Chill weekend spots

On Sunday I stopped at a couple of Chicago's dining establishments, with delicious experiences all around. Lunch was at Panes Bread Cafe, a cozy little place off the Wellington Brown Line stop. Not only is the food really good, but it's also really inexpensive. It's a good place to go with a couple friends to talk and laugh for a while, but I could also see myself going there to do work as well. We went for lunch and dessert (though we still got gelato later...at Paciugo, which I have a post about in my "dolci" section), and of course, the pictures are to follow:

Here we have a yummy bowl of cavatappi with sun-dried tomato pesto, spinach, and a glorious blob of goat cheese on top. Then I just had to try one of the cream puffs, which was a winner as well. And of course, the most important part of the cream puff is the middle:

Then, (well, after gelato and a movie...) we stopped for a drink at Matisse Tavern & Grill, which has a spacious outdoor seating area. (I love dining al fresco!) I want to go back for lunch or dinner, because so far their drinks and appetizers have been more than satisfactory. I tried the "Tini Bubbles" cocktail and the Cuban BBQ Won-tons.

Wonderful.