A Year Ago

One of the advantages of posting photos all over the internet, is the date and time stamp that goes with that habit. I’ve never been one to frame many photos at home, keep a scrapbook, or any type of photo album. But I have a Flickr account. And I have this place. It’s rad to be able to see what was going on exactly a year ago to the day. I imagine this online photo habit will be great for looking back on wee baby Boley when he is not so wee anymore.

On the night June 26th 2009, I was riding with two beautiful ladies in a rickshaw with a belly full of some of the best food I have ever eaten. We were in Austin Texas for the HOW Design Conference. What a trip.

This Pertains to My Interests

This image has nothing to do with the brunch you are about to receive, but I took it on Saturday night on my date with Justin. It is the closest thing we get to "big sky" in our hood. Don't laugh at me if you are from Colorado.

So this weekend, my brother, his friends, and his ridiculously nice camera came for a visit. You might ask,”Was he apartment hunting because he is moving here shortly?” No such luck. Yet. But I feel like we are making strides in the right direction.

Most of the trip was a series of mishaps and getting caught in the rain, but at least brunch didn’t let us down. Six of us trudged up to northern Andersonville, or “Wisconsin” as Justin would say, and waited for about 6 hours in 90 degree heat/steam before being seated. We were eventually lead to a table on the patio directly in the sun, in the same heat that we just waited in for 27 hours. On the bright side, a constant stream of condensation from our water glasses dripped on our legs, and Amber guzzled an iced coffee the size of her torso.

Sounds great, right? Well when the food arrived, all was forgiven. Just look at it!

Summer peach & almond bostock french toast: Two thick slices of homemade almond crusted brioche french toast, layered with warm syrah poached summer peaches and vanilla creme anglaise.

Let's just see that again.

I am telling you, I am more of a savory breakfast person, but this is one of the best things I have ever eaten before noon. I wish I could send this through your computer screen so you could taste it.

Casey's keylime and apricot brioche french toast: Three thick slices of french toast layered with homemade lime curd and fresh apricot.

The awesome thing about having a six person brunch is getting to try all the other dishes that you were pondering on the menu. I had blackberry blisscakes, mango & sour cherry blisscakes, huevos borrachos, and my good friends–home fries.

We signed our bill just as the storm hit the patio, we congratulated each other on our perfect timing, then we ran/waddled to our buses and declared brunch a victory.

If you would like to try these delightful dishes, and you live within 10 hours of Chicago, go to M Henry on Clark. You will not be disappointed.

Surfacing

WELL, then. That was the longest I have gone without posting since this thing started and it hurt me more than it hurt you. I am sure of that.

Where to begin? Last Saturday was wine club at my place. Attendance was good. Twenty bottles of wine were consumed, games were played, prizes were won, fun was had. I didn’t take a ton of photos during the event; I was the hostess and I was just plain tired from preparing for the party all day. However, my brother was in town and filmed with his fancy pants camera (now for sale), so those videos might surface someday.

Manikins enjoying the backyard

Amber's wine glass is roughly the size of her head. As wine glasses should be.

I had to thank Mr. Honeybear for providing the wonderful honey on top of our various cheese and cracker combos.

Catch Phrase. No explanation needed.

What do you do after you drink twenty bottles of wine?

Brunch.

Le Brunch to be specific. Le Creperie is one of my favorite brunch spots in the city. From its storefront on Clark street, you wouldn’t know that there was anything good going on in there. It is kind of dark and dingy at first glance. But after walking through the cave-like interior, you will emerge onto the back patio and feel that you’ve discovered the Atlantis of the brunch world. There are little red and white checkered tables under a canopy of leaves and twinkly lights. Flowers and trees are not something that generally flourish near the intersection of Clark and Diversey, so this place is golden.

Le Lovely.

This was Jordan's first time to Le Brunch. We took him there because he is being heavily recruited by me and my friends to move to Chicago.

