Sunday, December 22, 2019

#17 - Eat Vegetarian for 7 Days

Vegetarian eggs benedict
Well, I was getting a little anxious about what I could actually get done before the end of the year, so I thought I'd pop this one in the mix to knock one down.

Missing Costa Rica
The reason I have add items related to vegetarianism and veganism--in combination with eating animals I've myself caught/slaughtered--is that I've been doing my best to be come a more ethical omnivore, an idea inspired by reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. While I believe that with small, ethical farms, it is possible to be an ethical omnivore, I also understand the impact that eating animals has on the environment. So, this effort to develop a less meat-needy palate comes from my desire to eat more environmentally ethically.

Tofu and root vegetable bake, a standard for the winter
Breakfast tacos!
I've always assumed that I am a person who is very protein needy, and finding vegetable-based proteins has always seemed cumbersome to me. Like, I don't want to eat every 15 minutes just because my proteins have less calories and now I'm hungry again.

After trying this for one, two, three... seven days, I can tell you, that did not happen. With some thought and creativity in the kitchen, things I'm already working on, I was very happy and satisfied with my meals, and in fact, am so glad I froze so many leftovers to eat later.

I won't describe each meal I had, but the photos included here are some shining examples of the delightful meat-free meals I had over the week--and one at a restaurant that was a bit lacking.

Lemony lentil soup
I am so glad I did this and can't wait to incorporate more meat-free meals, soon completely animal-free meals, into my diet in an effort to do my part for this beautiful earth.

Just a pretty salad

Saturday, December 21, 2019

#21 - Try 12 New Restaurants in Chicago

**1 - Summer House Santa Monica
1/7/19 with Nicole Garton

I managed to grab lunch with Nicole for Chicago Restaurant Week at Summer House, a gorgeous, space that I've always wanted to try but didn't want to spend the money. Well, thank you Restaurant Week because I learned that Summer House is really reasonable. While my $24 Restaurant Week lunch included an amazing butternut squash soup (I know, so basic, but I'm a sucker for soup), a great turkey burger with shoestring fries, and dessert, I could have gotten the soup and turkey burger for under $24, which means that an actual, one-course lunch only would have been around $15, with tip. Plus, the staff is cheerful, the space is bright and summery, and it just has a nice vibe. Can't wait to go back!

Goat dumplings
I LOVE DUMPLINGS
**2 - Duck Duck Goat
1/9/19 with Elizabeth Pearson and Michael Bigelow

As soon as I realized Restaurant Week was coming up, I found a list of the best places to try, and there I read, Duck Duck Goat was doing a $24 dim sum menu on the weekends. Um... WHAT. I LOVE Stephanie Izard and I LOVE dim sum. I made reservations immediately. I After amazing experiences at Girl and the Goat and Little Goat, plus my love of Asian flavors, I was SO stoked to try Duck Duck Goat. I was getting back from a conference the night before, so I could be sure to get plenty of sleep and then enjoy some dim sum with 3 other lucky people.

And then I checked my schedule. I was getting back from my conference THAT day. I panicked. I went to change my reservation. NO MORE AVAILABLE. Nooooooooooooooo!

Then, something happened. That something was the polar vortex. You didn't know a polar vortex could do good, did you? But it did. Due to the terrible cold in Chicago this year, Restaurant Week extended a week. And my delightful coworker, scratch that, REAL FRIEND, Stephanie Souvenir snapped up a reservation for me... but she made it for 1:30pm. And that day, I had the Whaddayaknow Trivia Tournament of Champions. At 1:00pm. I went to find another reservation. No luck. This was not meant to be.

And then, Stephanie said she looked again and there WERE earlier reservations. Once last try, and, SUCCESS! 11:00am! I texted my trivia team, and Elizabeth and Michael, were all like, HELL YES (or something like that).

So we went to brunch fully expecting to study over our delightful meal. But no. We could barely speak to each other the food was so good. And it felt like it wouldn't be enough, but then, somehow, it was. It was the perfect amount of tasty bites. We took our time, enjoyed our meal, and then quizzed each other on musicals on the Lyft ride to the tournament.

Delightful.

Possibly the best dessert I've ever had:
Seasame doughnuts with a seasame whipped cream


**3 - Dancen
1/9/19 with Ashley Russell and Chris Zann

So I did the Duck Duck Goat thing and then the Whaddayaknow Trivia of Champs thing and then some post-tourney celebrations and socializing, and then Ashley demanded food, and he wanted Korean food, and specifically Korean food at this spot he'd heard about. It was quite out of the way, but damn, thank you, Ashley!

We entered this weird little spot with a huge bar/grill and a few tables with a few people at them. Ashley and I both had eyes bigger than our stomachs and ordered food enough for five people, some of it too spicy for Zann, so it was like two people trying to eat four meals. It. Was. Good. All of it.

I went home with plenty of leftovers and was curious if it had been the drinks in my system that made the food so good. I warmed them up the next day for lunch, and nope, even leftover, everything was awesome. I will definitely be going back.

*4 - Two Lights Seafood & Oyster
4/11/19 with Laura Masters

It's hard to give this place an honest rating because I had a frustrating day, and all of that was relieved by the company. I was so happy to spend some time with my friend after many months of only seeing each other in groups or not at all.

We had some nice, light cocktails and split a few different dishes: some octopus, a crab dip, and a lobster roll. All were nice.

The rest of my joy of this night was lots of time catching up with my dear friend!

