Cheap Eats in Chicago

Just read this on one of my favorite blogs, Solo Traveler.  I'm including the part about Chicago here, since that's home for me.  I look forward to being back in the city, biking along the lakefront, walking through Grant Park, Millennium Park and Lincoln Park, and just hangin' out at Bubba Gump's on Navy Pier warm summer nights.  Chicago is fantastic!  But I don't want to be there until the minimum daytime temperature is 65!  

And P.S. my cold is gone!  First time in my life I've ever had a 3 day cold.  Could it be that gallon of green tea I drank?

Solo travel, Cheap Eats and the Blues Highway

Posted on February 24, 2010 - by Janice

From the Chicago Downtown Farmstand

As I solo travel I find eating more of a necessity than a social event – so cheap is good. Healthy and cheap is better. Healthy, fun and cheap is the best.

On my trip from Chicago to Memphis, Jackson and finally New Orleans, I scouted out the best healthy, fun and cheap eats I could find. Here are my recommendations: city by city.


Solo Travel in Chicago

There are so many options in Chicago. When I asked around, Greektown came up a number of times but my wanderings didn’t take me there. They did, however, take me to a couple of great, inexpensive culinary options in the downtown area.

On the 7th floor of Macy’s on Washington St. is Frontera Fresco by award-winning chef-restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality Rick Bayless. It offers Central Mexican cuisine using naturally raised meats, fresh ingredients and guacamole made every few hours. One person can easily eat great food for $10.

In good weather, my preference would be to gather up food for a picnic at Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand and take it, along with a discreet bottle of wine, to Millennium park. For less than $30 I filled my basket with a variety of fresh and locally made food that would easily do me for two meals. Add a free concert at the amazing Ghery designed bandstand in the park, and you have a great evening.

Beach Bummers

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I hardly ever get sick.  But down here I had an upper respiratory virus for a month and when I finally got well, along comes a head cold.  I swear.  All I can attribute it to is the cold and damp we've had this year.  Yeah, these photos look sunny and warm (and I do admit the sun was toasty) but it was only in the 50's.

My posting skills have been sorely lacking lately.  My apologies.  I'll try to look for something more interesting to blog about, I promise.

In the meantime, isn't the water color stupendous here?  I'm thinking of renting right on the beach next season.  (I know, I know, I've complained about how cold it is here, but everyone, including the weather services, tell me it hasn't been normal.  I'll give it one more year.)

Warm Up

After a colder than normal winter down here, it is beginning to improve. Most of the recent temperatures have been in the high 50's to mid-60's with sunshine. (I'm holding on till 70's...)

Last evening was another cocktail party with the snowbirds, many of whom are leaving by the end of the month. Luckily for me, several will remain through March. I'll be on my own in April.  I'm anxious to see what the weather will bring then.

Biked around the property today, and on the way back, saw this sight behind Baytowne Wharf, the little resort village at which I'd breakfasted. Don't know what was burning, but it didn't look good.

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Food Critic

My gosh, I'm beginning to feel like a food critic, as so often I can't think of anything to blog about except where we snowbirds are dining.  Probably b-o-r-i-n-g for you, dear reader, but I'll include those posts anyway, since I'm planning to use one of those make-your-blog-into-a-book sites one day and keep all of this like a journal of sorts.

That said, I drove into Pensacola a few days ago to see what it was like and was disappointed with the few areas I saw.  I'm sure there are lovely areas in Pensacola, but I was only around the downtown. It isn't much of anything, and the surrounding neighborhoods seemed old and a little rundown. Plus it looks like an area hard hit by our bad ecomony in that there were lots of empty stores and restaurants.  So I went over to Pensacola Beach and found a place for lunch.

I had the tastiest flatbread with shrimp and a pesto sauce and four cheese topping.  So the drive (about an hour from here) was at least worth that.

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Happy Mardi Gras!

Well, Sandestin had a little Mardi Gras parade today, but nothing to rival the real Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which I've been to a few times.  Wild!

In fact, the floats were really decorated golf carts!  LOL!  But the obligatory bead-throwing and trinket-bestowing occurred, as you can see by the photo of us at Rum Runners for dinner afterwards. (No, I didn't try to catch any...been there, done that. ;))

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From left to right:  Noreen (Canada), Carole (Ohio), me talking to my grandkids who had called (Chicago), Kay (St. Louis) and Sara (Mpls.)

Amazing Sight

I just haven't had a lot to blog about lately. 

And then my computer club down here started circulating this phenomenal photo.  Scenes like this are some of what life is all about!

Doom and Gloom

I know I shouldn't complain about the weather this winter, as so much of the country has had it worse, with subzero temps and mountains of snow. 

But I think I'm entitled to a little grunting after I packed up the Solara, closed and arranged for monitoring of two places back home, and paid for a six month Florida rental in a place that was supposed to be in the 60's for the winter months, and 70's for fall and spring! Since November, a few weeks total of nice weather aside, it has averaged 50's (some days never getting above high 30's!) and my overall impression has been of gray or cloudy skies and rain.  Today, for example, while Mobile, Alabama gets snow and sleet (!!!) it is not expected to get above 37F here. 

Ok.  That's all you have to hear.  And to prove that I am trying to remain optimistic, here is a shot of the sunrise from yesterday (a day with some sun early on, but a high of only 47F).  And yes, this is the sunrise, not the sunset! 

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