just friends

A few weeks ago I had my last 'visit' with B10. I think we both knew it would eventually come to this and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be because I'm so into B19. We are still going to stay friends, which is fine with me because I need some more city friends. Plus I do enjoy B10's company and the way he's straighforward with me. I told B10 a little about B19 and he said something that really hit me. He advised me not to become one of those girls who only hangs out with her boyfriend. OMG.....I realized I have no more city friends. All the friends I did have either moved away or did something to really hurt me and in turn I ended that friendship. This is a whole other long, tragic blog that I will get to one day.

I considered sending out an e-mail begging some of my friends to move to Chicago just so I wouldn't end up as 'that girl'. I thought dating was tough, but actually, finding new friends is not that easy either. I have a few co-workers that are pretty cool, but I'd like to meet some people outside work. So where does one start making friends?

Chicago Chocolate Tour

Ready for dessert? My friend and I went on a fantastic tour with Chicago Chocolate Tours. I really didn't know what to expect, but I was quite impressed with the tour and would go on one again. They offer different tours, but we chose the one of the Gold Coast and Mag Mile. Our tour guide, Courtney, was really good. She had good public speaking skills and a great personality. Our first stop was Teuscher Chocolate which is a Swiss Chocolatier. We got to sample their truffle filled with a Dom Perignon cream. It was amazing and made me want to eat a dozen more.

After this we headed on to stop two, More Cupcakes. I do enjoy a good cupcake, but I hate all these trendy cupcake places that have opened and decided to charge $8 for a cupcake. We got to try their basic chocolate cupcake and could have purchased more, but I just wasn't in the mood for paying through the nose for a bacon cupcake. The interior is small and the cupcakes are displayed like works of art. I guess if you live in the Gold Coast you can afford to have cupcakes from here.

Next stop was Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter. We got to go behind the scenes here and were welcomed into their back room where we got to see how croissants are made and got a mini-lecture on Belgian bread and chocolate from the owner. We got to sample their white chocolate bread, dark chocolate cake and some regular Belgian peasant bread. It was all very good.

When we were done here we went to the uber famous Sarah's Pastries and Candies.
Which is on Oak Street (sort of like or Rodeo Drive) and is frequented by Lisa Ling, Martha Stewart and Jim Belushi. Sarah is a local gal so you gotta appreciate that. She also does wedding cakes which I'm sure I'll never be able to afford.

Our final stop was Argo tea where we tried their delicious Chocolate Mint Tea. This is one of my faves, but if you like white chocolate then I suggest their red velvet drink. Just as an FYI they are a Chicago based company and also see Vosges chocolate bars made with their teas.

This is a really fun activities for a ladies/girl day out or a fun idea of something to do with an out of town guest. Tours were about $40, but I think it was well worth the money.

sushi and shaved ice

After my adventures in Pilsen yesterday I spent a delightful evening in the company of B19. I am not pursing any other bachelors at the moment and this includes letting B10 know that we are now just friends. It's a big shift for me, but I feel good about where things are heading with B19. However, that's now why I'm writing....I've got some foodie stuff for you.

So after a long, hot afternoon in Pilsen my chariot arrived and whisked me away to Butterfly Sushi Bar and Thai Cuisine. This type of place is right up my alley and I was pretty hungry after being out in the hot sun all day. Clearly the two tacos I had earlier were not enough to fill me up. I have mixed feelings about this place. The sushi was good, but not something I'd go out of my way for. However, it's the service and ambiance that just rubbed me the wrong way. Let's start with the food. We ordered the Thai escargot as an appetizer. This was delicious, but I am a huge fan of escargot so it doesn't take much to win me over. I did something really embarrassing though and ate most of the escargot myself. B19 had never had escargot and he tried one and then when he went for more I had devoured the entire plate...whoops. We ended up getting four different sushi rolls which were all very good, but nothing really blew me away or made me think that i needed to come back to this place for sushi. It's just good quality sushi so if you live in the area then you should go here, but I suggest getting take out.

The first thing that really annoyed me is the fact that the tables were so close together. You actually had to more your table if someone wanted to get out at the table next to you. I hate this because who wants to sit so close to the table next to you that you hear every word of their conversation? This just made for a very uncomfortable environment. The other thing that bothered me is the fact that they brought our sushi out before we were even done with our appetizer. They did the same with the table next to us where they brought their sushi and main course out at the same time. I was very annoyed that they were blatantly trying to turn the tables really fast and had absolutely no respect for the diners who wanted to enjoy their meal. I could understand this a little more if it was lunch time, but it was 8pm on a Friday night.

After our dinner we headed back to my hood and went to Cloud 9. I've been here a few times and always liked it, but this was by far my best trip. They had green tea flavored shaved ice this time. I adore anything green tea and especially like green tea ice cream. I think the first time I had it I was at the Japan 'exhibit' in Epcot center. So of course I had to go for this. I decided on a mango drizzle and then to be extra Asian I got the red bean topping. Now, before you freak out this wasn't a baked bean topping (although it looked like it), but the sweet red beans that you find in a lot of Chinese sweets. It was all a winning combination and I will certainly be back for it again sometime soon.

