food crawl part deux

After the gym, Mike and I took staggered returns to and showers at his apartment. We went to dinner with Gisela at this Asian place called Ping Pong. It was delicious. They’re BYOB, so we picked up a bottle of wine (no hints of leather or tobacco, Tara) and ate the little trio of Asian snacks they serve while you wait for a table. We shared a tuna sashimi dip, and Mike had the most delicious vegetable soup ever. The three of us ordered their signature “ping pong” chicken with veggies and walnuts, shrimp fried with fresh mangos, and tofu in a spicy hoisin sauce (which was so good it could have been eaten with just plain rice). We actually had dessert before our meal since there was a twenty-minute wait. I don’t remember the name of the place, but it was soft-serve ice cream with toppings mixed in. (McFlurries but better.) That was Gisela’s contribution to the evening. “We should have dessert first, while we wait, because we’ll have wine at dinner and after, and you can’t have ice cream after you’ve been drinking.” Mike’s response: “I like the way you think!” After that we did some more barhopping.

Leaving Chicago (and Mikey and ‘Sela) was really hard especially when both of them individually said some variation of “No, stay. It’s too soon. Don’t leave!”

Chicago was awesome. I really enjoyed myself. The only con is that it was cold. Sorry, New York. I think Chicago’s pizza and hot dogs are better. I miss the lifestyle there already. Lucky for me, Mike and Gisela (together even) and Viralyne are all supposed to come to Mardi Gras, so I won’t have to miss them too much. I guess I just have to miss David since he’s sooo far away, and I rarely see him.

Back here at home, I went to Lacoste in Georgetown with my Dad to buy him Adrian’s and my very-belated Christmas gift. We went to the nearby Benihana right after for their Endless Sushi Lover’s special. (Basically all-you-can-eat made-to-order sushi.)

This morning we went to mass at St. Mary’s, the parish for the school I went to for junior high. Wow, memories. Everything looks exactly the same as I remember. Then after that we went to Murphy’s Irish Pub for lunch. Fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and of course corned beef and cabbage. They even have Smithwick’s on tap. I thought of Chicago again because when we left all the Bears fans were coming in to watch the game. We hit up Cold Stone right after to get some dessert. (I recommend the after-dinner-mint. It’s dark chocolate peppermint ice cream with chocolate shavings, marshmallows, and Oreos.) And of course, we had to stop by Chipotle because a burrito was on the list Adrian told me of things to bring back for him.

When I got home, Adrian came over and picked up his stuff and then I went to dinner with the girls and my roommates. Reginelli’s was actually not out of any ingredients. Amazing. Even more amazing (I don’t remember how) was Stephanie saying something about how the combination of raw fish and nudity didn’t go well together. (In Chicago, David and I were talking about the eat-of-a-naked-woman, $500-all-you-can-eat-sushi-for-four-people sushi place. We needed two more people who were not Viralyne or Gisela, and I suggested Lauren and Steph.) They were surprisingly uninterested?

We’re about to go out for our requisite Sunday-Before-Classes-Drunkfest, so this update ends abruptly.

Pictures of New Year’s, Chicago, and tonight coming soon. For now, here’s a video of the KA House burning down over break. (Apparently ZBT did also. The fires were unrelated.)