A few months ago, I went to Chicago for a work conference … but of course, I had a little time to play while I was there.

First stop, Giordano’s for their “world famous stuffed pizza.” Talk about cheesy goodness … and the crust was excellent too. For a great review, check out this piece on Serious Eats.

Another evening involved dinner at Gordon Biersch, a brewery restaurant with 27 locations across the US … and in the effort of full disclosure, the location I dined at is in Bolingbrook, IL (more on that in a minute).

I ordered the blackened fish wrap, which consisted of blackened mahi mahi, pico de gallo, asian slaw, mozzarella, and honey sriracha mayonnaise in a flour tortilla. The flavors were good and I enjoyed the wrap, but the highlight of the meal was the side of garlic fries.

A signature of Gordon Beirsch, the fries are made from “premium potatoes paired with the most famous garlic in the country—none of that whimpy garlic powder—but the best Christopher Ranch garlic, fresh from Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world.” Yeah, I must admit … they were some awesome fries.

To wash everything down, I ordered the beer sampler, which contained small pours of their Golden Export, Hefeweizen, Czech Pilsner, Märzen, Schwarzbier, and a seasonal beer. While I cannot recall what the seasonal sampler was, I do recall that I didn’t care for it … actually, hated would be a better word … but the rest of sampler was great.

So, why was I in Bolingbrook? One word … IKEA.

Yep, finally popped my IKEA cherry … and it was great. I had never been to the store before so I had to take the opportunity as I was so close. Unfortunately, I only brought a carry-on to Chicago so I could take home too many IKEA goodies … but I did manage to find a few small things that I couldn’t live without!