With another six hours on our hands before departing Chicago, I decided we needed to fulfill the final two food stops on our list so we headed for Lincoln Park. Soon, we were sharing a train car with a host of red, white and rowdy Cubs fans on their way to Wrigley. Good times.
Our first stop was the The Bourgeois Pig for a chicken parm panini and a ginger molasses cookie to share on the shore of Lake Michigan. We sat there for a good hour, admiring what a gorgeous day it turned out to be. In front of us, a swarm of sailboats peppered the water. Behind us, a group appeared to be doing tai chi on the grass. Plenty of people were sunbathing. And there was no shortage of runners along Lakeshore Beach.
But we weren't done dining. Our next and last food stop was The Purple Pig on the Magnificent Mile. The Mediterranean spot came highly recommended so we made our way there for Second Lunch, hoping our off-hours arrival time would thwart the usually long waits we'd heard about. It worked. It wasn't long before we were sampling the charred cauliflower with toasted breadcrumbs, cornichons and parsley. The pork neck bone gravy with ricotta. The octopus a la plancha with green beans, fingerling potatoes and salsa verde. And the chorizo-stuffed olives.
Until next time, Chicago. Hogs and kisses.
