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sarea
So after all the drama and controversy (on my LJ if not RL), I ended up going to the Indian dinner after all. LOL. Long story short, K. got a sitter (without ANY prompting from me, I was not reluctant or passive aggressive at all in any of my talks with her about it) so I got to go. I'm really glad I didn't say anything to her now, even though I totally understand why so many people thought I should, because I would have created strife for nothing! I mean, I suppose there's still the fact that she asked me to do it in the first place, which I agree wasn't cool, but I also understood that at the time, she felt that she had no other choice, and she does a lot of cool stuff for me. (Like, say, the Billy Elliot musical!)
Case in point: She was at the farmer's market and one of the vendors was selling their special apple cider balsamic vinegar, which they age for 7 years. It's only sold once a year. She picked up a bottle for me. It is SO RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. It doesn't taste like any vinegar I've ever had. It's so apple-y and flavorful it's almost like a syrup, except it's also got the tang of balsamic vinegar. Delicious.
Currentlyropo and I are still homeless in Chicago, lol. I won't start to panic until about a week from now. At the moment I'm still trying to get the best deals on Priceline/Hotwire. I've gotten many awesome suggestions for food places. :D They're in LJ and email, so I'm going to consolidate and have this be my easy reference post.
Super Casual:
Floriole Bakery - bakery
Superdawg - hot dogs
Pastoral - gourmet sandwiches
French Market Chicago - small market with different vendors
Gaztro-Wagon - street food cart, can follow on Twitter to see where they are
Hot Doug's - great Chicago hot dogs but would need to travel
Edzo's Burger Shop - burgers, duh
Kuma's - burgers
Portillo's - hot dogs
Pizza (yes it gets its own category):
Uno's - Chicago-style pizza
Giordano's - Chicago-style pizza
Gino's East - Chicago-style pizza
Lou Malnati's - Chicago-style pizza
* Apparently there's some controversy as to which of these pizza places are the best; I think R. and I need to give due consideration to this important decision
Restaurants:
Xoco - Rick Bayless Mexican fare Does not take reservations
Taste of Peru - Peruvian fare No reservations... about 9.3 miles from NMA
Taqueria Susupuato - Mexican fare 8.4 miles from NMA
Girl and the Goat - casual Reservation: Monday, May 9, 10:00 p.m.
Penang - Malaysian/Singaporean fare 25 miles from NMA
Publican - casual Reservations: Friday, May 6, 6:30 p.m.
Frontera Grill - Rick Bayless Mexican fare Reservations: Tuesday, May 10, 7:30 p.m.
Charlie Trotter's
La Unica - Cuban/South American
Blackbird
Rosebud on Rush - Italian
Ditka's - burgers and steaks
Spiaggia - slightly more high end
Alinea - SUPER high end, don't think we'll be doing this $195 prix fixe, lol
any restaurant in Chinatown!
Dessert/Coffee:
Garrett's Caramel Corn - caramel and cheese popcorn
Nuts on Clark - caramel and cheese popcorn
Xoco Hot Chocolate
Metropolis Coffee
I introduced K. to The Mortal Instruments series (she liked it) and she in turn introduced it to C., who loved it. Now C. is asking me for more recommendations and I find myself hard pressed to come up with any. I mean... I guess there aren't as many of those types of novels as I thought (she's already read The Hunger Games and Twilight) -- at least, good ones. I don't want to recommend really typical teen lit that has no other plot than the teen angst (like Meg Cabot or Elizabeth Scott). I'll mention A Song of Ice & Fire but I'm not sure that's what she's looking for. She's looking for books like The Mortal Instruments, and to my surprise I don't think there are any others of its ilk that I'd recommend.
I have a new shopping weakness: HauteLook. They sell really high-end designer stuff at steeply discounted prices, but you can't see what the deals are unless you're a member (it's free to join). Every day there's a different set of items/designers on sale that day (about a dozen), from makeup to clothes to rugs to vacation spots. As I said, it's all very high end and discounted. The other day I picked up a couple pairs of designer jeans, just because I couldn't resist! >< It's a brand I've heard of -- Not Your Daughter's Jeans -- but don't know how they actually look on me. This is the danger of HauteLook!! A few weeks ago I also ordered some makeup by Rock & Republic, and I have to say I LOVE it. Really good makeup and the packaging is awesome. I could never justify buying this stuff full price.
