This is Chander’s 50th birthday year. Theres a lot to be thankful for and celebrating 50 years takes a a lot of time. So, I decided to get started early.
The hardest part was to come up with a plan. Things Chander like are food, travel and gadgets. I planned a trip to Quebec City. What else could I do ? One option was to home cook his favorite foods but “kitchen” is not my favorite place to spend time in. So I decided to take him on a tour to some popular Chicago rooftop bars / restaurants.
Offshore Rooftop At Navy Pier, Jul 30th 2022
Our first dining adventure was at Offshore Rooftop at Navy Pier. Weather was perfect. Breezy, cool, no humidity. The ambience was great. My favorite part was the lounge area at the end of the restaurant. You can grab a drink, hang out in the lounge, play games, watch the fireworks.
We ordered Dark Side Of the Moon which is a Bourbon based cocktail and a glass of the Pinot Noir. Food order was Oysters, Truffle Fries, Filet Sliders, Tuna Tacos and Salmon Poke Bowl. The cocktail was really good and food was fresh but lacked flavor.
Cerise Rooftop, Aug 6th 2022
Our next stop was Cerise Rooftop located on the 26th floor of Virgin hotel at 203 N Wabash. This was a hot day. Temperature was 91F, felt like 101F, hot & humid. When we arrived on the 26th floor, we were hit by loud ear-deafening music. Chander and I both like quiet, so we looked at each other and we could read each other’s mind. We did not want to be here. The hostess offered to show us to our table. Chander was ready to turn around and leave but I convinced him to at least check out the table. Our table was outdoors and the music wasn’t as loud. So, we decided to sit there. There was a table reserved for us but a young woman had occupied the seat and refused to get up even though the hostess said the seat was reserved for us. We got another table which in my opinion was a better view.
With the day being so hot, beer sounded like the perfect drink to order. The menu was very limited. 2 of the 4 things were ordered were not in stock. We got the Avocado Toast and Blistered Shishito Peppers. Nothing great, but not too bad either. Chander ordered another cocktail. We knew that we would need another meal.
On our way home we stopped at Chik-fil-A and had the spicy chicken sandwich / tenders and then treated ourselves to Rocky Road and Jamoca Almond Fudge from Baskin Robbins.
Upstairs at Gwen, Aug 13th 2022
Next we visited Upstairs at the Gwen. We have been to Gwen before for indoor dining. Chander had vague memories of the dining experience and wasn’t too thrilled about going there. Suggested that we cancel and pick another place. But I decided to keep the reservation because we had not experienced the outdoor dining area.
I am glad I did not cancel. We had a good time dining at the rooftop. The rooftop had several seating areas for groups of different sizes and most seating areas had fireplaces. We were seated at the long table with the fireplace.
Our food order included Tuna Tartare, Fried Brussel Sprouts (with spiced yogurt & cilantro dressing), Impossible Burger and Burrata. I enjoyed the food more than the previous places.
Chander ordered Old Fashion for his drink. It was pretty good. We landed up drinking three of those. I ordered a light beer which was just water.
Overall, a great experience. Would definitely go back there.
Rooftop on TheWit, Aug 20th 2022
Next stop was Roof on TheWit. It is located on State and Lake and seems to be a very poplar spot. They have an indoor and outdoor dining area. Indoors is too loud and it is impossible to carry on a conversation. Outdoor seating is a joke. They have a handful of seats which are good if you want to sit and have a drink. The seating is not conducive for eating / dining. View are not great either.
We sat outdoors. Service was poor. No one offered a menu. Finally the waitress came and said she would bring us water but never did. Food had no flavor. We were in and out in an hour. Went to Wao Bao across the street and picked up Penang curry with Chicken which was a satisfying meal. this place does not get my stamp of approval in any area (food, drinks, ambience, views, experience).
Our food order was Ceviche Roll, Tokio Tuna Roll, Fire Roll, Salmon Nigiri (had a very fishy and funky aftertaste).
Chander ordered the Blackberry Smash cocktail which was like juice. He refused to drink. Ordered an old fashioned. I ordered a glass of Pinot Noir. They were out of it and replaced it with a wine of their choice without asking me. I was a little pissed at that. I don’t want anyone making my food / drink decisions for me.
