If you’re looking for moral ambiguity, passion, and raw emotion, look no further. Marisa Walz’s debut novel, Good Intentions, landed on shelves several weeks ago and offers all that and more. Good Intentions follows Cady, a luxury party planner whose perfect life is thrown upside down when her twin sister, Dana, dies unexpectedly in an accident. Dana is Cady’s closest person, the one who knows her best, but it’s not her death that threatens to swallow Cady. Instead, it’s her obsession with Morgan, a grieving mother Cady met in the hospital the day her sister died. Cady is convinced she has to help Morgan through her grief in order to get through her own. However, as righteous as that sounds to her, Cady’s concern for Morgan begins to possess her, threatening to unravel the rest of her life and the lives of those around her.
When Walz is not busy writing debut novels, she is experiencing all the food and beverage options Chicagoland has to offer. Below, Walz gives us a peek into an ideal day in her life, hitting some of Chicago’s best spots.
It’s first thing in the morning: coffee or tea? And who does your favorite brew?
Hands down: English Breakfast iced tea, unsweetened. Every day. In the city, Dark Matter has the best (this is also the name of a fantastic book by Blake Crouch, by the way). In the burbs, I enjoy Brewpoint in Elmhurst. I buy a bag of their loose leaf so I can keep a carafe in the fridge at home, but it’s always nice to treat yourself to a glass you didn’t have to make.
For the most important meal of the day, aka breakfast, where do you go and what do you order?
I love breakfast food, but I actually don’t eat a really big breakfast most days. A cup of cottage cheese is my go-to. But if I do go out to breakfast, the best places are always the good old-fashioned family diner joints, like Lou Mitchell’s (I used to live right next door), and I always get some sort of skillet with meat, potatoes, and eggs. Since moving to the burbs, I’m also a bit nostalgic for brunch with friends at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reba! We lived in Lincoln Park for several years, and I miss that whole stretch of restaurants and shops along Halsted and Armitage.
Are you a grab-and-go lunch eater or a slow sit-down type? What’s your place and order?
Definitely grab-and-go. I’m honestly lucky if I have time to even leave my desk to get anything, but I do try to get out of the office to meet up with friends and coworkers now and then, to give myself a break. Favorites near my office include Chicken Planet on Van Buren (I get the quarter-chicken meal) and Cellars Market in the basement of the Board of Trade (the tacos are excellent, huge, and super customizable). Luke’s Lobster in City Hall is also a favorite; I always get the lobster roll, obviously, and a side of slaw.
Afternoon pick me up? Snack? Caffeine or happy hour? Where is your favorite spot to jump-start the evening?
I can’t do caffeine past about two o’clock, but I do love me a happy hour. Downtown, I tend to go somewhere close to my office, and Taureaux Tavern right behind the Board of Trade always hits the mark—and if you end up eating dinner there, the food is great. And do you even work in finance in the Loop if you don’t occasionally go to Ceres and pretend to complain about how strong the drinks are?
In the burbs, I’m a big fan of breweries. Some favorites include More Brewing in Villa Park (I can vouch for their hot chicken sandwich and their Cuban, and all the beers are winners) and Goldfinger in Downers Grove (they only brew lagers and they’re so delicious and drinkable; you can’t go wrong with their Original, Pils, or Vienna styles). Oh, and I have to put in a plug about Standard Meadery, also in Villa Park, right off the Prairie Path. It’s a total hidden gem. Try their honey lemonade or dreamsicle mead, oh my God.
Dinner time, what place or meal brings your day to a close the right way?
In the summer, I take any excuse to eat outside. Soccer practice at 5:30? Oof, we'd better just go out to eat. Dad missed his train? Hop in the car, kids, we’re dining out. If it’s just me and the kids, they always pick Guac N Tacos; it’s the one place we can miraculously all agree on (I always get the fish tacos and one, or two, margaritas). Victory Seafood is another Elmhurst staple for me, and we’ve also been known to pick up some sushi or a pizza and bring it over to Beer On The Wall.
And recently I discovered Pour Destino in Elmhurst (they have a Hinsdale location, too). It’s a coffee bar by day and a tapas and wine lounge by night. Their Spanish Spritz is phenomenal, as is everything I’ve ever tasted off their food menu (their tuna tartare is the best thing ever, and I love their gambas con papas and the pimientos de padron). I loved it so much, I’m hosting my book launch party there. I cannot talk about dinner, though, without talking about pizza. This is a very serious topic for me, so please bear with me, because one can’t simply “recommend a good pizza place.”
If you are in the city and want thin, crispy, New-York-Style-But-In-A-Good-Way crusts, you must go to Robert’s Pizza and Dough Co. If you want traditional, tavern-style thin crust (and a huge beer selection), head to Flo & Santos in the South Loop. If you’re after pan pizza, then it’s Pequod’s. I don’t even want to know if you don’t like Pequod’s. In the burbs, our go-to is Roberto’s in Elmhurst. They’re fast, delicious, and they don’t blink if you ask for a large thin crust, extra crispy, half sausage, half pepperoni, with the pepperoni on top.
For more information on Walz and her author journey, visit https://www.marisawalz.com/.
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