On our last day in Chicago, we didn't have any plans until lunchtime. But, that didn't stop my belly from grumbling "donuts" early that morning. A quick search turned up a donut place right next to our hotel: Do-Rite Donuts & Chicken (yep).


There was a bit of line, which I took as a good thing. Once I got to the front, I ordered one of their maple bacon donuts and a "Blueberry Lemon Duffnut," which is a collaboration they did with Duff Goldman, known from Food Network's Ace of Cakes and Cake Masters.

The maple bacon donut was delicious, of course. I do with the bacon was crispier, because chewing through the fatty pieces weren't my favorite. But the flavor? Yes. Sweet, salty, perfect.

The blueberry lemon cake donut was SO good. It was these muffin-like crumbles with sweet blueberries and a thick cake donut to host it all. Very good. Both tried and true, delicious flavor combinations that work even better in donut form.

I was so pleasantly surprised with this place since it wasn't really planned. Sometimes those places tend to be the best.

Grade: A

A few people who I work with are from the Chicago area, and one in particular has a family restaurant: Pizzeria da Nella.

We were stuffed from dinner, but I didn't wanna pass up the opportunity to check out this restaurant. So, we ordered dessert. We ordered a Baba' Napoletana, which is a homemade baba' filled with whipped cream and fresh strawberries (it's noted as the most famous dessert in Napes Italy). We also ordered Delizia alla Fragola, which is a homemade sponge cake filled with limoncello and strawberry cream.

The Baba' Napoletana, which I didn't realize contained rum, was amazing. The fresh whipped cream, sweet strawberries and nice little strawberry drizzle made for the perfect top of this cake soaked in rum. Oh my gosh.

The Delizia alla Fragola was also quite good. A thick layer of strawberry cream covered a delicious spongecake.

I wish we were able to try even more, because judging by the dessert alone, it's amazing. That, combined with the friendly, family atmosphere (which varied from the very touristy places we were going otherwise) made for an excellent evening.

Grade: A

The fourth day in Chicago means the fourth (and final!) deep dish pizza: Pequod's.

The process to get here was crazy. All of a sudden, it just starts downpouring, and we're racing through the streets of Chicago with water is pooling up at every corner. The wind was whipping and easily tossed my Hyatt-borrowed umbrella inside out. Once we finally reach the restaurant, my jeans were soaked up to my knees, and I could not longer feel anything in my shoes besides just wet.

Deep dish pizza will fix this.

At Pequod's, you can request a table during a certain time at least 24 hours in advance. I had done this, so once we came to the front, we were able to get quickly seated. This restaurant, known for its caramelized crust edge pizza, had a pretty hoppin' bar scene. We were kinda squeezed in this one area where my chair was tapped every time someone walked by. Annoying.

We ordered a pan pizza with mushrooms (because mmm). It arrived with a very dark crust (but crispy) and was sectioned out for us. First bite: crisp (little too dark) crust, kinda meh sauce, tons of mushrooms. I'm sad the sauce here was just lackluster. I was really pulling for it. I feel like Pequod's isn't one of the major, major pizza places, and it was the outlier. I really wanted it to be tasty. But, I think it was my least fav. Maybe it's because it's the fourth pizza in the fourth day?

Grade: B

Goose Island has a brewpub located in Chicago. And while we couldn't find time to do a tour, we made time to come check out some beers they had on tap.

We looked over the menu to figure out what we wanted to sample. In the meantime, we ordered a plate of cheese curds (because yay midwest!). These were super good. I passed on all the jalapenos, but fried cheese dipped in ranch? I mean.

Some of my favorites beers we had were the Lilly, which was kind of floral and refreshing. I also liked Curbside, which was a bit more bitter but not overly so.

This place was actually really fun. Our waitress was the greatest, most of these beers were pretty tasty, and the cheese curds. A nice little spot if you're a fan of the beer or just want to order eight beer samples and not feel bad about it.

Grade: A

Most of the iconic hot dog places in Chicago were a bit far out from the Magnificent Mile, which is where I was staying in Chicago. But, on one of the days, we traveled a good bit north to see the Lincoln Park Zoo and check out Wrigley Field. Fortunately, The Wieners Circle was along the way.

This hotdog stop is known for its char-grilled hotdogs (or char-dogs) and questionable late-night antics. I ordered a Vienna Red Hot (steamed) with the works - hot dog on a warm poppyseed bun, topped with mustard, onions, relish, dill pickle spears, tomato slices, sport peppers and celery salt. This was more of a snack for us, so we just ordered one and split it.

I loved it. I love these hotdogs! I feel like a traitor to the WV hotdogs, but these are just so complex and fresh, and oddly delicious, despite everything in my brain saying it wouldn't be. A crisp pickle, a good quality hotdog, and the celery salt -- and the poppyseed bun -- just kill it. So good.


Grade: A