Naha

Photo is not from dinner but oeuf a la neige is that piece of foam in the middle

Last night, we went out to dinner with a partner from Bill's firm who is in Chicago for on campus interviews for the next summer interns. He told Bill to find a place to eat that was nice. So Bill pulled out the Zagat guide and tried to get reservations to Topolobombo, but alas, we had to have made reservations a while ago to get in on a Tuesday evening. So we tried Naha.
It. was. amazing. I tried some new things that I don't normally see on menus. My appetizers was: Organic Carnaroli Risotto, Spanish Chorizo and Montelerraina Cheese, Red Rib Dandelion Greens, Confit Garlic and Tarragon. It was pretty dang good, however, the Spanish chorizo, which I've had chorizo before, was different than I expected. Not dense like a sausage would be. I can't even explain it, but it was pretty tasty. My entree was this succulent piece of meet: Wood-Grilled 18 oz. Prime Ribeye of Beef with a Saute of Roasted Tropea Onions, "Rose Finn" Potatoes, Tender Spinach, Bacon "Shards" and Flowering Thyme, Rich Oxtail Sauce and Murray River "Apricot" Sea Salt. I really wanted to try the oxtail sauce, so that was the reason behind this dish, and it did not disappoint. Bill opted for the roasted squab. Pretty good, but there is something disconcerting about have a dish served with feet. And finally, my favorite part of any meal, was dessert. Oh my, so many options. Lets cut to the chase, they had the most exotic ice creams and that is how I picked my dessert solely. I chose this: "Oeufs a la Neige" and Locally Grown Blueberries with Olive Oil Ice Cream, Polenta Custard and Balsamic Caramel. For real, olive oil ice cream, I've heard of it but never seen it. It did not disappoint! It was interesting and pretty tasty. And, who would have thought of using polenta as a custard. I think I"m going to have to try to make that myself. I made Bill get this: Almond Brown Butter "Financier" Cake served warm with Sweet Corn Ice Cream, fragrant Local Plums and "Popcorn". I wanted to try the sweet corn ice cream. It was good, but mine was better. And the last dish that I couldn't really pawn off on the partner that I wanted to try was a Spanish bread pudding with Saffron ice cream. It was drenched in a liquor (no surprise) so I opted out. I would go back just for dessert. Well, dessert would be about the only thing we could afford, so I guess that is that.
*Too bad no pictures, I thought it would have been tacky to pull out my camera phone during dinner. Boo.
*Is selling your soul to the firm bad, because it sure does taste good?
I know my fonts are messed up, I've tried to fix it. I'm over it.

Julie/Juli@ Project

Bill and I went and saw Julie & Juli@ last weekend. I liked it. Or maybe I should say, I liked Amy Adams and Juli@ Child. I mean, who doesn't like the woman who brought French cooking to servant less American women. I remember seeing her on TV, and unfortunately, I ignored her. She was kind of weird, had a weird voice, and it seems like it came on right after my other least favorite show, This Old House on Saturday mornings. But alas, after seeing this movie, I was inspired. So I picked up the book (that the movie is about) and I've discovered, as much as I like Julie's writing style, I don't like her. All the narrations in my head are by Amy Adams. I think it is time to move on to Julia's book asap. But in tribute to Julia, Bill and I are cooking a fine gourmet dinner. Frozen pizza and deep fried oreos. I'm sure Julia would be rolling in her grave.

Bon Appetit!

House/Dog Sitting

Did I mention we are house sitting for 3 weeks. Yep, it is true. One of the doctors I work for is taking a 3 week vacation at a beach house on Lake Michigan. It even has a private beach. That is what people do here, go to their beach house in the dead center of a continent. Anyway, she has already called to brag about how wonderful it is. Life is hard, isn't it? Anyway, we are staying at their house, taking care of the dog, Molly. She is a German Shepard/Golden Retriever mix, I think. I mean look at those ears (see above picture), I know she is at least part GS. And she sheds like I've NEVER seen before.My boss told us we could bring our cat, because lets be honest, 3 weeks is a long time to leave a cat. They live close enough to us that we could go back and forth, but we are happy to have him here. We introduced Molly to Cass and vice versa, the result - they couldn't care less about each other. I've never seen to animals so indifferent to each other. In fact, Cass just sits around and watches old Molly (see above picture).
But I'll tell you what, staying in a house, albeit old, is nice. We have a washer and dryer (heaven), a garage, a small yard, and a BBQ. I could get used to living in a house again......really fast. Except, it feels weird not having a million barriers from the world, you know, door to apartment building, door man, key to get through to the elevators, and another key to get into our apartment. I almost feel like we are vulnerable with only 1 locked door between us and the great outdoors. Anyone else feel this way?

1 week down, 2 more to go.

Summer is for Baseball

White Sox vs. Royals.
White Sox 4
Royals 5
Nothing hurts worse than being beaten by the worst team (insert Royals) in the country.

Go Royals!!!

Women at Work

In front of the building I work in, there are 4 giant vents , and every morning some foolish woman (usually more) wearing a skirt walks across said vents. And every time, they pull a M@rilyn M0nroe. Why won't people learn? Maybe they think showing off their control top pantyhose is sexy. I don't know.

Farewell to A

This is my co-worker A. You know her, I've talked about her before. She is leaving Chicagoland and heading to a place of warm weather and more expensive rent...CA. This is a good move for her, but a bad move for me. Good because she is getting married, bad because now I won't have a friend to waste time with and talk about/do ridiculous things. She entertained me all summer while Bill was gone and made those lonely months way more bearable. I'm going to be very sad, but good luck A. Feel free to start leaving comments now that you can't yell across cubicles with your thoughts about my posts. Peace out!

4 years

Happy 4th Anniversary to us!