9 posts tagged “chicago”
If anyone knows of a good limo service in Chicago, could you please let me know? Me and my bajillion member family are about to go on vacay and need a lift to Midway. Thanks!
Okay, so I've been tagged again. This time by the lovely Rachael to blog about my top ten favorite things about summer. Since summer's quickly passing, I thought I'd better hurry up and do this before it's over!
But I have to admit. I'm not much a summer fan. Gasp! Yes, folks! It's true. As I've often said before, although I'm bred to live in the tropics, I'm not really much of a tropical gal. I don't like heat. I don't like sweat. I don't like sand or getting dirty. So how to blog about summer things? Well, I think I could do top 5 things I love about summer and top 5 things I hate about summer...not necessarily in that order! That adds up to ten!
Drumroll please.........
Love #1: Sunshine, and lots of it! I love sunshine and totally get SAD when I go more than a couple of days without sunshine.
Hate #1: Sunshine, and lots of it! I tend to get splitting headaches and feel quite dizzy when it's too bright outside. Thank goodness I finally got off my butt and ordered contacts so that I could go back to wearing my sunglasses outside.
Love #2: The Heat. I like that I'm no longer subjected to Midwestern cold spells where the only way I can warm up is if I take a hot shower and then put on long socks and fleece pjs afterwards. Summer is so fleeting, we really only get 2.25 decent months of it a year.
Hate #2: The Heat. I hate being hot. I hate sweating. I really, really, really hate humidity. And let's face it folks. Midwest in summertime...it's humid, baby!
Love #3: Wearing sundresses and skirts and fun sandals. Nothing more fun than skipping around town looking all cute and summery. And wedge sandals make everyone's legs look long and lean!
Hate #3: Having aforementioned clothing stick to your body due to unbearable Hate #2.
Love #4: The long, long, summer days. I love that we have long summer days. So much to do, but so much more time to do it in! It's great!
Hate #4: The long, long, long summer days. Do you know how hard it is to make children go to bed when it's still light outside? I always hear, "But it's still wake-up time!" and have to fight tooth and nail to get those little mongrels into bed at a decent hour. Also, having both kids home leads to much bickering and fighting, which makes me want them to go to bed even earlier. Alas, no such luck.
I'm going to flip this last one around.
Hate #5: Summer in the city. I think the dirt, heat and humidity brings out all the crazies. They're hot, they're humid, they don't have central air (wait, come to think of it, neither do I!) Crazy people driving, smog, Ozone Action Days, much dust and grit from opened windows, crowded, crowded, crowded everywhere! Tourists! Underfoot! Everywhere!
but.....
Love #5: Summer in the city. There's so much to see, so much to do, so many places to go. So much good food. (The Taste is way better than it used to be, but the crowds are still horrific! but you can eat outside at many restaurants, unless it's super hot and humid.) Lake Michigan is gorgeous. Ravinia is just delightful! The park district is hopping. Music fills the air. Street festivals everywhere, all around! Farmer's Markets! Movies in the park! And despite all the dirt, sweat, bickering and sunshine, I still love it. It's wonderful! Until August. Then I hate it and begin wishing for winter again!
So now, it's time for the tagging...let me see...well, if you want to play along, then consider yourself tagged!
Still none to be seen or heard. Maybe global warming fried them in the ground?
Just in case you give two sh*ts, I am happy to say that I have not yet seen or heard any cicadas. Thank goodness for the concrete jungle!
But I have to say, I was listening to a phone interview with a cicada expert, and was chagrined to find, that after all those frenziedly mating adults die and litter the ground and their remains are swept away, about 6 weeks later, the byproduct of all that summer lovin' will hatch out of their little eggs and FALL OUT OF THE TREES! Yes, not only will they freak me out in the beginning of the summer with their noise and general bugginess, but at the end of the summer, I will have to watch for falling cicada babies? I have long hair, folks. This is my worst nightmare come true!
Someone, please pass the Belvedere, I think I'm going to need the whole bottle.
and I am afraid! Very, very afraid! Apparently, nature has conspired that today is the day those noisy little creatures emerge from the ground due to perfect weather conditions, etc. Those that know me well know that I DO NOT like bugs. My mom always tells the story of how once when I was a wee girl, I started screaming bloody murder. She came running, thinking I had hurt myself in some way. Instead, the itsy-bitsy spider was crawling in the bathtub. A really teeny, tiny one. And I wasn't even in the tub with it. She has never let me live it down since.
I hate all creepy-crawlie type things. I truly believe this is why I was blessed with girls (not that girls don't play with those things too, but they are less inclined to bring them home.) As a matter of fact, both of my girls are terrified of bugs too. Not sure if this a nature vs. nurture thing, but still, good to know no one is going to try to terrorize me in my own home with worms or bugs or other generally icky things.
As a matter of fact, I chaperoned A's field trip to the Nature Center last week. The kids kept looking for bugs to put into their little magnifying boxes to check out. One little girl (see!) found the most fattest, most juiciest, most disgusting looking worm ever. She picked it up tried to stuff it into her box. The worm valiantly tried to escape, and I shamefully admit, I emitted a few loud shrieks along with some of the other more squeamish kids. All I could think of was that she was going to end up chopping that worm in two when she tried to put the cover on. Ewwww! Yuck. I get chills thinking about it.
So for the next few weeks when all anticipated 7 BILLION cicadas descend on Northern Illinois, I'll be cowering in my apartment with the music turned up REALLY LOUD and all the blinds closed, my children gathered close by my side.
