Food, Floods, and Fish

When we were planning our little trip to Chicago, we were mostly interested in deciding where we wanted to eat.  Heck, we went over Thanksgiving week, so it was only to be expected that we consume a freakish amount of calories, right?  So, we ended up planning our whole trip around where we wanted to nosh.

Priority #1 - Deep Dish Pizza

We narrowed it down to Gino's East or Pizzeria Uno and it just so happened that Gino's was right off Michigan Ave, so it got the nod.  We got there around 1:00 and by the time we placed our order, there was a line out the door!  We drank our beers and toasted to a good vacation.  Then we saw on the TV over the bar that Brad Childress (coach of the Minnesota Vikings) has been fired following the loss to the Packers and we ordered two more beers to giggle into.

And the pizza.  Oh my word.  THE. PIZZA.  I dang near died and went to heaven. 

Priority #2 - Cheesecake

Bellies full, we hit Michigan Ave for....wait for it....MORE FOOD!  We walked down to the John Hancock building and, rather than pay to go up to the observation deck, we went down the steps to The Cheesecake Factory underneath and walked out with a couple slices of cheesecake to go.  Believe it or not, that was the only thing we bought on Michigan Ave! 

Priority #3 - Groupon Supper
We had reservations to RIVA on Navy Pier for the sole reason that I had a Groupon to use there.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with us.  Monday evening, the Chicago area had FREAKY weather.  There were tornadoes near the area we had travelled through on the train, but the city got pounded with torrential rain.  While we were sitting in our cubicle enjoying our cheesecake, the rain was just coming down in sheets.  Wearing my favorite dress shoes, I stepped directly into a huge puddle as I got into the cab.  Navy Pier was absolutely deserted due to the off-season and the weather and the building inside was actually flooding!  There were pools of standing water all over the place despite people's attempts to shove towels along the bottom of doors to keep the water out. 

Not exactly idea conditions for dinner, but we pushed through!  We were one of four tables at RIVA, where Evan had salmon and I had pike.  We were both very pleased with our fish.

Of course, I was less impressed with the evening once we walked almost the entire length of Navy Pier (it had stopped raining) before I realized I had left my bag of Garrett's popcorn at our table in the restaurant.  I ran my butt right back there, in my heels, to retrieve my goodies.

I munched on popcorn and watched Monday Night Football in my PJs the rest of the night.

The End.

Coming up next time....cinnamon pancakes, orange rosemary french toast, and the best coffee I have ever had.  Stay tuned for "Orange Ya Glad We Ate Here??"