First of all, welcome...

Ok kids, here goes nothing...

My name is Jackie, and I have a big ass. Not to mention, I have cancer. How do those to things interact, you ask? Well, I was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer at age 31 last year. I went through 9 rounds of chemo in Detroit. In December, I was diagnosed with a recurrence. Needing a more "creative" treatment, at the suggestion of many oncologists, I signed up for a clinical trial combining chemo and a new drug being conducted at the University of Chicago. That's the cancer part.

So when I moved to Chicago a few weeks ago, I needed to find something to fill my time when I felt well enough to get out of bed. What does Jackie love to do? Eat. Just about anything. That's the big ass part.

While I'm living in Chicago for the next handful of months, I've decided to hit as many of the fab restaurants that the city has to offer as I can. I have a long list of places I'm dying to try and I'll try to cross them all off before I leave. At the suggestion of friends, I've decided to blog about my restaurant tour of Chicago.

That being said, I think blogs are amazingly egotistical. I entertain no delusion that anyone will give a shit about my opinions on these spots. My mom is probably the only person who will read this. In any event, I will memorialize my time here in hopes that someone (anyone?) will benefit from the time, dollars, and calories I expend in search of the perfect bite. Did you just hear that? It was the sound of my ass expanding...