This poor nutella and strawberry crepe had a very short life. It was quickly dismantled and consumed for dessert. Because you should always have dessert at brunch. The Splenda packet under the plate cracks me up. Who are we trying to kid?

I am really excited to post all about by trip to Austin, Texas. I was there for four days last week and had an amazing time. OMG THE FOOD. I can’t…even…

Here is just a sneak peek. You are witnessing a blurred flurry of food ecstasy.

Decked

I have been hearing good things about an Andersonville restaurant called M Henry. Justin and I tested it for Sunday Brunch, and it shall now be called Mmmmm Henry. It was packed, of course, and it’s reputation has clearly leaked out of this neighborhood. Looks as if Lakeviewers and Lincoln Parkers know about this spot as well. Maybe even Wicker Parkers.

The food we ordered was pretty fantastic, but Over Easy may still be our favorite breakfast spot. Though I haven’t tried the M Henry Blackberry Bliss cakes yet, so I can still be swayed. However, I would kind of feel like I am cheating on these.

Our walk home (from Wisconsin as Justin would say…since we were a whole 12 blocks north *GASP*) was really nice since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky all day long. If you were in the direct sun, it was perfect temperature. Perfect for the deck. YES–the roofdeck and yard are done!

The only problem is the pesky powerlines that need to be ducked until the electric company comes by to move them. They were supposed be be here about a month ago. Who do you have to bribe in this city to get someone from Com-ed to show up? Hurumph. Oh well. It isn’t really very urgent I suppose. I will just lay on the deck instead of walking on the deck. No problem.

I leave you with these two random weekend DPH’s:

My 3rd grade self was drooling over these pretty handle bar streamers as we waited outside for a table at brunch. This bike even had a pretty white basket on the front. Want.

Pursuit of Happiness

I think I mentioned that we picked up an old game of Trivial Pursuit when we went to Door County last weekend. I now carry around a little stack of the cards in my purse, because you just never know when you might need a little Pursuit. I’ve also been informed that if I had an iPhone, this would not be neccessary, but until then I will keep them in my heavy bag of tricks.

This weekend’s weather called for the first summer visit to the Hopleaf’s beer garden. It is only a few blocks from our place, and is one of my favorite summer spots to pass the time.

Gigantic man paws with a fancy Kwak glass. Justin always looks miserable during our patio dining shots, but I assure you he was enjoying himself.

Hopleaf Frites. Do not attempt to deny yourself this pleasure. The dipping sauce is divine.

So we are sitting in the perfect temperature, on the perfect patio, eating our perfect frites and sipping beers. The trivial pursuit cards are being played. The question “What do Las Vegas blackjack dealers stand on” comes up. I sit and think about how their legs must get tired. And I think about the gel mats that bartenders get to stand on. Then I answer “little podiums or pedestals.” I was pretty confident. Justin is horrified. The answer was “17” of course.  😦

Here is Justin on the walk home after we couldn't eat another frite or drink another beer. I love being able to walk home from our adventures. Getting in the car would ruin it for me. How else would I get to admire my husband's calf muscles? I have some crazy calf muscles as well. Our babies are going to have serious legs.

Burst.

Finals…again

“It’s just that I have been through finals four years in a row now…”

“Um, yeah I was there. I was the one taking them.”

Justin is in finals mode…again. And in the years before he had finals, I had finals. Basically, they are a twice-annual occurrence for as long as we have been together. It is a stressful time, more so for Justin than for me of course, but I can feel their weight at home.

This year, I have not been quite as supportive as I usually am for some reason. I still leave him alone to study and write, and protect his time from social obligations that would interfere with his work, but I am missing the mark somehow. Maybe they are so routine that I am feeling like they are no big deal. Not true. I have been whining for Justin to come out an play in the spring with me, but he is focused, and I shouldn’t mess with that. Only one week to go…then only one more year…

Sunday was beautiful, and we went to breakfast outside for the first time this year. It was fun, despite the expression pictured here. You might feel the same way if you were working on something called Secured Transactions Blahwhatsit.

