Our flight landed early in the morning; a quick train ride later, we were downtown and walking to XOCO for the perfect rainy day breakfast – amazing drinking chocolate and churros. I had the Aztec (fresh-ground chocolate + water + chile + allspice) while J had the Champurrado, a rich and thick chocolate thickened with corn flour.

We walked around for hours. Soaked with rain, we decided to stop in to Berghoff’s for a warming lunch before the Art Institute.

At the Art Institute, we were lucky to catch a free talk on Joseph Cornell (the museum has quite a few of his famous boxes). Among other sights, I loved the surrealist art in the Bergman collection, the Claude Cahun photos, and the Thorne miniature rooms. What a great museum.

We ended the day with my first real Chicago pizza – Lou Malnati’s. It was as good as I hoped (or better).

This was the first time they’ve held a tasting, and it was a huge hit, so hopefully it’ll happen again next year. I really appreciated the choice of uncommon and interesting foods.  The dishes represented 16 different regions of Germany.

I brought my camera and snapped photos of my favorites:

Eier in grüne soße (eggs in green sauce) from Hesse. The green sauce is bursting with fresh herbs.

Harzer Kase mit Musik – this marinated cheese is an acquired taste (one that I’ve acquired and my husband hasn’t). It’s really strong and pungent. Some people say the “music” that accompany the cheese comes a bit later, if you know what I mean (I hope you didn’t think my blog was too classy for fart jokes!)

Bread soup – doesn’t sound like anything special, but it was absolutely delicious!

Some of the other dishes included three other soups (potato/shrimp, white bean, green bean), potato salad, pretzels with obatzda (a cheese spread- also a favorite of mine), Spreewald style sweet pickles, herring dip, quark spread with pumpernickel, plum cake (my contribution), and stollen.  A large beer and wine selection accompanied all of this food – we had a couple of German beers on draft and toasted with a glass of Heinz Eifel Eiswein.

You can view the rest of my photos from the tasting on Flickr.

Photo by Jeremy May

Its current content, also a perfect Arizona souvenir, is equally likely to put some hair – ahem, spines – on your chest.

The Sonoran style hot dog is wrapped in bacon, placed in a soft and sweet Mexican bolillo roll, and topped with chopped tomatoes, onions, pinto beans, shredded cheese, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and sometimes jalapeno sauce.  The roll is not cut all the way to the ends, and the hot dog is small enough to fit entirely inside, making a perfect container for the numerous toppings.

Our first was from El Guero Canelo, which started out in 1993 as a hot dog cart. Their building reminded us of an airplane hangar – spacious, lots of metal, very clean. We loved the fixings buffet, which featured giant grilled spring onions and grilled hot peppers, jalapenos maybe, that had our mouths on fire.

Photo by Jeremy May

Our second was from BK Carne Asada & Hot Dogs. It was a nice day so we took advantage of their outdoor seating.  Our order came with grilled peppers on the side. They also had a fixings bar which had an interesting roasted pepper salsa.

Photo by Jeremy May

We washed down each of these hot dogs with horchata, which J cleverly noted is the Arizona equivalent of the classic Rhode Island gaggers / coffee milk combination.

Which was better? It was a close call! I very slightly favored the BK dog because the bun was sweeter and softer, and the dog was grilled perfectly – maybe it’s the mesquite they use. But I preferred the fixings and horchata at El Guero Canelo, and my dining companions preferred their hot dog. I recommend trying both and deciding for yourself.

So imagine our disappointment when we woke up, walked to the rim, and saw this – as captured by my phone:

I especially felt bad for Jeremy, who hadn’t been before (I’d been about 20 years ago).

We made the best of the situation and had a leisurely breakfast at the El Tovar Hotel. I definitely recommend a breakfast there – the menu is great and surprisingly affordable for the quality. Apparently if you go on a clear day, they have quite a view. Given the conditions, we warmed up by the fireplace instead of requesting a window seat.