5 - Labriola
7/17/19 with Stephanie Punda, Sarah Hardin, Shaun Cooley, Danielle Arens, Maureen McGonagle, John Washo, Scott Vandermoon, Sabrina Wilson, Leanne Surmin, Stephanie Souvenir, and Gale Stewart

Another lovely staff retreat with DePaul! This time Stephanie Punda made a reservation to have us try the real "best deep dish in Chicago." Turns out, I think I really  just don't like deep dish. I like Lou's the best because it's the least deep dishy. Gimme dat Detroit style, New York style, or woodfired any day. But enough with the deep dish. It's heavy. It's bready. It's not that flavorful.

I said what I said.

Other than that, the salads were tasty and the ambiance was much nicer than most of the deep dish chains in the city. It was fine.

*6 - Francois Frankie
8/1/19 with Laura Masters

Laura made us another fun reservation prior to a show (Come From Away--HIGHLY recommend) at a very new restaurant in town, Francois Frankie. It's a playful French restaurant with a carousel bar, which rotates incredibly slowly, making a full revolution every 88 minutes.

I had some great wine and Laura and I both tried the French onion soup and then shared a few smaller plates. The French onion soup was soooo good. The broth was flavorful and soaked into the croutons perfectly. The melted cheese on top was toasted just enough and was the most creamy cheese I've ever had on a soup. Then, we shared the hummus platter, which was presented like a seafood tower and actually had more crisp veggies than we needed. The garlic shrimp was quite a delight, arriving in a hot skillet and brimming with crispy garlic goodness.

Everything was great and just in soup and sharing two other small plates, were were stuffed.

We did, however, come back after the show for more drinks and were lucky enough to meet the owner. It was fun to be able to rave about our whole experience, including the servers by name.

I will totally come back.

*7 - Cochon Volant
8/19/19 with Chris Zann

We'll, I'm free now. I work wherever, whenever, so that also means I can go whenever, wherever, which means I can lunch wherever, whenever, with whomever, so I had my first remote working lunch with my best of buddies, Zann. We classed it up and went to Cochon in the Loop. I had a fantastic BLT and ice tea. Zann had a Cuban. It was the perfect lunch to set the tone for my new, free life. He even pointed me to a cool spot to work for the afternoon: Revival Food Hall. I'm pretty stoked to connect with friends and explore new places in this very delightful city of ours.

*8 - Chicago Q
8/21/19 with Clint Ruch

Yep, two lunch dates with two good buddies in one week! This time I met up with Clint at a nice barbeque spot on the near north side. I had a delightful pulled pork sandwich and coleslaw, snacked on the homemade chips, and pickles, and had yet another delightful iced tea. I certainly shouldn't make it a habit to have my lunches at such nice places, but goodness, was it ever nice to splurge on good food and good company in the middle of a work day twice in one week.

*9 - Cafe Kanela
11/7/19 with Nicole Garton

As Nicole has a new work space in Old Town, we tried out a new lunch spot in Old Town. Cafe Kanela is rumored to be the best breakfast in Chicago. I can't vouch for that (Tweet is pretty spectacular), but I did have a fantastic lox-bagel breakfast, and Nicole loved her food too. Plus, it was pretty laid back for a late lunch on a weekday. Definitely worth going back!



Saturday, December 14, 2019

#46 - See a New Animal in the Wild

I kinda set myself up for this one, but I'm so glad I did and I'm going to keep this on my list for every year!

When I created my list last year, my family already had a tentative plan to visit Costa Rica. My mom's only dealbreaker was that she could see a sloth. It was asking a lot, but well, yeah, Mom, we can make that a priority. Sure.

While I knew we would be sloth seeking, I had no idea how easy it is to see wildlife in Costa Rica. I suppose I should have figured it out after reading about how Costa Rica is only 0.03% of the Earth's surface yet contains 6% of its biodiversity.

Maybe I just had in my head that most of that biodiversity would be plants I wouldn't recognize. That was surely true, but the animals were everywhere too.

We arrived in San Jose late the first night and stayed at a hotel in the city. We heard some chirps and such outside but didn't see anything besides plants on the grounds. In the morning, while waiting to leave, I read the wildlife section of the book on Costa Rica I had brought. It started out great. Sloths, monkeys, birds... wait, harpie eagles... vultures... Wait, we're okay, not many venomous spiders. Tarantulas, yes, but those that mostly hunt from the mouths of their dens at night and are even fairly safe to handle. But then, there was the tarantula hawk. No, it's not a flying tarantula. It's a huge wasp that stings and paralyzes tarantulas, buries their LIVE bodies, and then lays eggs on the body so it's hatchlings can have a fresh meal. AHH! And bullet ants, the ant that has a bite that registers a 10 on the pain scale. And a couple other ouchy ants and things. Nothing that can kill you though. Oh wait, but then there are SEVERAL snakes there that can kill you. Some brightly colored and living in trees (feeling pretty good about avoiding them by not climbing trees at night) and others that are leaf colored and hang out on the ground, including the fer de lance that was described as quick, agile, and excitable--and the most deadly snake in the country. Great. And it hangs out along trails. Great. Great. Great. (Not great.)

On our drive from San Jose to Parrita, we saw plenty of farm animals (mostly cows, horses, chickens, a few goats) and dogs. Then, as we traveled further toward the coast, we started looking more carefully. We saw an iguana. Then the striking red of a scarlet macaw sitting in a tree.

When we pulled up to our house, we learned that green iguanas pretty much owned our yard. I would say they were like squirrels, but if there were that many squirrels in your yard, even in the Midwest, you'd likely be concerned. They sunbathed and chased each other around the yard, bobbing their heads at us and each other. I know they are super common in some areas of the world, but I still think they're really cool.

At night, our porch roof swarmed with geckos who feasted off the insects our lights attracted. They were some of my favorites, just these little lizards that rotated around, sometimes barking at each other at a level that my mom still doesn't believe could have come from such small creatures.

