road trip

so summer is once again gone (bummer… well i guess it depends).  it only seems like yesterday when the days where the triple digits and the sun was roasting all of us like marshmallow in a fire.  well now the weather is much… i mean MUCH cooler, you can sit back, relax, and recap all of the excitement summer was.

as most of you know, this was the first summer for Fro yo in fort worth and was also the most anticipated one too at that.  for most, if not all the fro yo places in Ft. Worth, this summer was to be the benchmark. this summer was the one that will tell everyone how much Ft. Worth likes Fro yo in the hot summer days.  No one, not even us who lived 17yrs and still lives in Ft Worth knew what it might be like.  of course, we can all guess and estimate and project the out come, but in the end it was just all numbers and figures that may be right or wrong perhaps. quite honestly, whether you’re big national franchise or you’re a local indie, everyone was just about anxious and excited about this past summer.

so, thank you everyone for a great summer!

now that the crazy busy summer has moved on, we took a little road trip to cool off a bit. and what better place to cool off from the texas heat than far north Chicago?  here, it was barely 78 – 83 when its  98+ back at home! and people in chicago still called it summer weather!

us among this amazing cooler weather, we thought it would be smart to prepare for the fall/winter. and with this brilliant idea, we set out to discover the chicago’s fro yo.  we set out with this great anticipation and so little out come the reality brought… does chicago even have fro yo?! the question started to fill our minds with utter disappointment. oh, and tired legs don’t really help either. with that we changed course… and it was a great choice. we decided to see what else is out there in chicago. looking for unique indie places that makes chicago great, just like yogolait makes ft worth little sweeter. =)

1st)  Molly’s Cup Cake.

first up is Molly’s Cupcake.  this was a proof that using YELP works. i know a lot of people here in fort worth dont use this app so its pointless to use it here, but its a good tool when people actually use it and really leave ratings. HINT* HINT*.  this place is good. its located in Lincoln Park and it will probably be the best cupcakes you will EVER try.  nothing else comes even close to this amazing place. i mean their cupcakes are soft and comes with fillings inside… i mean their cupcakes just make sprinkles cupcake look like mortar & bricks.  i usually never ever enjoy cupcake(s), but man, i think i had 3 back to back. interior is nicely de-cored with retro styling with their own unique style.  love the swing set they have which also works as a bar stool type seating in the store.  they have been located in lincoln park for the past 3 years and now they are preparing to open up in NYC next year.

2.) second on our list is Wow bao.

so what is bao? well according to wow bao, bao means asian bun(s).  bun(s) can be filled with meats, such as kung pao beef or sesame chicken or red beans. sounds weird…?  well to most of us in TX, yes it will sound weird or not imaginable.  but it is utterly delicious. this place gets packed everyday and especially during lunch hours, its almost impossible sometimes to get what you want because they sell out.

so if you’re not too interested by the buns you can go for their famous drink, the ginger cider.  im not much fan of ginger so i wasnt too excited to try this menu the first time around.  although the second time i tried it, it wasn’t bad. i think i would rather stick to coke or pepsi, but here in the windy city, i think ginger is just a natural remedy to beat the brutal cold winter weather.  because for some reason you feel like you are heating up when you eat this.

oh and if you can tell by the picture on the left, they also put thin ginger pieces and ginger syrup on their frozen yogurt.  yes ginger as a topping.  its probably not as popular as chocolate or caramel syrup, but its good enough to be popular on its own.  my personal opinion, its an acquired taste.

oh and sorry for not having any pictures of the buns… it was so good that we forgot to take a picture first before eating them… sigh. =)

3) intelligentsia

like coffee? want something different other than the usual “cookie cutter” starbucks?  well you are in luck because this place has very good vanilla latte, and only place thats superior to it would be the THINK COFFEE in NYC.  to be able to get someone to say that is a good thing. plus these days it seems like whether you’re 50 or 5 yrs old, everyone drinks starbucks!  this place perhaps may be the same with people in chicago, but for me it actually makes you feel like its actually for people who are grown, for people who want the taste not the image projected.  for once it actually feels like its a good thing to be picky on taste, and sort of makes you become picky as far as your coffee goes. why? because no coffee ordered here has less than 15 syllables to its name and they make that seem to be the normality.

perhaps if you are a straight black coffee drinker like some of us, you might want to add a name of a country that you have never knew that existed in front of the word coffee when you order. because when you say regular black coffee, you get the feeling that “am i too bland…?”

4) giordano’s

well chicago is famous for their deep dish or stuffed pizza right? well there is a reason why i guess, its huge!  i mean its a small size whole pizza and its still 14″ pie. plus its about 1.6″ thick stuffed with the toppings you ordered.  when we say stuffed, we mean stuffed.  although i prefer my pizza the “original” way but this sure is good. the crust seems to have the unique combination of doughs that make this crust seem like a pie and pizza at the same time.  in other words its bit flaky but pizza crust like…. its good.  tomato paste sauce is bit on the tangy side but with all the cheese, meat, and veggies, it adds a nice complement to everything within.  our advice, its good so go hungry. you will need the room.

5) st. alps

if you are a boba tea fan then this is your must try in chicago.the st. alps in chinatown chicago is the place to go for boba tea.  and who here in TX tried it as a hot drink and not iced?  well if you havent then you only know half of the story.  while boba tea is good cold, its far beyond good when its hot. its like knowing there is another world out there than the one you knew… its that good.

the combination of their brewing method, the usage of the tea kind is by far beyond of what boba tea places in TX offers.  i mean, i did not know that such effort and ingredients go into a simple milk tea.

 

part two coming later…