Little Goat Diner in Chicago - MAINLAND EDITION

To say we were incredibly luck on the train trip adventure with the timing of events we were able to participate in is an understatement.  We picked the dates a year ahead of time, scheduling only a couple days in every city to explore and hang out with friends before we hopped back on the train for the next destination. In Chicago, we stayed with my dear friend "Billy from Philly." Billy will always hold a special place in my heart as a man whom I loved very much.  He took me to a AAA baseball game and showed me how much fun it was to watch what I had previously considered an incredibly boring sport, even on TV.  When we lived together in Carson we would make homemade chicken wings and artichoke dip and spend the afternoon watching his favorite team, the Phillies as they had one of their better seasons just barely losing to the Yankees in the World Series.  When I told him about the trip, he joked that my dates in town might coincide with the Cubs winning the World Series.  I was like, ha ha very funny Billy. Not only did we arrive in Chicago the afternoon that the Cubs won game 7 of the World Series, but we were still there on Friday after the historical win to experience the celebration parade with 5 million other people.  I read that it was the 7th largest gathering of humans.  How lucky is that!  We saw all the players go by and then wandered the streets with all the millions of people.  We saw the river dyed blue and purchased championship shirts from the vendors downtown.  I was impressed with how nice everyone was with that many people. Honestly I was worried about riots or whatnot because you hear about that on the news when a team wins, especially after fighting for it for 108 years!  Besides the idiots who were doing trust falls off the traffic poles and jumping into the river (we saw dead rats the size of cats floating in it the day before), we did not witness any drama.  People were just happy.

Since we had some time to kill before catching the next train and another restaurant that was featured in the best nachos in America article was near the train station, we headed that way and out of the downtown chaos.  It was a beautiful day for November in Chicago.  So nice, in fact, we were able to sit outside.  I loved the diner and the neighborhood it was in.  My only wish as we sat there eating the nachos was that I was hungrier.  They were unique and oh so delicious.  They make their chips out of masa so they were super crunchy and held up to the toppings so well.  The pickled peppers were colorful and flavorful.  Billy tried to talk us into staying one more night and just flying to our next city in the morning but the whole point of the trip was to do it by train.  Chicago was definitely one of the highlights of our trip and I cannot wait to go back.

 

Macho Nachos $15.00 - house masa chips, bbq pork, beans, pickled peppers, cheddar, sour cream, avocado

 

Shananigans (4.8) – PRESENTATION: WTF are those chips?  And toppings?  All looks foreign but delicioso! RAD: Chips have perfect flavor, crunch and stability.  Flavors are fresh.  Love the pickled onions.  Good amount of cheese. LAME: I wish I was hungrier to devour these chips and onolicious toppings. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4.95, all the chips are covered.  Not even bad on bottom layer that is usually the chip graveyard.  The BBQ was interesting and not what I would expect in nachos.  Our server Anna was super friendly.  We were blessed for warm enough weather in November in Chicago to sit outside.  So damn lucky.  Found out the chips were made out of masa like you use for a tamale.  No wonder they were so crispy and unique.  In love with this restaurant!

Brandy (3.8) – PRESENTATION: Smells yummy! Interesting chips and toppings, hopefully they will all come together. RAD: Pickled onions and lots of cheese.   LAME: Cilantro. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4.5, pork, beans, peppers, cheese, guac, pickled onions.  Weird having BBQ sauce in them makes it tastes like pork and beans.  Chips are SOOOO good.

 

 

Distant sunset in the city