Every now and then, a pair of bright red macaws would fly overhead. We never caught them sitting still enough to take a photo, but we'd catch them yammering and flying sometimes.

We didn't see any up close, but we saw lots of frogs bounding across the road when we drove at night.

One day, we saw some capuchin monkeys in a palm tree across the road. We used my dad's smartly packed binoculars to watch them jump from tree to tree. We were even able to see one tear apart a coconut and drink its water by scooping its little hand into the fruit and dribbling the liquid into its mouth.

We still hadn't seen a sloth. Then, one afternoon, my brother was looking into the trees and said, "There's a sloth." It was tough to see as it was nestled into a dense set of leaves, but sure enough, there was a sloth just about 15 feet from our porch. It didn't move much (shocking), so we just got glimpses of its long limbs. Then, the next day, I looked out and said, "There's another sloth." There was one sitting with its back to us about 30 feet away, again, not really moving. We'd see the sloths shift, but rarely saw them move. Until one day, we found they were both in the dense leaves together, and my mom managed to catch one climbing out a tree limb and then back. The next day, one of them hung right out in the open, sometimes moving slightly to allow us to see its cutey face. We kept trying to catch them in more action, but mostly we could see them between the leaves, just chilling, as sloths do.

The same day the sloth climbed out the branch, I also missed a little monkey mini-migration across the yard, including moms with babies clinging to their backs.

Chris and I went zip lining in Manuel Antonio Park with some really fantastic guides with Titi Canopy Tours. Because we'd gone in the afternoon, a lot of the bigger animals were out of sight, but the guides pointed out a couple poison dart frogs, and I managed to catch my first glimpse of what skyrocket into my Top 5 favorite bugs: leaf cutter ants. Yes, the poison dart frogs were bright and small and awesome. But these leaf cutter ants, which I would see multiple times on trails on this trip, were so fascinating. They are incredibly organized, not just working together to cut and gather leaves to take to their nests to feed the fugus they eat, they also clear trails to make the work easier. It's really quite impressive. They march in little lines back and forth, carrying pieces of leaves 3-4 times their size. So busy. So focused. Unphased by people stomping about near them. The guides also showed us a sleepy fern that folds up on itself to look dead whenever it feels nearby vibrations. Awesome.

The next day, my dad and I went out to watch the sunset from the beach. It was just an okay sunset, but while there, I saw a little creature peek out of a hole in the sand and then dart back in. I waited patiently to watch a small crab crawl out and then dart back in when it saw me again. I went to tell my dad and then realized the beach was basically swarming with these small crabs, who darted away from me as fast as they could. My brother and I agreed that they must be thinking, "Ahhh!!! Don't catch me! I'm so delicious! Why do I
have to be so delicious?!" I mean, they were too small for people to get much out of, but I totally get why birds eat those suckers. They way they run means they must be scrumptuous.

The next day, we went on a short, pleasant hike as a family. We're pretty sure we saw some spider monkeys, though they weren't as used to people as our neighborhood capuchins and move away from us quickly. We also saw more leaf cutter ants. Yay!

The day after that, Chris and I went horseback riding (another fantastic choice). Our guide point out a huge termite nest and told us that if, just in case, we were ever lost in the jungle, we could eat termites, and 50 termites is the equivalent to the amount of protein in a banana. As Costa Rica also has bananas, I think I'll stay vegetarian if ever lost in the jungle. He also showed us a plant that holds told of water and grows in trees, so if we need fresh water, that's the place to go for it. Honestly, he was great.

As I'm an experienced rider, the guide had given me a horse with a lot of pep in his step and insisted on being first in line, so I often found myself about a dozen meters ahead of everyone else. At one of those moments, a blue morpho butterfly fluttered along with me. I turned to share it, but no one was near enough, so I just watched it move alongside us and then flit out to a field.

When we got home from our little adventure, we were still gabbing and then Chris turned to a tree next to the car and froze. "Oh, hey guys." There were two capuchin monkeys baring their teeth at him. We realized there were monkeys all through the trees, so we slowly moved inside. (It reminded me of that scene in the second Hunger Games, which I have watched WAY too many times.)

Up on the porch, we watched as this barrel of monkeys (yes, that's one of the acceptable terms for a group of monkeys, so why would I use anything else?) bounced around in the trees, then crossed the yard to mess around in the other trees, get upset about something they saw on the ground that we could not see, and then move back over to the first set of trees. It was pretty flippin cool. They kept their eyes on us, but they did not seem concerned now that we were on a porch.

We also saw lots of bugs: leaf bugs, moths, crickets, all kinds of things. I saw one spider in Jaco, just a little guy in a web, though we did see some bigger webs on our drive.


Oh and vultures. Vultures all the time.
Crocs below

On our last day, we drove back to San Jose. We came to a bridge that, when we had crossed it the other way, was filled with tourists. We figured it was just a vista and just an okay one. On this trip, however, I said, "Wait, is this the bridge where all the crocodiles hang out?" Someone had posted a video of this bridge on my facebook feed when I first asked for recommendations for Costa Rica. So, we stopped, and Chris, Mom, and I walked out to see HUGE crocodiles in the river below us. They were quite, quite scary. I'm super thankful that the scariest thing we saw was on the last day. Because nope. Nope nope. And people take tourists on mangrove tours to see these things from boats. No. No no no.

So... good news: We saw mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, crustaceans, arachnids, insects, pretty much most categories of animals except for live fish, though we did see some very, very freshly caught fish, delicious red snapper pulled from the mangroves.

So while I set myself up, knowing I'd likely see a sloth on this trip, since that was everyone's #1 goal so that Mom would like the trip, I had no idea what other animals I'd see in the wild, truly in the wild, just hanging in the jungles/beaches of Costa Rica. What a truly incredible country, and I'm so thankful for them for embracing ecotourism where they preserve the beauty of their country and the things that live in it while also allowing others to learn about the wildlife without disturbing it. The more I think about how much I loved it there, the more I want to go back. Except for the snakes.

