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
Tag Archives: travel
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
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.
John Mueller Meat Co.
The one thing on my Texas bucket list was BBQ. I was starving and drooling while reading reviews of the best BBQ in Austin. They all said to be prepared to wait in line for hours. Not one or two but FIVE. Luckily, but not really, most BBQ joints were closed on Mondays. The only one with good reviews and open on Monday was John Mueller Meat Co. I soon came to learn John Mueller is the heir of BBQ.
When I arrived, the wait was only 20 mins. For those who have never ordered BBQ in Texas, the cooked meat is sold by the half pound. This can be a pro or con depending on if you order ribs. I followed suit of those in front of me and grabbed an empty tray when I got up to the window. The guy threw down a piece of butcher paper on the tray. He plopped my order of beef rib, brisket, and siracha coleslaw on my tray, and I headed to the next window to pay.
Texas State Capitol
I was in Austin for the weekend to attend Austin City Limits. I had a blast at the music festival but had little time to explore Austin. It was my first time visiting Austin so I decided to make the most of the little time I had. I decided to check out the Texas State Capitol since it was only a few blocks from my hotel. I made my way up Congress street and ended up at the capitol. As they say, “Everything is bigger in Texas,” this capitol was huge.
When I walked in, I didn’t know where to start. There were free tours available but I had just missed the one that just started and didn’t have time to wait for the next.
After I passed through security, I found myself standing under the dome of the capitol. Its intricate detailing especially the spiral staircase makes it breathtaking in person.
Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill
I was only in Austin for a few days to attend the Austin City Limits music festival but I needed to fuel up before starting on day 2. Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill was a few blocks away from my hotel so I decided to try it out despite the hour wait. Tip: Try to make reservations in advance if possible.
I needed coffee after a late night partying the night before. I wanted a soy latte but barista stared at me when I asked if they had soy milk. So I opted for black coffee instead during our wait
When we got seated, they had delicious chili flavored popcorn set on the table. It was difficult to stop munching on it while waiting for my food. My friend’s one year old couldn’t stop grabbing for the popcorn either.
I was happy when my dish of chicken and waffles arrived. The chicken was perfectly fried and the waffle was crisp. Sadly, the dish was so large that I couldn’t finish it all.
Salt Lick BBQ
BBQ was high on my list of food to try in Texas. When Austin City Limits (ACL) decided to cater their food from local eateries, I was stoked to be able to try the local food while enjoying the music festival. The lines were long but moved quickly. Salt Lick BBQ is a famous BBQ chain originated from Dallas. I tried the pork ribs and was very pleased. The ribs were meaty, perfectly cooked, and full of flavor from the dry rub. Finger lickin’ good BBQ.
YUMTRAVELS 