|| Tuesday ||

We finally made it to our final full day in Chicago and I crossed off another major thing from my bucket list! Let's get right into that, shall we?! Remember a few days ago when I mentioned the Chicago Athletic Club Hotel had a Shake Shack INSIDE their hotel!?! Well that's where we're headed folks!

Let me explain to you how exactly this all went down and why I'm making such a big fuss over it. Now, most of you are probably thinking "What's the big deal, it's just Shake Shack, we have one here!" Well I don't, nor do I have one anywhere NEAR me. I have been DYING to try one of these majestic burgers and cheesy crinkles fries for a loooong time and I specifically remember last year in Chicago seeing a Shake Shack (the one that is conveniently across from our hotel this year) and telling the guys we HAD to go there. All I heard from them was "sure, ok whatever you say" but nobody was ACTUALLY listening.

So THIS year I made it a specific foodie mission of mine to get the job done. I repeated the plan to the guys about 45 times; when we were going, which location, what time we were leaving, etc. I mean, you'd think I was getting ready to send the troops off to war!

Finally, it was go time. We decided on making Shake Shack our last and final lunch in the windy city. Since there were two locations, we decided on the Athletic Club location because it was closer to the convention center and also a lot more festive of course!

What to order, what to order!? I had no idea, because CLEARLY I had never been before! All I knew was I needed some cheesy crinkle fries in my tummy ASAP. After staring long and hard at the menu, going through a minor panic sesh at the register, I made my decision...

The Verdict: Shack Stack & Cheese Fries

(Cheeseburger and a 'Shroom Burger topped with lettuce, tomato & ShackSauce)

13715106_255167091531473_2026145455_n(1).jpg

I'm not even sure the words I would use to describe the taste of this burger will even do it justice. Thank GOD it was good. I would've been so embarrassed if I had built up all that hype for nothing! I was so relieved that not only was the food completely OUT OF THIS WORLD, but that it 100% lived up to it's expectations. I totally get why there's always a line for this place, because I'd probably be one of those people stupidly waiting in THAT line! Oh man, I can't wait to go back to another Shake Shack, wherever and whenever it may be. 🍔 🍟

The final day of the show ended, so we wrapped up shop and got everything put away and shipped back home!

Later that evening it was time for our last night in Chicago. Always bittersweet. However, by this time I'm usually ready to come home and sleep in my own bed!

We had our last team dinner at Gibsons Steakhouse. I'm sure most of you have heard of Gibsons because it's a pretty famous steakhouse, most known for having celebrities frequent the restaurant and take their picture for their wall of fame, literally.

This was my second time to Gibsons, once before with my dad and my best friend Jenna back in 2007. You really do get a special vibe and feeling while dining here and it was nice to be back.

The food as expected was outstanding, but I gotta say, for me what really made an impression was our a very special server Mo. He has been a server at this restaurant since it opened 27 years ago, in the same section. You can tell Mo is proud of what he does, and who he is. Right off the bat, he started telling us about his children and how accomplished they are and how proud of them he is.

Then he casually whips out his phone and shows us a picture of him and Kate Hudson and tell us he's served her before at the restaurant. Then he continues to swipe through his photos and picture after picture was of him and a different celebrity. Every sports star, comedian, actress, actor, politician, you name it, he's served them. He's served four presidents in his time at Gibsons and told us stories of his interactions with Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra. We were all throwing out names of people and he confirmed them all. This guy needs to write a memoir! Could you imagine all the stories he could tell just from his small interactions with each of these people?! Or even a movie based off his life too! Oh man, someone get this guy a deal already!! If you go to Gibsons, when you make your reservations, make sure you request to sit in Mo's section. You won't be disappointed.

After dinner, we made one last stop at our final destination for the trip, Howl at the Moon. This place has by FAR the best dueling pianos and live music. The band that plays is SO unbelievably talented it's crazy! They were all alternating instruments throughout the night which further proved their talent. The highlight of our night was when I dropped $40 bucks on the piano and requested Tina Turner's "Rollin'" which holds a special place in our hearts from LAST year's Chi-town trip. The gal playing the piano immediately stopped playing and announced that they had just received $40 and a special request for Tina Turner. They started playing our jam right away and we ran down to the dance floor and had the BEST time!! It was just the perfect way to end our trip together and the best $40 I have ever spent!

So there you have it, my ENTIRE Chicago trip wrapped up! Chicago is truly one of my favorite cities on this planet and I love discovering new things each time I go back and revisiting the places I love. I look forward to many more trips to the windy city in my future!