Check out the old water tower that houses a large water pump drawing water from Lake Michigan. Admission is free.You can spot it easily along the Magnificent Mile.
Location: 806 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Author Archives: yumtravels
Willis Tower
Formerly named Sears Tower, Willis Tower was the tallest building in America. Take the time and go up it. Don’t be lame like me and not.
Location: 233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606
Tsujita LA Artisan Noodles
Tsujita LA Artisan Noodles has been on my LA bucket list, but without a car in LA, it has forever stayed on the list until my recent visit. I was meeting up with a few friends for drinks at Coco Fresh Tea and Juice down the street when the hunger pains started to settle in. We decided to head over Tsujita LA for some noms.
Normally, there is a long wait at this place (so long that they opened a second location, called the Annex, right across the street), but since it was late at night, we only had to wait 10 minutes.
I got their infamous tsukemen ramen with seasoned soft boiled egg. The noodles are served separately from the broth. The tsukemen style of eating is unique in that you dip the noodles in the fatty and rich broth instead of immersing the noodles in the broth. Halfway through, dump the broth on the noodles and notice the difference in flavors. Add the lime when you want more flavor.
The noodles were fat and perfectly chewy, just the way I like them. The rich broth was porky and fatty. At various times, I would add a squeeze of lime to my noodles, and it transformed the flavor, in a good way.
Location: 2057 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (Original) and 2050 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (Annex)
Modern Pastry
While walking around the North End, I kept seeing people hold boxes with Modern Pastry or Mike’s Pastry on it. I was dying to walk into one of these bakeries but noticed the lines are long. After dinner at Cannolina, I headed over to Modern Pastry across the street and prepared to digest my dinner during the wait. However, I weaseled my way towards the edge of the undistinguishable lines (there really are no lines but a mass of people waiting) and waited 10 mins. During this time, I did my best to narrow down the cannolis I wanted from the menu of picture cannolis flavors on the back wall. I settled on an almond and pistachio cannoli. Stuffed with sweet ricotta, these large cannolis were a meal in itself. It was so tasty that I couldn’t stop myself from finishing it despite how full I was. Next time, I’m headed back to try the Boston cream pie.
Location: 257 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113
Ijji
Ijji recently opened in February but don’t wait too long to snag a spot. This traditional sushi restaurant is small and can seat about 16 people at a time. A credit card is required to hold your reservations. If you cancel, they will charge $100 per person so be certain you can make your reservations. Tip: go early to find parking. Ijji is located on Divisadero so street parking is tough to find. I was half an hour late because I was spending 30 minutes looking for parking. Luckily, I called the restaurant to let them know I was late looking for parking, and they were very accommodating. The restaurant is hard to spot since there is no sign outside but look for the wooden door.
I was seated at the bar and thoroughly enjoyed watching the chefs prepare the fish. I noticed the fish was stored in bamboo boxes instead of lined up on the counter. Every time the chef opened the box, I felt like like a giddy kid trying to peek inside a box of chocolates. I tried not to do this every time since all (chefs’) eyes are on you when you sit at the counter. Yes, even when you’re eating.
The menu only offers appetizers, nigiri and sashimi. I went with the omakase option. Menu said it came with 10 items and an appetizer for market price. I assumed it was an appetizer and 10 pieces of nigiri. However, it turned out to be an appetizer and 9 pieces of nigiri. Looking back, I would have opted for ordering from the menu instead since the omakase was the same price as each nigiri combined. All the fish was fresh but I personally would have been fine going without a few of the “omakase” selections. I also opted to add a few pieces in the end.
We added the ankimo nitsuke to the omakase. It is ankimo (monkfish liver) marinated overnight in a soy broth. It tasted like salty, soy ankimo. I personally preferred the sweetness of the regular ankimo.
Kitchen Story
Brunch is the most important meal on the weekends, and if you’re in San Francisco, it’s the only meal that matters on the weekend. Expect to wait at least over an hour at the latest trending brunch spot. Kitchen Story is no exception, but it’s worth the wait.