Monday, November 25, 2019

#36 - Help Someone With Their List of Goals

Funny how helping someone else with one of their goals was so easy to do!

All it took was for Molly to ask me to take a picture in the pool on inflatable animals. There were already inflatable animals, and we were already in the pool, so... check!

Once Molly posts her own experience of this, I'll add a link so you can understand why she had this on her list!


Sunday, September 29, 2019

#13 - Fry Chicken


Growing up, I was never into fried chicken unless it was in fast-food or frozen nugget form. You know what? We're all idiots as children, and this was a very dumb opinion to hold. Fried chicken is delicious.

I first reconsidered my stance on fried chicken because during my time at Northeastern Illinois University. My coworker Erin Claudio loved fried chicken--probably he still does, but I haven't asked him recently--and despite how gross it was to watch him handle greasy bones, seeking every last bit of meat, I became curious about what I was missing out on. 

I don't remember what fried chicken finally changed my mind, but I was swayed. I particularly became fond of fried chicken sandwiches, though that was likely because this was also during a time of my life when I was drinking too much and needed some fat, grease, and bread to soak up all the alcohol from the night before. I still love some chicken fingers or a chicken sandwich the day after I've had a little too much wine, though thankfully those days are fewer and fewer between.

For some reason, even when I started cooking more, I considered fried chicken too intricate to make at home. It may have just been because I'd literally never breaded and fried anything until this past year. I didn't quite get the (very, very simple process) and assumed I'd need gallons of oil and a frier to accomplish the feat, neither of which I planned to acquire.

Then, during one of my many readings of Ruhlman's 20, I came across a rosemary-brined fried chicken recipe that looked quite delicious and quite simple. I asked Zann if I could make it for one of our Sunday night dinners. He said he doesn't really like fried chicken. Idiot. Still assuming it would take more oil than I would want to acquire for one person, I still didn't make the recipe.

Then, one day, I found myself with an unopened jar of napa cabbage kimchi. It had been purchased with the intention of using it from Stephanie Izard's bloody mary recipe, but I ended up trying my own version, without the kimchi, which I should not have done because it was very mediocre and then left with a jar of kimchi with no determined purpose. I started searching through the Serious Eats website to figure out one even does with kimchi when one is not at a Korean barbeque. 

I came across Kenji Lopez's K2FC recipe, which is a buttermilk-kimchi Southern fried chicken sandwich. With all of the fuss about chicken sandwiches in the news, my desire to learn to fry chicken, and this kimchi just sitting in my cabinet, I decided to give it a go. I went to the store and bought as many ingredients as a generic store carried, which meant everything but a specific Korean spice--at least I think I got everything because I got adventurous and did not refer back to the recipe after watching the video just once.

I came home with a package of 6 chicken thighs, along with the rest of my ingredients. I thought, well, maybe I should try a couple different versions of fried chicken. So, I took two thighs and brined them in McClure's pickle juice (a.k.a. the juice of the absolutely best pickles of all time, which are made in Detroit) as I kinda remembered reading something on Serious Eats about their version of a Chic-Fil-A sandwich (which has pickles on it)  and instead brining the chicken in pickle juice. I took another two thighs and soaked them in a rosemary brine with improvised quantities of water, salt, and fresh rosemary. I then opened the jar of kimchi, squeezed out the liquid, as I remembered Kenji telling me to do, mixed it with buttermilk, and then added the remaining two thighs (the biggest ones) to soak. I soaked all three batches overnight in the refrigerator. 

Pickled at the top
Rosemary brine in the middle
Buttermilk-kimchi at the bottom
The next day, when I was hungry enough to sample three types of fried chicken, I pulled them all out. I immediately regretted the pickle juice soak. I was certain I should have watered it down just looking at the kinda yellowish thighs. The rosemary thighs looked fine. The buttermilk-kimchi thighs looked like maybe they needed that extra Korean spice and might be bland.

I warmed up a bunch of oil (though not nearly as much as I had originally imagined I needed) in my cast iron skillet. I toss all three in the same type of breading (still with no extra Korean spices): egg then a flour-cornmeal mix with a sprinkling of the liquid to get those extra crunchy bits. I fried the pickled thighs first as I figured all of the versions had salt and it wouldn't flavor the oil significantly. Then I did the rosemary brined thighs. And lastly, what I assumed to be the messiest, the buttermilk-kimchi thighs. All three types looked slightly different when fried, and the pickled ones had some dark and soggy spots, and I cannot figure out why. I'll have to look it up.

Once they were cool, I sliced a bit off one of the pickle thighs to taste it. Damn. It was so good. I mean, way too pickly, but for someone who likes pickles (me), it was flipping good. The chicken was moist and flavorful. Yes, I should have watered down the brine, but I will absolutely try this again if it's my easiest option for a brine.

Feeling more confident, I then tasted a bigger big of one of the rosemary brine pieces. Holy shit. It was SO DAMN GOOD. I was really impressed with myself for guessing appropriate quantities and not even referring to Ruhlman's recipe (since that wasn't my focus for this experiment). I have to admit, in sandwich form--because yes, I also later tried them each in sandwich form--the flavor was lost a bit amongst the other ingredients. So this is the method I would go for just regular fried chicken because it was best when standing alone.

I saved the buttermilk-kimchi piece for the full chicken sandwich experience. While the chicken was cooling, I whipped the napa cabbage, saved from the kimchi jar, with mayo (no, I didn't make my own that day) and quickly created a sauce of honey, soy sauce, and garlic chili paste. The sauce went on the bottom, then chicken, then lettuce (I had forgotten to buy fresh cabagge), then the kimchi mayo on the top bun. 

