A Quick Jaunt in Chicago - Part 2

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I slept at my parents' in the suburbs, so I woke up well-rested from an amazing, soft, king size bed. I made some breakfast for my mom and I and then we headed to her workout club, Fitness Loft, for some pilates and weights.

Afterward, we got a much-needed manipedi and then headed to her classroom. She is a kindergarden teacher (the cutest one, at that!), so she needed some help to set up her classroom.

hard at work?

After a bit, my brother picked me up while she kept working, and I went home to take a shower and get ready for the evening's festivities. We had a fun night planned, and we were meeting the rest of my family downtown for it!

Our first order of business was to find a rooftop bar where we could have drinks and appetizers before dinner. We arrived at IO Urban Roofscape (the rooftop bar of The Godfrey Hotel in River North) just before 5, and ordered drinks and apps.

a girl and her martini

Salmon Flatbread

Calamari
I am told it was good, but I did not even touch it because it looked too much
like baby octopuses and I can't really bring myself to eat 'baby' anything.

Eventually, we headed to our dinner location. We walked just a block or two to Zed 451.

They only serve dinner inside (you'll see why). We had about 45 minutes to blow before our ressy, so we headed upstairs to check it out.

We had cocktails on the rooftop, which was much lower than IO's and therefore had a very different, more "beer garden" feel. I had a blackberry basil tequila drink which was amazing.

Lots of "inspired" Herman Miller chairs. #gettherealthingyall

When our time came, we went inside for dinner. When we made the reservation, we didn't realize that this was a brazillian steakhouse- style dinner. That means it's all-you-can-eat salad bar and all-you-can-eat meat. We were totally surprised, but more than willing to take on the challenge.

And by we, I mean I.

We helped ourselves to a limitless "harvest table," which consisted of a variety of salads, appetizers, cheeses, and charcuterie. It is always a battle knowing your plate is bottomless, because you want to save room for the good stuff.

Eventually, they came around with the meats and we had a field day. Between a full stomach and the wine we shared at the table, we were all pretty ready to fall asleep that night.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Have you been to a brazillian-style steakhouse? How did you react? The first time I went, back when I didn't eat as much meat, my body freaked out. Like, I felt totally sick. This time, however, I had no problems at all (thanks to my paleo diet?) and made out like a bandit with no negative side effects!
• If you've been to Chi - what's your favorite rooftop in Chicago? Seriously. I need to know!

The Wine Huntress and Keefer's

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Two years ago, my husband and I introduced our parents to one another at Keefer's. It's a delicious steakhouse in Chicago that somehow always manages to squeeze us in, even with short notice. When my girlfriend and I started talking about setting up a steak and wine night with our better halves, we quickly came to the conclusion that Keefers was the place to be.

My husband and I were looking forward to it all day. When you've had their amazing filet mignon, you salivate just knowing another meal there is on the horizon. So, I put on this knit dress I received for Christmas from my Mother In Law and some tights. It may be cold in Chicago, but I'm definitely not letting it steal my style.

Sidenote: I desperately need to clean my mirror.

We hopped in a cab and headed over to my girlfriend's loft in River North. We were eager  beavers, so we were early and chilled out a while in the lobby. Also, I accidentally texted my mom letting her know we were "here" instead of my girlfriend. So, that happened...

My girlfriend and her husband are members at a wine club in River North called The Wine Huntress. You have to be a member (or with a member) to get in, and then you use a wine tasting card to try a number of different wines via a futuristic looking wine vending machine.

The owner sets out some olive oils, dips, and breads for you to sample as you taste. She also guides you through a progression of wines, including the order in which to sample them.

The four of us were the only people in the wine club, so we had the place to ourselves and definitely took advantage of it. We spent about an hour enjoying the wines and reading the lengthy wine write-ups on each bottle.

It took us a while to nail down what we wanted, but we ended up choosing two bottles of red wine and taking them with us.

Wine bottles in hand, we left The Wine Huntress and walked over to Keefer's. We were seated immediately in the side room, near the fireplace. The first order of business was corking the wine.

Note: Keefer's is not a BYOB restaurant (far from it). But, because of the decent member prices at Wine Huntress, we had no problem paying the corkage fee. Basically, we paid about the same amount for an amazing, truly high quality bottle of wine that we would have paid for the bottom of the line bottles on the wine menu at the restaurant.

We all ordered the filet mignon for dinner, in addition to some shared appetizers and desserts. As usual, the filet mignon was a complete success. 

My husband had ordered a peppercorn glaze to accompany his filet. I typically don't like to add anything to a filet mignon, because I think that, when cooked right, there is nothing needed. But, my husband raved about the peppercorn, so I tried it. He was right. Delicious.

After Keefer's, we couldn't let the night end, so we stopped into The Grid. I wish I had taken a few more pictures of the decor in this bar. 

(Image Courtesy of The Grid)

It is decorated like a super contemporary loft, and had floating Star Wars-like fireplaces set up in the middle of seating areas.

After another drink or two, we finally decided to call it a night and head home. 

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you have a favorite steakhouse in your town? Our favorites here in Chicago are Keefer's and Bavette's Bar and Boeuf.
• Do you enjoy wine tastings? Know of any good ones we should try? I am a big fan of wine tastings, because I feel like I learn more about what I like every time I am able to sample various wines side by side.