Chicago: Freddy's

This Italian deli located in the rather boring neighborhood of Cicero is a true gem. We never would have found this place in a million years. Thanks to Bob for recommending it. The joint is tiny--they have fresh pastas, sauces, bread, beverages, and other authentic Italian food on their shelves. The deli counter has tons of salads, rice balls, pizzas, sandwiches to order, etc.

Everything is so fresh, authentic and inexpensive. Nan, Bob, and J shared a large salad with artichokes, feta, tomatoes olives, one rice ball, one slice of artichoke pizza, and one tomato/mozz/prosciutto salad (oh, and two drinks) for under $20. You can't eat at subway for that price. Every bite we ate was outstanding. It reminded me of a place you'd see in a small town in Italy. Normally I (Jess) prefer thin crust and this pizza was a square pan pizza ('medium crust'). However, it was still very good--especially loaded with artichokes.

Bob thought the gelato was the best he's ever had. Chicago Magazine rated it the best in Chicago. It was creamy and rich. We tried limoncello, pistachio, and fruit of the forest.

This place gets 5 stars. We will return soon!

Chicago: Black Dog Gelato

With minutes to spare...

This week's edition of Time Out, which came out today, had a rave review Black Dog, an artisan gelato shop in Ukrainian Village.

Jess and I both happened to read the review and almost simultaneously declared "we have to try it." We looked up their hours, which were liberal (they stayed open till 10). Normally we would easily be able to get with plenty of time to spare, but not tonight. Our plan was to eat dinner in Wicker Park and have dessert at Black Dog. We ended up having the longest dinner imaginable - Jess will supply details. So, we almost had to abort our mission but we did get to Black Dog at 9:57. It is on a nice quiet corner and the help encourages sampling. We, of course, took advantage of their generosity and decided on three flavors (we like the unique ones): goat cheese caramel cashew, malted vanilla, and salted peanut. The portions were liberal and the gelato superb. It's a definite repeat and worth all its favorable press.

NYC: L'Arte Del Gelato

So after having the best pizza in NYC, Mike recommended that we go to a gelato place a few blocks away from Keste called L'Arte Del Gelato. At first, we all said that we weren't ready for gelato because we were full and wanted to walk a bit. However, after walking into the place, we changed our minds immediately.

At $4.50 for two scoops, we felt we were getting a fairly good deal (for NYC standards). The flavors and smells of the homemade waffles cones were heaven. The gelato was smooth and delish. Dad ordered Olio d’Oliva (Olive Oil!) and Butterscotch but they also had unique interesting flavors like Egg Nog, Green Tea, Fresh Ricotta with Chocolate Chips, and Chocolate with Cayenne Pepper.

Even though NYC has dozens of fat-free tart yogurt stores lining their streets, this gelato place is worth the caloric splurge! Good recommendation, Mike :)













*Gelato picture courtesy of the website. We didn't snap any of our own.