If you follow really any special type of diet, I'm sure you're familiar with the struggles of going out to eat, especially while traveling. This past week I took a summer trip to Chicago where there are oodles of yummy restaurants and different types of cuisine. However, while so many of the restaurants looked amazing (and I'm sure would have been amazing if not for my dietary restrictions) I had to do a fair amount of street searching and internet research in order to find restaurants that would be both delicious and fit with my diet.
Going into the trip, I had a fair amount of anxiety about finding restaurants to eat at because not being able to eat grains, dairy, legumes, and added sugar really limits your options. I found a few restaurants online, but none of their menus looked amazing. However, once I got to Chicago and started walking around, I was pleasantly surprised by all of the great options I found!
Below I'll highlight the restaurants I ate at, sharing what I ordered:
Yolk
Restaurants that allow you to customize your order automatically have an advantage in my books. Rather than having to modify a dish so that it suits your dietary needs, you can just create a dish that works for you. Less questions asked, less hassle, same delicious meal. At yolk, customers can customize your own scrambler, skillet, or omelette by selecting what type of protein, veggies, and cheese you would like. You pay a base fee for the scrambler, skillet or omelette and then you pay for each extra ingredient you would like. I ordered the 3 egg scrambler with chorizo, carmelized onions, green pepper, tomato, and spinach. The scrambler was also served with a side of roasted potatoes- which were ah-mazing. I loved going here because there was no need to explain my diet to the waiter, I could just order like a normal customer.
Click here to visit their website
EAtaly
Eataly, Eataly, Eataly... What a wonderful, magical world. If you have not been, you absolutely must! While there is plenty of gluten and dairy at Eataly, there were a surprising amount of gluten free and dairy free options. For those of you who have never heard of Eataly, it is basically a huge store that sells products and food from Italy. The products range from produce, packaged goods, meat, cheese, & wine, to kitchen supplies and t-shirts. It also includes several restaurants serving all sorts of Italian cuisine.
First of all, a majority of the candy and chocolate they sell here is made with REAL sugar. None of this corn syrup crap. REAL sugar. While sugar is technically not paleo, for those of you who like to indulge in a sweet treat every once in awhile, real cane sugar is much preferable to corn syrup in my opinion. At Eataly, I found a ton of hard and gummy candies with no corn syrup. If you wanted to find that in a product from the US it would have to be organic. It would be the exception, not the rule. Additionally, they had a lot of wonderful chocolate items with no dairy (although some products had soy). To be honest I was thoroughly overwhelmed by all of the options, I wanted to try EVERYTHING. But at the end of the day, I ended up making just two purchases:
1. Leone, Candy Originals Pastilles in the lemon flavor. This is just a little hard candy, basically all sugar. But there's something so satisfying about lemon candies. It takes me back to fifth grade when our teacher rewarded us with lemon heads. mmmmm.
2. Venchi, Cremino Fondente- a triple dark layered Cremino bar. I decided to buy this because I had never really seen anything like it before. It's made with chocolate liquor, sugar, hazelnut paste, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, almond paste, soy lecithin and natural vanilla flavor.
In addition to the few sweets I picked up, I also dined at one of their many restaurants. I chose to eat at the meat restaurant called Osteria di Eataly because they had several options on their menu that I verified could be made gluten free. I ended up ordering the Pesce Spada alla Ghiotta, which was grilled swordfish with heirloom cherry tomatoes, castelvetrano olives, capers, and oregano. This dish was simply divine. Probably one of the best meals I've had in my whole life. The fish was light, not too fishy, and the vegetables had a wonderful light and herbal quality that perfectly complimented the fish. In addition to what I ordered, there were also a number of sides that were gluten free including simmered Kale and prosciutto and roasted Shishito peppers (ordered without parmesan).
To top off an excellent dinner, stop by the gelato stand where they serve several flavors of sorbet. I ended up ordering the limon, but I also sampled a rosé and a tomato sorbet, which were both unique and true to their names!
Lastly, don't forget to check out their coffee shop where I ordered a cappuccino made with almond milk. It brought me straight back to Italy as I drank my cappuccino standing up at the bar. I can attest that their slogan is seriously true, "took a quick trip to Italy". I really felt like I was transported right back to Italy. A-must see in Chicago.
Click here to visit their website
Sable Kitchen & Bar
My last stop in Chicago was Sable Kitchen & Bar for a simple, healthy breakfast. First off, the restaurant was adorable, with a long row of seating along the window, and high tables and chairs, with a booth resembling a couch on one side. Here, there wasn't extensive choices for options that I could eat, but you know what they say- it only takes one really great guy (well in this case meal)! Here I ordered an egg white scramble with sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, and kale with a side of roasted potatoes and bacon. The potatoes were perfectly cooked- crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, just the right combination of savory and sweet. The eggs were fluffy and flavorful and was nicely enhanced with just a little bit of hot sauce. I was one happy customer after this meal.
Click here to visit their website
So there you have it- my food adventure in Chicago! Like I said, I was so pleasantly surprised by all of the healthy options they had. I even spotted a number of other restaurants I hope to try on my next visit. Below is a list of other restaurants that I think would be well suited for a paleo/ whole30 diet.
1. roti- Modern Mediterranean
2. Protein Bar
3. Pret a manger
4. Lyfe Kitchen