My autumn mix was purchased in the basement of Macy’s on State Street in Chicago. I asked the elderly cashier what his favorite Halloween Candy was. “Nothing. I hate all of it,” he said. Halloween Grinch, no?

The post Keep Me Away from The Halloween Mix first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

So first I went to Glazed & Infused. A good excuse for a nice walk. And I ordered my donut, a coconut one, and it was freaking $3.05. What has happened to the world when a DONUT is $3.05? It was, in my opinion, dry and uninspiring. And it was a honker. Plus there a certain smug-hipster vibe about the entire experience. And no sneeze guards. Now, let me be clear. I went to the window. I did not go inside. I think things are different inside. But really, I don’t want to pay $3.05 FOR A DONUT. The Verdict: MEH. 1533 N. Damen

And then I went to Do Rite Donuts downtown. And in contrast, the staff were perky, the sneeze guards were present, and the donuts were CHEAP. I remember it was south of $2.00. $1.67 maybe? And it was MOIST. Delicious. Sadly, I cannot remember what sort of taste it had (hey, I never professed to be professional about this), but I remember thinking “Better price, better quality than that other place up north. I’ll come back here.) The Verdict: Good. Do Rite is at 50 W Randolph.

So on Twitter, when I talked about this, everyone told me that I really needed to go to the Donut Vault. Once my bike is tuned up, I’ll be heading that way. Watch for it.

The post Donut-off, Chicago first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Sometimes you go to a place in your neighborhood — a place that’s not far — and you think “Gah!!! Why didn’t I come here sooner?? What is wrong with me?? There must be something wrong…something!!”

Because I went to Lovely. A Bakeshop. And I loved it. It is everything I’ve been wanting these days. Quiet. Peaceful. Nice chairs.

This could all be so terribly chintzy. But yet it works. So very very well.

I had some cake for breakfast, despite being of the “I only have oatmeal or farina for breakfast” sort. My cousin, who was visiting, was cranky. Lovely and its outdoor patio calmed him down. I saw “lavender”on the menu and had to do it. Peach and lavender, I believe. Lovely. Like the shop. And the music. And the free wifi. All very very you-know-what, really.

The post Lovely, Noble Square first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Alliance Bakery & Cafe
1736 W Division
Chicago

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Damage: $20

The Victim: Um, me. And I swear I’m only eating two a day until they’re gone. Let’s hope they keep in the freezer.

The Background: Happiness is a box of macarons on a Sunday afternoon from your local bakery. $1.50 each and worth every penny. (Although a bulk discount would be nice. As would a baker’s dozen. But beggars can’t be choosers.) This could be a truly unhealthy relationship.

The Verdict: Go.  But leave some for me.

The post Macarons from the Alliance Bakery, Wicker Park first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

I am really really loving exploring my new neighborhoods–Chicago’s Wicker Park and Ukranian Village. So the other morning, I did a little search on all the main Internet social outlets…what were the places by me that everyone was talking about? Black Dog Gelato was at the top of the list.

Whiskey. Bacon. Together. I can see this working. I didn’t make the jump though. You see, I was distracted by the Goat Cheese Cashew Caramel gelato. Yes, Goat Cheese Cashew Caramel.

Oh, and the Oreo mint.

Yes. Together. I couldn’t stop myself. I ordered both. Squished into one cup.

And you know what? That didn’t bother me. In fact, I kinda liked it. Because really, at the end of the day, these are some of my favorite flavors.

The orieo mint was super minty. And the goat cheese cashew caramel–really three of my all-time favorite flavors–it’s the type of combo that sticks with you for days afterwards and you keep thinking, “Was that really as good and as interesting as I thought it was?” I think it was. I’ll be back this weekend, I hope, to double-check.

The Verdict: Do it.

The post Black Dog Gelato, Ukrainian Village first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, September 19th

The Victim: Me

The Damage: $20

The Background: Truth be told, I was feeling a little fragile. I’d been out the night before with my friends Christina and Kent and before you knew it, it was 2 am and there were a lot of empty margarita glasses in front of us (me?). (LOVELY lovely Margaritas, for sure. Thank you, Gilt Bar. And more about Gilt Bar later.)

So on Saturday, I did a lot of nothing. Well, that’s not really true. I paid a man a lot of money to kit out my closets. And then I went shopping for bed linens. And then I got on eBay and saved a lot of money on said bed linens. Exciting, no? Welcome to middle age.

But by the time I got home from my shopping expedition, my bed (or, well, my corporate  housing bed) was calling me. And you know…going to bed at like 6 pm is not a good idea. So I did what everyone does, right? I got on a bus in search of some Korean fried chicken.

A healthy chicken is apparently a sexy chicken.

