Milk and Honey Sandwiches and Italian Dinner

While hanging out (stranded) in Chicago we were lucky enough to be staying with one of my favorite people, C and her husband.  However, they are in the midst of gutting their kitchen, which left no space to cook or to really hang out on a couch (their kitchen is connected to the family room!).  So rather than lounging around the house and driving our lovely hosts nuts, one afternoon we headed out to lunch at Milk and Honey Cafe in Bucktown.  When we walked up to the counter to place our order, I was in awe of the amazing pastry display - so many yummy looking things!

Needless to say, we jumped on one of the cupcakes.  This was a banana cupcake with a caramel frosting.  Delicious!

Cupcake

Back to lunch foods (we actually did wait to eat the cupcake!)  We decided to keep it easy and order some sandwiches because they had a great variety.  Once we placed our order we headed outside to grab a table and enjoy the sunshine.


Nick went with the pulled pork wrap special that had some coleslaw and a mustard all wrapped up in there.  This was a bit messy but completely enjoyable.  There was loads of food at a great price point - around $8.

Pork Special

C went with her go-to - the turkey sandwich with some lettuce on homemade white bread.  Simple, elegant and delicious. 

Turkey Sandwich

I got the Ham and Caraway Havarti with Lettuce, Tomato and Cracked Mustard on Pretzel Roll.  I LOVED my sandwich.  The pretzel roll had loads of flavor.  I almost did not recognize the bread because there was not salt, but it did not need it. 

Ham and Cheese dressed up!

While people were back home dealing with the hurricane fallout, we were enjoying a lovely meal outside.  Bucktown has so many great places to hang out and eat.  It's a bit more "hipster" than the Lincoln Park area we were staying in, but still loads of fun shops to put a hit on the wallet. 





Since we had no kitchen to help carry our weight in our stay and prove my chef abilities (or to show off Nicks!), for dinner that night we went to Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar to grab something to eat.  It was right up the road from where we were staying, making it an easy night.  The menu had lots of good sounding comfort food, but I was in the mood for pizza.  At this point we had not had our deep dish pizza, so pizza was on my mind!  I went with a pepperoni pizza that was topped with fresh mozzarella and soppressato.  The pizza was just perfect - nice and thin with a flaky crust that had a great crunch.  The toppings just completed the meal.

Pepperoni Pizza

C had the rigatoni that was sauteed with fennel sausage, spring peas and a light tomato cream sauce.  This bowl was just filled with warm, tasty comfort food. 

Rigatoni

Nick, taking advantage of having separate pizzas (he, too, had it on the mind), got his with loads of green olives.  While olives are one of his favorites, it is a food I do not go near.  Again, the crust was a good texture and the pizza just hit the spot.

Olive Pizza

Before I even decided on a meal, I saw the Nutella Pie on the menu and knew it was something that I would HAVE to order!  The pie was made with Nutella and marscapone with a graham cracker crunch.  Thank goodness my eyes were bigger than my stomach because this was delicious, to the point where I am going to have to replicate this at home somehow!  The dish was so light and yummy, and considering how heavy the main components can be the texture was a nice surprise.

Nutella Pie!

Frasca provided a perfect space to sit back and chat and enjoy some delicious food.  The meal provided a great cap to an indulgent day involving lots of lounging - that is, when we weren't eating!