This past weekend was a whirlwind of food, friends and so much fun!
I met my friends Meghan and Roopak way back in high school, but we didn't become close until college. They got married and moved to South Carolina a couple of years ago, but were in town for the weekend. A group of us met up at Piece Brewery and Pizzaria in Wicker Park Saturday for lunch.
The girls wanted an all veggie pizza and the boys wanted all meat. Our veggie pizza was a white sauce base with spinach, green pepper, half onion and half black olives. The boys had a sausage and spinach pizza with just a little bit of cheese.
The pizza was pretty good; a little thin for my liking because all of the toppings were too heavy for the crust and just slid off. But we had no problem finishing off both pizzas between the six of us.
It was so good catching up with Meghan and Roopak -- Aren't they the cutest!? They are the kind of friends that you can pick up right where you left off after not seeing them for a long time and it's like nothing has changed. I think those are the best kinds of friendships to have!
After stuffing our faces with pizza and chatting for a while, we decided to walk around a bit and get some caffeine. Lindsey, Meghan and Roopak went to David's Tea while Mikey, Joe and I went to Buzz Killer Espresso.
Joe and I weren't sure what to get, so we followed Mikey's lead and ordered the Black Diamond pour over.
I've never had this type of coffee before, so it was kind of cool to see how it was done. It was a really fresh tasting strong coffee, but just what I needed for the long night ahead.
We took our coffees and teas to go and walked around Wicker Park. Even though it was a cloudy and gloomy day, it was nice to be outside without unbearably cold weather.
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Later on. I had to head back to my apartment to freshen up, change and go downtown to meet Mary and Kristen who were coming in on the train for dinner. They arrived around six, which was a little before our dinner reservations at 7:30. We decided to go to Bottled Blonde in River North for a drink.
I went here once before for drinks and I really love the atmosphere. It's a pretty large space with a bar right in the middle. I ordered the Mango Mojito and Mary and Kristen had Malibu with pineapple juice.
We decided to head over to Hampton Social a little bit early because we were hungry and ready to eat. The restaurant was really cute, with a fun, upscale nautical vibe, it felt like we were in the Hamptons! Not that I really know what that's like, but what I imagine it's like.
We already knew that we wanted the golden pineapple drink, but didn't know it would be so expensive! After little debate and deciding that we should just go for it, Mary and Kristen ordered The Royal Treatment and I had And a Bottle of Rum, which came in a coconut instead of the pineapple.
To be honest, the drinks weren't the most delicious, but we finished them anyway. The pineapple drink took FOREVER to finish, so I had to help my friends out with those.
There weren't many vegetarian-friendly options on the dinner menu. Mary and I decided to split the only things we could order -- the Cesar Salad and the Margarita Pizza.
The salad was really good. They were nice enough to split the portions for us. The pizza was also delicious. Kristen ordered the Fish and Chips and said it was pretty good. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant for picky eaters and vegetarians (which we all were) but I was happy with my dinner.
After sitting at our table for over two hours and finishing our drinks, we had to flag down the waiter to give us our check. Next we headed over to Moe's Cantina and then to our favorite El Hefe for more drinks and dancing.
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Sunday morning was a little rough and I was definitely in the mood for brunch. Barcocina had been on mine and Lindsey's restaurants-to-try list for a while, so we decided to go there. Lindsey's roommate Lori and friend Meghan joined us.
The decor was really cute and there were garage door windows around the entire restaurant which open up when the weather is nice.
The brunch menu was a little strange. You could choose the brunch "deal" which was bottomless select cocktails including mimosas and bloody marys along with an entree choice and access to the buffet which included an omelette bar, cereal, and a few other things, all for $40 a person. You could also just order a la carte from the small selection of entrees. There was only one meatless option, but I decided to get the Chilaquiles without the pork belly. Lindsey and Lori had the french toast, and Meghan also had the Chilaquiles.
My dish was pretty tasty. I've never tried it before, but it was basically tortilla chips with salsa verde, eggs, guacamole, onion and sour cream.
The french toast looked really good too. Again, I wouldn't really recommend this place for vegetarians or people who don't like spicy foods. They weren't accommodating to any special requests or substitutions and I wasn't really a fan of the brunch menu set up.
We decided it would be nice to go back when the weather is nicer and the doors open up, but maybe just for margaritas, chips and salsa.
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What a fun, crazy, eventful weekend! Even though I spent pretty much my entire paycheck on food and drinks, I wouldn't take any of it back!
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