I feel like the Interwebs have been buzzing about Korean fried chicken for ages. Mostly in California. And New York. Chicago only has Crisp on Broadway. But will soon have Del Seoul on Clark, where practically every business I used to know has gone out of business. I’m a little worried about Chicago, really.

But I digress. I got the standard…half a chicken, with the Seoul Sassy sauce…ginger, soy and garlic. I was hoping for a deeply ginger-y and garlicky sauce.

Hmmm. Kinda mostly soy. A little disappointed.

But the chicken was good. And I liked that it was hormone free and obviously cooked to order. (They advise that you will have to wait at least 7 minutes for your order.) It was crispy. In short, it was nice. But I wasn’t like totally dying over it. Which is what I was expecting.

Better was the kimchee. Spicy crunchy kimchee. The only problem is that that you had to order a container of it, and that container feeds three people. I had kimchee for breakfast the next day. And the next day after that. This was a good problem to have though as kimchee and egg are an excellent combination.

The Verdict: Good. Not great. But maybe I’m just spoiled.

Bobtail
2951 N Broadway
Chicago

After I finished my chicken (and my kimchee), I figured I might as well go all out and have some ice cream. Funnily, when I was in business school, the guy that started Bobtail was in my class. So it’s nice to see it go from this idea on paper to a full-fledged ice cream parlour. (To clarify…Bobtail is right across the street from Crisp. That’s why I went.)

That being said…and this is me being not-so-nice…Bobtail was kinda dirty. I mean, there was this fan on the ceiling CAKED with dust. And the place had that lingering sour smell of spoiled milk that only comes from inexperienced staff who really don’t know how to close up at night. (An aside, but related. I remember reading this article about Delta Airlines and how to save money, they stopped deep-cleaning their planes regularly. You know…where they totally clean the carpets and the seat cushions and everything with those wet-vacs. They realized very quickly that this was a big mistake. BIG mistake. And it also reminds me of my flat in London. Even though I had a cleaning lady, it took four guys from somewhere in Eastern Europe two hours to show me what a clean flat really looked like. Clean Living in London, I thank you.)

So I had some peanut butter ice cream. With chocolate chips. Welcome back to America, huh? It was nice. I might even go back for some more. But I probably wouldn’t stick around. Too much clutter. Too much stuff. I want to relax when I’m at an ice cream parlour. That’s one of my big observations of life in America…there’s stuff everywhere. We’ve become this country obsessed with stuff. (Except for Gilt Bar. Which again, I’ll come back to.) No wonder there’s a show called Hoarders.

The Verdict: Good.

The post Crisp, Lakeview and Bobtail, Lakeview first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Frae
27 Camden Passage
N1 8EA

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, August 16th

The Damage: £3 something. Less than £4.

The Victim: Me

The Background: Douglas got there first. And he doesn't even live in the neighborhood. And plus, I walk by here ALL THE TIME. How did I miss this place? In short, I was mad.

And I was also mad because Frae is JUST LIKE Snog. (Without the double-entendre.) And Snog is just like Pinkberry. Man, isn't there anyone out there with a unique idea these days?

The Product: It's nice. They do that whole natural tangy yogurt thing. And you can pick your toppings. I went with bananas and graham crackers. The graham crackers were a bit stale.

The Verdict: I will probably find myself back here some day. That's just the type of person I am. A sucker for frozen good stuff. Even when I know there's a good chance I will be disappointed.

The post Frae first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Royal Sweets
92 The Broadway
Southall, UB1 1QF

Ambala
107 The Broadway
Southall UB1 1LN

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, July 11th, 2009

The Victim: Sarah

The Damage: Cheap. A couple of quid.

The Background: After we finish up our walking tour and our lunch, Bernard and Arielle go to get the car. Sarah and I go to look at the sweets. (Thank God for Sarah. She is very patient with me and my food blog.) I learn that Bernard is addicted to this stuff–barfi, in particular–and after eating a bagfull in the car on the way back into town, I can understand why. (Note to self: Southall really isn't that far from London by train. Car makes it seem terribly far. Like Heathrow-far. That's pretty far if you live in Clerkenwell.)

At Ambala, the barfi is delicious…dense and moist and sticky in all the right ways. Although Royal Sweets wins the presentation award, they get dinged in my book for two things: they yelled at me for taking a picture, and their barfi smelled weird. Like a bit rotten and mildewy. Luckily, I had more barfi from Ambala to erase the taste.

The Service: We found the service at both establishments to be less than hospitable. Abrupt. And unhelpful. I felt like a stranger in a strange land. Maybe I was. But you never know anyone's story now, do you?

The Verdict: Cheap sweets. I'd go back to Ambala if I were in the 'hood. Hopefully, they'll be just as sweet to me as their barfi.

