Back in the U.S.S.R!

CHI --> JFK --> SVO (Moscow, baby!)!

I'm packed and ready for 10 days of international fun! I saw this tweet about a New York Times pictorial slideshow, coincidentally illustrating how to pack for 10 days of travel in one small, overhead compartment-sized, carry-on bag, courtesy of a flight attendant! It's really fascinating actually. Here's my attempt at packing genius:

We're off to Russia in an hour!

Peace out.

Russia update

Forgive me. I haven't blogged in awhile.

In two days – or is it three? I get confused when jumping across time zones – we will be in Russia!

It's been a busy week prepping for the trip, taking care of household slash FurFur odds and ends, and Last Book Club.

This is the probably the most highly-anticipated trip I have ever taken. It's so foreign to me to think that I won't understand the language or have any idea whatsoever about the daily lifestyle/living of that country. I mean, really, who just decides to go to Russia?

Us, apparently.

Last week, I learned from my very well-traveled dentist, of all people, that "Moscow is the most expensive city in the world!". WTF. I knew it was expensive what with the black market, but dang, it actually beat out London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, which for years have reigned on the "I Am Too Rich For You" market lists.

There's not a whole lot of good travel information out there for Russia. I don't know if credit cards are widely accepted, how much cash to bring, or even how to say "bathroom" (all the very important things, of course). What I do know is that weather.com says it's going to be sunny and mid-70s to low 50s. That's better than in Chicago! I'm packing some fun frocks and H's fancy schmancy Nikon D90, thankyouverymuch!

Awesome Food: Mirai sushi

Mirai Sushi rocks. It's my favorite high-end sushi place in the city. (Butterfly Sushi is my go-to affordable one.)

Circle of friends

Me and L at one of her fabulous Book Clubs on her rooftop deck.

I had an emo-filled Saturday last weekend when L called and guess what! She and her hubby, A, had finally sold their place and that the new owners are moving in way earlier and that they are moving to North Carolina the day after The Prom* – June 12th, for crying out loud! That's right around the corner!!! So here I was, all alone in the Pulaski dog park (well, FurFur was there, too), fenced in, and racked with tears that the imminent eventuality of L & A moving away was suddenly here.

I knew it was coming, as A had been accepted into the UNC @ Chapel Hill's Fellowship program. Since one year ago when Fellowship matches were announced, I'd been dreading the time that would come when more than a handful of our closest Chicago friends (and/or significant others) would pack it on out for the next phase in their medical careers. I swear my dog left her happy place and ran over to console me as I bawled in the corner of the park.

I'm even more thankful than ever that I still have part of "the group" here. My friends are truly my support system here in Chicago, and nothing makes me sadder to lose part of that wonderful group dynamic that we cultivated over three years. Especially this last year, when we really grew to know each other over Book Club and Happy Hours. I'd be a bit lost without such a core group of friends.

Alas, we'll party it up in true farewell fashion with L & A, as they're moving into our spare bedroom during their transition week! Good times...

*It's not really a Prom, but this is how we all endearingly refer to the Northwestern Medical Residents's swanky, "We Made it Out Alive!" final fete before parting ways.

A day at the Brookfield Zoo with L & A in 2009.


At the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown after indulging in dim sum in 2009!

Awesome Food: Devon Seafood Grill

Miniature Tabasco bottle that accompanied my fresh shucked oysters. It's so cute!

Since living in Chicago, I have progressively become Anti-Chains. Living in a big city that admittedly covets and supports mom-and-pops and boutique dining and shopping, I haven't eaten at a chain restaurant in three years. And I eat out A LOT. Except for the TGIFriday's downtown, I can't recall even seeing any offending chains in the city. (Although I do *heart* Olive Garden – unlimited salad and breadsticks with a side of Zuppa Toscana – I guess I'll have to trek out to the 'burbs for it.)

Devon Seafood Grill is on my list of "Awesome Food" places in the city. We took The Fella's sister, J, to experience the featured "At Cost Lobster" at Devon's Happy Hour/Dinner on Wednesday. Although Devon Seafood Grill has multiple other locations (Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and the random Hershey, PA!), I don't consider it a chain simply because of the gourmet, interesting menu and sleek décor. And with fantastically priced Happy Hour appetizer and drink specials ranging from $5 to $7, you can't go wrong!

The bartender gave me a free drink because he "doesn't charge for anything without alcohol!" I like THAT philosophy!

I quite liked this woman's gold booties, spotted from our
fabulous window view along bustling Chicago Ave.

Vietnamese Crab Spring Rolls

Tuna Tartare with delicate slivers of layered cucumber

Fresh Shucked Oysters @ $0.75 each, my fave!

