Tuna tartare at Devon in Chicago in 2008

Matt and Steve came back from Chicago the other day, so I have photos ready to post here.  Matt was visiting his ess oh and Steve was there as chaperone-at-a-distance.  Steve mainly went to diners and hot dog joints and Matt was treated in grand style to fancy places, like Devon (39 E. Chicago Avenue).  Steve was a tag-along at three meals, though, where he was able to eat off of real plates.  They went Gino’s, the famed deep-dish pizza emporium, where he sampled some tomatoey casserole masquerading as pizza.  I think Gino’s in Chicago is like Ray’s in New York City, with numerous places using “Gino’s” as some part of its name, with only the locals knowing where the real Gino’s is.  Even Matt can’t tell me which Gino’s he went to at the moment, and said he’ll “look at a map” tomorrow.  Food highlights included the tuna tartare and fried shrimp at Devon, cheap breakfasts at the Golden Nugget (various locations), and numerous Chicago hot dogs.  Matt was thrilled to be staying very close to Wrigley Field and an elevated subway line – capturing two of his obsessions, baseball and rail-based transportation systems.  He toured River North, taking photos of the kinds of buildings we don’t have in the Bay Area.  Oh, those wonderful, sturdy and warm brick apartment buildings!