The post Sweets in Southall first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

The Background: The other day, it was Snog. This time, it was Suck and Chew. Hmmm…interesting.

I think I may have been a little hungover. Nothing like a little honesty, huh? Particularly when one's work colleagues are reading one's blog. (How I hate it, to write in this "one" person.) But somehow, I made it over to Columbia Road. I skipped the cupcakes. But I found myself in Suck and Chew. Wee Birdy wrote about Suck and Chew on her London fashion blog. All very timely.

The Entrance: McCauley (must check spelling) was behind the counter when I arrived. He left a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day. And he never lost one minute of sleep, worrying about the way things might have been.

Instead, he opened Suck and Chew.

The Sweets: They're everywhere. And they're super-retro. I fall in love. Really. This is all just so very well done. But part of me has to wonder…is he making any money?

The Verdict: I loved this place. Such a nice retro vibe. Simple stuff. Happy stuff. A good place. You should visit McCauley. And then ask him why he never responded to the interview questions one particular London food blogger sent over. 🙁

P.S. Sorry, meant to tell you I'm on a bit of a blog-cation because I'm traveling at lot at the moment. Will try to post every so often. Service will resume in full at some point next week!

The post Suck and Chew first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Snog
9 Brewer Street
W1F 0RG

Date of Last Visit: Friday, July 10th, 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £3.55

The Background: On Fridays in summer, my very generous employer lets us leave a little early, assuming we've worked later during the week. So this past Friday, I found myself wandering London's Soho for a bit. I popped into Snog, thinking I might have some frozen yogurt before lunch. (Yes, before.)

Snog is fun. I like how they've made the most of the name. Snog. Hah. But Snog is also pricey at £3.55 for the smallest portion with one topping. They call this size "little."

To their credit, I actually thought the "little" was quite big. The blackberries were quite big as well, and they were perfect, mashed up into the tangy natural yogurt. (Note: It's not vanilla. It's just regular yogurt.) I did things a little backwards on Friday–I had the yogurt and then was going to have lunch, but this Snog tied me over.

The Verdict: Fun. Good. Pricey though.

The post Snog first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Mrs. Kibble's
57A Brewer St London
W1F 9UL

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, May 30th, 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: Less than a quid. Just for some jelly beans.

The Background: I'm really not much of a sweets person. I like cheese. Maybe the occasional cheesecake. Ah yes, and lemon tart. And baklava. But chocolate? Not really for me.

When it comes to candy, I sometimes like licorice (the red kind) and gummi bears and maybe jelly beans. And really, that's about it. But as I was walking through Soho on my way back from lunch (and shopping) and passing Mrs. Kibble's, I thought, "Hmmm…jelly beans."

So I stopped in to peruse the selection and I wondered, "How the hell do they pay their rent?" Someone must be buying in bulk, because my £1 purchase ain't going to help things much. I mean, they're nice. And it's a cool, nostalgic business. I want to like them, and I want you to like them. A lot. And maybe lots of people out there are ordering £20 of jelly beans at a time. But I don't know. Maybe they sell bulk online? (They don't, that I can find.)

See, you never know anybody's story now, do you?

The Verdict: You should go. Because it's cute and old fashioned and nice. And there are a lot of sweets for you to try. And I want to know more about them and how they make their money.

The post Mrs. Kibble’s first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday May 16th, 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: Not much

The Background: I've lived in Islington for more than four years now. And every so often, I still discover something new. Like the other day, when I got on the bus that just happened to go up the Essex Road. And I saw a few people queued up outside a shop. And I looked closely (or as closely as one can from the upper deck) and saw that it was a bakery. In Islington. That I had never seen before.

The Entrance: So I stopped there on my way back home from Dalston. And it was crowded. I had to queue. What I liked about it was that it seemed like everyone knew each other, and all the neighborhood kids must have worked there. To be honest, the donuts all looked a little sad. They could maybe work on their presentation. But in bakeries, as in all things, there is willingness and there is ability. And Raab's has a lot of willingness.

My Order: I honestly had no idea what to order. But I felt like I had to be quick about it. So an apricot and walnut loaf it was. Covered in sesame seeds. Did I want that sliced? Why yes, of course I did. And a few quid later, it was all mine. And I will admit to eating more than one slice on my way home.

What I really wanted, however, was pumpernickel. This country does not do pumpernickel, does it?

The Bread: Well, I certainly went for a novelty loaf. But I'm a sucker for that stuff and I liked it. I liked it a lot. I was sad when the loaf was gone. Very sad. Not sad enough to get on the next bus to get me another, but sad enough.

The Verdict: Why do we buy mysterious bread in bags from Tesco? Why not go to Raab's?

The post Raab’s the Baker first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.