Various Nibbles around Chicago
Surprise, Surprise!
Time for the first round of food bite-sized reviews. This is more bite and nibble-sized, rather than things I can write full-length segments about food.
And besides, sometimes it’s nice to snack – even if its on small things.
In this surprise-laden adventure
- We all know the drill by now… don’t we?
- The early morning road to nowhere (and Heathrow Terminal 3 first thing in the morning, with an equipment change shock)
- Morning Lounging at the Cathay Pacific and American Airlines Lounges
- AA87 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare – Main Cabin Extra
- Into the USA and The Crowne Plaza O’Hare
- Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Airplane Art Special from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Various nibbles around Chicago
- An Instagram Trap? Coffee at Brü
- Chicago Classics: Giordano’s Deep Dish Pizza
- Enjoying a Chicago River tour… in the rain
- Back to O’Hare and the British Airways lounge
- BA296 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow – Club World (Club Suites)
- Racing across Heathrow… but where’s the coach?
- To onward surprises
My food plans for this trip ended in different levels of chaos on this trip. As such, I’ll try to bring back Chicago Classics in full force next trip.
But for now, it’s time for random food in this collection of posts.
Wowbao at The Renaissance, State Street
This place has turned into a tradition for me on landing day, mainly due to the salt content, but also reasonably simple spicy food. Which is needed sometimes after enjoying American Airlines catering first thing in the morning and afternoon.
I was more basic than usual, going for. Kung Po chicken, with some gyoza, is Basic enough. At least here, there’s not long of a wait to pick the food up. It’s casual Chinese/Japanese fast food – and I’m all here for it.
Ordering was via a console outside or inside the restaurant.
The chicken was dressed in green onions and peanuts, which gave a welcome crunch, whilst the chicken was lovely and spicy – something to awaken the tastebuds on landing day. Even the coriander (cilantro for those of you who call it that) was passable.
Meanwhile, the Goyza were more than a little cooked – to put it mildly. Chewy would be the proper descriptor.
Still, it filled more than a hole, especially when there was a bottle of Gatorade to help drink. Those electrolytes don’t get replenished by magic.
Starbucks inside Macy’s/Marshall Field and Company
In the past when a lot of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts had pulled up their seating, this one in Macy’s always kept its seating – and it’s a welcome spot – heck, I’ve spent time setting up iPads, writing the odd bit of text in here in the past for this blog.
I could mention how artisanal it was, but it’s a Starbucks. That for me, means caffeine and time to ponder.
And yes, I could still pay on my Starbucks card.
Having that time to ponder is important sometimes very important between the mad rushes when exploring and travelling.
Ssyal (via Uber Eats)
I’m sure we’ve all done this when shopping on Uber Eats/Doorsdsh/Just Eat/Delveroo. Sometimes, there is too much choice when it comes to food. And a lot of the time, it’s the same national brands over and over. That’s no bad thing per se, but if your taste buds are demanding something different, wings, fries and burgers, those chains don’t cut it.
Even if they’re Hooters wings.
A Korean Place called Ssyal (translated: seed) popped up. They had spicy bulgogi – which was what I was craving at that moment. This came as a pre-set meal with ride and side dishes.
It priced out at $26.99. That’s fine – I’ve long accepted something nice costs cash. Then there was a voucher which took it down by 50%.
That’s a lot nicer.
Then the fees started hitting in. Let’s break it down:
- – $13.50 on the dinner (50% Discount)
- + $4.59 service fee
- + $2.91 tax
- + $0.49 delivery
Sigh. Ok then. Then of course, to “expedite” delivery, there’s the tipping option, which of course, is before you get your food and not after. That was another $5.24
The total? $26.72… about a few cents off the cost of the food in the first place.
People wonder why I sometimes despise Uber Eats – and the lack of upfront transparency costs is one of them.
What did I get for the privilege? Three packages. The first good thing to see was that the spicy bulgogi was packed separately from the rice.
There was also a pack of Korean side dishes, with peanuts, pickled radish and cucumber with beansprouts and tiny fishes
Opening up the bulgogi, the aromatics hit hard, with it filling the area I was in. The pork was nicely done – not over-chewy, so it wasn’t a fight to eat. As for the spice level, it could be filled under “what I needed at that moment in time”.
There was certainly enough, with the side dishes a very welcome bonus to a filling meal. Certainly, it makes me want to explore this restaurant, rather than via Uber – and ensure the money goes to the restaurant.
As much as Uber would hate that.
Next:
I like coffee. Readers of this blog will know this by now.
But do I like being lured into an Instagram Trap for Coffee?
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