Disappointed at our experience at The Wit, we decided to go to the Ribfest festival on 4000 N Lincoln Ave the next day. That was a bigger flop experience. We tried the ribs at two stalls. Both seemed stale. They were flavorless, not the ‘juicy melt in your mouth’ kind of deal. Lines were too long. Only good thing were the sides (coleslaw and beans), both of which seemed store bought
Pizzeria Portofino, Aug 26th 2022
I had been to this place with my coworkers and had really liked the Pizza. The pizzas are thin crust and less cheese which is what we like. Had been wanting to take Chander there for a long time but we decided to go with friends so that we could order multiple pizzas and get to taste more. So, this weekend we went out with one of Chander’s good friend and his wife and had such a great time that I forgot to take photos. The weather was perfect, we were seated outside by the river, beautiful view, great food, wine and conversations.
We started with ordering an old fashioned for all of us. Ended up drinking 4 bottles of wine along with Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Portuguese Octopus (this was outstanding), Crispy Parmesan Fries (Chander is a sucker for fries) and two pizzas – Margherita (good) & Pugliese (won’t order again).
Our dinner started at 6pm and we were there till close to 10pm and could have sat there longer but the hostess asked us to wrap up because they had other reservations. I didn’t quite like that part but it was understandable. Probably have to make another trip and order the same things to take pictures
Quebec City, Sep 1st – Sep 5th 2022
Momotaro, Sep 10th 2022
We had a lovely birthday pre-celebration in Quebec during the Labor Day weekend. After our return we visited Momotaro on 9/10 along with friends. This was another fantastic experience. The food was outstanding. With 4 people on the table, we got to try a lot of things. The ones with ✅ ✅ are the ones I highly recommend and needless to say, avoid the ones with ❌. We paired this with a bottle of the Demon Slayer Sake which was really good
✅ Edamame
✅ Shishito Peppers
✅ Negima (Chicken Thigh)
✅ ✅ Kohitsuji (Lamb)
❌ Yakitori Don
✅ ✅ Aburi Beni Toro (salmon belly)
✅ ✅ Karai Tuna (bigeye tuna)
✅ Negi Toro (fatty tuna belly)
✅ Tekka Maki (bluefin tuna)
❌ Baby Shitake Maki (baby Washington state shiitake tempura)
❌ Botan Ebi (spot prawn)
Boleo, Sep 16th 2022
We had surprisingly good weather on this Friday. Pretty unusual for mid September. I wasn’t expecting us to continue our rooftop dining experience around this time of the year. Mother Nature & Food Gods’ were on our side. We good a seat a Boleo which is the rooftop restaurant at the Kimpton Hotel located in the Loop. Weather was perfect. Our host gave us the ‘best seat in town’ with a beautiful view. Overall it was an enjoyable experience. We ordered our usual drink, the Old Fashion. They make it with Bourbon or Scotch. We ordered the one with Bourbon and Chander ordered another one with Scotch. It was really good. For food we ordered Chicken Empanada, Pork Belly Sliders, Scallop Ceviche, Yucca Fries and Chicken Skewers. Best item was the Pork Belly Sliders. Everything else can be skipped. We stayed until blue hour and got some nice night time photos.
Streeterville Social, Sep 17th 2022
With the weather being so good in Chicago we became greedy for dining in open air places. We decided to head to StreetervilleSocial, a rooftop restaurant at the Lowes Hotel. We walked in without a reservation and they were kind to seat us. It was a very nice rooftop patio. Drinks were good but the food was not that great. I would recommend this place if you just want to have a drink and enjoy sitting outdoors. Definitely won’t recommend dining here.
We tried several things from the menu and the only thing that delighted our palette was the Octopus. The service was really good and efficient. Staff was polite and nice.
Chateau Carbide, Sep 18th 2022
Three days in a row eating outside. We topped off the weekend with a visit to this rooftop located in the Pendry hotel. The place received great reviews for sushi. It was a cute patio on the roof with nice views of the Marina towers and Jewelers building. The food was pretty good too but the whole experience was dampened by bugs / insects / God know what those little things were that were flying all over the place and sitting in our plates & on the food. We spent the entire time using the menu as a fan trying to shoo away those insects. Chander just gobbled up the sushi in 5 mins and said ‘lets get out of here’. Also, it was a ‘smoking zone’. Not the most fun experience when one becomes an unwanted passive smoker.
The Bluefin Tuna and Ora King Salmon Nigiri were great. My favorite was the Carbide Crunch roll followed by the Windy City Roll. Midway roll was my least favorite as it was very fishy
