Chicago “Eataly” and Rosemary Brush With Olive Oil

Last December, my wife and I visited Chicago for the holidays to visit her family. Me and my “Chicago Girl” spent a couple of days being tourists in the City before heading out to the ‘burbs for family festivities. Our stay at the Omni Chicago was our centrally located launching point for shopping the Magnificent Mile and hopping public transportation to the Museums including the exhibit “Art and Appetite”. Our foodie pilgrimage included some of our favorite haunts, 676 Bar and Grill, the Omni’s farm to table restaurant offering an abundance of America’s heartland on a plate, Sunda for modern Asian Fusion, and 11th City Diner..breakfast heaven so good there are no words. And then there was Eataly. With beverage in hand, (me, a Peroni and she, a nice chianti) we browsed eye popping rows of pasta, tomatoes, oils, foodstuffs of all kinds, books, wine, produce, cheeses, meats, chocolates and more! Before loading up a basket of items never seen in DFW, we had a great dinner. Each department has it’s own restaurant, and we chose the meat section. Our Ribeye tonight was inspired by this meal. The spectacular touch at our table that night was the brush made of rosemary sprigs and really good olive oil to dress rare steak slices. Our award winning Garlic Salt and Pepper (GSP) and dry rub seasoned steak was the perfect foil for the herb brush. Delicious and any day elegant, you too will Mangia Bene and make homemade happen!