A Chicago Weekend

Early in October we took two days off work to run the Chicago marathon, and then eat our way around the city. Well, not really around the city: before the marathon we didn't want to move our legs and after the marathon we couldn't move our legs, so our eating was restricted to places we could easily get to from our AirBnb in the Loop.

When not running, napping, or stretching, we squeezed in many meals and some touristing. Here were our faves:

Lunch/Dinner

Au Cheval: Yes, there's a wait. Yes, the burgers are amazing. But also, the mille-feuille was the best thing we ate all weekend.

Crisp: Awesome fried chicken. Awesome bibimbap bowls. Perfect post-race nourishment. (Would also be good for a hangover. The feelings are similar.)

Cruz Blanca Brewery & Taquería: We went here while we waited for our table at Au Cheval (perks of marathoning = 2 lunches). The tacos were great, the beer was enjoyed by the boys, and the Bloody María was perfection.

Little Goat: This was my favorite place. The bakery is incredible and lunch here was perfect whether you want mac and cheese, a reuben, or kale salad (or all of the above).

Pacific Standard Time: A super elegant, chic, California-style restaurant. Wonderful pizza, beautiful veggies, and a beautifully designed space.

Sweets

Bobtail Ice Cream: Peanut butter and cookie dough in a cone please.

Stan's Donuts: Go for breakfast or second breakfast. And then go again the next day. The doughnuts are awesome.

We tried to go to Doughnut Vault but they'd sold out by the time we hobbled over there. However, it looked adorable and if the sold out sign is anything to go by, worth visiting early!

Culture

Architecture Tour: I generally hate tours (or any kind of organized touristing/activity), but this was great. It's a boat tour along the river which is beautiful, super informative, and a wonderful way to spend the morning and learn a little about the city.

The Art Institute of Chicago: Whatever you want to see, they've got it. The museum is huge. I loved Chicago's America Windows.

The Bean: Obvs. Anish Kapoor's Bean deserves the attention it gets.

And if you want to run a marathon, the Chicago marathon really was great. Well, I didn't think the last few miles were so great, but I think that's more the fault of marathons than Chicago...

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Creamy Cocoa and Sweet Potato Soup

When you work for a soup start-up, your life becomes more focused on soup than you could possibly imagine. Trying to think of something to make for dinner other than soup is like trying to win the final of a Spelling Bee. I dream about soup, write about soup, eat soup, and that Mighty Boosh song is stuck on a loop in my head. 

I'm not complaining — I'm just trying to convey the all-encompassing nature of soup start-up life. The fact that I get to spend two hours every Monday morning filming a Facebook Live of my boss making soup is a total dream. Writing about mindful eating and living every week is hugely refreshing after so many slideshows about tailgating. And it means I can eat delicious soups for lunch every day of the week.

In my second week on the job, we celebrated Halloween with this sweet dessert-style soup. Steamed sweet potatoes are mixed with cocoa, coconut milk, a dash of chili, and served over black rice. Yep, don't worry, I was skeptical too. But it's delicious. It's like rice pudding but with chocolate and natural sweetness and chewier, less jelly-like rice. I've been craving it ever since, and think it may have to make an appearance at the breakfast table on Sunday morning. It's so simple, can genuinely be made in 20 minutes (we proved that here), and will fuel your day with so much energy and goodness. Happy souping!

You can find the recipe here, but if you are a keen souper, buy Nicole's book here.

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