August Begins

Well, last weekend the girls came to visit, and this weekend Amy found out that one of her friends from college, Adam, was visiting with his girlfriend Kim. We wanted to relax for a bit and clean up the apartment, trying to keep low key as for the next few weekends we will have many guests. Friday night we met up with Amy's friends and had dinner next door at Rosebud.  We then went out in Lincoln Park for a few drinks. On Saturday we decided to try out the North Halsted Market days. Amy said that it was in "boys" town which is a predominantly gay part of the city. We got there and it was a little more flambouyant than I thought it would be. It was a very fun atmosphere, but most of the venders and booths were geared more toward the residents of the neighborhood with advertisements for the gay clubs and most of the bartenders shirtless and dancing in their underwear. I had never seen so many drag queens and buff guys in leather in my entire life. We made one lap, with Amy closely held the entire time, and we left. We walked to Wrigleyville where Amy got a really nice cubs t-shirt, and then we walked all the way home. Had a quick dinner, and then we went to see Harry Potter at the IMAX on Navy Pier in 3D. I had just listened to all the audiobooks in my car and felt the movie was good but a bit disconnected. The next day, Amy had to work, so I wrote myself a list of things that I wanted to accomplish, and then promptly locked myself out of the house. After going downstairs and realizing that there was a $20 lock out fee, I figured I would just bring myself to ESPN zone and imbibe $20 worth of food and beer and wait the 9 hours for Amy to get home. Alas, another weekend.

Next weekend Amy will be flying to CT for her reunion, and I will be staying at home to relax for a few days before our onslaught of visitors come for the next 5 weekends!! We love it though!!

Tiffy and Weenus Visit

We arranged our schedules so that we could have a 4 day weekend to spend with our first friends to visit us in Chicago. Our friends, Tiffy and Weenus (Sarah) are friends that we used to work with in Naples, FL 2 seasons ago. Since then, Tiffy has moved to NJ and Weenus has moved outside of Toronto, and we all haven't been together for years, so we were really looking forward to the visit. We picked the 2 of them up from the airport on Wednesday night, brought them back to the apartment, and with "Drunken Arnie's"(sweet tea vodka and lemonade) in hand, we gave them a tour of the building and the amenities. We sat out on the deck for a bit to catch up and reminisce about old times. The next AM we awoke to a pretty nice Chicago summer day.....80 degrees with a nice lake breeze. We decided to do a walking tour of the city....but first? breakfast at the Bongo room was needed! We have taken a lot of our guests to this place to sample their wide array of sweet and savory dessert pancakes. We walked the 2-3 miles from our place in river north, showing the girls glimpses of Michigan Avenue and the south loop, and we were all pretty hungry by the time we reached the restaurant. Pancake selections included strawberry cheesecake, lemon ricotta and oreo cookie, and we were all stuffed by the time we were done. With our stomachs full, we continued on with our walking tour of the city.

From the Agora project which consists of 106 headless cast iron figures, we walked east towards the lake through the museum campus. We saw the Fields Museum, the aquarium, the planetarium, Charter One Pavilion, and Soldiers Field from a distance. We walked north up the lake admiring the sailboats in the water, and then crossed Lake Shore Drive. We walked over to see the great Buckingham Fountain and then through Grant and Millennium Park to admire the many pieces of artwork that populate the parks....especially the "bean". From there, we walked downtown to see the Sears "Willis" tower. We walked through the theatre district on State Street, saw a tremendous line to go up to the skydeck, and decided to go another day. The sky deck just opened up a new outlook where you can stand in a little glass walled/floored room and view the city skyline from 104 floors up. Nevertheless, the skydeck is always busy but with this new addition, it seems like its even busier. We walked back through downtown seeing the "Flamingo" statue by Calder, the untitled Picasso sculpture that resembles an ape, walked through a loud group of protesters screaming about lowering their mortgage, and then walked back to Millennium Park for 2 o'clock happy hour. We sat, drank, and chatted over some nachos, while a band named "State of Man" got on stage. They were a pretty good rock band out of Atlanta and we ended up buying some of their $5 CD's.

