Chicago Eats: PUBLICAN

Hello, dolls! Hello, Wednesday!!! <3 I’ve been on cloud nine since Friday because, after weeks of talking about our big vacation, we finally settled on a date and booked our trip!! It’s official now…after 16 months of working tirelessly, we can finally go on a looong break. I know I’ve implied that I am starting to feel burned out lately. Honestly, it’s not something I am proud of. I am only 27, how can I be burned out?? So I am letting this big motivation keep me inspired for the rest of the year and then I am going to reexamine my next move, and all I know is…it’s too soon to stop working hard for a great future — especially now that I have a 2-year-old to think about.

Anyway, I still have more things to share about our Chicago trip so I hope you are not sick of it yet 😛 Read my recent Chicago posts here.  

Going to little neighborhoods has got to be one of my favorite things to do when traveling. I tend to ask myself “what if I move here?” every time. It must be the simplicity of walking and immersing myself in a new place, someplace I’ve never been before that makes me wonder what life would be like somewhere other than Manila and Baltimore.

This mansion caught A’s attention. It was in between buildings so it was really interesting to see a medieval-inspired house in the city.

I told A that is a must for us to go to Greek Town. We wanted to go to the National Hellenic Museum but unfortunately, we did not make it since they close early on Sundays — definitely another reason why we want to go back to Chicago! 😛

Since we still had a couple of hours before our dinner reservation, I told A we should relax and hang out in this Greek cafe. I am glad we did because I saw Greek pastries that I’ve never seen before!

If we were not going somewhere else for dinner, I would have tried all of these!

I LOVE rice pudding! The creaminess and the soft texture helped me get through nausea and morning sickness when I was pregnant with baby A. I wish I could bring a gallon of rice pudding from Pan Hellenic to Baltimore because it was soooo good!! I remember waking up days after our trip and wishing I have some in our fridge.

This quaint pastry shop has all of your Greek kitchen needs!

We walked to the Greektown Colosseum which was very close to Pan Hellenic. We noticed the cool pavement and I have to say, we felt like we were traveling back in time.

Being in Greektown was more special for me because of A. I felt like we were doing something to commemorate his roots.

I read about the first Greek immigrants in Chicago in the 1940s and how they were welcomed into the community. Their hard work is now being appreciated by many here in the US especially their influence through food.

Statue of Artemis

My Greek man in Greektown!

Fulton Market has got to be one of the coolest neighborhoods I’ve been to. It sort of reminded me of Brooklyn but with a more industrial setting.

The Publican is the perfect touch in that neighborhood.

A and I mostly went around by booking Uber but since we were in no rush to get to Publican we decided to take the bus, which honestly was not bad at all!

A was so happy that they have his all-time favorite beer on the menu. It is hard for us to find it here in Baltimore now since most of the liquor stores stopped carrying it.

Our top choice for appetizers — daily pickles.

I never thought I would like pickles until I met A. He would often order it as an appetizer whenever we got to a notable restaurant like Publican. Momofuku was the first restaurant that made me fall in love with pickled vegetables. After trying this one, I have to say, this was the best plate of pickled vegetables that I’ve had! And I am not just saying this because I was pregnant at that time lol

Our bartender was really friendly. After finding out that A and I are both Chefs here in Baltimore AND celebrating our 4th anniversary, he told the Chef about us and they sent us a couple of delicious plates that we will never forget!

Publican Bread Plate with White Cheddar Pimento Dip

The bread was out of this world! It was baked to perfection and you can tell the effort that they put in it. I have a level of respect to all bread bakers because bread DOES take a while to make and the process to make quality bread is not easy.

The white cheddar pimento dip complemented the bread really well! It was very spreadable and full of flavor! YUM

Spicy Pork Rinds (or chicharon as we call it in the Philippines 😛 )

This made me feel like I was in the Philippines again! I told A we have to get this one. I wish we had 2 or 3 more people to share this with because this was HUGE!!

Charcuterie Plate

If you’ve seen my previous posts, especially my dinner dates with A, you would know how much we love ordering charcuterie. As Chefs, this excites us because we know how much effort and time it entails in creating every component of a charcuterie plate. Also, the ingredients that go in it aka offal.

Everything on this plate gave us goosebumps. It was toooo good!

Appetizers done right.

Grilled Ramps with Carrot Puree and Potato Chips

This was my favorite dish out of everything that we had that night. Ramps have got to be my favorite spring vegetable, once “ramp” season rolls in, I always tell A to buy a bunch of them because it is soooo good! This is the second best ramp dish I’ve ever had (first will always be A’s ramp pasta).  Every component complimented each other.

Skate Wing

We got obsessed with skate wing after eating this dish. A would often go to H Mart and get a pack of fresh skate wing to cook for dinner.

It is such a delicate fish that is so tender and flavorful when cooked right.

Our dinner at Publican is definitely something that I will never forget. The atmosphere, great service, and the phenomenal food that A and I truly enjoyed. Every aspect of Publican left me breathless, even the restroom that made me feel like I was in another part of the world.

….and the communal tables that made me wish we can go here with friends and family someday!

They don’t call Chicago “Windy City” for nothing. Prior to our trip, I checked the weather for Chicago and it showed between 75-80 during the day and 60s at night. So I told myself “okay, that’s not bad at all”.  A and I did not pack any jackets at all cause we thought we were going to be fine. 75 in Baltimore is nothing like 75 in Chicago during spring. It was pretty cold!

Thank goodness I brought this knit cardigan my sister gave me for my bridal shower and 2 pairs of leggings! Otherwise, our first stop would be at the mall! lol

My first time to take this new baby on an adventure! 🙂 My parents gave me this bag on my 25th birthday! It must be the hormones because I was feeling a little homesick that weekend, so I brought items that would remind me of them.

Cardigan and the scarf I am holding in this picture from my sister and this lovely bag from my parents kept my heart warm <3

I wore blue a lot when I was pregnant with baby A. Unintentional but I guess that’s my way of showing my excitement 🙂

xx

R <3