Are you full yet? Well save room for dessert because my next blog is going to be about my chocolate tour....

Pilsen adventure

I wanted to explore Pilsen since I moved to Chicago, but for some reason I never made the trip. I'm quite taken with Mexican food and culture so it baffles me that I haven't visited Chicago's 'Mexican neighborhood'. Yesterday I finally had my Pilsen adventure. I started my afternoon with some tacos. I read some pretty good reviews about Birreria Reyes de Ocotlan which is a small little joint that specializes in goat. They make birria, which is a goat stew. I've had this stew before in Mexico and since it was 100 degrees out I decided to pass on that and went for the tacos. Their menu is simple (basically goat and a few types of tacos), but there were definitely some items that were new to me (cows head, goat liver, tongue). I opted for 2 tacos and I'm glad I did two instead of three because these were quite filling. I got the chiva (goat) and cabeza (cows head).

Let's talk about the cows head first. This taco is filled with various parts of the cow's tender head meat (brains, cheek, eyes, tongue), but if no one told you what you were eating you would just think it's the tenderest, juiciest beef taco you've ever had. If you can get past the idea of what you are eating, or at least convince yourself that it's something else, then you are in for a treat. The goat taco was also pretty good, but I've had goat a lot before so this wasn't as new and exciting as the cabeza. These tacos were packed full or flavor and were the type that needed two tortillas. I paid about $6 for the two tacos and a horchata - not a bad deal at all. The only complaint that I would have is that the air didn't quite seem to be working at full speed so on a hot day it was not as comfortable as I would have liked.

After my lunch I walked up to the National Museum of Mexican Art . I was quite impressed with this museum for a few reasons. The museum is free, but I left a $5 donation because I was so impressed with what they had done. The museum is not huge, but has a fantastic permanent collection and 3 rooms of rotating exhibits. What I like most about this museum is it had personality. There was this an temporary exhibition of art from Benito Huerta that really caught my eye. It's only there until the end of August so I suggest you check that out. The museum also had a really nice gift shop.

After art in a gallery I took in some art on the street. Pilsen is known for its murals that depict scenes from the Mexican community. They are often political or social commentaries. I found quite a few along 18th street, but I'm sure there are many more to see. Here are a few of the murals I visited:

If you want more info on the exact location of these murals then just e-mail me and I'll send you that info.

why Mad Girl might be a little crazy (or my trip to MSI and Hyde Park in 100 degree heat)

So maybe it is hotter than hell out there, but I wasn't going to let the heat scare me away from doing something fun on my vacation. I've never been to Hyde Park and thought that I would make a stop off at the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Smart House and then wander around the University of Chicago. Of course, I choose to do this when the heat index is about 105 degrees.

I'm a member at the MSI and wanted to see the Smart House for a while. This is a house that is totally sustainable. It's a modular home that is furnished with recycled materials, creates its own power and is wired with all sorts of cool gadgets. You have to pay a bit extra to do this, but I recommend doing so. They take you on a tour of the house and then let you roam around the gardens afterwards. I decided to keep it green by purchasing a bobble which is a water bottle with a built in filter. It costs about $15 but think about how much you will save by not buying bottled water.

After the MSI I walked to the U of C campus which is only about a 10 minute walk away, but in the heat it felt like forever. I made my way down Midway Plaisance (site of the World's Fair) and walked up Woodlawn to the Robie House. This is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses and as a member of the National Trust I got a 50% discount (yes, I'm a member of everything). This tour was nice, but not nearly as impressive as the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio in Oak Park, which I highly recommend.

I also took a nice stroll through the UIC campus which has a really nice 'place of higher learning' feel to it - I think it was the ivy climbing up the sides of brick buildings. I was wandering through the campus when I came across the Flirty Cupcakes food truck! Score! Of course I had to have one of these much tweeted cupcakes so I got the Curious George which was a chocolate banana cupcake with a salted carmel frosting. It was very tasty, but not worth $3.75.

I knew I wanted to eat somewhere in Hyde Park, but I really couldn't find too many good suggestions nearby. I guess that Lincoln Park and Lakeview have spoiled me with their selection of restaurants. I decided I'd give this place called The Big Easy a try. It's a Cajun joint that got mixed reviews on Yelp, but Cajun sounded really good to me. Well I make my way (in 100 degree heat) to the restaurant and it turns out they are closed for lunch. I checked their hours before I went and make sure they'd be open, but when I got there there was a handwritten note taped to the door stating that they wouldn't be open until dinner. UGHHHH! That's annoying as all fuck.

I turned those lemons to lemonade thought by heading home and getting a manicure and then ordering some BBQ from The Pork Shoppe.