This last weekend was a super busy weekend. On Friday the organization that I chair was part of an Art Hop. In the  downtown area many of the local businesses were open with art displays, information on businesses and organizations, and snacks. It is lots of fun and the artist for this exhibit was super engaging with the public and so nice that it was lots of fun and a great evening.

The next morning was an early trip into Chicago (actually Schaumbsburg, IL) for shopping and dinner. Why Chicago? If you hold your left hand out in front of you with your palm facing away from you this is what people from Michigan use to show where they live in relation to the rest of the state, we live near where your wrist and hand meet in Michigan. We are less than 90 miles from Chicago and it really is nice to be able to head there for a weekend trip.

One of the best things about being in Chicago (or anywhere we go) we try to find little “joints” that the locals tend to go to with food that the area is known for. We found several Polish restaurants listed on Google and since Polish food is something that you cannot find anywhere near us we chose one to try.  Bacowka was 15 minutes from our hotel so we chose that one. It was located in a strip mall which was interesting. Then we walked in.

It was styled after a lodge and had complete golden wood surrounding the bar, tables, walls, and floor. The chandeliers were antlers, and the chairs were to look hand carved. We were seated on the bar side and our waitress was prompt in taking our order. As we sat looking around we realized most if not all of the wait staff were speaking Polish and many of the customers were too! It was interesting listening to those around us. We obviously stood out as we finally decided on 2 sampler platters to try a bite of several different dishes.

The picture above doesn’t do justice to how amazing the food was! My favorites were the cabbage roll which was similar to our German cabbage rolls with less rice, no sauerkraut but more spices. Then the cheese pierogies. I have decided next time I am getting a whole plate of pierogies and some cabbage rolls. My wife loved the braised cabbage and wanted a whole plate of that. We both ate until we were full and still had plenty of food leftover to bring home to the kids. They both want to go with us next time!

On the way home we stopped in Michigan City, IN at a little bar called Knuckleheads. It was a small joint but we wanted to see if we could catch some of the Bills vs. Dolphins game. We read the reviews so we thought we were in for a good time. We walked in and the first thing we noticed was the smoke. We forget being from states with no smoking laws that there are still places you can smoke. One or two people were smoking so it wasn’t overpowering but it was noticeable (just an FYI if you go).

They didn’t have a table near the television with the game we wanted to watch but they were extremely nice and turned two of the screens for us. We were looking for a place for bar food and this place delivered! We chose the pick 3 appetizers – we chose onion rings, mini tacos, and pretzel sticks and beer cheese.  Then we ordered a order of Buffalo wings mild. The appetizers were really good but the wings? I will confess that these were the best wings outside of Western New York that I have ever tasted. I ate 6-8 wings they were so good. We brought home a big plate of food for the kids and they said the same thing about the wings. The sauce was a perfect Buffalo sauce with deliciously fried wings. Yum!

If you get a chance to be in the area we highly recommend both of these spots!