The beginning of May, I had a unique opportunity to travel out to the Chicago area for three days/two nights courtesy of Golden Heritage Foods for a focus group that I was selected to participate in. The thoughts and feelings expressed in this post are 100% my own.
I have been to Chicago’s O’Hare before on layovers, but had never actually stopped and visited the city of Chicago before. I started my adventure by taking a local hotel shuttle bus. I recommend you wear comfortable shoes because it is a long walk from the terminals. The route to shuttles and city buses takes a few turns and down a set of stairs with luggage in tow.
I was amazed by the green landscape when arrived. It was brown grass and spots of snow yet when I left Minnesota, which is thankfully odd for the first part of May.
We stayed at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont. The city water tower was painted with pretty red roses.
The Westin O’Hare
The Westin has a spacious lobby and cozy chairs. I had to stay in this area over an hour as I waited to check into my room. There is a pretty waterfall near the entrance that is illuminated at night.
Starting in December 2012, the Westin O’Hare started a two phase renovation. 525 guest rooms were part of the 1st phase with updates to the guest rooms and their bathrooms.
The rooms have new carpeting, updates to the walls, furniture, light fixtures, and artwork. The here are of my room with one queen sized bed.
The second phase of renovation will focus on the meeting space, which includes 45,000 feet of event space. The Grand and La Salle Ballrooms plus the meeting rooms on the lower level and second floor have already been completed. The remainder of this phase is slated to take place in 2014.
I ate breakfast and dinner at The Benchmark, which was located inside the Westin O’Hare. The food was excellent and elegantly plated.
The only downfall to the Westin O’Hare is internet fees. It is $12.95 per day. You can go down to the cafe and other areas on the lobby floor for free access.
The Westin O’Hare: westinohare.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WestinOHare
Nana Organic
The first night there, we went out as a group of fourteen to Nana’s on a Wednesday. Our group had called ahead and made reservations. Nana Organic was featured on The Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”. It is in Chicago (Bridgeport).
Nana Organic is noted for being a family owned organic restaurant. They strive to purchase local ingredients for their menu items.
We were immediately seated at a table that was prepared to accommodate all of us. It got a bit busier as we were there, but not packed. Nana’s has paintings on their walls that are for sale. I’m not sure if this was for a local artist or maybe family member? Most featured a beautiful female with flowing black hair.
We were given water not long after we were seated and the waitress worked efficiently at taking all of our orders. I’m not sure what happened then, but it took an hour for the waitress to come back and mention they were out of mint for those who had ordered mojitos and had asked for them to select alternative drinks. We did not get our food and drinks for quite a while. It took 96 minutes after our orders were taken to get our food and drinks. We all had alcoholic beverages.
We were thankful that we were not out with our families because children would not have tolerated this length of wait. We as adults were even a bit taken back by the wait time. I had a beef burger with home fries. It was pretty tasty. Those who had the grilled rib eye steak had many kudos for this dish outside of the white asparagus that accompanied the meal.
If I was in the area again, I don’t know if Nana’s would be a repeat stop. The food was great, but the wait time was a killer, especially if we were with our families.
Nana Organic: nanaorganic.com
Touch Companies
The next morning, nine other women and I loaded shuttles from the hotel and went to Touch Companies in Rosemont. We were to be given pedicures and full body massages as part of the focus group. :-). Pinch me – is this for real?
Walking into Touch Companies, we were offered coffee, water, pastries, and fruit as we waited. There is a waiver/questionnaire for anyone new to fill out. It’s just to give the staff a heads-up on health issues or trouble areas they should focus on.
This was my first professional pedicure and full body massage. I am not super comfortable with strangers touching me, but the staff seemed very accommodating and it was a wonderful experience. Here are my little piggies after the pedicure.
This business is in the same building as a fitness center and childcare is available. You can work-out or pamper yourself to a manicure, pedicure, or massage while your children are attended to in the same building. The women of Touch Companies are very resourceful not only with pampering your body, but if you are looking for a great place to visit or dine, just ask them what they would recommend while you are in the area.
Touch Companies is open M-F 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-4p.m. Closed on Sundays and major holidays.
Touch Companies: touchcompanies.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TCSpa
Giordano’s
The second night in the Chicago area, we walked from the Westin O’Hare to Giordano’s for stuffed crust pizza. I wasn’t super hungry this night because of sitting most of the day in discussions, but the smell of melted cheese, cured meats, and Italian herbs was enough to stimulate anyone’s tastebuds, hungry or not.
Our group had ordered a few different kinds of pizza. I sampled the BBQ Chicken with basted BBQ chicken, balsamic onions, bacon and BBQ sauce instead of a tomato sauce. Yum! I wished I wasn’t so full to have sampled more.
Other members in my group feasted on a Classic and Cheese pizza while at Giordano’s. Individual stuffed crust pizzas take 15 minutes. The large stuffed crust pizzas take about 45 minutes to cook.
Our waitress was very receptive and made sure we were all satisfied. It was fairly full for seating on a Thursday night. Along with their infamous stuffed crust pizzas, Giordano’s has thin crust pizza, sandwiches, flatbreads, salads, Italian specialties, and even a stuffed fruit pie!
If you can’t make it to one of the 40 Giordano’s locations in Chicago and Florida, you can order a frozen pizza and have it mailed. They partially bake the pizza, freeze it, and then ship them out by 2-day Fed Ex delivery. You can also buy frozen pizzas from their store locations and take home to bake. If you visit the Chicago area, Giordano’s is a must!
Giordano’s: giordanos.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiordanosPizza
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GiordanosPizza
There are so many other places and culinary delights to explore while in Chicago. Unfortunately, that’s all I had time for on my trip. 🙁
