As spoiled in the title of this post, I have rounded up my favorite foods I ate this year. I hope you add these dishes to your foodie bucket list for 2020! If you actually wind up at any of these places, tag me when you go so we can obsess over these dishes together.
*Listed in ABC order
**All pics are mine unless otherwise noted
Baby Back Mac from Bub City
A couple years back, I did a mini mac and cheese tour with myself and ordered a side of mac and cheese at every restaurant when I would go out for meals. On one hand, how bad could cheese and noodles be anywhere? On the other hand, mac and cheese is SUPER hard to perfect. Evidently I unintentionally did not include Bub City in this endeavor because I would have been running back for this M & C far more often if I tried it sooner.
Bub City‘s Baby Back Mac might be the best mac and cheese I have ever had. The combo of this meat with the mac and cheese was out of this world. I was absolutely blown away. It was PERFECT.
Benedict Flight from Chicago q
I am a savory brunch item gal, but I don’t usually order benedicts when I go out for brunch. I heard that the benedict flight was a “must try” at Chicago q, so I figured I would give it a shot.
*ENTER BENEDICT FLIGHT*
How to put my thoughts about this menu item into words that do it justice… Hmmm… This is one of the best brunch menu items I have had in Chicago. You get the whole works: smoked chicken, pulled pork, and prime brisket. It would not be a benedict without epic carbs, and Chicago q pulls through with cornbread and a biscuit in this flight, too.
As you can probably grasp by the copious amount of food in this picture, this dish is totally sharable. With that said, grab your brunch crew and book your next Sunday morning outing at Chicago q!
Millionaire's Potato from RPM Steak
I talked about this potato in my post about my favorite starters, and I also raved about it on my Facebook page. Oh, do you not follow Allie See Allie Do on Facebook? What’s the holdup!?
Anyways, I basically poured my heart about the Millionaire’s Potato at RPM Steak in those locations, so I won’t be repetitive here.
I will leave you with this… Do not go to RPM Steak without ordering this potato. It is amazing. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Oatmeal Scotchie from HotChocolate Bakery
My first win of this night was being lucky enough to experience the Club Level of the United Center (s/o to Darian!). I now will never go to the United Center without sitting in this section again. Why? THE FOOD!
HotChocolate Bakery is on the Club Level, and the Oatmeal Scotchie (or whatever variation of the Oatmeal Scotchie is sold at the UC) basically changed my life. I bought it on a whim based on the recommendation of the employees working the bakery, and they absolutely nailed this recommendation.
It’s almost like Sticky Toffee Pudding meets unbelievable cookie. There was a cream filling and caramel(?) as well. Honestly, it’s worth the investment in what may be pricey Bulls tickets to get your hands on that cookie. You won’t regret it.
Red Velvet Cake from Velvet Taco
Again, this is another example of a dessert I could rave about for eternity. You bet the red velvet cake from Velvet Taco made the cut on my list of favorite desserts in Chicago. I also rave about it on my Instagram as well. Wait, you’re not following my Instagram account either?
Anyways… Just remember… No matter how many tacos you eat at VT, please do not lose sight of the fact that there is ALWAYS room for dessert! Also, note that the dulce de leche you see drizzled here does not usually come on top of the cake like this. They usually serve it in a side cup but they ran out of cups and I still wanted the DDL so I asked for it like this!
Shahi Kachori from Grand Trunk Road
This is a sharable at Grand Trunk Road that I just tried recently and it was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. I actually can’t even put into words how perfect the flavoring was, how well the textures complemented each other, and how much I was looking forward to my next Shahi Kachori before the plate was even cleared.
The Shahi Kachori is so elaborate, and the pomegranate seeds were unbelievable! I would split this as a group of four to six people (even though the reality is that deep down I don’t want to share this at all!).
Single Cheeseburger from Au Cheval
It’s no secret that Au Cheval has one of the best burgers in Chicago, and this year I finally got to experience the hype for myself!
Yes, this burger does live up to the hype created by everyone who has the patience to wait for it. If you are in Chicago for a short period of time (like a weekend trip), do you need to get to Au Cheval? Sure. With that said, you would need to be strategic about timing. Erin of “312 Food” actually wrote a blog post about Chicago waitlist hacks and included Au Cheval. Definitely worth checking out before committing to the famous burger!
My mom and I split this burger and really did enjoy it (hence its presence on this list). I can totally see why it’s ranked as one of the best burgers in Chicago, and it’s in my top 3 favorite Chicago burgers.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie from Pie Bar
Last, but definitely not least, I just need to go on a rant about Pie Bar. I don’t know what my deal is with pie, but I’ve totally been on a pie kick in recent history (maybe the last year or two).
Pie Bar is a “late night” spot with, you guessed it, all things pie! They even have “Pietinis” and that is just genius, incredible, revolutionary, all of the above… I did not order a Pietini when I was there, but the Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble slice that I ordered was memorable to a fault. Like… I just want Pie Bar to open in Chicago because it was that amazing. Do I need to trek all the way to Seattle every time I want this pie? Fine. I’ll do it.
Leave me a comment with places I need to check out in the coming year so I can get a jump start on my Best Bites of 2020. Hey, it’s never too soon to start discovering your favorite foods!
There are a ton of blogs out there, and I can’t thank you enough for investing your time in mine. The best is yet to come because I said so!