1lb. Lobsters at Cost! ($9.50). Gimme two of those!

I only wish I had snapped pix of the Calamari and Smoked Duck Flatbread, which were to die for...

Cuptini, anyone?

Chicago is cuckoo over cupcakes!

With boutique cupcake shops sprinkled generously all around town – especially Lincoln Park, home of the Cupcake à la Pricey – you can find virtually any flavor to make your stomach smile. My personal fave was Adam's Cupcakes, but it closed shortly after I discovered it when it was written up as America's Best Cupcakes on MSN.com. How dare they? Now I'm pretty much in love with More in the Gold Coast, where I bought The Fella some sweet, little cuppy cakes for our third wedding anniversary. OK, OK, not so little at all.

Anyhoo. I'm currently obsessed with the newest concept in town – the mobile Flirty Cupcakes truck! Finally, the East slash West Coast phenomenon of food trucks comes to the Midwest. It's about time to polish my stalking shoes. With the convenience of social media feeds, I always know when the Flirty Cupcakes truck will be in my neighborhood.

You can imagine my disappointment when the truck sold out of the goodies by the time it was scheduled for Wicker Park two nights ago, but you better believe I followed its every move until it stopped in River North near my work today!

(From top, clockwise) Today's Signature Special, a Vanilla Cupcake with Fresh Blackberry Filling and White Chocolate Frosting; The Curious George, a Banana Chocolate Cupcake with a Lightly Salted Caramel, Italian Buttercream Frosting; and No Plain Jane, a Vanilla Cupcake with Italian Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

After an evening of Happy Hour at Devon Seafood Grill and polishing off Flirty Cupcakes, the night ended with an analysis of two grandiose inventions by The Fella: #1 being a free, express shuttle bus offered by premier bars to help drunken patrons get home; #2 being a Cuptini, a delicious vanilla cupcake filled with a semi-solid martini mixture. But the true Great Invention is really a combination of these ideas piggy-backing off one another: Cuptinis sold on the shuttle bus, turning a great big profit for the bar. Ta-da!

It's amazing what a bunch of sugar and alcohol will do for ya!

Missing mom on mother's day

Today is Mother's Day, and I'm a bit homesick from seeing happy mothers and their children all around the city. But, fortunately, I've got good friends and lots of cool things to do in Chicago this weekend to keep me occupied. The Fella's sister, J, and her friend, are visiting in town this week, so some friends joined us for Sunday brunch at Clarke's on Damen, where we ended up after a failed attempt to get into the highly touted Feast, just a few doors down. (Excuse me for just a second, but I have to name drop. My friend ran into Dan Pudi a.k.a. Abed from the hit tv show Community at Feast the day before!)

It's probably a good thing I resisted the urge to get in the shiny, red wagon that I thought was part of Clarke's decor. A few moments later, a family with two little Asian kids lay claim, hopped in, and wheeled away into the sunshine.

We enjoyed a leisurely, old-fashioned diner brunch surrounded by kitschy, black and white photos on the exposed brick walls and extra-wide booth seating.

Corned Beef Hash with Potatoes, Poached Eggs, and Silver Dollar Pancakes...mmmm....

Sunday was such a glorious reprieve from the nasty weather we had the few days prior, and there is no better place to be than in downtown Chicago at the height of Spring, with its overabundance of freshly planted tulips lining Michigan Ave. and the city parks.

And of course, like with all visitors, we took J and her friend to Millennium Park to snap the requisite Stupid Tourist Pictures under Cloudgate a.k.a The Bean. You know, the ones where tourists stand under The Bean and make silly faces, taking pix of their distorted figures and expressions in the silvery reflection.

We then wandered into Celtic Fest, replete with Scottish music and lore being broadcast under The Pavilion, men in kilts, dancing pilgrims, and clogging lobsters. (Don't ask, I don't know what's up with the pilgrims or the woman-sized, dancing shellfish.) I couldn't help but think, Why didn't I wear my Scottish cape?

I truly hope we will still be in Chicago by the time we have a family – it was pure happiness and innocence to see babies crawling around curiously and young children unabashedly frolicking around in the Great Lawn, wholeheartedly enjoying the city's festivities and community life.

The best part about the day was lying on the manicured Great Lawn, staring up at the bright, blue skies and falling asleep to the sounds of Scottish music. I can't wait for the free classical music concerts, yoga, Pilates, and dance fitness classes on the Lawn come Summer!

Happy Mother's Day. And Celtic Day!

Cinco de Mayo fête

H's text message to our other friends who didn't make it out to dinner
pretty much sums up our Cinco de Mayo night at Nacional 27.

