After spending almost a week in Florida with my family to celebrate my niece’s second birthday (and attend a financial literacy workshop in Orlando), I’m back in one of my all-time favorite cities: Chicago. Well, technically, I’m in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, but close enough. I’m here to attend the U.S. Classic (gymnastics) for two days before I head into Chicago proper.
I had to rearrange my travel thanks to a change in the gymnastics schedule, which meant leaving Orlando on an 8:30AM flight yesterday so I could be here in time to attend the junior session last night (rescheduled from this afternoon). I arrived in Chicago, picked up my rental car, and immediately headed to Schaumburg, where I jumped on the Dubai chocolate bus. Having never indulged in a Dubai chocolate anything, I tried a Dubai chocolate “cruffin” at Sweet Reserve Bakery along with an iced mocha. It was big and messy, but I didn’t dislike the flavor combination.
I headed to my hotel and was able to check in early and take a nap before having one of the most delicious meals I’ve had in a long time at Cooper’s Hawk Winery in South Barrington. I had a table in the shade of an umbrella on the outdoor patio, and the 80 degree temperature was a welcome reprieve from the heat and humidity of the last few days in Florida. I had a peach sangria, a crispy barbacoa quesadilla (caramelized cheese crust!), and a popover filled with strawberries, ice cream, crème anglaise, and white chocolate. Aside from the quesadilla being a happy hour portion, it was amazing and if I lived here, I would be eating there all the time.
The junior women’s gymnastics session was not very well attended and I was able to move to a seat pretty close to the action to watch the up and coming gymnasts in the younger age bracket. There are at least a few of them who will likely be in contention to make the Olympic team in 2028.
From what I can tell, there are a ton of pancake restaurants in this area (maybe it’s a Chicago thing? Or a midwest thing?), so I have every intention of capitalizing on the abundance of pancake choices around here. Today I started my breakfast quest with a trip to Honey Berry Pancakes here in Hoffman Estates. I opted to sit on the patio, despite the cloudy weather, and devoured most of my stack of their signature Honey Berry pancakes. Despite the fruit, crème anglaise, and mascarpone, they could have used a little extra syrup. However, the pancakes were rich and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness.
After breakfast, I did a little shopping in Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg, then watched some YouTube videos back in my hotel room while eating a whole bag of Chex Mix for lunch. This afternoon’s senior session of gymnastics consisted of those gymnasts still trying to get the required score to qualify to the national championships next month. I was again able to move to a closer seat as the arena was nowhere near full.
Last night’s dinner was so good that I didn’t want to set my expectations too high for tonight. But I’m happy to report that we are now two for two on the Chicago area dinners. I ended up at Tangled Roots Brewing Company for dinner and had a delicious chicken parmesan flatbread with vodka sauce and pesto along with a sweet hard cider from Obscurity Brewing (which was just a tad too sweet for my taste).
The senior session of gymnastics tonight was a bit more fun in that it featured gymnasts I was more familiar with and included a Simone Biles sighting! I ended the night with a stop at Culver’s for a salted caramel and cheesecake frozen custard mixer which I am now enjoying while tucked into bed back at my hotel. Tomorrow morning, I’m off to the Windy City!
Traveling with Laura 