My Angel

I took a bite and went to heaven. That's it. I'm dead. This may have been the best thing I've ever eaten. I didn't say best thing I have ever made. I said best thing I've ever eaten. It was so so fucking good. I literally felt high later while trying to work (at home, don't worry) and found myself wandering around my apartment singing, "You're killing it at liiiiiffeeee!" To myself. Literally singing compliments to myself. Alone in my apartment. My cat was not impressed. I was though. Like, so impressed.

So, there's my fried chicken story. I have to say it was a success. I definitely ate too much fried chicken over the next 48 hours with no regrets, but I'd certainly rather make these sandwiches to share because that is definitely too much fried food for a 48-hour period. 
So, invite me over. LET'S EAT CHICKEN SANDWICHES.

UPDATE: 11/10/19
I hosted a dinner for three international students at DePaul. Well, Stephanie Souvenir hosted while I cooked. I made the actual Ruhlman recipe for rosemary-brine fried chicken. It went over well. However, my oven is still smoking every time I turn it on as in keeping the bigger pieces warm while I fried the smaller ones, oil seems to have gotten everywhere. But it was so good I think it was worth it.





Saturday, September 28, 2019

#22 - Try 12 New Bars in Chicago

The Scout
1 - The Scout
2/12/19 with Holly Zann

My company has season tickets to DePaul Men's Basketball, and Marquette, my friend Holly's alma mater, happened to be in town, so we went. We stopped for a quick drink prior to the game... which ended up being two quick drinks and two quick shots, which was weird. The bartender said that there were Patron reps there that night, and they were giving away shots. But we didn't see any reps, nor anyone else doing shots. But we did one anyway. Then she came back later and said she really needed to give away $200 in Patron shots and offered us another. I still have no idea what was going on. People were there, watching the Blackhawks game, drinking, hanging, in pairs and larger groups. No one else was doing shots. The bartender didn't really talk to us otherwise. I love Chicago.

Commons Club
2 - Commons Club at the Virgin Hotel
3/9/19 with Missy Liebs, Scott Jensen, Laura Masters, Megan Morrison, Beth Jager, Stephanie Loring, Brandon Loring, and so so so many others!

3 - Elephant and Castle
3/28/19 with Megan Morrison
New friends and talking about feelings. What a night. Oof. Haha.

4 - Old Grounds Social
5/14/19 with Megan Morrison, Missy Liebs, Laura Masters, Alan Lee, Beth Jager, and many others!
Fun spot for some questionable darts and delightful times with delightful people! Happy Birthday, Megan!

Between Tiny Tapp and Bar Santano
5 - Tiny Tapp
5/23/19 with Stephanie Souvenir
After a DePaul School for New Learning alumni event at River Roast, Stephanie and I decided to explore the new River Walk and found ourselves sipping wine with a gorgeous view of the city all around us. What a delightful little spot. The wine wasn't cheap, but it also wasn't cheap.

6 - Bar Santano
5/23/19 with Stephanie Souvenir
All we needed was to to home, but then I spotted a bright pink neon sign in an alley that said "BAR," so then we needed to check it out. We found ourselves in Bar Santano, a basement bar apparently part of the Rick Bayless family. As Stephanie said the next day, "We were heading home and then all of a sudden we were eating crickets." I had a nice glass of red wine and we dined on a actually awesome app platter that included cracker bread, guac, an amazing salsa, peanuts with tiny dried fish mixed in, and crispy crickets. It was the perfect combination of snacks and really wasn't that expensive for a Bayless spot. I would totally go back, but hopefully for happy hour and not after hours.

7 - Maria's
7/5/19 with Hilary, Nick, Jen, and David
When you're on your way to the hottest wedding in Chicago, you have to stop at a cool bar in Bridgeport to cool it down.

8 - Elevate
7/5/19 with Masters, Missy, Alicia, Suhil, Nick, Hilary, Beth
Our post-wedding bar was a little bougie, a little much, and a lot of fun because I times are always good with good friends. I love these people.

9 - Stocks and Blondes
8/1/19 with Masters, Megan, Jewel, and Jason
Sometimes you go to a really great one-act Broadway of Chicago show and then you want to hang with your friends (old and new) after. So you go to the really great restaurant that you had dinner at before the show, and it's new, so they let you hang later than the other customers, and then you start to feel a little guilty keeping you there, and then the owner greets you on your way out, and then you make you way to one of the few bars in the loop still open, which is Stocks and Blondes. I'd heard about this bar for years but assumed it was bigger and nicer. Instead, it was perfect.

10 - Paradise Park
9/1/19 with Masters, Alan, Missy, Scott, Megan, Brandon, Stephanie, Justyna, Carrie, Adam, Kathleen, Megan, Hilary, Nick...
One of my favorite people turned 40 and threw a delightful day of celebration that included three new bars I'd never been to before. The first was Paradise Park, which is in the Homeslice/Happy Camper family, so I was pretty familiar with the menu but not the new space in Wicker Park. It's a huge, open space and they were kind enough to give us the front deck area all to ourselves. Our wristbands were prepaid by card, where we could prepay a tip--super convenient. Laura and Alan provided salads, apps, and a ton of pizza, and I got to spend yet another day with so many of my favorite people!
Royal Palms

11 - Royal Palms
9/1/19 with Masters, Alan, Missy, Scott, Megan, Brandon, Stephanie, Justyna, Carrie, Adam, Hilary, Nick...
The party continued at Royal Palms, a new shuffleboard bar in Wicker Park. It's a HUGE space and was weirdly empty for a Saturday.


