Good old days in the neighborhood

It seems like just yesterday when I last took a trip to Chicago, but it has been a whole month.  Jess and I had a lot of fun last time, and we were lucky to get an excuse to go again!  Her hubby had school business to attend to up in Chi-town, so thankfully they let me tag along and we made a little road trip out of it!

Night number one consisted of a dinner at a diner called Pick Me Up Cafe.  They have vegan and omni selections, so it's a good place for a vegan to take a friend that is not too adventurous. 

Jess and I split their tofu scramble and vegan pecan pancakes.  I loved when, as he set our plates down, the server commented that the silver cup on the plate was indeed soy margarine.  Good, less questions for us to ask! 

Sadly, the pancakes were pretty bland, but they were edible.  Vegan with a Vengeance pancakes are where the magic really is.

We paid a visit to Intelligentsia, of course, like last time on the trip. 

Jess, that strong woman, is abstaining from espresso per her Lenten contract, but she was nice enough to be patient while I sipped on a delicious traditional cappuccino with soymilk (and the husband had something too).

For those of you who aren't in-the-know, Intelligentsia is one of the best places in the nation to get exquisite espresso.  For some reason I feel the need to spread the knowledge that Starbucks is not a wise place to invest in unless you want stale, over-roasted, thin espresso.  The only reason people drink it is because Starbucks covers up the taste by dumping a lot of sugar on top.  Okay, end of rant.

I also had the privilege of trying Vosges chocolate while in Chicago.  They usually carry it at Whole Foods Market, but I have seen this brand at other gourmet grocery stores as well.  The price of even a half-ounce bar is steep ($3.49!) but 'twas totally worth it.  This is fine chocolate, my friends.  Fabulous.  (I tried the Creole Bar!)

 

We met up with some peeps later that day and after hanging out for a while, our trip was wrapped up with a dinner at the Chicago Diner, only mine and Jess's favoritest restaurant in the whole entirety of the world.  (It's a vegetarian diner, where everything has the option of being vegan -- or maybe it's close to everything.)

After much deliberation, I decided to stray from the delicious Reuben sandwich and I ordered one of the diner's specials, the Raw Bacon Cheeseburger. 

The burger bun was actually a flax-based bread, and of course there was a burger patty and raw vegan bacon.  The really creative part was the dehydrated raw onion rings.  The side salad had a tasty dressing, but I was not too fond of the seasoning on the jicama fries (though I adore jicama itself) and the side of red cabbage slaw was nothing special enough to finish eating.

I didn't know where to begin when eating this plate, but Jess advised me to put the two halves of the burger together and dig in.

So I did.

All in all, the burger was tasty but it was not exciting enough for me to order again.  I love trying new things -- though I admit I often get myself into food ruts -- and I would like to try Chicago Diner's raw specials in the future.  My tummy just could not decide what it wanted for dinner that night so I made a quick decision!

Earlier in the day, I had resolved that I was not going to have a vegan milkshake at the diner.  But -- did you guess there was a "but" coming?! -- the meal part did not cap off the trip like I had wanted it to, so I was forced to order a Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Milkshake to make up for that. 

Look at that cup of heaven.  Wow!  While I was happily slurping this bad boy, I came to the realization that this milkshake was the best eats of the entire Chicago trip -- the best eats of probably the last 21 years of my life -- so it is not in my best interest to ever, ever, ever abstain from a peanut butter cookie dough milkshake when I go to the diner in the future. 

And then we drove home.  And my belly was very, very happy.  The end.

So recently I had someone tell me I was too "rigid" because I am a vegan.  Just looking back at my old posts, and even at my meals and snacks in Chicago, I just can't see how "rigid" could even begin applying to my diet!  I eat darn good food.  I feed myself very well, and I can hardly begin to see how the way I eat could ever be considered as a diet of deprivation!!!  All right, end of rant number two!  I just needed to get that out there.  And there endeth this post.  Have a happy day!