Hey guys, if you live (or lived) in Chicago and cooked, can you please, please, please recommend to me a good restaurant supply store that sells to the public? Ever since the Edward Don outlet store closed, I've been at a complete loss as to where to purchase my restaurant-quality kitchen stuff and other some-what obscure items but don't want to overpay at Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma, things like a pasta-drying rack or a reasonably priced and excellent quality pots and pans. I can get many things at Target and KMart now, and of course, those housewares stores like Bed Bath and Beyond and Linens N Things, they have a much better selection than before, but the quality is not always there. I was at a loss during the past birthday-cake baking/decorating spree for cake-decorating goods and have really been wanting to buy some longer tongs, more mise-en-place bowls and some other kitchen basics I find that I am without.
I got inspired by this awesome article in the NYT about how to equip your kitchen for under $300. (off topic: I love, love, love Mark Bittman aka the Minimalist and I love, love, love, double love his How to Cook Everything cookbook series.)I have most everything I need (except for a food processor and somehow, I gave away my crappy little hand mixer) but I am a crazy addict of kitchen stuff. After all, I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant purely to acquire all the goodies they carry, then quit once I did! Thanks, Lyric for the link. Please! Can you help me? Oh, and I would prefer the northside, but am willing to travel if it's especially good.
We had just had dinner in Chinatown at my favorite Hong Kong-style restaurant and were doing our usual post-Chinese-prandial tradition of sprite bombs, those ubiquitous little twists of white paper containing sawdust and a bit of flash-powder. The girls love these things. Indeed, we have found the best ones of these so far, the "Mighty Popper", which gives much better bang/flash/puff of smoke than run-of-the-mill boxed ones. Chinatown has a terrific open square which is great for throwing these things and also general running-around mayhem. Also, those stairwells in the background are fun to throw the sprite bombs from. Don't worry, we don't throw them at passers-by, indeed, onlookers often look like they wish they had a few packs of mighty poppers of their own.
It was sunset, which is why there's a strange red cast to the pics. After our popping escapade, we crossed Archer to go to Saint's Alp Teahouse, a new place for us as we usually get bubble tea from JoyYee. I like Saint's Alp, it has a very young, hip vibe to it. Also, it is very orange. Too orange, I think, but that's okay, I think young people like that sort of thing, even though it reminds me of old-style McDonald's. I like JoyYee's fruit shakes better, but Saint's Alp (gosh, that's hard to say, try it ten times fast!) has better actual teas. They are quite yummy. And their food looks good too, like a good snack-bar type place. I'll definitely be returning to try the food, but next time, I'll wear my sunglasses.
It was such a gorgeous day outside and we spent most of it indoors, like idiots! After picking up A from school, she begged me to go for a bike ride. However, we had to leave pronto for tae kwon do, so we could not. I felt bad so after class, we kidnapped the Iceman and meandered (not willingly, traffic was a horrendous!) up to the northwest side of Chicago to enjoy some retro carhop fun at Superdawg!
We love this place! We love Chicago-style hotdogs and I love their Supercheesie burgers. Their Black Cows and shakes are good too. I wouldn't say earth-shatteringly good, but combine the kitsch appeal with eat-in your car fun and a simply beautiful spring day, and we had ourselves a terrific time.
Did I forget to mention the two 12' hot dog statues atop the building with their winking, blinking eyes? Well, here they are! Aren't they cute? I love how my Supercheesie comes "contentedly cushioned in...SUPERFRIES."
Meanwhile, the Superdawgs "lounge inside" similarly contentedly cushioned.
Although it's not exactly the cheapest eats in town, it's always a good time and when its warm out, there's plenty of folks to watch. People-watching being one of my favorite sports.
Superdawg. I love it!
What is your favorite greasy spoon?
Submitted by S@ngarang.
I have several, depending on what type of food I'm craving. Now I'm no foodie, but I do loves me grub. So while some might disdain my list of cheap eats, I would say, then don't eat there, dammit! Here's a list...
- For hot, delicious and hella cheap pho (vietnamese noodle soup), I absolutely crave Pho 777. Located in Chicago's Vietnamese town along Argyle, it's pretty dang tasty. I prefer the number 13, which I can't remember is exactly in it except for some tasty beef. The perfect thing for a cold winter day! Afterwards, I like to jog across the street to enjoy the yummy pastries at La Patisserie P, owned by Peter Yuen, a pastry chef of some Chicago renown. They have both beautiful and delicious fine pastries, but also Southeast Asian delights, of which I have not had since a wee girl at my mother's side.
- For more delicious and uber-cheap Asian fare, I completely love, love, love Ken Kee down in Chinatown in the Archer mall. Great Hong Kong fare, the salt and pepper tofu, sweet sake butterfish and hell, anything else in the sweet sake sauce is pretty damn good, in my book.
- Next stop on the ethnic food train...Poland! I love Paul Zakopane Harnas for the polish sausage breakfast, and that's about it. But oh, how I love it. Grilled, cut in half with little slits in it, sitting atop its bed of grilled onions, served with an artery-shattering side of potato hash and a little paper cup of I think, horseradish. I don't eat the horseradish, because I don't like it, but everything else on that plate is good, good, good and cheap. HUGE portion, and did I mention cheap? We usually on eat breakfast there, but they look like they have good specials!
These are truly greasy spoons, not glamorous, mostly utilitarian. Service is pretty quick, food hits the spot and price is right, for sure. As for more traditional American fare? The beauty of living in Chicago is going to a particular restaurant if you are craving a certain food and usually, I can make my own traditional American comfort food at home for even cheaper and better than at restaurants. Except for burgers. I hate making burgers. I don't even really crave them, either, although I love them. But the golden arches will satisfy that one.
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