12  - Lincoln Karaoke
9/1/19 with Masters, Alan, Missy, Scott, Megan, and Brandon
We ended the night at Lincoln Karaoke where I finally got to experience the private-room karaoke thing. While they didn't have the Lizzo I kept demanding, we managed to turn every song into a group singalong and got to skip everything we got bored of. What a lovely night.



_______________________________________________________________

I managed to hit more than 12 new places, so here's a list of other spots and the lovely company I kept at them.

13 - D.S. Tequila Bar
9/15/19 with Stephanie Souvenir

14 - Cell Block
9/15/19 with Stephanie Souvenir

15 - Parson's Chicken and Fish
9/17/19 with Stephanie Souvenir and Drea Stoit

16 - Gemini
9/17/19 with Stephanie Souvenir, Drea Stoit, and Laney Cherveney


Sunday, July 14, 2019

#9 - Watch 3 Movies from the AFI Top 100 List

The American Film Institute has created a list of the 100 greatest American films of all time. I learned about it fairly roundaboutly.

I have been listening to the delightful comedy-true crime podcast My Favorite Murder. Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark had always had secret obsessions with stories of murder, which weirded people out. One day, they met at a party and characteristically mentioned some murder they'd heard about recently and then ended up in a corner chatting all night, thrilled to have found someone else to finally, willingly, talk to about murder. The tension is that they're funny and problematic, and they're always trying to figure those pieces out, right on the podcast itself. It's such lovely modeling of trying to reconcile that (a) it's okay to experience joy and at the same time recognize the terrible things that happen in life, to even be so scared of them you're fascinated, and (b) we all have work to do on ourselves, so when someone calls you out, own it, thank them, learn from it, and do better. I love it so much that it's the only podcast that I've listened to 100% of the episodes. The first year or so was great. There was always one to listen to... until one day, when I fully caught up. And didn't know what to do.

I had started listening to The Dollop, another now favorite podcast, frequently mentioned as My Favorite Murder was getting started. There, one comedian (Dave Anthony) tells a story from American history to another comedian (Gareth Reynolds), who has no idea what the story is. Some of the episodes are so funny that I have cried laughing while sitting alone on the El. But then, so much of American history is really unfunny. I really value this podcast as these stories are important to understand how our country got where it is and that so many of our most obvious mistakes have been forgotten and are at risk of being repeated... or are, in fact, being repeated right now. It's a brutally honest podcast where I either belly laugh or sit with my hand in my palm, struck with shame at the terrible things that have happened within our country and on this land. So, I can't listen to The Dollop every day. Some days I'm just too raw. It's the same tension I mentioned above: It's okay to experience joy and at the same time recognize the terrible things that have and continue to happen. As Brene Brown has said, it's important to experience joy because joy gives us something to fight for.

So then, I was left searching for some joy, something to build me up, give me energy to continue my work in this world that has experienced so much suffering. A student had told me about this podcast where the podcaster interviews people from big, successful ventures about how they got started, how they build their dreams, and all of the things that go along with it. But I couldn't remember what it was called. So I just searched on my podcast app and came across the podcast I thought he was talking about: How Did This Get Made. I played the first episode.

This was not at all the podcast he was talking about. How Did This Get Made is a podcast where three comedians watch a terrible movie and then ponder to each other, "Guys, how did this get made?" It's Paul Shear, June Diane Rapheal, and Jason Manzoukas. This was the not podcast I was looking for but it was 100% the podcast I needed. What's more joyful than laughing at the most unnecessary things in life? The things that cost millions of dollars, all in the name of capitalism or ego, and are now, finally bringing joy to people. Plus, there's the added joy of how much these people like each other, make each other laugh, and invite others to make them laugh as well. It's just so damn joyful.

So wait... Why did I just give you a history of my journey to being a podcast listener? Because, on How Did This Get made, Paul Shear talks about another podcast he started where he and his co-host watch movies from the AFI top 100 and talk about them. The only episode I've listened to was about ET, the first movie I saw in a theater. It was a good episode. I haven't started listening to the podcast in full yet as I've discovered a few others I've put into my rotation (Dear Sugar, Reveal, This American Life) and am feeling a bit maxed out at the moment, but it did inspire me to explore this list.

AFI conveniently has a little checklist, and I'd already seen 32 of the movies on the original list. On the updated list, I've seen 34. So regardless of the list, this leaves tons of films as options.

1 - Raging Bull (1980)
1/6/19

I decided to watch the first film on the newer list that was streaming on one of the apps I already have. That was Raging Bull.

After watching quite a few testosteroney films from the 70's and 80's as I have been working on the Academy Award Best Film list (Rocky, The French Connection, and Annie Hall, I'm looking at you), I went into this one with some skepticism. The misogyny and toxic masculinity kicked off real quick. I had to focus on how good DeNiro was, already primed for this after watching The Deerhunter.

I then focused on how incredible the cinematography was for the time. The boxing scenes were so violent and emotional. The stakes seemed so high.

After focusing on the art of the acting and the craft, I came back to the story. I wondered if Jake really was the hero of the movie, if I was even supposed to like him. I kept thinking, this film is going to be one of those terrible troupes about how it's okay to forget about all of the abusiveness and violence because this guy is going to do something redeeming in the end, so it's okay to love him. But like... that's not where the film went. It was more about a guy who was so into himself that he wouldn't give up. But he didn't seem like a hero. He seemed lonely. And other people kept paying to keep his zig zagging career going. It was society who worshipped the violent bully. I'm still thinking about how our society continues to prop up mediocre white men, particularly those we pay just to tell us their stories, their stories about the amazing things they've done, rather than those who fight beyond themselves to make the world a better place.

A day later, I'm still sitting with the story, and I highly recommend this film.