Just look at this. I am not even a pancake person, but the Katie Cakes from Taste of Heaven do not disappoint. This isn't your average Bob Evan's stack.

The famous Puppet Bike was out in Andersonville again. Here is a penguin and gator dancing with my dollar.

This neighborhood continues to impress me. They even planted my favorite colored hydrangeas along the sidewalks. I wanted these in my wedding bouquet but they weren't in season.

After breakfast, we had to drop off Justin back at home to study, and I planned on going out again...but then napped on the porch with felines.

Ahh, Winnemac Park. Please note the weeping willow. I hope to eat under that tree when finals are all over with. For now, I am just the creepy lady in the park taking pictures of other people's romantic afternoons. Not pictured here are my ultra-creepy photos of the kids on the jungle gym.

These are Redbud trees for Grandpa. They are his favorite. He doesn't use the internet, so he probably won't see them here.

Spring Tease

Not boots!

Do not adjust your screen. My legs are seriously that color. That sparkly stuff on the sidewalk is rock salt and chemicals. Besides the streets and sidewalks, this salt can also be found all over my windows, on every square inch of the bus, and likely in my lungs. If the weather is dry, I can stand at a busy dusty intersection and TASTE the salt dust on my lips. This is pretty nasty, unless you are doing tequila shots on the corner, which I do not make a habit of and is frowned upon by the CPD.

Every year in March, I break out a ridiculously springish outfit way ahead of season. It has to be on one of the glorious fake-spring days like we had in Chicago yesterday. Upon my entrance to the office, people had the proper spring reaction to the cuteness of said outfit and my mood is as bright as the color of my shirt. Yesterday, I even broke out the purse that was originally going to be reserved for the opening of the farmer’s market.

For the market!

While I was doing a little spin in the office to show off my outfit, I STUBBED MY TOE SO HARD. There was blood and other injuries that I can’t even look at without being nauseous. Now I am walking funny and I can’t wear sandals. Meh.

The day was just too nice to go home right after work. So we celebrated. With champagne. A lot of it.

Pops for Champagne. One of my favorite storefronts in Chicago.

Pops for Champagne is a beautiful bar that offers over 100 different bottles of champagne. You can also order a beer or cocktail if the thought of champagne gives you a headache. It was part miracle, part copious water consumption that kept me from getting a headache. Our bartender, Lamar, was fantastic. He put together a plate of cheeses for us that was beyond perfect.

Listed from left to right: Yes. Yum. MINE. Mmmmm.

Due to the cuteness of certain coworkers, we were also allowed to taste a complimentary Bellini, which is possibly my new favorite dessert. Pop’s version of the Bellini is sparkling wine topped with a cappuccino-style peach foam and a raspberry floating within the heavenly mixture. All my photos of the Bellini were blurry, due to giddy excitement. You will just have to go and order one from Lamar yourself.

The last thing I have to applaud Pops for is the clever lighting and decor. Every part of the space takes the champagne theme into consideration, but it isn’t blatant or over-the-top in any way. A themed restaurant can easily become tacky, but Pops has managed to avoid this common pitfall. Not only does a warm amber glow emanate from the bar, but above each table, several pendant bulbs hang in a cluster that resembles rising bubbles from a glass of bubbly. I just love them. If you knew me during my days of art class in high school, they may look familiar to you.

As far as living creatures go, I usually post more photos of cats than people. I have a hard time capturing anything of the human variety for some reason. Candid shots are my preference, but it’s really hard to catch people when they aren’t blurry or double-chinned. Hence, I like to stick to the still life. I will try harder. Although it pains me to post a posed photo, I can’t resist these ladies. So here you go:

I just noticed a bizarre trend. I've always had gorgeous female coworkers. I promise this is not something I consider in my job interviews. Seriously.

Geez.