After a few hours of drinking, the rain started coming down a bit, so we opted for a cab to take us to our next destination.....Gino's East for some deep dish Chicago Pizza. They usually take an hour to bake, so we sat there and drank for another hour until the monstrous deep dish pizza came. We all had our fill of pizza and then stumbled home, with stomachs full of pizza and beer. Weenus passed out almost immediately.....@9:15. Then Tiffy, after mumbling, soon also fell asleep. (Editor's note: Brandon wasn't too far behind them himself!)

The next day, we had plans that evening to Jammin' at the Zoo, a concert performed on the south lawn at the Lincoln Park Zoo, but Amy had to work in the AM, so she woke up early to see a few patients while the girls and I went to the Sears Tower ( I refuse to call it the Willis Tower) to check out the skydeck and new glass outlooks. We stood in line for about 30 minutes, watched a quick video, and were soon enough shooting hundreds of feet to the 104th floor of the tower. We walked immediately to the new outlook decks and stood in these translucent boxes, looking down and seeing the street thousands of feet below us. We took several pictures, walked a few laps around the perimeter to see the beautiful view from 360 degree perspective, and made our way back down. Amy got off work and picked us up a few blocks away in front of the Chicago Theatre on her way home. We stopped over at home and then decided on some margaritas and guacamole at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Adobo grill.(Not to be confused with the fast food chain Adobe Grill)

We walked by the ritzy Oak Street shops and north up Clark Street through Old Town finally arriving at our destination.....unfortunately it was closed until dinner service. We wanted to get some dinner before the show at the zoo, so we decided to go to Tapas instead but first a stop at the Goose Island Brewery for a sampling of Chicago's finest brews. Sarah and Tiff opted for the sampler while Amy and I stuck with our favorites. We had reservations at a highly recommended Tapas place called Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba so headed there next. We walked over and shared some peach mango sangria while waiting for the great tapas. The food was excellent from stuffed mushrooms to the Paella. It was a good restaurant. After dinner, we walked over the zoo to see the Pat Mcgee Band, Brett Dennen, and the headliner Matt Nathanson. We stood in the line and by the time we got into the park, the small grassy area in front of the stage was all full. We had to settle in the small area to the right of the stage where we could not see nor hear the music well. What we did hear was good, but overall not the greatest experience as it also started to rain during the last act as well. We were a bit disappointed with the concert so we left before it ended, braving the rain and getting a cab home.

The next AM we awoke late and then ventured to Chinatown for dim sum. We had our usual fare of Chinese a la carte brunch food and then walked around Chinatown for a bit to show the girls around. Afterwards, we drove home and then walked to one of the many festivals that occur in the neighborhoods around Chicago. We took the train north to the Taste of Lincoln Avenue. We got there, paid the entrance fee, and stood and watched one of the bands that was playing. We all started drinking and walked around checking out all the booths and listening to the many bands and stages they had along the way. It was a pretty good fest to check out, one of our favorites so far. Afterwards we walked around the Lincoln Park neighborhood. We walked to the Wiener Circle so the girls could try the infamous Chicago hot dogs, all beef Vienna hot dogs with pickles, tomatoes, onions, celery salt, relish, and mustard on a poppy seed bun. Next we hit up a favorite dessert spot, Molly's Cupcakes. It's a great place for decadent cupcakes with milk or coffee. You can play a board game while you savor or sit on the swing at the bar. Next, we walked until we found a bus to bring us back downtown so that we could experience Venetian night on the lake. We walked from the bus stop to the lake, found a quaint little spot on the water and waited until the show began. Dusk approached and soon enough decorated boats and yachts floated by of every shape and size. Some had terrific themes from Gilligan's Island to Michael Jackson's Thriller and had great music blaring with impressive decorations, some just had rich people waving from a million dollar yacht. After the boat show, the fireworks show started. Spectacular colors soon filled the air, even better than the 4th of July fireworks I felt. We started walking towards Navy Pier during the fireworks show to avoid the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people once the show was to end.

We walked north up the lake through the enormous crowd of people to Navy Pier. We saw the Budweiser Clydesdale horses on display and then walked down the pier to the famous Ferris Wheel. We bought tickets and soon enough, we were lofted 150 feet in the air, snapping pictures of a beautiful nighttime skyline of the city. We walked back towards the very end of the pier enjoying the view of the city and the sounds of the rock band playing Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi cover songs. We then walked back inside Navy Pier seeing all the touristy souvenir shops and walked to the free trolley stop to go back home.