2 - Some Like It Hot (1959)
6/2/19

I've never watched Marilyn Monroe in a film and now that I have, I get it. She was amazing. She melted into the character even though she was her flirty, feminine, silly self the whole time. The only other notable part of the film for me was that they filmed at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego--even though they claimed it was Florida--where I've spent some nice afternoons. The rest of it was weird. Men dressing up as women to escape gangsters, sure. Women in an all-woman band not catching on, weird, mostly the flirty comments the men would make towards the women. Then, tricking Marilyn Monroe (Sugar Cane) by also pretending to be a millionaire and then she instantly forgives him for it? Hated it. But again, she was spectacular.

3 - Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
7/13/19

This film was so much more complicated and sweet than I could ever have imagined. I have always assumed this film would be a less technical version of so many bank robber movies I've seen before, more tommy guns than lasers, more car chases than rappelling down buildings. There was some of that, but the film was more about the people. All members of the gang were complicated, hurting, and angry at their world. Their violence was directed at the systems they blamed for their struggles. They didn't fit with society's expectations, from Bonnie's sass to Clyde's seeming asexualism to C.W.'s tattoo. I assumed the characters were going to be a co-dependent, narcissistic, foie aux deux. While there were moments of arrogance, their deviance was not simplified to "crazy." They only revolted against symbols of the system that had failed so many. When interacting with common people, they sometimes approached with playful threats, but their threatening nature quickly changed to intentional kindness, teasing about people joining them, accepting them, and then moving on without inflicting harm. They were robbing banks during the Depression, when banks, too, were failing. The thing that prevailed was the police force, which seems so salient today. I truly enjoyed this depiction of these historical characters and the lovely acting throughout. I resisted this one for so long, and the more of these older films I watch, the more I realize there has been brilliant talent throughout history, and while the effects may not be as spectacular, the stories and acting are plenty to hold up a beautiful, complicated film.


Friday, July 12, 2019

#58 - See a Friend I Haven't Seen in at Least 3 Years

This is the bridge. #TRAB? #TRAV

Being single in my late 30's is a delight. I love it. But I'll be honest. Often when friends get engaged, I think, "Great. One less single friend and a little more risk of being excluded from 'couple things.'"

When my friend Laura got engaged, I was so thrilled. I love her. I love Alan. I love them together. I love hanging out with them separate or together. I have no doubt that Laura and my friendship will continue as it has for the last 20(!) years and I'm so excited to continue building my friendship with Alan and with them as a couple.

Once I processed the news of the engagement, I was selfishly thrilled because this meant I got to attend a bachelorette party and the a wedding in celebration.

I am so damn grateful to have a friend in Laura. Not only has she been a consistently amazing friend to me, she's somehow managed to be a consistently amazing friend to a number of some truly amazing people. I don't know how she has continued to stay so supportive, so thoughtful, so damn fun, and consistently in the lives of so many smart, fun, badass women.

This year, that translated into a dream of a bachelorette party in Charleston, South Carolina. Seventeen women from three states and two countries in a gorgeous, massive house on the beach. We drink, ate, and laughed and laughed and laughed. I know you all don't believe me that 17 women stuffed in one house could have a flawless weekend together, but then, that's probably because you don't know Laura.

One of the best parts of the weekend was reconnecting with friends I haven't seen in many years. Some of this is due to them moving away from Chicago and some due to my five years away from Chicago. It was super fun to see friends from undergrad, which somehow was 16 years ago now.

I managed to connect with a few more at the wedding itself, which was the #hottestpartyinchicago. Again, everyone was all smiles all night in celebration of the bride and groom. We may have been dripping sweat, but it didn't stop us from drinking, dancing, and laughing and laughing and laughing.

Laura, thank you for being such a good friend to me and building bridges between your friends. I love love love being a part of this group of smart, silly, thoughtful, supportive, welcoming, badass women. Thank you for bringing us together again and again.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

#63 - Visit a New 826 Location

Eastern Market is now covered in colorful murals that embrace its history.

Such great art around the market
"I want to go to the Robot Factory," said my Dad amidst a lovely Saturday exploring the Eastern Market in Detroit.

I smiled and agreed.

He didn't know that the Detroit Robot Factory was.

I did.

And I can't believe I'd completely forgotten to look up where it was and to suggest a visit.

So, way to go, Dad!

We stopped in the new Detroit Robot Factory, a new location of the Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair Store in Ann Arbor.

A.K.A. 826 Michigan's Detroit location.

Here are some links to other list items that have involved the delightful 826 family: volunteer for a cause, tutor, and visit a new 826 location. If you're looking to volunteer for a fantastic cause that will return the favor in energy and creative inspiration again and again, I highly recommend 826, which has locations all around the United States. I've now volunteered for 826chi and visited 826 Michigan (Ann Arbor and Detroit), 826 Valencia (San Francisco), 826LA (Echo Park), and 826 Boston (not in that order).

Since learning there was an 826 location in Ann Arbor, I've wondered why there wasn't instead one in Detroit since that's a way more logical place for it considering the academic environment and mid- to high-socioeconomic status of Ann Arbor.

Well, now Detroit has its own location with its own spin.
Dad in the Detroit Robot Factory

It's yet another small store front that hides a larger tutoring space. I really enjoyed the industrial yet whimsical style of the space, and I really loved it was on a little side street in the middle of the Eastern Market neighborhood of Detroit.

If you're ever in the area (which you should be as Eastern Market is such a cool area: a huge farmer's market surrounded by old and new local restaurants, bars, and shops) stop in, buy some goofy robot stuff, support 826 Michigan.

Thanks for the catch, Dad Guy!

