After being part of the awesome blog scene in London for so long, it’s a little bit disconcerting to be a nobody again. But really, I am starting completely over from scratch in terms of my blog and traffic and the people I know here and no one knows that better than me.  Trust me.

So I was pretty chuffed–as we say in the UK–when @ThePeninsulaChi invited me out to dinner AND ice skating at the top of the John Hancock Tower. (Yes, seriously. More to come on the 2nd half of the evening in a later post.) How they found me, I don’t know. But I’m glad they did. What follows is a write-up of an invite to review.

I already knew that The Peninsula does one thing I love above all others–and I am not normally a sweets person–macarons. And they do them very very well. So on that basis alone, I had to say yes.

I had been having a pretty tough week…all co-workers all the time. (Note to co-workers: I love you. Really. But I needed an escape.) Monday, dinner at Rockit on Hubbard. Tuesday, dinner at Moe’s Cantina. Wednesday, dinner at 33 Club on Wells. (As two out of the three were corporate buffet-types-of-events, I won’t be writing anything up.) So it was nice to escape into the calm chalet-like surrounds of The Peninsula’s Pierrot Gourmet with a bunch of people I’d never met before.

First up, a lovely green salad, which was just what I needed after three nights in a row of few to no vegetables. Seriously, I was having one of those “My kingdom for a salad” moments. Great dressing.

Next up a plate of pickled veg–which dare I say it–cried out for some vodka. Although I don’t love pickles themselves (although I do love those tiny gherkins), I do love any sort of pickled veg. Vinegar…yum.

Next up, a plate of juniper berry-smoked speck. Regular readers might recall that I was an exchange student in Innsbruck, Austria for a year back when I was in university in the 90s. This plate brought back happy memories, as Speck (pronounced Schpeck in Tirol) is very much a part of the regular diet. This version leaned more towards berry than smoke.

Next up was a pot of amazing three-cheese fondue, made with Gruyere, Appenzeller, and Fontina cheeses. I will admitting to losing my bread more than a few times in the cheese, but it was a fun and social way of dining. I would highly recommend this for a girls’ night out.

Next up, my favorite shot of the night. Macarons–again, only one of my most favorite things in the world–and social media. Combined. See the iPhone? See the dSLR? Awesome. As were the macarons.

The Verdict: An absolutely lovely way to spend an evening, and an evening I highly recommend. Chalet Nights at Pierrot Gourmet at The Peninsula run every Thursday evening through March 31st, 2011. Get a group of your friends together and go. Pierrot Gourmet is offering a special menu for $19 per person, for a minimum of two people; dinner includes the fondue with mountain bread, the speck, the pickled vegetables, the green salad, and a glass of eau-de-vie (pear brandy). This is, in this blogger’s opinion, an EXCELLENT value. Thank you to Chef de Cuisine and the PR team behind The Peninsula Chicago for such an amazingly lovely evening.

This was an “invite to review.” I roughly estimate the value of this evening to be $50, including the little bag of macarons I got to take home at the end of the evening.

The post Pierrot Gourmet, Michigan Avenue first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Hannah's Bretzel Bag

Hannah’s Bretzel
180 W Washington St
Chicago

Date of Last Visit: 3 January 2011

The Victims: Many

The Damage: Two cents shy of ten dollars. Just  for the sandwich. And it’s not a very large sandwich for $10. But keep reading.

Hannah's Sirloin Sandwich

The Background: I am not the sort to wax poetic over a sandwich. Give me soup or salad any day. But after listening to my colleague Renee sing the praises of Hannah’s Bretzel since my return to Chicago in August, I figured I’d give it a shot.

The Entrance: Hannah’s Bretzel is small. (There’s really nowhere to sit except for a small counter at the window.) It’s also very clean. AND IT’S FULL OF CHOCOLATE. Seriously. AN ENTIRE WALL OF CHOCOLATE. (I will have to go back for a photo of that alone.)

I ordered the sirloin sandwich. The Hannah’s Bretzel Web site describes it like so:

We make it with certified organic grass fed sirloin that is free of antibiotics, growth hormones, nitrates or sulfates on our organic bretzel baguette. Then we add tasty Swiss Gruyére cheese, organic vine tomatoes, organic spring mix, organic onions and finish it with our own horseradish aioli.

Well let me tell you–that pretzel baguette is AWESOME. Firm and chewy but still managing to maintain a bit of a crunch to bread. And the sirloin was so deliciously tender. And the horseradish alioli? I wanted to bathe in it. FOREVER. Über Sandwich indeed!

The Verdict: It’s not cheap, but the line moves quick and the sirloin sandwich, in particular, is really excellent.  With your sandwich, you get a choice of chips or nuts or veggies. I went with chips and they were great. Are they homemade? Not sure. But whoever is producing them sure knows what they’re doing.  So in short, you should go here. Multiple times. Bring your friends.

The post Hannah’s Bretzel, The Loop first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: 16 July 2007

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £5

The Background: I probably had too much Sauvignon Blanc on Wednesday night. I had, as always, the best of intentions. Go home early. Maybe run 3 miles. But then we went to the garden at the top of Coq d’Argent and the sun came out and one bottle of sauvignon blanc turned into another.

And they refused to feed us out in the garden. We needed to go inside. I didn’t want to go inside. The sun was out!

So instead, I drank on an empty stomach and went to Kurz & Lang on my way home. And I had a frankfurter. I’ve been to Kurz & Lang before and it was a less than memorable experience. I had the worst currywurst I’ve ever had in my entire life. And the most undercooked, coldest potatoes. So I wasn’t so optimistic.

When I ordered my frankfruter, they attempted to put it in a naked, cold, and doughy bun. I wouldn’t let them, I forced them to toast it for me.

The Verdict: So my frankfurter was okay. But I think I need to eat a lot of frankfurters all within a short period of time to determine where this frankfurter fits in the universe of frankfurters.

The post Kurz & Lang first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.