The next day, the girls were going to fly back home so we decided to go to Wrigleyville to check out the bar scene and watch the game a bit. We had a quick bite at home for breakfast and took the train out to Wrigleyville. We walked around the stadium, commotion galore as there was a Cubs game on that day. We walked around the perimeter and finally decided on the Cubby Bear. We were seated inside as the game commenced, had some beers, had lunch and then took the train back to the house where we then proceeded to take the girls back to the airport.

Overall, it was a great trip and we were glad that the girls came out. We have plenty of other visitors coming so we will try to keep updating as much as possible. We are loving Chicago and are exploring more and more every weekend!

July 4th weekend and MOTO

So my mom came to Chicago to visit for a week so Amy and I took her around the city, just the normal tour as she has been here before. I'm going to bypass all the normal walking around the city as I will describe those ongoings when we have our other visitors. The only new things that we have done will be described here. First, we went to see the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. The museum was awesome in itself. From the LEGO replicas of the Sears Tower and Empire State building to the exhibits on the future of science, the museum was very cool to walk through. We were all excited to walk through the Harry Potter exhibit and as we finally got there we entered into a tent on the outside of the museum. They let us in at our scheduled time and we finally got to the entrance surrounded by kids and their parents. They did some cute display putting the kids on a stool with the sorting hat on to send the kids off to a house. Then, they let us in the doors and we were immediately engrossed in the Harry Potter experience. The halls were decorated like an old castle with pictures on the wall of people that walked in and out of the pictures. All of the props from the movies were there, the cloaks, the house elves, the plants, the wands and monsters. It was a great experience. You are not allowed to use flash photography in the exhibit so here are a few fuzzy ones from my phone. We left museum to head back home to prepare for watching the fireworks in Grant Park. Chicago's big 4th of July celebration actually took place on the 3rd. We packed a small picnic and blanket and headed to the park to reserve a spot on the lawn. As dusk came upon us The 85th Army Band played a patriotic medley in the Petrillo Shell and then the fireworks began. It was a fantastic display as they lit up the sky and bounced off the facades of the surrounding skyscrapers. As the show ended and the thousands upon thousands of spectators made their way out of the park I realized I have never in my life been amongst so many people. Michigan Avenue was closed to traffic and we floated home in the sea of people stopping to take pictures along the way. I love the city at night!

The next day, I thought it would be a great experience to take Mom and Amy to this amazing restaurant that I heard about. The restaurant called "MOTO" is headed by renowned executive chef Homaro Cantu (who is famous for creating sushi using a inkjet printer. Rather than using conventional inkjet cartridges, he creates cartridges that are filled with organic, edible "inks.") Moto is famous not for dinner, but for having a dining experience. The style of cooking is a new American approach deemed Molecular Gastronomy which (according to Wikipedia) is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking. It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view). Translation??? The cooks use scientific methods using liquid nitrogen, lasers, and chemicals to make awesome artistic plates of food. Still confusing?? For example, one of our last dishes was a dessert called a cherry bomb. It was called a cherry bomb because it was a small black sphere with a wick on top. However, it was a play on a s'more. The ball itself was made of chocolate, the wick made of a marshmallow type of foam, and the inside?? A liquid filling of graham cracker!! The presentation was great, the waiter came by, lit the wick allowing the frozen graham cracker center to melt, and then you eat the whole thing in one bite. It was like an awesome, refined s'more!

Anyway, to get back to chronological order of this amazing experience......So we drove over to the restaurant which was only 2 miles away from our apartment. We drove through the meat packing district of the city, which isn't a very nice part of the city. However, we found the diamond in the rough. We parked down the street, made a wrong turn to "OTOM", MOTO's sister restaurant, which we will try before we leave, and finally made it to the restaurant. We checked in with the desk, saw that only 2 other tables were occupied, and were seated. The service was impeccable. Prompt and attentive, the waiters were great. I also learned that because all of the dishes are so complex, the cooks double as waiters so that they can help explain the complexity of how the dishes are made. We were first presented with a small bowl with each containing a dollop of butter, a thickened drop of balsamic vinaigrette, and our menu. The printed menu was small and 2 sided, 1 side had the 10 course tasting menu, the other course had the 20 course tasting menu. After we decided upon the 10 course menu, we were instructed to eat our menu. Yup.....eat the menu. The menu was printed with edible ink on a small piece of toast. It tastes different every night, and tonight it was garlic bread and it was delicious. Our eating the toast quickly signaled the waiter to take our drink order, and to start our 10 course meal. Amy opted for a nice white wine, and I had a cocktail. The cocktail was amazing. It was a sweet concoction of gin, fresh white grape juice, and a touch of brandy with frozen grapes used as ice cubes in a martini glass.