Monday, February 4, 2019

#16 - Don't Drink for 29 Days

My word for this year is RELIEF
My secret word for this year is FREEDOM
My non-drinking buddy, JJ
29 days? Why 29 days?

Well, because since I've started this list, in 2011, I have included some length of increasing time to go without drinking. The first year it was 1 week. Then I tried a month. That didn't happen. Then I tried a month again. That didn't happen again. Then I tried 2 weeks. Then 3. Then 4 weeks again. Still couldn't quite make it, but that was also the most intensely stressful year of my life, with finishing and then defending my dissertation, job searching, moving across the country, disliking that decision, interviewing for another job, and moving again. In 2017, I did 4 weeks. In 2018, I tried 5 weeks, but I just couldn't quite get there. So, to increase my time and make my goal achievable, I went with 4 weeks and 1 day: 29 days.

I decided to start with the new year, partly because I didn't have any big drinking events on my calendar in January and because several of my friends practice Dry January. I figured both of those things would set me up for success and make me feel good about moving healthily into the new year.

The first few weeks were really pretty easy. I realized I had a habit of having something comforting to drink in the evening, something with a little sugar. I started with chocolate milk. That worked but it was tough to keep so much milk on hand. I switched to chamomile tea with a little milk and honey. That was a perfect substitute. Comforting and only slightly sweet. Plus, a half liter of milk lasted me a long time and tea and honey were easy to keep stocked.
Look, this town is beautiful and fun, even when sober

About 3 weeks in, one night, I ran out of chamomile and milk, and I struggled. That's when my red wine cravings came back. It didn't help that I'd subscribed to a wine club and a box with 15 BOTTLES of red wine had showed up at my door.

The last 7-9 days were tough. I really wanted wine. I didn't feel like I was craving the buzz, just the flavor. It felt similar to craving chocolate, though that particularly craving is rare for me, so maybe more like pizza or buffalo wings... mmm... buffalo wings... I just wanted it.

But I held strong. I made it 29 days.

One thing I've learned is that in doing this practice, I become pickier and pickier about what I drink. I don't really drink beer anymore. There's great beer sitting in my fridge that I should probably throw out it's been in there so long, untouched. I mostly stick to red wine, bourbon, or scotch. If I want something while out and there's no decent wine around, I'll usually go for a vodka soda. Maybe a margarita if I'm in the right place (like San Diego). But I'd rather not drink than drink something just to drink something. I want to actually enjoy it.

Here we are hiding from
the -30 degree windchill
I've also learned that even if I want a glass of red wine, one with dinner and one shortly before bed is plenty, and I can fill the time in between with tea. I learned I need to keep comforting herbal tea with honey and milk on hand so that becomes my habit when I want something other than water to drink in the evenings. That seems doable.

I'm grateful to myself for taking on this practice regularly so that I can reexamine my drinking habits and become a more mindful drinker. I don't see myself ever giving up drinking entirely, just like I haven't been able to give up pizza, but I can realize that those things in excess are hard on my body, and mind, and I'm able to develop new habits.

Special thanks to Stephanie Souvenir and Laney Cherveney, who had a sober Two Bar Tuesday with me, playing board games, sipping water, and eating snacks. It was a pleasant evening :)

Saturday, January 26, 2019

#23 - See One of My Favorite Comedians

I remember when I first saw commercials for the television show Community. It must have been way back because it was not only a time that I had regular TV, but I had the kind of TV where I would have noticed commercials for a new show. I was geeking out because Parks & Rec started around the same time, and those two shows combined finally kind of explained what I did for a living: collegiate recreation. It was kind of like working in a Parks & Rec office but serving the population of Community.

Don't get me wrong, both shows are full of weirdos, but the Community weirdos were college-age. Or, at least, the kind of college age as the students I worked with at the time, which meant, mostly in their 20's but also older and younger and from an incredible range of backgrounds (except geographical as most were from Chicago).

I should also say that I mean weirdos as one of the highest compliments I have to give. It's very likely that these students, together, weren't weirdos, much as the citizens of Pawnee were obviously connected when you'd see the town hall scenes. But, all mixed together, they were so very much individuals that fitting in, like in Community, became more about who you would hang with, rather than what you looked like. Your past experiences only mattered if they mattered to you... or if you just couldn't help bringing them with you because they were part of you.

But also, they were weird. Weird in a wonderful way as in I loved that despite the routine of my work-related tasks, I never knew what each day would break. From high jump competitions to e-mails about the importance of shoe-lace tying instruction (an e-mail I actually received) to music videos to shit talking to individualized high five routines (one of which may have mimicked Troy and Abed). We even had our own Star Burns. My own community taught me so much and made me want to be better for them. I loved it there. I watch reruns of Community to remind myself of the person and professional my community made me want to be: smart, driven, and service-oriented without ever taking myself, or others, too seriously.

All of that is why I was SO stoked to see that Danny Pudi (who played Abed in Community) would be coming to Chicago's Sketchfest with Parvesh Cheena in a show called Parv and Pudi.

Unlike the other shows I'd been to at Sketchfest, Parv & Danny did more storytelling. The stories were hilarious and heartfelt. They seemed truly filled with joy in performing and engaging with the audience that was equally filled with joy in their sharing. I'm so thankful that I was able to be a witness to their on-stage play, and I won't say more than that about the show because, as someone once described to me, sometimes, when we spread our stories all around, they become less ours, less special. I want to hold this one special to me and to encourage you to take the opportunity to see Parv, Danny, or any of your favorites. I know there's also the old line to never meet your heroes, and while I wouldn't call Pudi one of my heroes, I have been a fan of his work, I'm so glad I took the chance to see him off screen, along with his friend, of whom I am also a fan now. Sometimes it's nice to know that the people you cheer on in life might just be some of the good ones.