Chicago 9.26.09

Saturday consisted of mostly just eating!
Anthony Bourdain has raved about a place called Hot Doug's. It's in the middle of an industrial neighborhood so we decided to take the train & bus. Here is what we happened upon:

You see that line? Yep, we waited in it for an hour and a half!

Once inside, our eyes were wide as we took everything in. We love their motto:

Today's Specials:

As no surprise, Mikey got the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris. I even had a bite! This was a first for the both us for Foie Gras. I was indifferent about it, but Mikey LOVED it! It was the highlight of the trip for him.

You should note that Hot Doug's only accepts cash. We realized this as we were steps away from ordering. So, with only $20 in our pocket, I opted for a classic beer brat with the WORKS! Delish!


Oh, and who could forget the Saturday specialty... Duck Fat fries!! They only serve these on Fridays & Saturdays.

A trip to Hot Doug's wouldn't be complete without venturing in to the bathroom.
His:

Hers:

Hot Doug's was certainly worth the wait. I highly recommend it. A couple things I would do differently: 1) Bring more cash 2) Drive because it's really easy to get to 3) Order take out to avoid the lines

We got back to the city and it was bustling. With limited time, we opted to take a ride up to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building. Here it is from ground level:

Views from the Observatory:


We were able to listen to an audio tape about some of the buildings & learn the history of Chicago. This was actually the highlight of the trip for me. It was fascinating.
Too cute:


After the observatory, we headed back out but noticed a bunch of people standing in line for something. Low and behold, there is a lounge on the 96th floor. Count us in!
Here we are enjoying a martini (Manda) and Vodka Tonic (Mikey) with a great view of the city:

And finally, the big event of the weekend... Birthday Dinner at Blackbird Restaurant.
Here's what the scene looks like inside:

We figured we'd probably only eat here once, so we ordered the tasting menu (sorry the photos are a bit grim... the lighting was low but a flash would have blasted everyone around us):


We enjoyed a bottle of Zinfandel with our meal. It's quite the effort to make a bottle of wine last 2 1/2 hours!
1st Course: Sturgeon belly with trout roe, chioggia beets and marcona almonds


2nd Course: Pistachio gazpacho with ahi, watermelon confit, sea beans and cocoa


3rd Course: Crispy Maryland soft shell crab with hazelnut tofu, haricot verts, lily bulbs and jalapeno

4th Course: Hudson Valley foie gras torchon with peaches, Nichols Farm sweet corn, fried okra and shiso (Foie Gras twice in one day!)


5th Course: Seared Maine diver scallops with fresh hearts of palm, sugar snap peas and lovage


6th Course: Turbot with heirloom tomato, tomatillo, honeyed garlic scapes and bitter chocolate


7th Course: Braised Iberico pork collar with fresh black beans, cipollini onions, honeydew melon, poblano pepper and brioche



8th Course: Grilled wagyu flatiron steak with smoked quinoa, baby swiss chard, goat's milk caramel and lemon balm


9th Course: Yogurt sherbet with wild rice and ground cherries (my fave... clearly I barely remembered to take a pic. The ground cherries [not pictured because they were already consumed] were candied):


10th Course: Warm spice bread with candied carrots, pickled golden raisins and saffron ice cream


11th Course: Manjari chocolate pave with black mission figs, chioggia beets and lime salt
I think I was worn out by this point. I neglected to get a picture.

The waitress also treated us to a glass of cranberry sparkling wine for our final dessert to toast Mikey's birthday. Here we are after it was all said and done:


My overall review of Blackbird is that is was very tasty but as you can see from the pic above, the tables are totally crammed! Everyone heard everybody's conversations. I kinda feel like if you are going to charge premium prices for food, you should have a pleasurable dining atmosphere. Thankfully, our reservation was for 9:30 and so both tables on either side of us left by 11pm but it was still awkward for that first hour and a half. The service was great, food was great and we'd definitely eat there again.

At Midnight, we hailed a cab and arrived "home." Our hotel is the building with the gold roof.

This was truly a trip to remember and something that we hope to do more of in the future. We're done with giving each other material gifts. Instead, we want to make memories. Cheers!

Chicago 9.25.09

I surprised Mikey with a weekend trip to Chicago to celebrate his 30th birthday! We arrived on Friday Sept 25th at:


The Hard Rock Hotel is located in the old Carbide & Carbon building. Here is the swanky lobby:

Our room overlooked Michigan Avenue and so we were eager to venture out. We were both so amazed at the great landscaping in this city.

How cute is this? They had displays like this everywhere along the Magnificent Mile:

This was on the sidewalk right outside our hotel:

We worked up an appetite for Chicago Deep Dish Pizza... Sausage & Pineapple:

Good thing our hotel was only a couple blocks away because we stuffed ourselves silly. Here is our hotel lit up at night (taken from the pizza place). We stayed on the 22nd floor which is the start of the taller portion of the building. We got to go up the "special elevator." We loved how easy it was to navigate by car, foot & train in this city.

It was a foggy night. Very mystical:

After dinner, Mikey spotted fireworks over the lake. Here's a glimpse between two buildings (sorry for the poor lighting... just had my point & shoot camera, not the DSLR). It was a great night after a long day of traveling.
Here we are before calling it a night. We got some free drinks from the bartender who was trying out a new drink menu:)

busy

b.u.s.y.... that explains our past week in a nutshell. We managed to sneak in a fun Sunday afternoon drive up to the Cloquet Valley State Forest. We found some great new trails for snow shoeing & a lot of public access points to take our canoe out for a spin. We got some sushi and mango iced tea for the drive. I love trips on a whim.
That evening we went out with Nikki & Henry to Bob Bennett's Restaurant 301 in the Sheraton hotel. On Sunday nights they have a 3 course tasting menu for $15 and 1/2 price wine. We all ordered the tasting menu and each got 1) Arugula Salad 2) Shrimp & Risotto 3) Salmon. We paired that with some Marietta Old Vine Zin. It was a great night and Nik & Hen treated us. Such a nice surprise.
Tomorrow is my day from hell. It starts with a 10am press conference and finishes with a 4,000 person tailgate party & nationally televised football game. Wheeee! I also get to work a soccer game on Labor Day. Hello overtime pay:) I think my reward to myself will be a 90 minute massage. It'll make all the work so worth it and I can't complain because I truely enjoy my job. Mikey's working like a mad man at the restaurant. He's getting his cooking skills brushed up this week as he is filling in in the kitchen. He's a jack of all trades there.
We are finally getting some beautiful weather and it's shaping up to be a gorgeous fall. Sunny and 70. Perfect! Soon it'll be soup season.
Cheers to my last weekend of freedom before school starts~