Chicago: Day 1

My cousin's baby girl and a gigantic remote that is probably intended for the near-blind.

Josh and I took a trip to Chicago to visit my relatives and his friend from college. We planned to spend the first two days of our trip staying with my family and the last two days of our trip staying in a hotel in Chicago to see some sights and hang out with his friend while accomplishing some specific food goals.

1. Have a Chicago hot dog
2. Have Chicago-style pizza (NOT from Uno's, because those are all over the country)
3. Have steak from a steakhouse that is local to the Chicago area
4. Have dinner at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill

We wound up accomplishing goal number 3 our first night in Illinois. My aunt and uncle took all of us to The Backyard Steak Pit in Gurnee. Apparently, my dad really liked this place when he visited a couple years ago, saying it was as good as this other place (the Corner House) we used to go to when my relatives lived in Wisconsin.

I ordered a ribeye steak, medium rare, but I think it leaned more towards medium. Josh's hickory-crusted bone-in ribeye steak was perfect though. The steaks did come with accompaniments, and it was a very casual place. I didn't think it was the best steak ever, but it was a pretty good deal for the price.