First Mate to First Date

Today's adventure started out with what I thought was going to be a restful afternoon at the Shedd Aquarium (http://www.sheddaquarium.org/). I imagined myself wandering around the aquarium lost in a daze and enjoying the tranquility of a myriad of fish gliding through the water. I was sorely mistaken. Apparently it was Bing Your Unruly Innercity Child to the Aquarium Day. Among some of the awesome behavior I saw: knocking on the glass of the tanks, taking photos using the flash, yelling, screaming, running, unattended elementary aged children and popcorn spilt on the floor and left for someone else to clean up. The other bizarre things is that as I wandered to each tank I couldn't help but think how delicious some of these fish would taste and have since been craving seafood. I only ended up staying for a little over an hour because i was so annoyed by all of this. I got to see everything in the aquarium ,but did not get to enjoy myself or linger as I had planned. It's a god thing my evening more than made up for my bad afternoon at the Aquarium.



Tonight I had my first date with one of the guys I met on Okcupid. He seemed pretty promising and we deiced to meet at Sticky Rice Thai (http://www.stickyricethai.com/) restaurant where we ordered the caterpillars as an appetizer. They did look like caterpillars, but when you ate them they were crunchy, not gooey like I expected. Also, they were friend in oil so that made them bit oily for me, but all in all they did not taste bad. Sort of like eating some sort of oily puffed snack. For my entree I ordered a Thai style omelet made with ant eggs. You honestly couldn't taste the eggs because they were so tiny and mixed in with the eggs. I think they were mainly there for protein. After a great dinner (and even better conversation) we headed to a pub where my date impressed me by ordering two very good types of scotch. Adventurous eating and good scotch? This guy certainly knows the way to my heart.

Culinary Day

Today's adventure started at Merchandise Mart. I attended a much anticipated knife skills class at the Chopping Block (http://www.thechoppingblock.net/). I've started to cook more lately, but realize that I am sorely lacking some basic skills. I also hate to do prep work and I thought that if I was more comfortable with my slicing and dicing skills I'd be more willing to get in the kitchen and cook. I was also looking forward to purchasing a big girl knife. The class did not disappoint. I learned all the basics from how to select and care for a knife to how to julian a carrot. Most importantly, I learned how to cut an onion - finally! The instructor used to work for Food Network and Bobby Flay so that earned her some cool points. What I really love about the class is that you get the opportunity to try out many different varieties of chef's knifes and see which one works best for you. I learned that I really like the Japanese Global knives because they are light weight and slice like a dream. After the class I purchased a Global knife for $80. This is a bit of an investment, but a good knife will list you forever if you care for it properly. I got the kind with the little scallops on the edges because these make it harder for veggies to stick to the blade when you cut. I also picked up a dough cutter/veg scraper to make for easier gathering.



After the cooking class I headed to Xoco (http://www.rickbayless.com/). Xoco is Rick Bayless's third restaurant and is focused on street food. It's meant to be a place to grab a quick lunch. The menu consists mostly of tortas, but damn are they amazing. I had the special of the day which had pork belly and bacon on it. All the ingredients are of the highest quality and so fresh that I wanted to moan while eating my sandwich. I thought I'd have to wait, but it looks like the hype is gone and I was seated immediately. It's counter service, but they have a really good seating set up so customers aren't left standing waiting for a seat. I highly recommend this and will most certainly be returning.



Okay, third stop on my adventure was seeing Alice in Wonderland in 3-D. I really enjoy going to an afternoon movie by myself - something I rarely do. The movie was a visual feast, but I would have expected nothing less. So, on to my final stop - Drinks Over Dearborn (http://www.drinksoverdearborn.com/). This is a liquor shop that I've wanted to check out for a while. They have the perfect selection of liquor, beer and wine. I was really impressed by their selection of bitters and wines under $10. I picked up a few craft beers and a bottle of Hum which I plan to partake in tonight. I'm definitely going to make this my new stop for stocking up on supplies. All in all, a damn good day filled with a lot of firsts. Stay tuned for my next adventure -it promises to be a wet one...

Pure Bliss and Getting Pissed

What do an afternoon at the spa and an Irish pub crawl have in common? Nothing except the fact that I partook in both today. Since today is the first 'official' day of my vacation I decided to start things off with a relaxing afternoon at the Aveda Institute(www.avedainstitutechicago.com). All the treatments are done by students so you get the great quality of Aveda products for half the price. I decided to do the Caribbean Body Treatment ($50). This treatment involves a dry exfoliation, mud wrap and then you are massaged under jets of water - it's the best of all worlds. I walked out of there loose as a goose after having all the stress pummeled out of me. After my treatment I got my hair cut ($14) and this included a scalp and neck massage. You can't beat the Aveda Institute for a cheap spa day. I also picked up some of their detoxifying tea and one of their singular note oils that is supposed to help energize me when I inhale it. We'll see how this works, but I'm willing to give it a try.

The second part of my day was an Irish Pubs of Chicago History Pub Crawl through the Chicago History Museum (http://www.chicagohistory.org/). The tours meet at the museum where everyone boards a trolley and get carted to 4 pubs all the cost of $25. On the way you get some light history and then when you arrive you get a half an hour to drink. My favorite place was O'Shaughnessy's, but I have to say that all these bars were fantastic and worth the visit. What made O'Shaughnessy's so cool was that that it was completly built by Irish hands (except the bar which came from Canada). All the workers were Chicago Irish and I think this gives it a nice community feel. I have to say that the bathrooms here were really clean as well - like freakishly clean. Below are the pubs we visited and I do recommend stopping by if you are in the mood for a little authentic Irish in the city, but be sure to invite me if you do!

Celtic Crossings
751 N. Clark
http://www.celticcrossingschicago.com/

Celtic Crown
4301 N. Western
http://www.celticcrownpub.com/

O'Shaughnessy's
4557 N. Ravenswood

Johnny O' Hagans's
3374 N. Clark St
http://www.johnnyohagansirishpub.com/

Koval brunch and the Modern Wing

Today was my pre-game warm-up to my week ahead. My friends and I went to a brunch featuring food and cocktails made with Koval distillery products. (http://www.koval-distillery.com/) Koval is a local distillery and I highly recommend you check them out. The brunch was at Terzo Piano (http://www.terzopianochicago.com/), the restaurant in the new modern wing of the Art Institute and consisted of 3 courses each paired with a cocktail. It was all very tasty and I can't wait to pick up some Pear Brandy and Rose Hip Liquor from Koval. Afterwards my friend and I wandered around the modern wing where I discovered I really like the photographer William Eggleston http://www.egglestontrust.com/.


This is the modern wing

Inside the modern wing
The Bean

Mad Girl takes a vacation

Well, after some much needed rest I'm back in business. I've healed up pretty well, but am still not functioning at 100% Mad Girl capacity. However, I have been able to work wine back into my diet (can you believe I went without booze for 14 days!!!!) without any negative side effects.

But enough about my medical drama! I've got a vacation on the horizon (a much needed vacation I might add). This Sunday kicks off a week of fun, excitement and hopefully some cocktails in the wonderful city of Chicago. I know what you're thinking -don't I already live in Chicago? I have decided to take the week to create some adventures in my own home town. There will be everything from a cooking class to the St. Pats Parade to a visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Oak Park.

The fun starts on Sunday so expect daily updates with all the details.