Chicago: Chicago French Market

To prepare for a fancy end-of-the-year grad school social, it was determined that I needed a dress.  What was supposed to be a quick shopping trip downtown with my roommate and our friend (who wishes to be known as "V"...she claims it makes her sound mysterious) followed by a compensatory lunch mutated into a 6 hour excursion and a late lunch/early dinner.  By the time we reached the Chicago French Market, we were pooped and starving.

Due to us being there at an awkward time of day, there was barely anyone inside.  Many of the vendors were also closed or in the process of closing for the day.

Luckily, Fumare Meats was still up and running:

We were there specifically for the Montreal-style smoked pastrami on rye, but alas, it was not to be.  Apparently lunch had been incredibly busy that day (we'd missed some kind of food festival by an hour) and THEY RAN OUT.

The disappointment nearly crushed us, but we managed to pull ourselves together and ordered the "signature sandwich", which consists of gypsy bacon, Danish bacon, and boiled ham:

As well as the royal ham and swiss sandwich:

Frankly, they were good, but not anything special.

While my roommate was waiting for the sandwiches, V and I stopped by Frietkoten Belgian Fries & Beer:

For fries, of course.  Not so much the beer, though my roommate was definitely tempted.

We got an order of large fries ($5) to share between the three of us:

Every order comes with regular ketchup and mayo.  The more unique sauces cost extra.  Most are $0.75 each and $2 for three, while some specialty ones (such as truffle mayo) are $1 each.  V and I carefully picked out curried ketchup, green tomato and chili mayo, and garlic mayo.  My favorite was a toss-up between the curried ketchup and the green tomato mayo. 

Doesn't beat Pomme Frites in New York though.  Pomme Frites has thicker fries and a far crazier variety of sauces.  I still dream about their Vietnamese pineapple mayo...

Overall, a fairly productive day.  My roommate and V both probably bought more than they planned to, but that's nothing new.  As for me, I got my dress...though it was nothing like the rumored frontless, backless, bottomless monstrosity that my group of girlfriends continue to giggle about.  Lies, all lies.  (What would that even look like anyway?)  

Chicago French Market
131 N Clinton St
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 575-0306
http://www.frenchmarketchicago.com/