I tried Taqueria Invicto for the first time with my friends, and we really enjoyed it, especially…read moreme. From the moment you walk in, the dining room feels modern. The space is a decent size, though the bold zig-zag floor pattern can feel a little busy. The hanging plants are a great touch, and I loved the stainless steel counter paired with the open kitchen concept. The menu has a ton of options, which made it hard to decide what to eat. They offer a wide variety of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, burrito bowls, plates, Mexican hot chicken, and sides. I ended up ordering the chicken nacho burrito without tomatoes or sour cream ($9.99). The burrito was very satisfying and packed with tortilla chips, rice, beans, queso, Chihuahua cheese, guac sauce, cilantro, and onions. I do wish there had been a bit more guacamole and queso inside, but the flavors were still well-balanced and everything was seasoned and cooked nicely. I also LOVE the self-serve sauce counter they have! Always makes a nice touch when I can try and choose as many sauces as I want. I also ordered a side of elote ($5.50), and it was excellent. The balance of lime and cheese was spot on, and the portion size was generous for the price. I highly recommend it, although one of my friends was not as big of a fan because she found the flavor smoky. One of my friends ordered the quesabirria plate ($17.99) and enjoyed it as well. The plate meals come with a generous amount of food because you get rice, beans, and tortilla chips on the side. Overall, this was a great first visit, and I am already looking forward to coming back to try more items on the menu.

Taqueria Invicto has done it again with a NEW LOCATION serving DELICIOUS MEXICAN STREET FOOD right…read moreoutside of Chicago! This newest location in Des Plaines opened on 12/10/24 and they are bringing all the deliciousness to the new spot! There's options for meat eaters, pescatarians and vegetarians, so everyone can enjoy their food AND they have select Mexican (adult) drinks! This is totally my favorite Mexican spot in the burbs and each location that has opened has been consistently good with very friendly service! You have to get by here and try one of the tasty Vampiros, tacos or amazingly good milkshakes! Check them out and tell them that Planes & Plates sent you!!!

My friend and I got silver bracelets together! Beth was super sweet…read more There were lots of options, including rose gold and chains with colored beads. She made sure the chain was flat not twisted, and gave us time to make sure we really liked the length/fit. A little pricey but she does free fixes if anything ever happens to any chains. And she said that her gold options are filled not plated. Also she has Venmo and Zelle as payment options.

Beth came to my friend's bachelorette party and we had the best experience with her! She has the…read morebest energy and was so helpful with giving guidance on selecting the best chain for each of us, without feeling rushed or overwhelmed at all.. I've been to a few other places for permanent jewelry and Beth has the best selection of chains and charms that I've seen, by far! Will definitely come back to Beth for any permanent jewelry needs in the future, thank you again!

Okay, so I am now on a mission to purchase a little trinket from every city I visit and while…read morevisiting Chicago we dropped by Pop Mart. Our hotel was only a 10 minute walk from Pop Mart so my friends and I knew we had to drop by. This store is a lot larger than ours in San Diego so there was ample space to walk around and I didn't feel super pressured by others. The team here greeted us right away and asked if we needed a shopping bag, I was only getting one and I knew having a shopping bag would definitely cause me to add more. They had so many options for Cry Baby I really want them all but only chose one. Obviously they're blind boxes so I ended up opening it in store and immediately latching it to my purse. Again there were so many options, I even saw the tempura shrimp Labubu ipod case. I would have snagged it by my friend bought it for me for my birthday. If you're in Chicago and shopping I'd definitely drop by here and pick up a little trinket instead. The prices do range depending on what you purchase but I think mine was $32? So worth it for me.

Feeling playful at this fun place to visit, especially now when it is a hot trend. But the store…read morewas super crowded and very warm inside. The store is well lit and laid out so you can shop by collections but be prepared to spend some dough on a pop collectible or a trendy gift. I needed a cool cocktail after the busy store so we headed past Nordstrom to Lao Sze Chuan on MI Ave for a Lycheetini. (And I think my Labubu appreciated the lovely tone of my Lycheetini)!

I love this place. So many beautiful, unique gift items. I love the jewelry, the alpaca socks, the…read morecandles. And best of all, everything sold here furthers conscious commerce!

This is a special place! Beautiful! Large pop up shop with food, crafts, gifts, speciality items…read morefrom around the world. Everything is fair trade and/or local social enterprise. The staff were knowledgeable about everything -- even the stories behind the products. Easy consolidated check out. Recommended.

A smaller Squishable store, but still a fun stop while you're in the Water Tower Place. There…read moreusually is a buy one get one half off deal when you go into a Squishable brick and mortar store, which is better than buying an item online. A bonus when we went in is that they had a $5 bin which had some retired squishables, beach towels, and Doctor Plague backpacks (this would've been a good buy if my kids were younger)! We ended up buying one of the stuffies from the deal tin this round... usually we end up buying something bigger. The person at the register was very nice and friendly. Store was in order and easy enough to find items that you would see on the website. If you are vertically challenged, bring a tall friend as you will need assistance to get to things on higher shelves.

I really enjoyed Squishable and didn't realize it was just a pop up shop from the online retailers…read more The stuffies were honestly the cutest stuffies I'd ever seen. It was comparable to the kawaii stores you see photos of from Japan. I'd never seen a bacon stuffie or an avocado one either. They had so many different food options, color options and even cute dogs in little outfits that look like other animals. I ended up getting a dog in a froggy costume because I just can't say no to a frog. The only draw back is they are on the pricey side. They are worth it in my opinion but considering just one medium sized squishable was $30, it is easy to rack up a bill if you need multiple items. If you love stuffed toys, check out their website because they have almost anything you can imagine. It's a truly adorable store.

It's all about the nostalgia!…read more The Tamagotchi Pop-Up Shop is located inside Mitsuwa, towards the back, past the meat section, to the right of Pastry House Hippo. The pop-up has Paradises, plushies, Gacha vending machines, stickers, and even lip balm. The store itself is well-organized, and the staff on site were friendly and helpful. Note that their last day is 10/5! Plenty of parking in the Mitsuwa parking lot. +nostalgia! +Tamagotchis! +pop-up until 10/5! +located inside MItsuwa +ample parking