Chicago of excess
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It was a pleasant extended weekend here in Chicago. Fiancee (TM) visited from Friday-Monday, and we saw our share of fine living, mostly courtesy to my friend Scott.
On Friday, we visited a fine establishment in which he slings sauce. I guess it's not really referred to as 'sauce' if it's fine wine though, right? Someone needs to confirm this for me.
Fiancee (TM) rolled in at about 8:30, and we didn't escape the monstrous O'Hare until approximately 9:15. Who knew there would be that much airline traffic at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday? We bee-lined straight over to the Tasting Room, a fine establishment on the West Side which features more than 100 wines by the glass and plates of your finest meats and cheeses. It was pleasant.
Scott introduced us to some tasty beverages, including a nice glass of champagne (a recurring theme that weekend).
Got up at a decent hour on Saturday and headed over to the Field Museum for the J. Bouvier-Kennedy-Onassis exhibit, which Fiancee (TM) thoroughly enjoyed.
Going forward with the theme of "excess," we dined about a block from home at Geja's, a nice little fondue bistro. Got a great seat in a hidden corner, and enjoyed a nice bottle of rioja with our three-course meal, which consisted of cheese fondue, meat and vegetable fondue and a chocolate fondue.
One thing you should note before going to a fondue restaurant on the garden level: it's a virtual guarantee that you'll leave feeling plump and smelling of hot oil. A small price to pay for a unique dining experience.
Watched (part of) The Bourne Supremacy and hit the sack. Glad I didn't see it in the theatre...
Next day, we laid low, and I even coerced Finacee (TM) to watch a bit of Minnesota Vikings football, which is always good comedy.
We proceeded to drive around Chicago for four hours, and I gave her an annotated guided tour through the various neighborhoods that make Chicago a one-of-a-kind metropolis. We sampled some of the goodies from a Columbian bakery in Albany Park (the city's true melting pot), and an Italian bakery in Little Italy.
Met up with Scott and his girlfriend, Lauren, at a new restaurant in Edgewater called South. It's a nice little BYOB joint that was rather quiet on a Sunday night. We plowed through four appetizers, main courses and three bottles of wine before retiring to POPS!, a pricey champagne bar a bit further south.
Scott, being that he has a well-paying job (while still in school), treated us to caviar (first-timer over here... I guess it was "an experience") and two bottles of Laurent-Perrier Rose -- a wonderful champagne. By bottle #1, Fiancee (TM) was decidedly "buzzed," and guilt set in a bit. After all, I don't work, and thus cannot afford to live so extravagantly -- and Scott swallowed a healthy bill... We can't thank him enough. It was a great experience.
However, the night still wasn't over. A couple of pops translated into karaoke at Trader Todd's... Yikes. Talk about a recipe for disaster. Scott did a sweet rendition of James Brown's "Sex Machine," and I hacked up "King of the Road" -- pretty awful, I might add.
Finally rolled back to Studio Apartment at about 1:30 a.m. and slept like a baby UNTIL almost 11 a.m. We haven't done that for ages.
After rolling out pretty late, we headed down to Jeweler's Row to get some ideas for wedding bands. I wouldn't recommend Jeweler's Row, by the way... A bit shady, but at least we came out with some good ideas.
To humor me, we headed up to Michigan Ave. and had a late lunch at Billy Goat Tavern of SNL fame -- you know "cheezeborger, cheezeborger, cheezeborger -- no Pepsi, Coke -- no fries, chips!" Tasty, as always.
It was sad to see her go. I hate living 400 miles away from my loved one. Hate it. It's tough, I tell you, trying to help plan a wedding remotely out of the Chicago bureau... Yuck. I wouldn't recommend it.
Excess. Excess. Excess. It's not supposed to be this way as a grad student. I should be saving money...
Enough of my weekend. Time to get some of my valued reading in. I tell you, this magazine class I'm in treats me to some interesting articles compiled through the years. It makes for fun reading. Something I think everyone can appreciate. Recommended: PJ O'Rourke, Jim Harrison and Stephen Crane.
