Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts

Saturday, November 7, 2009

"What's for dinner?"

"Food."
"What kind of food?"
"Good food!"
If my children read this, they will recognize this conversation.

Well, we were in Chicago earlier this week and had better than just good food...we had FANTASTIC food at Topolobampo. I had the Adventurer's Tasting Menu. The pictures are from my iPhone, so they are not that great, but trust me, dinner and wine were fabulous!



The restaurant was very busy, crowded and noisy and the server was very scripted, but we still enjoyed our evening very much.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Charlie Trotter's redux

Gosh, here it is Thursday already and it seems like I just finished my Monday post ;-) So here is just one more about Chicago and then maybe I will have a quilt update. The Charlie Trotter experience was so awesome that I have to say more about it. The staff was so friendly and gracious. The hostess even offered to take a picture of Mike and me in the lobby before she seated us.


The menu I posted here is one that I downloaded on my phone. This the menu we actually had along with the wine pairings.

And I did sneak one photo (little camera, no flash) of one of the four different desserts (two each) we were served. Even in the low light you can appreciate the presentation.

Like I said before, definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

Monday, June 29, 2009

My kind of town...

We had a great time in Chicago! Mike went for the RTOG meeting and I went for the fun! When we lived in Milwaukee, we would go down to Chicago several times a year for various occasions. Both of our mothers were born and raised there, so we have an historical basis for our affinity to "the Windy City." One of Mike's favorite places to go is The Berghoff. It's not that the food is so great, it's the history. They claim to be Chicago's oldest restaurant and Mike recalls his grandmother telling him that she remembered being taken there in a horse and buggy.

They have updated their menu a bit. Here is Mike enjoying his "beer flight."

My favorite place to visit is Marshall Field's. Of course, it is now a Macy's, but fortunately they had the good sense NOT to remove these signs.


And the iconic clock remains as well.

These towers were built in the 60s. I remember an issue of the Chicago Seed depicting them as ears of corn.
On Thursday night we went to a taping of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. It was fun to see what we listen to every Saturday. We have been to A Prairie Home Companion several times, but this is different because it is taped, not live. Here you can see what Carl Kasell, Peter Sagal, Roxanne Roberts and Tom Bodett look like (sort of).

On Sunday we went to the Art Institute. It is one of my favorite art museums, with an incredible collection, yet small enough to be manageable. This is one of the pair of lions that guard the entrance.

This Georgia O'Keefe is their largest painting.

But I like this one so much better...

We had seen this in an exhibition of Van Gogh & Gauguin several years ago. I didn't realize that it is a part of their permanent collection.


The same is true of this Mary Cassatt.

A Frank Lloyd Wright window...


It is amazing to turn a corner and find these famous paintings right in front of you.


This Renoir is one of my favorites.

Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.

Magritte's Time Tranfixed.
I love this one by Toulouse-Lautrec.


Especially this detail...


A smaller bronze of the Picasso sculpture in Daley Center Plaza.


Mike studying this large Picasso painting.


Nighthawks by Edward Hopper has certainly been parodied often.


Though not as often as Grant Wood's American Gothic.

Including this much larger than life installation on Michigan Avenue.

Mike obliged me by posing for this outside of the Lego Store in The Shops at North Bridge.

I can't wait to go back for the ASTRO meeting this fall!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Charlie Trotter's

We had dinner at Charlie Trotter's last night. No pictures, because I didn't want to embarrass Mike, who was buying me the most expensive dinner of my life, but I did manage to copy the menu from Urbanspoon. After dinner we had a tour of the kitchen and the demo kitchen where they tape his TV show. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

Grand Menu

Effingham Oyster with Wasabi & Nori

Steamed Freshwater Japanese Eel with Cilantro, Roasted Banana & Soy

Scottish Salmon Confit with Rose & Black Tea

Roasted Duck Breast with Kumquats, Wild Licorice, Szechuan Peppercorns & Duck Gizzards

Salt-Crusted Veal Loin with Oregon Morel Mushrooms, Fermented Black Garlic & Thyme

Red Shiso Sorbet with Mango & Grains of Paradise

Poached Quince with Sesame Ice Cream & Rosemary Shortbread

Oloroso Sherry-Raisin Ice Cream with Chocolate Cotton Cake, Dried Plums & Ennis Hazelnuts

~An 18% Service Charge is Added to Each Check