Home >> Travel >> Chicago, Chicago, Chicago

Chicago, Chicago, Chicago

My husband and I went to Chicago last summer and I must say, I LOVE Chicago. I went for Ebay Live and my husband had a concert the same weekend so we decided to make a vacation of it. The highlight of this trip for me was a culinary walking tour by Chicago Food Planet. It was a great tour. We toured the Gold Coast, Old Towne, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods and sampled foods from a diverse collection of shops and restaurants.

Old Town Oil

1520 North Wells Street

Chicago, IL 60610

(312) 787-9595

Of all of the stops on the tour, there were a few places that we particularly enjoyed. Old Town Oil sells artisan olive oils and vinegars. They allow you to taste as many oils and vinegars as you like and they will pack and ship your purchases if you don’t want to take them on the plane. We purchased a pomegranate balsamic and an 18 year old aged balsamic. They are both fabulous. They have recipes on their website and you can shop online if you aren’t going to Chicago anytime soon.

The Spice House

1512 North Wells St.

Chicago, IL 60610

312-274-0378 312-274-0378

Another favorite was the Spice House. I’m turning into somewhat of a spice junky so this place was heaven for me. They specialize in high quality hand prepared herbs and spices at very reasonable prices. A lot of their spices were cheaper than the grocery store price and were definitely of superior quality. The owners of the Spice House Tom and Patty Erd, are well known and well respected foodies who have been in the spice business for years. There was a great article about them in North Shore magazine this month. We bought a couple of their spice gift sets and I use them all the time. This is a great place to get gifts for the foodie’s in your life.

The last place we loved was The Fudge Pot. This candy store has been in Chicago since 1963 and is somewhat of an institution. My husband is a chocoholic so he loved this place. The toffee and the fudge absolutely melt in your mouth. As part of the tour, we got to watch them make some of their confections and it was really interesting. Who knew that making toffee was so involved.

The Fudge Pot