Not Mushy

I am not a mushy person.* And Valentines Day as a holiday does not particularly excite me. But love does, and so does food. So since Valentines Day is supposed to involve both of these things, we can get along. Although I don’t know why you would reserve just one day of year for this excitement. If you don’t recognize love (romantic or otherwise), enjoy food, or dine out unless Hallmark tells you to, then Valentines Day may possibly be a very important holiday to you. Maybe you also would go nuts over a Vermont Teddy Bear, Jane Seymour’s Eternal Hearts necklace, or the dreaded Cupcake in Bloom. Someone is getting that crap. And someone is thrilled about it. Pleh.

Here is my effort at being cute for yesterday’s breakfast:

Justin: "Did you nom a bite out of my egg samich?" Me: "It's A HEART. Geez."

So I tried.

We decided to go to In Fine Spirits for dinner and drinks. We hadn’t been there since the summer. *Sigh.* It was June. They had their lovely patio opened up at the back of the restaurant. I can remember having a Blanc Bombshell flight out in the sun with a scrumptious pairing of cheeses on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I think I would pay $1,000 if someone could fast forward time to May, when all of Chicago goes completely out of their heads on the day that patios open up city-wide. We love our dining alfresco.

Back to mid-February: Justin and I ordered a couple reds from the extensive wine menu. The Rioja I had in my glass was the winner. I wish I could describe it properly. Oaky and dry I think. Like smoked wood? It perfectly complimented our plate of Roaring 40s Blue (King Island, Australia), Chorizo (Palacios, Spain), and Sunset Bay goats milk (River’s Edge, Oregon). The second I bit into the Roaring 40s Blue and had a sip of wine directly following, my eyes became squinty, twinkly and a bit blurry. I think Justin calls it my happy-food-place-face?

Wine, small plates, and a pretty tin ceiling.

We followed up the cheese with small tapas style plates of roasted chicken tartine with provolone, celeriac rémoulade, tomato marmalade, followed by meatballs with sake-braised bok choy, soy, ginger, and roasted cauliflower with brussels sprouts, bacon lardon, pine nut, golden raisin. With the exception of one husband-approved brussel sprout, I finished the roasted cauliflower plate without much sharing. It was my first taste of brussel sprouts ever! And I love them! And they weren’t mushy at all!

Brussel sprouts! Not Mushy! A whole page in the menu for cheese! Entire water flasks for our table alone. No ice!

Any restaurant that gives me the whole water pitcher/flask/decanter and leaves it on the table gets major bonus points. Anyone that has spent more than 10 minutes with me in person is aware that I drink more water than thought humanly possible. During a week-long a photo shoot with my lovely former boss-lady Anne (hi, Anne!), I probably frightened the crew with my ability to clear an entire water pallet from Sam’s in less than two days. While driving back to the hotel one night, I freaked out about not having any water (and chap stick?) within arm’s reach and made her pull over to the nearest gas station so I could buy 2 liters of the good stuff. I went to bed with the bottles full on the nightstand, and woke up with them thrown onto the hotel floor, completely empty. I am a sleep drinker apparently.

Although I love water, I am not a fan of ice. It inhibits me from drinking water as fast as I would like, and causes brain freeze. It also makes the food and wine less tasty when the mouth is frozen. So I would rather not have it. So bonus points to In Fine Spirits for not having ice water.

Also, bonus points to the entire country of Italy for also never serving me ice. It is one of the top reasons I wouldn’t be mad if I had to move there someday.

❤ ❤ ❤

*A note about not being a mushy person. I am an ENTP that needs to rein in the “T” (thinking) and concentrate on developing the “F”(feeling) side a lot more. Things that help with the “F”: kittens, babies, heart-shaped egg samiches, and an encouraging INTJ husband who is more in touch with his “F” than I am. I will try harder. ❤

Finer Things Club

Have you seen the Finer Things Club on The Office?

Hilarious.

My officemate Alex is a big fan of Finer Things. He has started his own club. Not so much of a club really, but more of a bougie gathering of indulgence. Yeah…I just linked you to the Urban Dictionary. With the help of Pastoral on Lake street and Alex’s fine choice of pairing blue cheese and Moscato, the corner office rounded out it’s diet of carrot cake and espresso with some equally health concious happy hour goodness. You are in charge of your own happiness I say. On occasion, Alex is in charge.

