? Well, scallops are particularly difficult to keep light and soft without soaking them in salt water, which makes them taste gross. These scallops were so silky and buttery, I felt like I was back in Florida dining off of Lido Key.

Of course, it's not a birthday without dessert, and you really can't pass up Steve & Rocky's dessert menu.

A mascarpone cheesecake for Dad...

And a hot chocolate cake for me and Mom!

An ooey-gooey mug cake with a liquid center and a dollop of melting vanilla ice cream on top. Want to know how molten and delicious this cake was?

Yeah, that molten and delicious.
If you decide to stop by, just get the whole dessert tray sampler! That's my plan for next time I'm in town.

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Indiana Favorites

I'm back from my family vacation to Indiana, and although I didn't do any cooking on the trip, the land of corn certainly had some good eats to talk about. 

Note the gratuitous amounts of corn.

It's a bit strange to be blogging about the places I'm going to mention, because most of them are old favorites that I've been visiting ever since I was a kid. When my family and I made the trek to visit our grandma, cousins, aunts, and uncles, we always found ourselves reconvening in the same places, making pit stops at the same soda shops, and grabbing lunch from the same diners.

One of these old favorites is McCord Candies in downtown Lafayette. A delicious little soda shop, candy shop, and diner all in one.

Generally, I can't resist filling a huge paper bag with handfuls of these chocolate clusters and skipping gleefully out the door. Unfortunately, it was 100+ degrees out, so I knew these little beauties wouldn't make it very far before they turned into sad mush.

Several times in the past, my mother, sister and I have hopped over into the back of the shop to get burgers and fries for lunch, 50s diner-style.

That day, however, given our time constraint and the unbearable heat, we opted for old-fashioned sodas from the soda bar.

I got chocolate root beer, a delectable combination that I plan to re-create in the future.

Nothing knocks away the heat stroke like homemade soda!



Dinner took place at an old favorite in Frankfort, Indiana - Pepe's.

Hidden inside an old brick building downtown, Pepe's has been a staple in my diet nearly every 4th of July weekend since I was ten.

The restaurant is fairly huge, and, given our giant party, we were able to secure a private room for our get-together. Which came in handy after several rounds of these margaritas.

To keep everyone reasonably sober, Pepe's provides the table with copious amounts of freshly fried tortilla chips and homemade salsa.

You could taste the fresh cilantro swimming in this delicious salsa. I went through an entire bowl before my entree even got to the table. Despite my full stomach, I mustered up the courage to eat my way through this entire plate of chicken flautas, spanish rice, beans, guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes.

My sister and cousins opted for a cheesier dinner choice - chili con queso!

Mmmm.... cheesy.....

We went through so many baskets of chips and so many margarita glasses that night, I'm sure the waitress was thoroughly horrified. Pero, fue una noche buena! 

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Pizzas and Pies

I went to Indiana to visit some of my Dad's side of the family, and we had to make a pit stop at our favorite pizza place - Arni's. This restaurant has been here since my Dad was a child, and I'm in love with their delicious Arni's Jr. Salad.

Diced ham, diced mozarella, radishes, green onions, and croutons. Absolutely delicious! I got mine with Italian dressing.

It took a long time for the entrees to come out, but, luckily, I already knew how tasty the pizza was going to be, so I wasn't bothered by the wait.

We got half pepperoni, half mushroom and sausage. The pizza is deliciously thin, like a thick cracker, and the diced pepperoni is my favorite style of pizza.

The sauce is also fantastic. I tried to get a picture of the full pizza, but my Dad couldn't wait and snagged a slice before I could get a complete shot.

The real gem of the evening, however, was my Aunt Lora's selection of homemade desserts that we indulged in after the restaurant. I drooled over the coconut creme pie, lemon meringue pie, and jello cake (don't know what a jello cake is? I'll explain in a minute). 

My sister tried the coconut creme..

I went for the lemon meringue... 

I think I selected the best one, because even Bruce wanted a piece!

My dad grabbed some jello cake, a fluffy combination of cake and jello mixture that blend together to make a cool marbled dessert.

So many desserts....so little space in my stomach. Guess I'll just have to save some for later!

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