Last summer, Jason and I traveled to Chicago with a car full of friends to meet a group of movie bloggers. Check out some of the stuff we did while we were in town.

Road Trip! Baltimore to Chicago

Last summer Jason and I took a Road Trip to Chicago with a group of friends for the 2014 Large Association of Movie Bloggers Meetup. I originally posted about the trip on my other blog here.

We started our journey in Baltimore after catching an outdoor movie in Fells Point.

After fueling up with both coffee and gas we headed out on our 11 hour drive through the night and reached our destination just in time for Breakfast. The All Nighter ended at Cornerstone Cafe.

The cafe’s website reads “Where nice people come to eat good food.” and I’ll second that. This was a small but busy spot that seemed to be populated with both regulars and passerbys. They also served Lavazza coffee which guarantees a solid recommendation from me. (More on that later!)

After checking into our adorable Airbnb* we headed to Lincoln Park to check out the free Zoo and other sights. Unfortunately, we were a bit tired so I didn’t manage to take any photos but the park was a great place to saunter around for an afternoon.

For dinner, we had to have that touristy treat: Chicago-style deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s.

My hero Anthony Bourdain can scoff all he wants, more delicious pizza for me.

Day Two: Breakfast Times 2; Sightseeing & Lavazza

While we were working out the Chicago public transportation system (which actually is great once you get the lay of the land) we decided to stop in a bakery by our place before heading downtown for the “real” breakfast meal. We shared a coffee & croissant at the Beurrage bakery but it wouldn’t be the last time we visited the spot on our trip.

The next breakfast stop was at The Bongo Room where we dined on a variety of hot cake options. Jason and I both had chorizo & avocado omelettes. Other table options included lemon & blackberry cakes for Jess and strawberry & banana cakes with mousse cream for Special Guest Dave.

Afterwards it was time to check out Chicago’s tourist staples. First stop was the Bean.

It’s definitely a neat city landmark located in a great spot. Worth a visit.

We walked a little further around the park and enjoyed the landscape.

Later in the day we ate hot dogs at the Wiener’s Circle and had coffee drinks at Lavazza!

Day Three: Chicago Style Hot Dog Before Departure

Before heading home we decided to venture a little bit out of the city to try one of the area’s most well known spots for the classic ‘Chicago Hot Dog’ – Gene & Jude’s.

This trek took longer than expected as our Uber driver was stuck waiting for a train to pass just before arriving at our destination. We were hungry and impatient.

Thankfully, our meal of tube shaped meat was something of greatness.

At Gene & Jude’s, there is no seating area, no ketchup available and absolutely nothing to complain about. They’re busy but efficient and cranking out delicious dogs with simplistic perfection.

The only toppings you’ll see on the menu are mustard, onions, relish, peppers and french fries. Yep, french fries as a topping.

I also hit up a donut spot (of course) which I’ll review in a later post.

In summation, I ate a ridiculous amount of food in Chicago which made me very happy all weekend long.

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