Jeremy had the Sonoran Style Eggs, described on the menu as ”Served in a Tortilla bowl with Two Eggs any style, Chorizo, Natural Chicken, Black Beans, Roasted Peppers, Jack Cheese, Ranchero Sauce, Salsa, Sour Cream, Breakfast Potatoes and Flour Tortilla.” I’m glad it was big enough to steal a few bites for myself. I had the Wild Mushroom, Fresh Spinach and Smoked Gouda omelet, which was also delicious. The staff was friendly and super attentive – I don’t think I’ve ever had my coffee refilled so many times in one breakfast.

When we finished breakfast, the clouds had started to clear, leaving us with a dramatic snowy view.

The Taste of Block Island promotion was on, and we benefited with 2-for-1 lobster rolls at the Poor People’s Pub and a giant sundae at Aldo’s Bakery.

The lobster rolls were great- we shared one warm with butter, one cold with mayo.  The spicy fried oysters, which were enormous, were also a must-have.   Ice cream is a great way to recover from biking all the hills.  I chose rum raisin and maple walnut topped with the usual, plus raisinettes.

Between the Dramamine (which I probably didn’t need) and the bike riding, I was exhausted and asleep embarrassingly early.   But I was dreaming about the beautiful shores and beach-rose scented sea air…

The star of our meal was the Native Woodlands Mixed Grill, which consisted of two delectable appetizers:

• Cast Iron Seared Breast of Pheasant, Dried Cherry Pemmican
• Grilled Hardwood Smoked Venison, Wild Rice Pudding, Red Wine Cherry Reduction

This was up my alley – game is always tempting, I love the idea of wild rice pudding and I’m a fan of dried cherries. Both dishes had a good balance of flavors, and the meats were perfectly cooked.   This would be an inspirational addition to a game dinner menu.

Next, we shared a 5 Region Sampler Platter with two extra sides.

• Grilled buffalo strip loin
• Cedar planked salmon
• Hearts of palm salad
• Wild rice and watercress salad
• Black beans
• Side of seaweed and musrooms
• Three sisters salad (not pictured – giant beans, corn, squash)

Even though we were ravenous after a 5+ mile morning walk, this was a lot of food – maybe we should have just gotten the buffalo with a couple of sides.  The variety of dishes was irresistible, though.    I’ll be inspired to recreate some of these at home – I didn’t pick up a copy of the Mitsitam Cafe Cookbook during my visit because I was traveling light, but it’ll surely be a part of my next Amazon order.

• Mitsitam Cafe Website
• Link to Map

Fairy Duster flower at the Botanical Gardens, lights at Birch & Barley (fantastic brunch)
Chinatown gate, The Silk Rainforest by Sheila Hicks at the Renwick Gallery

We walked at least 12-15 miles a day, visited every museum we could find, and ate some memorable meals (I promise you’ll see another post or two about those…)

We finally made it to The Whiskey Republic for a beer and a bite. The menu can best be described as creative bar food.  Instead of the usual buffalo sauce, their wings have a BBQ whiskey sauce.  I had a flavorful pulled pork sandwich with a spicy cumin  kick, and  J tried the chicken schnitzel sandwich, which was topped with a sunny side up egg.   Tasty food, nice water views, and of course a great playlist.

• http://www.thewhiskeyrepublic.com/
• 515 South Water Street, Providence, RI 02903

This B&B is not what usually comes to mind when you think “farm” – there are no rows of anything… just a jungle-like lush property with fruits, macadamia nuts, and coffee growing everywhere.   Avocados the size of a shot put, trees dripping with starfruit.  From our bed, we could see tiny lizards playing on the yellow-green skins of ripening bananas.

Cannonball avocado and grapefruits, by Jeremy May, Coffee berries and macadamia nuts, by me

We stayed in the Coffee Barn, a private cabin with an outdoor shower, formerly used for drying coffee berries.  At breakfast we drank coffee grown on the premises, which blew my mind.  And the morning fruit plate, freshly picked…

Fruit Plate at Lucky Farm