Case in point: She was at the farmer's market and one of the vendors was selling their special apple cider balsamic vinegar, which they age for 7 years. It's only sold once a year. She picked up a bottle for me. It is SO RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. It doesn't taste like any vinegar I've ever had. It's so apple-y and flavorful it's almost like a syrup, except it's also got the tang of balsamic vinegar. Delicious.
Currently
ropo and I are still homeless in Chicago, lol. I won't start to panic until about a week from now. At the moment I'm still trying to get the best deals on Priceline/Hotwire. I've gotten many awesome suggestions for food places. :D They're in LJ and email, so I'm going to consolidate and have this be my easy reference post.Super Casual:
Floriole Bakery - bakery
Superdawg - hot dogs
Pastoral - gourmet sandwiches
French Market Chicago - small market with different vendors
Gaztro-Wagon - street food cart, can follow on Twitter to see where they are
Hot Doug's - great Chicago hot dogs but would need to travel
Edzo's Burger Shop - burgers, duh
Kuma's - burgers
Portillo's - hot dogs
Pizza (yes it gets its own category):
Uno's - Chicago-style pizza
Giordano's - Chicago-style pizza
Gino's East - Chicago-style pizza
Lou Malnati's - Chicago-style pizza
* Apparently there's some controversy as to which of these pizza places are the best; I think R. and I need to give due consideration to this important decision
Restaurants:
Xoco - Rick Bayless Mexican fare Does not take reservations
Taste of Peru - Peruvian fare No reservations... about 9.3 miles from NMA
Taqueria Susupuato - Mexican fare 8.4 miles from NMA
Girl and the Goat - casual Reservation: Monday, May 9, 10:00 p.m.
Penang - Malaysian/Singaporean fare 25 miles from NMA
Publican - casual Reservations: Friday, May 6, 6:30 p.m.
Frontera Grill - Rick Bayless Mexican fare Reservations: Tuesday, May 10, 7:30 p.m.
Charlie Trotter's
La Unica - Cuban/South American
Blackbird
Rosebud on Rush - Italian
Ditka's - burgers and steaks
Spiaggia - slightly more high end
Alinea - SUPER high end, don't think we'll be doing this $195 prix fixe, lol
any restaurant in Chinatown!
Dessert/Coffee:
Garrett's Caramel Corn - caramel and cheese popcorn
Nuts on Clark - caramel and cheese popcorn
Xoco Hot Chocolate
Metropolis Coffee
I introduced K. to The Mortal Instruments series (she liked it) and she in turn introduced it to C., who loved it. Now C. is asking me for more recommendations and I find myself hard pressed to come up with any. I mean... I guess there aren't as many of those types of novels as I thought (she's already read The Hunger Games and Twilight) -- at least, good ones. I don't want to recommend really typical teen lit that has no other plot than the teen angst (like Meg Cabot or Elizabeth Scott). I'll mention A Song of Ice & Fire but I'm not sure that's what she's looking for. She's looking for books like The Mortal Instruments, and to my surprise I don't think there are any others of its ilk that I'd recommend.
I have a new shopping weakness: HauteLook. They sell really high-end designer stuff at steeply discounted prices, but you can't see what the deals are unless you're a member (it's free to join). Every day there's a different set of items/designers on sale that day (about a dozen), from makeup to clothes to rugs to vacation spots. As I said, it's all very high end and discounted. The other day I picked up a couple pairs of designer jeans, just because I couldn't resist! >< It's a brand I've heard of -- Not Your Daughter's Jeans -- but don't know how they actually look on me. This is the danger of HauteLook!! A few weeks ago I also ordered some makeup by Rock & Republic, and I have to say I LOVE it. Really good makeup and the packaging is awesome. I could never justify buying this stuff full price.
