Gino’s East, Chicago

This is the OTHER deep dish pizza place in Chicago. Or should I say… The BETTER one?? DUNDUNDUUUNNNN……

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Gino’s East is definitely better than Giordano’s. I like this place more because of several reasons:

First. The deep dish pizza actually tastes good. I got the Chicago Fire, which is pizza with (and I quote exactly from the menu) “patty-style sausage made extra hot & spicy with fire roasted red peppers and red onions.” It was really hot. Coming from an Asian, let me tell you that it WAS HOT. It was so hot that I think a skin in my mouth peeled. I swear.

Second. The restaurant itself was really young and fun. Apparently people are allowed to write on the wall and the chairs so there are graffitis everywhere!

Third. The portion is smaller and more reasonable. My friend and I actually finished our food!

So if you are trying to decide on where to go for deep dish pizza, you should definitely come here. Despite the fact that Gino’s pizza is $2 more expensive than Giordano’s, the taste is definitely worth it!

Indita

5 December 2 Permalink

Twitteritos III: Friday

#Tasteritos in Chicago, USA

@Inditah: “Garrett Popcorn, Chicago. There’s caramel, cheddar, butter and ALL the popcorn flavors in the rainbow!!” (review here)

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@Inditah: “Gino’s East, Chicago. Another deep-dish pizza place in Chicago. The best one so far!”

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#Tasteritos in Iloilo, Philippines

@andy1227: “Calzone at Calda.” (review here)

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@PatriciaBarrera: “Gooey Caramel Pie at Amular, Plazuela, Ilo. Uh…it’s ok.”

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@PatriciaBarrera: “Apple Pie a la mode at Amular, Plazuela, Ilo. Delishuuus srsly”

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@andy1227: “Cosmopolitan at G Lounge. Buy one take one. Woo!”

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@andy1227: “Another round. Tequila Sunrise this time at G Louge.”

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#Tasteritos in Jakarta, Indonesia

@TheDaliaLama: “I’m prepared to argue..nay, fight with anyone who disagrees that Bubur Kwangtung, Pecenongan, Jkt, is the best congee in the world.”

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@TheDaliaLama: “Homemade steak, taters n broccoli. Like a baus.” (image)

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#Tasteritos in New York, USA

@Inditah: “Cupcake from Chelsea Market, NYC. So puuurrrdy!”

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2 December 10 Permalink

Uncommon Grounds, Chicago

You know how people are going green lately? Well Uncommon Grounds is one of Chicago’s restaurants that are doing it. The restaurant tries to serve as much local products as possible, from its beef to its beer.

I had the pleasure of trying my friend’s beer, which was called New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk ale. Now I’m not the type of person how likes dark beer, not even Belgian beers (my Belgian roommate is going to hate me for this!). I prefer those light blonde commercial beers, cos I’m lame, but this one was AMAZING! It tasted like juice, with a little tinge of alcohol. It tastes like it has less than 5% alcohol, but be careful cos it DOESN’T! So it was nice to try some local products from Michigan.

The food was pretty interesting too, because they were local and healthy and unique. We ordered a mac and cheese (just because it has chopped apples in it), a duck breast confit, asian calamari, tempura taco (which was AMAZING), crab cake with chips, artichoke with cheese and garlic bread, and also pumpkin ravioli with hazelnuts.

My favorite was the tempura taco, cos it was unique, and calamari, cos the sauce was AMAZING. I said amazing a lot.

Anyway, I think this place is worth the try if you are in Chicago. It’s a great way to taste Michigan’s local food and drinks!

Indita

30 November 2 Permalink

Garrett Popcorn, Chicago

So Garrett is sold everywhere, just so you know. But the MOTHA LAND OF DA GARRETT LAND IS IN CHICAGO LAND. Not funny. But anyway.

I went to the main shop of Garrett in Chicago, which is a few steps away from Michigan Avenue, which is the main street of Chicago. The place is pretty small and cute, but quite busy.

There are four flavors to choose from:

- Butter

- Cheddar

- Caramel Crisp

- Caramel Crisp with a choice of nut

- Chicago Mix, which is a mix of regular Caramel Crisp and Cheddar

Since I was being all food blogger, I decided to pick the oddest one - the Chicago Mix. So what do I think of the Chicago Mix? Well I like both the flavors, but just not together. The caramel popcorn tastes like other caramel popcorn, but maybe a little better. And the cheese one is kinda good. I don’t know… The two flavors just don’t go together for me. I’m the type who loves weird-flavored stuff (you have no idea!), but not this one though. One thing I noticed is that, at the end of the day, the caramel popcorn stayed crispy, unlike the cheddar. So if you want to buy this as a gift or keep it for a while, get the caramel cos it stays good.

You can get Garrett in tin gallon sizes or  small/medium/large/jumbo bags.

All in all, I guess it’s worth a try. The popcorn are made fresh every few minutes (I think), because they kept on piling the stocks up when I was there. Eat it warm because it’s better that way and get the random ones too! They are worth the try!

Indita

29 November 8 Permalink

Giordano’s, Chicago

I’m in Chicago yo! And being as touristy as ever. I’m actually going on a segway tour later today. SO EXCITED!!! Never been on a segway before.

Anyway, Chicago is known for it’s deep-dish pizza. So as a tourist, I decided to go there.

So since Giordano’s is famous for deep-dish pizza, you would expect that the pizza itself is good, right? Well not really. I mean, I don’t know. The pizza was not amazing, but it was more than good. It was between good and amazing. I had the special pizza, which was about $19. It had peppers, yellow onions, lots of tomatoes, LOTS of cheese, and sausage.

The crust was soooo thick that I didn’t even attempt to eat it! Thinking back to how it tasted, I think the thing that made the pizza taste really good were the peppers and the onions, because they gave it a sweet/hot/crunchy taste, which is quite of a relief after all those fat and calorie in the cheese and sausage. So those hot stuff were kind of refreshing. But other than that, it was okay.

I also had the cheese garlic bread.

It was sooooo moist! In a good way, of course. And the red stuff on the left side was salsa-ish. It was more watery than salsa. So tomato sauce/salsa.

So after all that deep-dish experience, I wondered why Giordano’s so famous. My friend said it’s because of the location - it’s right by Michigan Avenue, which is the main street of Chicago! So I guess that’s why. I mean, people were queuing outside when I left! Crazy….

Anyway, I MIGHT try Gino’s today, which is another deep-dish pizza place. Maybe it’ll be better. I’ll let you know.

Indita

26 November 4 Permalink