Giving into blissful indulgence of my Miami nostalgia this past week, I had organized a Cinco de Mayo fête with good friends at Nacional 27 in the River North neighborhood. Nacional 27 is known for their Nuevo Latino cuisine – but frankly, not much else – because service sucked and drinks were the opposite of a-flowin'.

One full hour came and went before our first round of drinks came. It was Cinco de Mayo. CINCO DE MAYO! Shouldn't alcohol be coming out of our ears? Here is a summary of the night's painfully. slow. events.

6:30pm: Dinner reservations allow my party of six to be seated promptly. Yay for this!

6:55pm: Server greets us finally and takes our drink order for one pitcher of margarita to start.

7:00pm: A man brings us salt-rimmed glasses of ice and limes for our margaritas. We're getting excited! Drinks MUST be on the way!

7:20pm: Where are the margs??

7:25pm: If I see one more table being brought drinks, I'm going to facepunch them. Then steal their pitchers.

7:30pm: The ice has melted, but finally, let the margs begin! Server doubled up on the pitcher as a peace offering. (It is important to note that it took one full hour for the first drinks to arrive. Ah, if only this were a book and I could look back at this hint of foreshadowing as a sign of the night to ensue.)

7:45pm: Server finally returns to take our food orders. She overlooks the fact that I probably want to order something to eat, just because I don't join in on the other five people's group order of the "Wine Down Wednesday" four-course, prix-fixe menu. It took four taps on her arm before she finally recognizes me. I order the Ceviche Sampling Platter.

8:30pm: First course is finally served. The "Wine Down Wednesday" deal offers a flight paired with each course, but we never did get our Guava Sangria. Oh, and how hard is it to get ice around here for our lukewarm margs??

9:00pm: This is going to be a looong night. If this were Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay would have kicked some kitchen and bar staff asses.

9:30pm: Second course (salad) is finally served. Server gives us a double pour of the red wine flight to make up for the missing sangria. Poor M looks like she's ready to faint from hunger. They'd better have been growing our veggies fresh in the backyard after waiting this long for a salad!

10:00pm: Third course (main entree) and pairing is finally served. Three and a half hours later. We had riveting conversations about the Qur'an, luxury cruises, rheumatology, an insurance salesman with a Down Syndrome kid, California. H tips over in his chair. The server really cheated us on this last pour. I think the food is so good but we can't really tell if this is true because by now we're so famished and drunk.

10:30pm: Server asks if we'd like to order the optional fourth course of dessert. HELL, NO. We'll be here until tomorrow. Quick, we'd better ask for the check now.

10:45pm: Let's blow this joint. Should I just walk back to my office down the street and sleep there tonight?

FINALLY.

All in all, despite Nacional's horrendous service and turnaround that even puts "Miami Latin/Caribbean time" to shame, the food was delish and the company was fab. That just about makes up for it all. I almost want to put Nacional in my Awesome Food category, but I just can't because the terrible service overshadowed it. And now, presenting my requisite food shots:

(Left to right) A mariachi band serenaded us for all of 20 minutes when we first arrived, as if to validate the Cinco de Mayo party at a non-Mexican joint; our first course of Grilled Shrimp Adobado, Boniato and Plantain Croquetas, Smoked Chicken Empanadas, and Latin Slaw of Jicama and Organic Cabbage.

I don't know why I look like I'm six. And wearing shoulder pads. But one thing's for 'sho, and that's my main entree, a Ceviche Sampling Platter of Shrimp & Scallop, Hamachi 'Verde', Rainbow Coctel, Ahi Tuna & Watermelon, and Pacific Ocean Oyster Shooters.

The others had Grilled Seafood Paella, Chicken Mole Verde, and Gaucho Marinated BBQ Skirt Steak, with sides of Mashed Boniato and Grilled Vegetables.

Food Revolution: week 6 update

Here is my weekly progress report of Week 6 of my Food Revolution. I did OK – but not stellar – this week in respect to both of my goals:

(1) Reduce the number of canned meals I eat for lunch.

• Monday: Grecian Chicken Salad at The Kerryman.
  
• Tuesday: Some kind of small-shaped balls of pasta that look like couscous but I can't remember the name, served with roasted beets and roasted chicken breast.
  
• Wednesday: Frozen lunch of Honey-Roasted Turkey, Mixed Vegetables, and Mashed Potatoes (bad Jamie!).
  
• Thursday: Couscous-like pasta with roasted beets, string beans, and roasted chicken.
  
• Friday: Baked salmon and roasted beets.
  

(2) Eat breakfast. Or at least just eat something in the morning.

• Monday: I really was planning on eating breakfast (I even brought in new jug of milk for my Frosted Mini Wheats!), but 8:30 a.m. turned into 9:30 a.m., which quickly turned into 10:30 a.m., and before you knew it it was getting so close to my lunch date with the girls...
  
