Day: July 3, 2011

A toast to friends… and revenge!

Today was yet another fun-filled day with my girls, judiang and elsaf. And, as this trip has been, it was another food-filled day. We started at the (last day of the) Taste of Chicago, moved onto Spanish Tapas, and ended with Super 8.

My takings from the Taste:

  • Vegan Samosa from Arya Bhavan

  • Pralines and Cream (ice cream) from Lagniappe-Creole Cajun Joynt

  • Slice of Gluten-Free Pizza from Connie’s Pizza

  • Italian Lemon Ice from Franco’s Ristorante

  • Bourbon Chicken (in a wrap) from Oak Street Beach Cafe

  • Peach Cobbler from BJ’s Market & Bakery

  • Crab Rangoon from the Noodle Vietnamese Cuisine

  • Churro (vanilla filled) from Churro Factory

All of the above were taste portions except the Churro. Elsa, alas, wasn’t feeling hungry, so she gave us her tickets. Judi and I ate like queens. 🙂

Once we returned to Judi’s flat, I headed off to the pool to read. It was chillier than yesterday, but the water was warm still. Once Elsa & Judi joined me, I got in and enjoyed the warm water. Alas, the pool suffered a major child infestation, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

For supper, Elsa drove us to Tapas Valencia. We had quite a few plates.

  • Salmon Curado – cured salmon with dill sour cream

  • Alchofas con Crema – marinated artichokes with creamy white wine vinaigrette

  • Champinones – stuffed mushroom caps

  • Empanada de Buey – puff pastry filled with beef tenderloin

  • Pato Confitado – duck confit with mushrooms and apples

  • Patatas con Alioli – robust garlic potato salad

  • Gambas al Ajillo – grilled shrimp with garlic lemon butter

  • Crepe Rellena – crepe with goat cheese, spinach, pine nuts and apples

  • Mejillones con Guindillas – fresh black mussels sauteed with guindilla peppers served with a white wine sauce

We did it in three rounds, each picking an item during the round. And then we each picked a dessert. I wound up ordering what I think I ordered the last time Judi and I came here. Crema con Chocolate, which is basically creme brulee with chocolate. All of the food that I ate today was wonderful (except the mussels, but that’s to be expected. I don’t like mussels.)

After a short stop back at the flat, we headed off to see Super 8 at the Icon theater. This place is hoity-toity with VIP films with leather seats. We went to a regular flick, however, but still had reserved seats. Reserved seats! And an air hostess telling how to escape in case of fire and where the oxygen masks drop from. We ain’t got theaters like that in Ohio.

When we got back, Judi, Patty (her Pomeranian) and I took a night time walk around the Field Museum. Patty really enjoyed herself. And so did Judi and I.

Alas, tomorrow, Elsa and I need to have to leave Chicago. I have kitties awaiting my return. But I believe we’ll have a bit more yummy food before the day is over.

Murder for Two

Today was another great day hanging out with judiang and elsaf. We started off with Dim Sum at Three Happiness in Chinatown. Yum!

After we returned from brunch, we went to Judi’s pool and spent some quality time reading & wading. Very relaxing.

But after that, we zipped off to Navy Pier to see a new musical, Murder for Two. It had a cast of thousands played by two men. Well, not thousands, but several. And lots of piano playing. It was quite entertaining, very funny, and the piano playing was brilliant.

After the excellent show, we went to Riva, a hoity-toity seafood place at Navy Pier. Great service, great food, and decadent desserts. I couldn’t make up my mind on what to have, so I had a set of 4 small plates. Grilled shrimp, crab salad, pappadew peppers (blue crab & Brie in peppers & fried in a ball), and artichoke beignet (artichoke & cheese also in a fried ball). All were tasty with the artichoke winning and pepper balls in second place. Then dessert was also a combo – Chocolate Fantasia. This was chocolate gelato, chocolate flour-less cake, and chocolate mousse. All very yummy. And the chocolate ice cream had salt in it just added to the intensity of the flavor. Oh, and I also had a mojito. We won at supper.

We had pondered staying there to watch the Saturday fireworks, but then later decided that seeing them from Museum Campus would be almost as good (and less crowded). So we returned to Judi’s flat and watched another episode of Game of Thrones.

But soon it was time for walking to Museum Park. Judi wanted to make sure I was safe walking in her big city at night, so she came along as my protector. We stopped by the planetarium and waited. The fireworks, as usual, were impressive.

Once we returned home (with a slight detour) we watched another Game of Thrones (5 eps down, but we don’t think we’ll get ’em all watched before we leave Monday).