1st Course....instant Risotto

We were not sure what to expect as instant risotto is a vague term. We were served a small dish with a creamy Parmesan sauce, puffed rice, and freeze dried peas. It was delicious!! The crunchiness of the rice and peas was a great contrast to the rich, creaminess of the Parmesan sauce. Once the rice was mixed into the sauce, the whole dish transformed into a delicious risotto!

2nd Course.....Denver Omelet and Muffin

This course came as a trio of breakfast foods. On the plate was a tater tot (entirely consisting of rock shrimp but resembling a tater tot), scrambled eggs(entirely consisting of sweetened carrots, gazpacho, and olive oil), and a muffin which almost had a cotton candy like consistency. The tater tot was delicious, the rock shrimp perfectly cooked with a crisp, crunch to the skin of the tot. The "eggs" were amazing! They were cold, mildly sweet, and very tasty. It's hard to believe that there were only carrots, tomatoes, and olive oil that made it taste so good, and made it look so much like scrambled eggs.

3rd Course......Gruyere and Onions

This dish was one of my favorites. A gravy boat type bowl was placed in front of us with a soup spoon inside of it. The soup spoon held a dollop of caramelized onions, where atop the onions sat a onion chip. A smear of Gruyere cheese was placed against the back of the bowl. Next, the waiter came by and poured the soup through the spoon, filling the bowl. There it was, a refined french onion soup. Again, every bite tried to incorporate all of the ingredients, the onion broth, the caramelized onions, the cheese, the crunch of the onion chip...Delicious!!. It was not only a great soup, but a wonderful concept.

4th Course.....House-made pequin capon

This concept was absolutely awesome as the meal progression started to veer towards the main protein entrees. The theme of this dish was.......buffalo wings. The capon confit was placed atop braised celery. On the plate was a artistically placed house made blue cheese, and a few drops of meticulously placed house made Tabasco sauce. Along with this, was a piece of paper with a rooster on it. The paper was edible and tasted just like a buffalo chicken wing!! It was like eating at Willy Wonka's kitchen!! The capon confit in buffalo wing flavors, the celery, blue cheese, the dish was delicious, and again, the concept.....amazing.

5th course......Cuban Cigar

The next concept and dish was my favorite. The waiter next came out with an ash tray filled with ashes and a cigar. The cigar was still warm, and it was identical to a cigar. I wasn't sure if I should eat it, or ask for a light. The waiter soon eased our trepidations in explaining that it was, in fact, a Cuban sandwich wrapped in greens, and the "ashes" were ground white and black sesame seeds. The concept was incredible, and the taste amazing!! It tasted just like a Cuban sandwich!! Another amazing dish.

6th Course.....Reuben Lasagna

A play on the traditional Reuben with all the flavors of the corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing layered with what seemed to be wonton noodles sprinkled with caraway seeds. One of Amy's favorites.

7th Course.....Mexican Cannoli

At first glance it seemed we had started into the dessert course, but although this offering resembled the confection from the famous Mike's Pastry it was definitely more savory than sweet. The cannoli which we were encouraged to eat with our hands was filled with tender, juicy duck in a Mexican mole sauce.

The remaining courses moved us into the 3rd and 4th hours of our meal and dessert. 8th Course was a Yogurt Parfait, 9th Course was titled Blackberry & Corn and the 10th Course was the Chocolate Forms which included the s'mores bomb as mentioned earlier as well as a dessert mini cheeseburger. The cheeseburger was a fun concoction of layered sweets that made up each component including the buns, burger, cheese and ketchup.

It was a dining experience unlike anything we had ever experienced before. It was the ultimate dinner and a show! Moto is now our new favorite restaurant.

The next day Greg and Nate joined us and we revisited Millennium Park and the Bean, the Taste of Chicago, the museum campus and Soldier Field. Greg, a long time Bear's fan, was happy to see the home of his beloved team.