Taken in the last seconds of it's life. I would like to say it is in a better place...but no.

Bonus points if you can spot a Christmas cup, a Fizzgig doll wearing a newsboy hat, and a dramatic wolf poster.

Speaking of finer things. My virtual officemate, Ryan, asked me what my last meal would be. Without hesitation, I of course replied that I would like nothing more than to die with a full belly of good cheese, fresh bread, and excellent wine. Ryan agreed whole-hearted, but then said brisket was choice #2. I am not on the same page in this case. I was then immediately tagged in this photo on Facebook:

To stay on track with the finer things theme for the day, I then met up with my other virtual officemate, Amber, and wine club friend Lindsay. Lindsay is the only person I know that can’t be reached online at all times. She is an anomaly among us. I am a bit envious that she has managed this. Sepia was our meeting place. It is one of my favorite spots in Chicago as far as the atmosphere goes. I won’t bother uploading a bunch of photos, because their website does a good job of that already. We had a couple glasses of pricey but delicious wine, and then I sprinted to the Metra so I wouldn’t have to wait another hour to get home.

I will not go into the less than savory details, but the ride home was the least-fine thing about the day. I don’t recommend race-paced running after wine consumption.

Carrera marble and wine...very fine.

Not What You Think

Last night, Justin and I went to the Hopleaf for dinner! Then we got to the hostess who let us know that it was a 2 hour wait.

So then we decided to go to Andies for dinner! It is not what you think. The website…yes..kind of bad. The restaurant decor….yes…really bad. The red light bulbs and roses for Valentines day…cheesy. BUT the food is so good. Every time I have been there, my satisfied tummy leaves no room for complaint. We started with a couple wine flights that are served in a cheesy little curly wire plant-stand looking thing. The glasses are miniature. Please note the daintiness of the glass in Justin’s hand. The presentation is cheesy…but the wine was good.

Big man. Little teensy glass.

We were not there for the wine though. The menu is a little overwhelming, and has many fold out panels that open. There are at least two supplemental loose leaf inserts as well. I am convinced that you can order anything on the extensive list of mouth watering Mediterranean dishes. If you find something gross, please call me from the restaurant and I will be there within 5 minutes to slap you. You are clearly a liar and don’t know good food. I will then buy your dinner from you and eat it with pleasure.

The red lighting didn’t really provide a ton of light, and I refuse to use the flash in a restaurant. So the actual meal photo is a bit shaky. I am also very excited to eat it, so only took a fuzzy shot or two. (Note: Since I have been taken my new camera into restaurants, I must appear to be working for a publication that is reviewing the place. Because I have been visited by the manager to ask how the meal is, service is flawless, the food delicious, presentation gorgeous and quick to come out of the kitchen. I am NOT what they think I am. Although I suppose I am reviewing the place in a way, just not for a “real” publication).

Moroccan Chicken with Apricot: Breast of chicken grilled with vegetables, garbanzo. Moroccan spices, apricot sauce. Side of dill rice. Bad lighting, shaky hand.

Justin had the Sha‑Wer-Ma homemade lebanese style gyros with tahini sauce. He loved it. At the end of the meal, we noticed there was still bread left in the basket which means the meal was fantastic. Rarely do we leave the bread alone. I have probably only seen this happen 3 times in our eating career.

Rare leftover bread sighting.

So at this point I would usually refuse a dessert menu and ask for the check. But sometime during the time line of restaurant evolution, the dessert tray/cart tactic was born. It is beautiful and irresistible to most humans. Pomegranate cheesecake was promptly ordered. The tartness of the pom, the cinnamon and nutmeg spiced crust, and rich smoothness of the filling marry together into a piece of dessert perfection that is unique and memorable. It was also very good looking on the plate… for the 1/2 second life it had before we devoured it.