The french toast is two layers with marscapone cream in between, dipped in batter, fried, and topped with fresh fruit. This dish is decadent but not overwhelmingly sweet like most french toast. I wanted to finish it all, however I was sharing, so out of politeness, I refrained.
Don’t forget to order the millionaire bacon. It’s sweet, salty and spicy all in one bite.
The belly rancheros with slow cooked Kurobata pork belly, avocado, arugula, and Kimchi pico de gallo over corn tortillas were amazing! The Kimich pico de gallo was more like a green sauce than a pico de gallo, but the flavor burst put this dish over the top. Everything coated with this sauce tasted delicious and helped balance the sweetness of the pork belly. Dreaming of the sauce now!
The open face breakfast with a Wagyu patty, spinach, mushroom, white cheddar and two eggs sunny side up reminded me of loco moco. This dish wasn’t bad but the AMAZINGNESS of the other two plates made this one lackluster.
Legal Sea Foods
I landed in Boston in the evening, and after a five hour flight, I was starving. Luckily, around the corner from my hotel was Legal Sea Foods. This place first opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a low-key restaurant next to the Berkowitz family’s Legal Cash Market and fish market. Word quickly spread about its fresh and quality seafood. Now there have locations throughout the east coast and airports. Despite many locations, the place was packed. It was a 45 minute wait for a table. I walked around the block for a few minutes before heading to the bar to warm up with a glass of wine instead. Shortly afterwards, our table was ready.
The menu was filled with many seafood options cooked in different methods. I wanted to try all of it from steamers to lobster to the fried mussels. It was hard to choose. Eventually, I decided on the the New England clam chowder, crab cake, baked oysters, and the ciopinno.
The New England clam chowder was perfect. It was creamy, full of clam flavor and whole clam pieces. I was surprised by this since it’s rare to have whole clam pieces. I enjoyed this chowder so much that I wiped the cup clean with bread.
As a crab cake lover, Legal’s signature crab cake was a disappointment. It had bits of apple in it giving the crab cake a hint of sweetness. The crab cake was fried so it had a consistency of a fried dough ball instead of the crunch from a pan seared crab cake. The one good thing was its huge lumps of crab.
As a recommendation from the waitress, we ordered the baked oysters. The oysters were topped with spinach, tomato, cheese, and breadcrumbs. They were cheesy delicious but since the oysters were huge, one baked oyster was filling. I was getting full at this point.
Somehow I managed to save enough room for the cippinno. The cippinno came with a small lobster tail, scallops, shrimp, calamari, littleneck clams, mussels and whitefish all cooked in a white tomato sauce. It was a decent cippinno but nothing decadent.
If you’re drooling to try Legal seafood, they deliver throughout the continental U.S.
Gas Works Park
Gas Works Park was once Seattle Gas Light Company in 1906. It was a plant to manufacture gas from coal. In the 1950’s, this plant became obsolete when importing natural gas became more popular. In 1975, Seattle turned it into a public park with remnants of the plant still standing.
The old boiler house is now a picnic shelter.
The pump house is now the play barn.
Here you can enjoy magnificent views of the Seattle skyline.
Kerry Park
In the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood, stop by Kerry Park and enjoy a panoramic view that encompasses the downtown Seattle skyline, the Space Needle, Elliot Bay, West Seattle peninsula, and Bainbridge Island.
On a nice day, you can spot Mt. Rainier in the back. This wonderful park was gifted by Mr. and Mrs. Albert Sperry Kerry to the city.
b. patisserie
b. patisserie reminds me of the bakeries you find in Paris. It’s minimalistic designs and delicious pastries will instantly transport you to Paris.
It’s signature pastry, the kouign amann (pronounced “queen amman”), is a sweet, buttery, flaky croissant. I suggest you go early to snag one of these before they run out!
The blueberry, peach, almond croissant isn’t your normal croissant. It’s more dense than flaky but the flavor is there. The peach brings out the sweetness of the blueberry but also helps balance it out.
The passion fruit bostock reminded me of a dense coffee cake.
YUMTRAVELS 