Le Tour, Evanston, Illinois, A Lovely French Bistro

Le Tour, Evanston, Illinois, A Lovely French Bistro

My cousin Irene lives in Evanston, which is the first suburb just north of Chicago, so we find ourselves here for some holidays and hanging out relatively often. Most recently, on a frigid Saturday in January, we came to Le Tour for a delicious french meal. The service here was attentive, and they were very focused on making sure we were comfortable and well taken care of. I absolutely despise bistro chairs, so they brought me a different chair which…

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Top Five Chicago Restaurants

Top Five Chicago Restaurants

Well, Restaurant Week Chicago is here, starting tomorrow, and we will be checking out a few places next week and I’ll be posting updates right here on ChiLuxe Travel! But for now, a lot of folks ask me where the best places to eat in Chicago are, or where to go if you are here only for a night or two. This list is mainly geared more towards tourists in order to get the best taste of what Chicago has…

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High Tea at The Allis, Chicago

High Tea at The Allis, Chicago

My Mom started a tradition eons ago that we go have tea someplace festive around Christmastime. We would go with my great-aunt, who has since passed away and my cousins. When my Mom moved out to California, I continued the tradition with my cousins, and we’ve had tea pretty much everywhere in Chicago you can have tea by now. I definitely should do a top five list of teas in Chicago! Now that my Mom is back, we’re a foursome…

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Top Five Activities for 2023

Top Five Activities for 2023

Much like with my Top Five Restaurants for this year, choosing just five activities was pretty darn difficult. We did so much cool stuff, especially in Bali and Costa Rica, that it was tough to narrow down which ones were the absolute best. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone on the hanging bridges in Costa Rica, and had one of the best spa experiences of my life in Bali, but they didn’t even make the cut! Read on…

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Top Five Restaurants for 2023

Top Five Restaurants for 2023

It was incredibly difficult for me to choose only five restaurant experiences for my list this year. We ate at so many great restaurants, but we also had delicious and bespoke experiences at several resorts this year too. We ate really well on all of our trips, with rarely an exception. I have to make an honorable mention here for the restaurants and bars at Nayara Resorts in Costa Rica. While they didn’t make the Top 5, it was a…

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Top Five Hotels for 2023

Top Five Hotels for 2023

We stayed at some very very large resorts this year, as well as one micro-boutique hotel. I really want to make a massive shift for this blog to cover and review boutique hotels. I love the charm and character of boutique hotels, and the service is almost always impeccable. Especially in Europe, the folks at a boutique hotel really make you feel like you’re family coming home, and they are always excited to show off their city and give you…

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Top Five Cities for 2023

Top Five Cities for 2023

Wow, we didn’t go to Europe AT ALL this year! Where on Earth did we go? We had one major trip outside of the states to Asia, and then mainly spent a lot of time here in the United States, jetting around to some big and some small cities. My top two cities of the year might surprise you! They definitely surprised me! 5. Singapore We were only in Singapore for an overnight layover, but no city has captured my…

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On Tap for 2024

On Tap for 2024

Boy, 2023 was the year of revisiting places I had been before. This year was my second time to Costa Rica, third time to Bali, somewhere around the tenth time to Walt Disney World, and gagillionth time to Las Vegas and San Diego. Our little jaunt to Kansas City in November was the only new city that I added to my list this year. Yes, we were in Singapore for an overnight, but I barely count that apart from our…

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Bar Mar, Chicago, A Shiny Happy Restaurant In The Loop

Bar Mar, Chicago, A Shiny Happy Restaurant In The Loop

I recently came to Bar Mar to have lunch with a friend in early December, 2023. Bar Mar is part of a complex of two restaurants by Jose Andres in the Loop area of Chicago, specializing in seafood. The space is bright and open, with lots of glass, giving it an open-air feeling, even though you’re inside. The furnishings are modern and funky, and I love the light fixtures as well. For lunch, Bar Mar offers a tasting menu of…

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Ode To Moody Tongue Brewery

Ode To Moody Tongue Brewery

Moody Tongue Brewery is the only two-star Michelin brewery in the world, and it’s right here on the South Side of Chicago! Typically, I take my husband Brian out to a steak house for his birthday, but this year, I thought I’d switch it up and take him here. He loves beer, and his “Untappd” app entries grow every week. Well, he was super excited to add 10 new beers to his app, and I was excited to add another…

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