"I'll send an SOS to the world..."

If you can identify that song lyric, then you know where I was Thursday night at Wrigley Field.

Yes, that was the Police concert.

Sitting on the field of the Friendly Confines. I can't tell you what a thrill that was. Sitting in left field at one of the best ballparks EVER for a concert. Wasn't sure how many songs I would know, but I recognized almost all.

That was Day 2 of the move to Chicago.

Day 1 consisted of eating at Milk & Honey, a tasty cafe on Division close to the Ukranian Village. Good food & tunes. In addition to a sandwich, I tried their ice tea which for my southern friends was unsweet.

On the evening of Day 3 I took the train up north to Ravinia which is an outdoor venue for concerts, events, and activities. The weekend's theme was classical composers, so vistors were guaranteed a pleasant evening; picnic baskets, wine, and small tables were everywhere. Kind of reminded me of football season in the Grove at Oxford, MS. I hope to go again this summer to see other concerts.

The rest of the weekend consisted of going to the following restaurants:
*Hot Chocolate (owner is a Kendall graduate & James Beard winner)
*Jerry's Sandwiches (opened 7 days ago & has 100 sandwich options--they need an eating contest similar to the Flying Saucer)
*Meritage (several pronunciations, but I think it rhymes with "heritage")
*People Lounge (tapas bar in Bucktown)

PS: this city will put me in the poor house if I continue to go out to eat.

24 Hours in Boston

This week's travels brought me to Boston for about 24 hours. A quick trip with not enough time to do everything that I want. An exhibit at the MFA closes this weekend, and alas, I did not make it.

I did, however, manage to have two great meals.

Little did I know that "restaurant week" was happening in Boston until I opened the menu at Sel de la Terre, a restaurant across from the Aquarium. In February I lunched at SDLT & knew that dinner needed to happen the next time I was in town. Not to disappoint, the food was excellent. To quote the menu, I ordered braised boneless beef shortribs with celery root whipped potatoes, roasted Provençal vegetables and crispy onions (sorry non-meat eaters) as the entree, and for a starter, a roasted tomato soup with a crab fritter.

The next day I needed a place to go for lunch. I found Rachel's Kitchen on a Chowhound board. By the way, Chowhound is addictive and has never let me down. Just look up a city and BAM! lots of recommendations. So, Rachel's Kitchen (RK) is this tiny cafe on a corner in the Bay Village area of Boston. It is a quiet neighborhood just off some busy streets. The owners of RK actually work there (wow) and cook the food (wow squared) in a kitchen thats about the size of a bread box (kidding, sort of). Breakfast (all day) & lunch are served. Highly recommend the quiche du jour & salad. The chai latte could rank up there with my all time favorite from Teaism in Washington DC (see the post from December 2006). One item that I want to try next time is the brioche with Nutella. Free wi-fi & local music completes the friendly atmosphere. In the future when I own my own restaurant, I would definitely model it after RK's.

Washington DC

I spent about 36 hours in our nation's capitol. On the morning I was to travel home, I walked to DuPont Circle & the Mall. Attached are photos of the National Christmas Tree & World War II Memorial. Glad I made time for the latter. Such a spectacular sight on a nice, winter day.

Other highlights:

Teaism: located near DuPont Circle, this cafe was a great choice for brunch on Saturday morning. With a wide variety of teas, I settled on a mug of hot chai; probably the best I have had. Along with the drink, I ordered a ginger scone (actually you get two per order) & a steaming plate of cilantro scrambled eggs. Quite satisfying!

Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe: a short walk from Teasim is a local bookstore called Kramerbooks located on Connecticut Avenue. Its not your typical, corporate bookstore thats found on every corner. No music to buy, no magazine section, and no gift table. Just books.