finally sitting down

When I got back here on Thursday, my mom was at a glass-fusing class, so my dad and I went to dinner at Matuba. We had a nice, atypical bonding conversation over dinner and the drive back. Friday we bought some goat curry and chicken stew from the local Caribbean place for lunch and I made an ancient Roman recipe, Parthian chicken for the parents for dinner. Saturday my mother and I went to the Armenian Festival in Old Town’s Market Square. We met up with one of her friends from work, who educated us on many things Armenian. Good times. After that I went to Ryanne’s new apartment in Silver Spring for her during-a-heat-wave house-warming party. So many old friends were there, and I was slightly relieved/appalled to hear that they’d all been reasonably out of touch too. (And I felt glad to have my excuse of being in Italy). Aaron, Chris, Claire, Eliza, Janet, Jeff, John, Lish, Max, Ona, Nate, and Susan. And some new people too. Good times. Lots of wine, lots of beer. No spilling on the new carpet. A few of us went to The Piratz Tavern for grog and other drinks. Yes, seriously. Great night.

Sunday my family, sans Adrian who’s not back from New Orleans yet, went to church and then had lunch at Bistro du Coin with one of my father’s old classmates who was in town for a conference. Then it was an unsuccessful quest for a Wii Fit for him to take back to the Philippines. Hungry again from all that driving(?) we grabbed dinner at The Fish Market in Old town.

Monday aka TODAY aka the day I finally updated my journal, I spent going to a dentist appointment, cleaning my room, unpacking FOR REAL, and updating this journal.

About a thousand pictures coming soon I promise!

I’m going to The Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia for a few weeks with my family. So after all these belated updates and the coming-soon photos, I’m going on indefinite hiatus again. An Asian update in a month or so is probable, but after that, it might be a wait again until my return to Florence. E-mails, IMs, facebook, phone calls, text messages… you know how to reach me.

rest of Chicago week

So our weekend in Chicago was over, and it was Monday and off to the airport. Lauren and Ryanne were getting on flights, David was driving back to Michigan, and I was taking the train to the city to Mikey’s place. We dropped Lauren off first, then Ryanne and I got out and wished David a safe drive, and – rather anticlimactically – Ryanne and I told each other “see you on Saturday!”

After settling into Mikey’s new apartment, I met up with Nicole and her friend – and now mine – Therese. We did happy hour at Harry Caray’s and then Murkel’s. Mikey met up with us for dinner and drinks at Wilde, named for the author and delicious. One of Oscar’s wonderful quotes was painted on a wall: “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives.” True story. The night after that is a bit of a blur, a pub crawl involving Sidetrack, Minibar, Scarlet, Hydrate, Roscoe’s.

Tuesday, we were supposed to go to breakfast but we ended up just lounging around his apartment for hours before he treated me to lunch at The Zodiac Room above Neiman Marcus. So good. So good. We went to the Signature Lounge on top of the Hancock Building for cocktails, but it was so cloudy we couldn’t see anything. So we went to Duffy’s to split a bottle of wine and then went to get more drinks at a bar I can’t recall the name of with his friend Nikki, Nicole, Gisela, and Sarah (from Italy, aka Madonna-Original) and one of her friends. ‘Sela, Nicole, Mikey, and I grabbed dinner at his favorite Japanese restaurant. The ladies called it a night, and Mike and I spent the night drinking PITCHERS – courtesy of a generous friend of his – of vodka sodas at Cocktail, the bar across his apartment.

Wednesday, Mikey went to work and I met up with another Lauren (aka Rosie of PCBaywatch fame). She suggested Ada’s, a “great Jewish deli.” How very Tulane of us. It was awesome. We went to Argo to grab some tea, the mate latte made me think of Juan and Italy. She had to go back to suburbia after, but Nicole, Jack, and I went for some cocktails. Signature Room, redux. On a clear day, you can see FOUR STATES from the view. Amazing. We met up with Mike and ‘Sela for a diner dinner at Clark’s. Jack and I, in our quest for waffles, had been discussing a meal there for four months, so it was nice to finally fulfill that dream. We picked up a few bottles of DOCG Chianti and went to a hookah bar and smoked the rest of the night away. A perfect chill way to end a great, eventful visit.

weekend in Chicago

Even with their flight delays, I was the last to arrive, so David, Lauren, and Ryanne picked me up at the airport. We just chilled at his house for the afternoon and then went with Viralyne to Wildfire for dinner. Lots of steaks and carbs. Good times. More important were the wine flights we did. Lauren and I both did “4 jazzy reds” and “4 premium reds,” which got us off to a great start. We all went to Hangge Uppe for hip-hop and ‘80s nights on different floors. Lots more drinking. Lots of dancing. David’s friend Paul and some of Viralyne’s friends joined us. As did Ted and his entourage, including familiar faces David and Justin. Fantastic night.

That Saturday after a nice breakfast of croissants and blueberry loaf, we went directly to lunch at a drive-in, SuperDawg. We spent the day in the city at Lauren’s love, Cloudgate (“The Bean”) and watching kids play in the face fountain. (I don’t know it’s real name.) We walked down Mag Mile and stopped at both Hershey’s and Ghirardelli chocolate stores. I stocked up with some ammunition for that night’s dinner dessert, as Gisela had requested chocolate be involved.

I’d promised her and the others a high-end meal and recruited Jack, once again, to be my culinary partner. We stopped by Jerry’s for vegetables, Binny’s for wines, and Whole Foods for proteins. Jack and I decided on ingredients and recipes in a completely spontaneous, impromptu way. (Save for dessert because pastries and chilled items usually require a little more prep time than other things.) I had texted Tara our decisions once they were made, so she, fresh out of sommelier school, could do some pairings. The guy at Binny’s took her type-and-region recommendations and even further refined them to bottle-specific. Whole Foods was out of duck, so we changed that dish to lamb at the last minute. But everyone still seemed to be really happy with the Jack-Andrew Tasting Menu:

• Chorizo seared scallops with shallot sauce
• René Muré Gewürztraminer France ’04 from Marlborough, France.

• Veal tenderloin “al ajillo” wrapped around fontina cheese and fresh sage
• Sauvignon Blanc’06 from Le Clos Redon, New Zealand.

• Asparagus artichoke risotto with pancetta bits
• Chateau de Mattes Sabran Corbries ‘05 from Altos de LuzOn, France.

• Center cut lamb tenderloin in sriracha coconut curry
• Cabernet Sauvignon ’05 from Pacific Rim, Spain.

• Dark chocolate mousse with rosemary vanilla crème anglaise and straciatella whipped cream
• Vin de Glaciere Riesling ’06 from Washington State.

After that, we all entered a food coma until Sunday.

Breakfast of champions: Shots while barhopping, specifically Patron and “break the curse” which is blue curacao and 100 proof Absolut. Lunch of champions: Ball Oark hot dogs with mustard and onions, peanuts, crackerjacks, and beer (Pabst Blue Ribbon and Bud Light). The Cubs won the game, by the way.

After the game, the four of us and Viralyne’s friend Kris got a few more drinks at Vines with one of David’s friends who was really nice and even drunker than we were. He recommended a film one of their old classmates currently stars in, Wauntown Skank.

We went to get some Chicago deep-dish pizza at Giordanos in Buffalo Grove with Gisela, Laura, and Becca. Then some of us hit up Culver’s for custard and discussion about upcoming marriages and the intricate complications of cheating. I wasn’t going to get dessert, but when I saw the flavor of the day was Snickers, I changed my mind.