I was scanning through photos on the phone and recalling one of the delicious meals we've had at Blue Point Oyster Bar & Seafood in Valparaiso. I've never had a bite of anything there that wasn't absolutely amazing.  My husband is the oyster fan, so he's ordered those when we've gone there. I love to get the shrimp - either fried or the chilled peel 'n eat gulf shrimp. The salmon is delicious. The crab cakes are a great starter. You can't go wrong with any of the seafood. The lobster bisque is also phenomenal. But even if you're not a seafood fan, there are plenty of other choices ..read more

I've tried a number of Chicago Johnny's products and this is one of my faves. The company offers a number of seasonings and sauces - ones that just taste like Chicago. I've included them in gift guides, shared them on our social media pages and totally recommend them. The giardiniera is one of their most popular products, but I'm also loving this chipotle maple barbecue sauce. It's sticky and sweet - in just the right amount. I used it on some pulled pork sandwiches this week and plan on grilling some chicken to coat it with. If you've never tried Chicago Johnny's products before, keep an ey ..read more

For a while I've been craving some Detroit-style pizza and I'd been hearing that this place called Northside Tap served up a good one. Love the buttery crust and crunchiness of a square pie. This one lived up to the hype. I loved the ingredient options and ordered one with sausage and some dollops of ricotta. 10/10 I could have stopped at the pizza, but when I noticed the "Diner Burger" on the menu, I had to give it a try. It's a mustard-grilled burger patty with garlic aioli, American cheese and pickles. I had just been out in Arizona a couple months before when I had my first In-N-Out bur ..read more

The Chicago Foodie Sisters met up last week for the Summer Solstice Celebration at STK Steakhouse in River North. Kicking off the summer season, the venue held a sizzling event highlighting bites of their most popular dishes and bringing together media personalities from throughout Chicagoland. We were excited to be there and met some of the newest influencers, bloggers, photographers, models and other amazing people - as well as seeing some familiar faces. We noshed on steak bites, sliders, shrimp, oysters, octopus, charcuterie cups and more in their private event space. It was the fi ..read more

On a recent trip to Bloomington, Indiana, we made our way over to a little area known as "International Row" for the number of international restaurants you'll find there. The little college town is definitely a melting pot and it shows in the food offerings.  We ended up at Anyetsang’s Little Tiebet, which offers Tibetan, Indian and Thai cuisine. Owner Pema Wangchen, a Tibetan refugee who ended up in Nepal, India before immigrating to the United States bought the existing restaurant in 2013. He served as a Buddhist monk during his time in India and the restaur ..read more

Although it’s open year round, treats at Gayety’s taste even better when the weather warms and that cold ice cream meets your lips. The iconic ice cream and candy shop originated in Chicago in 1920 and has been serving up their sweets in Lansing for years, first on Torrence Avenue and now in their quaint location in downtown Lansing. They use only the best ingredients in their high-quality hand-dipped candies and their homemade ice cream. Serving everything from simple scoops of their premium ice cream to sundaes to phosphates and more, it might be hard to decided which way to tak ..read more

I just returned from a lovely trip in Southern Indiana staying in a luxurious place that was a center of entertainment, recreation and wellness for the rich and famous a century ago. The West Baden Springs Hotel was called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" when it was built because of the engineering marvel it was - with the largest free-standing dome in the world to date at that time. Opened in 1902, the hotel brought people in droves via railway to enjoy and explore this stunning resort nestled in this beautiful section of the Midwest. During our stay, we visited Cafe Sinclair's ..read more

I've judged a good number of cook-offs since my sister and I started the blog and I was excited when Myron from Man's Man Chili reached out to me to invite us to judge this competition of the International Chili Society and the Chili Appreciation Society International in Merrillville. It was quite a competition and some of the winners advanced to the World Champion Chili Cook-Offs. As the judges joined to do our chili tasting, we were informed that we had several previous World Champions who were competing. There was some stiff competition and there was a lot of chili for us to taste si ..read more

So, this past week we were on a road trip that kind of turned into a little wine tour in Southern Indiana. We hit four wineries on our trip (in addition to a brewery and a distillery). Each one was a little different. I enjoyed all of them, but the vibe at Butler Winery was particularly nice. It was a bit off the beaten path, but that’s one of the parts of it that made it so nice. As we sat and sipped we were looking directly at the vineyard. There was no traffic noise, just the sounds of birds and the wind and the frogs in the nearby pond. Located on the outskirts of Bloomington, this wine ..read more

Last month I took a little trip to Lafayette, where I hadn’t really spent much time. I have however, pulled off the expressway several times when traveling I-65 to visit Triple XXX Family Restaurant. This time I was staying in Lafayette and had to work in a lunch visit. But when I got there, I couldn’t decide if I wanted breakfast or lunch. So, my server, Robert, suggested getting a burger and then a side of hashbrowns covered in sausage gravy with an egg on top. Excellent suggestion.  I don’t really drink pop anymore (soda for those of you outside the Midwest), but I remembered how ..read more