Hungry for...

WHAT: Feast

WHERE: Gold Coast location, Rush and Delaware

WHY: When Sara was in town, I wanted a fun, casual place for dinner where we could sit outside and catch up. In comes Feast, a trendy-casual restaurant in the Gold Coast with outdoor seating perfect for people watching. The menu is big enough to please everyone, with our table ordering salads, crab cakes, turkey burgers and pizzas. The prices and budget friendly, especially if you go for the appetizers that are really big enough to be entrees. Their wine list is delicious, too.

FAVORITE: The dip trio appetizer. It comes with three homemade dips: spinach and artichoke, roasted red pepper and walnut and hummus, with fresh-baked pita toasts on the side.

TIP: If you're in a rush but still want a delicious meal, head to their grocer right next door for a great selection of salads, sandwiches and snacks.

Hungry for...

WHAT: Table 52

WHERE: Elm and Dearborn, Gold Coast

WHY: Weeks ago, I saw a profile of this restaurant on the Food Network, naming it the best fried chicken in the country. The chef and owner is Art Smith, Oprah's former personal chef turned celebrity. So, naturally, after I told my dad he insisted that we go immediately, if not sooner. And to make things even more convenient? The restaurant is nicely located just three short blocks from my new apartment downtown. The only thing that made the situation even better... was the unbelievable southern food.

FOOD: Naturally, everyone but my friend, Eve, ordered the fried chicken, and her choice was decided simply because she is a vegetarian. She got the smoked salmon pizza which was also very good. My dad took it upon himself to order some appetizers and sides for the table, so when all was said and done, we had ordered pretty much the entire menu. The shrimp and grits appetizer and the sweet potato side topped my favorites that night.

TIP: The fried chicken is only on the menu on Sundays and Mondays, so if that's why you're going like the rest of the world, make a reservation and make it early. They start serving dinner at 4:45 p.m. those nights, especially to accommodate the mass crowds that always show up.

Hungry for...

CRAVING: Prairie Grass

WHERE: Northbrook, Illinois, just north of Chicago

WHY: My family has been going here for dinner for years. The food is beyond excellent. It's been reviewed as some of the best food in the North Shore of Chicago year after year. The service is wonderful, the menu is the perfect size and I've never ordered something I didn't like. So, when we found out that they serve brunch, we made a reservation for the first Sunday they had available.

WHAT: Smoked salmon open face omelet with chive cream cheese, breakfast potatoes and toast with homemade jam. I don't know what about that could sound bad to anyone. It was unbelievable and a perfect amount of food. And though I didn't order it for myself, my brother got banana bread french toast stuffed with sweet cream cheese that was heavenly.

TIP: The restaurant grows a lot of it's own herbs and gets it's produce and protein locally. So, anything on the menu with those ingredients is sure to be fresh and delicious.

Hungry for...

CRAVING: Sprinkles Cupcakes

LOCATION: 50 East Walton, Rush and Walton, Gold Coast, Chicago

WHY: Although the cupcake trend has become highly overrated recently, Sprinkles has the best reputation for a reason. Since moving in to the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, there have been lines out the door at all hours of the day. Everyone is hungry for a cupcake, and being the original cupcake shop that is loved by celebrities created a following for the Chicago location before they even opened their doors.

FAVORITE: Black and white. Traditional, but unbelievably good. Dark chocolate cake with vanilla bean frosting and chocolate shavings.

TIP: Order ahead, skip to the front of the line. The order form on their Web site is super easy and convenient.

Chicago, I love you.

I'm hungry for more of the city.

This is an obviously biased opinion, but I truly believe that this is the most beautiful city in the country. Riding the bus to work every morning gives me a surprisingly fantastic view of the majority of the Loop and Streeterville, a few of the best areas and neighborhoods that exist here. The streets are clean, the population is diverse and the sites to see are endless. And the food. Chicago is at no shortage for unbelievable cuisine. My personal favorite? The Cajun, New Orleans dishes at Heaven on Seven that I miss oh so much when I'm stuck up North in the suburbs. And shopping? Michigan Avenue is the obvious choice, but for locals, there is no better area than the Gold Coast at Rush and Walton. Having the plan to go just window shopping is immediately abandoned once you get a taste of this area.

I could keep going forever. Chicago offers me an endless amount to dream about and experience, and in just a few short weeks I will get to be in the city permanently when I move into my very first condo in the Gold Coast. Exciting? Yes. Scary? Even more so. Who would have thought that moving half an hour South could be so intimidating and... well, permanent. But I'm willing to overcome the fear and anticipation, hopefully just in time to enjoy being young and in the city.

Because that really is the point of living in the city, right? To be carefree and young. Yes, unfortunately work and responsibility will sneak in every so often, but the endless opportunities to just have fun and experience new things will be so unbelievably overwhelming. It's the first stress factor since graduation that I'm excited to embrace: not knowing what to do first.

Every time I come downtown to visit, or whenever I commute for work, I always ride over the river and acknowledge how gorgeous the view is, but I never truly get to soak it in and appreciate it. Come September 4, I plan to do just that. To wander, to eat, to (window) shop, to just actually be here for the first time in my 22 years as a Chicagoan.

http://www.heavenonseven.com/

Hungry for... what?

I find myself in my cubicle. It's finally nicely decorated and organized, just six weeks into this adventure that everyone likes to refer to as freedom. My freedom came faster than I expected. I graduated, got a job and found an apartment all within three months of leaving school. Yes, I am definitely one of the lucky ones. But am I hungry for this freedom? I thought that I was. I was definitely hungry for it while clicking through job listings. The hunger for freedom was there when my evenings at home consisted of the Food Network and late night cereal binges. And I'm pretty sure it was there when I volunteered to clean the backyard due to sheer and utter boredom. I could not be full of freedom fast enough.

But now, sitting at my desk with not quite four, but three walls hiding my frizzy hair and exhausted appearance, I'm just hungry for the Caesar salad from Bandera. The creamy, delicious dish topped with the best cornbread croutons Chicago has to offer, was sitting in a kitchen just two blocks from my office. Sitting there, waiting for me... for $13. And where did my hunger eventually lead me? To a $5 sandwich and tap water from Subway.

No matter what freedom we have, the freedom to decide between a practical sandwich or an excessively expensive salad, we can't help but want the latter. What do you do once you achieve your first taste of freedom? My life is settled. It's not perfect, but it's definitely better than I ever expected. And yet, I'm still hungry. Yes, obviously for better lunch options, but also for something more. Not just for money, but for meaning. No matter what we as young people achieve, we have always been taught that there is something more out there for us to get our hands on. We can always do better. We can always be better. So when is that freedom really achieved?

When I get the salad from Bandera. Maybe my stomach will stop growling. And then maybe

the rest of the world, too.