We finally made use of our deck and bbq as we ended the day with a rooftop cookout. Not a MOTO caliber meal by any means but there's no denying the great taste of burgers and dogs right off the grill. Happy Fourth of July!

The Outer Banks!!

OBX!!
Ok, I love Chicago, but this weekend we went to the outer banks of North Carolina for Alicia and Brian's Wedding, and it was gorgeous!! We worked a swing shift of Sunday to Wednesday and on Wednesday night we flew into Norfolk, VA, rented a car, and drove down to Duck, North Carolina. Upon arrival, at about 1AM, we were greeted by a bunch of people at the pool, drinking and swimming. We stayed at the Saltaire House, which is a beautiful 6 bed, 6.5 bath house that not only served as our quarters for the next few days, but also was the site for the wedding reception. We met everyone, had a few beers, and turned in. Amy had a full day of wedding party stuff.....wedding rehersal, nails, etc.... So, I had the day to myself. With no agenda, I drove around Duck, NC. The Outer Banks is an island that lies off the coast of North Carolina. It's Jersey Shore esque, being a nice half mile stretch of land sandwiched between the Atlantic ocean and the sound. The small 2 lane road that stretches the length of the island is littered with grape leaves, sand dunes, and hundreds of rental beach houses. I awoke early when everyone was going to the beach, and explored a bit. I drove south to a small art show, then walked around the waterfront shops, picking up a coffee, bagel, and a newspaper. I went back to the house and sat by the pool, met and chatted with a couple people until the wedding party returned. When Amy came back, we explored the rest of the house,
mingled a bit, and then Amy had to go get her nails done. With more exploring to do, I soon headed out to see the rest of the island. My first stop?? Kittyhawk, NC to see the famous spot where Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first motorized flight. I took the tour of the entire exhibit, walking from one end where a huge monument was erected on top of the hill, resembling the tail of a airplane. Down the hill was a pathway with 4 large stones commemorating the distance where the first flight took off and landed on its 3 attempts. The museum and welcome center both have informative and educational displays that teach about the history of this site as well as the history of flight and the physics behind aeronautics. I had a great time exploring and seeing all these things. The exhibits and history of Kitty Hawk are unbelievable, and it was awesome that I had the chance to see such a historical place in aeronautics history. Afterwards, I decided to drive a little further south, to see Kill Devil Hill, which is one of the highest sand dunes on the eastern seaboard. I parked the car across the street, quickly perused some of the local shops, grabbed the camera and started my hike up this incredible sand dune. I started at the base of the hill and started walking up.....slowly. The North Carolina summer heat, the steep incline of the hill, and the inability to get a good bearing in the soft, fine sand, made it a struggle to get up the hill. I kept pumping my feet, and after some good perspiration and heavy breathing, I got to the top of the hill!! Only to see, another hill, even bigger than the one I just climbed. Not amused by my misfortune, I ran down the back side of the first hill and started trudging up the face of the next hill. I finally got up to the top and was immediately greeted by a beautiful breeze and an incredible view. From the top of the second hill, there were handgliders taking off, floating in the sky. It's amazing how these dunes are formed here and incredible to see how big they get. I made my trek back to the car, literally running down the hill (because it was fun, even though I wish I had a lunch tray to slide down on) and returned to the car.

I emptied about 3 cups of sand onto the pavement and made my way back north towards the house where a BBQ was to be getting underway. I made a quick stop at the driving range, hit a few balls, and met with everyone back at the reception site for the barbeque, where the beer flowed like water in a plethora of varieties. The next day, Amy went to
get her hair done, and I went back to hit a few golf balls. Afterwards, I picked her up and went to a place called Aqua S for lunch and had a great meal. Then, we went back to the house where we both got ready for the wedding ceremony. The ceremony was on the beach, which was a short walk from the house, and as soon as you walked off the boardwalk, there was a steel drum band trio playing laid back tropical tunes, serenading you as you followed the seashell pathway to your seats. The ceremony was great, and afterwards, we all found ourselves eating, laughing, drinking, dancing, and celebrating the night away at the reception site. The next day, we had breakfast

with the new bride and groom, and then made our way back to Norfolk to catch our flight back to Chicago. It was a great weekend, and we were both thrilled to help the happy couple celebrate their big day. Congratulations to the newlyweds Alicia and Brian Lynch!!