It's supposed to snow tonight. Lovely. God Bless the Midwest.
On Friday, we visited a fine establishment in which he slings sauce. I guess it's not really referred to as 'sauce' if it's fine wine though, right? Someone needs to confirm this for me.
Fiancee (TM) rolled in at about 8:30, and we didn't escape the monstrous O'Hare until approximately 9:15. Who knew there would be that much airline traffic at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday? We bee-lined straight over to the Tasting Room, a fine establishment on the West Side which features more than 100 wines by the glass and plates of your finest meats and cheeses. It was pleasant.
Scott introduced us to some tasty beverages, including a nice glass of champagne (a recurring theme that weekend).
Got up at a decent hour on Saturday and headed over to the Field Museum for the J. Bouvier-Kennedy-Onassis exhibit, which Fiancee (TM) thoroughly enjoyed.
Going forward with the theme of "excess," we dined about a block from home at Geja's, a nice little fondue bistro. Got a great seat in a hidden corner, and enjoyed a nice bottle of rioja with our three-course meal, which consisted of cheese fondue, meat and vegetable fondue and a chocolate fondue.
One thing you should note before going to a fondue restaurant on the garden level: it's a virtual guarantee that you'll leave feeling plump and smelling of hot oil. A small price to pay for a unique dining experience.
Watched (part of) The Bourne Supremacy and hit the sack. Glad I didn't see it in the theatre...
Next day, we laid low, and I even coerced Finacee (TM) to watch a bit of Minnesota Vikings football, which is always good comedy.
We proceeded to drive around Chicago for four hours, and I gave her an annotated guided tour through the various neighborhoods that make Chicago a one-of-a-kind metropolis. We sampled some of the goodies from a Columbian bakery in Albany Park (the city's true melting pot), and an Italian bakery in Little Italy.
Met up with Scott and his girlfriend, Lauren, at a new restaurant in Edgewater called South. It's a nice little BYOB joint that was rather quiet on a Sunday night. We plowed through four appetizers, main courses and three bottles of wine before retiring to POPS!, a pricey champagne bar a bit further south.
Scott, being that he has a well-paying job (while still in school), treated us to caviar (first-timer over here... I guess it was "an experience") and two bottles of Laurent-Perrier Rose -- a wonderful champagne. By bottle #1, Fiancee (TM) was decidedly "buzzed," and guilt set in a bit. After all, I don't work, and thus cannot afford to live so extravagantly -- and Scott swallowed a healthy bill... We can't thank him enough. It was a great experience.
However, the night still wasn't over. A couple of pops translated into karaoke at Trader Todd's... Yikes. Talk about a recipe for disaster. Scott did a sweet rendition of James Brown's "Sex Machine," and I hacked up "King of the Road" -- pretty awful, I might add.
Finally rolled back to Studio Apartment at about 1:30 a.m. and slept like a baby UNTIL almost 11 a.m. We haven't done that for ages.
After rolling out pretty late, we headed down to Jeweler's Row to get some ideas for wedding bands. I wouldn't recommend Jeweler's Row, by the way... A bit shady, but at least we came out with some good ideas.
To humor me, we headed up to Michigan Ave. and had a late lunch at Billy Goat Tavern of SNL fame -- you know "cheezeborger, cheezeborger, cheezeborger -- no Pepsi, Coke -- no fries, chips!" Tasty, as always.
It was sad to see her go. I hate living 400 miles away from my loved one. Hate it. It's tough, I tell you, trying to help plan a wedding remotely out of the Chicago bureau... Yuck. I wouldn't recommend it.
Excess. Excess. Excess. It's not supposed to be this way as a grad student. I should be saving money...
Enough of my weekend. Time to get some of my valued reading in. I tell you, this magazine class I'm in treats me to some interesting articles compiled through the years. It makes for fun reading. Something I think everyone can appreciate. Recommended: PJ O'Rourke, Jim Harrison and Stephen Crane.
It's supposed to snow tonight. Lovely. God Bless the Midwest.
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