• Tuesday: Frosted Mini Wheats with Vitamin D Milk.
  
• Wednesday: Two slices of French baguette with whipped cream cheese.
  
• Thursday: Three slices of French baguette with whipped cream cheese.
• Friday: I think I skipped.
  

Paperwork reduction project

One of my Make Thyself a Better Person projects this year is to reduce, reuse, and recycle the amount of paper I consume. I am trying to be more environmentally friendly both at work and at home.

So, I told my intern at work, Don't make me any more of those green project folders with the job ticket printouts! Waste not, want not! I've become so digitally-oriented that I can make do with the electronic files on the central server or in my email. Everything is digitally filed and organized according to a very strict system I developed for any of my colleagues to be able to access these files in the event that someone "gets hit by a bus", as our company saying goes.

I've even requested a hand towel bar in the bathroom, so that we can all stop using up the fancy, schmancy Z-fold paper towels. (I'm pretty sure the request hasn't been granted because The Boss thinks the towel bar will interfere with our strategically designed bathroom decor – it's been 3 months since I asked for it!) So. I've brought in an old cloth towel and now use that for hand drying.

We also just started recycling as a company. My work belongs to a condo association and they won't approve the recycling fees, so we've never recycled before until my colleague volunteered to buy the big bins and to drive to work 1x a month to empty them at her own building!

It's just a start.

Now I'm trying to extend the same philosophy to my home life by tearing out recipes and interesting articles, and organizing them into three-ring binders. I admit that I have a hoarding issue – I have endless stacks of Real Simple, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Fitness, W, a plethora of design mags... you name it, I have it. Many of them date as far back as 2005. A few years ago, when we upped and moved to Chicago, I FINALLY relinquished control of those mags from my college years of 1999-2003! (I know, I have a serious problem.)

The stack on the left is finished and ready to be recycled. The two stacks on the right have yet to be pored over, but at least they're categorically sorted into food and design mags. Sadly, these aren't even all the mags in my possession. There are boxes more under the bed and in the rack downstairs.

I'm slowly but surely making headway this weekend and whittling down the daunting stack of mags, and each day is one step closer to positively reducing and recycling my paper consumption. It feels good.

90 miles from home

Cafe LaGuardia, the restaurant that finally broke my
three year abstinence from Cuban food.

In nearly three years of living in Chicago, I have not had a lickin' of Cuban food.

There's a part of me that thinks good Latin food doesn't exist anywhere else besides down-home. The rational side of me knows this is not true, but the food snob in me holds the rational side hostage. Last week my colleague was telling me about – wait for it – Papa's Cache Sabroso, a Puerto Rican hole-in-the-wall type of place in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, that has the *best* jibaritos in Chicago. Around the same time, I met the girls for lunch at The Kerryman, and A mentioned having had really good Cuban food at Cafe 28 in the Ravenswood neighborhood. After all that talk, I felt compelled to pick up a few sweet plantains from Stanley's to fry up at home last Thursday night.

You could say that I am missing Miami, all 1,188 miles away from home. Although sometimes it feels like it might as well be a thousand more.

So. All this talk and that's what really spurred my nostalgia for good ol' Cuban food – the kind that you could get just about anywhere in Miami, anytime. (Morro Castle, anyone?) Three years minus Cuban food, and suddenly this week I will have had it twice in five days!

Alas, I gave it a shot for the first time tonight in Chicago by meeting friends for dinner at Cafe LaGuardia in Wicker Park/Bucktown – I was so excited to have back what's been missing in my life for far too long! I stepped one foot in Cafe LaGuardia and was suddenly transported back to Miami. Replete with gaudy animal-print chairs and curtains, blinking Christmas lights colorfully strung on plastic palm trees, and toe-tapping slash hip-swaying salsa, I wholeheartedly welcomed the *tacky* that is Miami!

Check out the animal-print loft pipes!

Dare I say the food tonight was almost – or better – than Cuban food in Miami?? (With the exception of Las Culebrinas in Coconut Grove, which will always hold a soft spot in my heart!)

I couldn't get enough of the Sweet Maduros (Plantains) or the House-Made Coconut Sorbet served in a "Real Coconut Shell!".

The most uh-MAZ-ing Oxtail Stew with Black Beans, White Rice, Boiled Cassava with Garlic. Oh my! I had such a difficult time deciding what to order tonight. Next time I will try the signature dish, Brazilian Red Snapper, which was featured on Chicago's Check Please! and Rachael Ray Magazine.

Next week I have planned a Cinco de Mayo fête at Nacional 27. It's more Nuevo Latino than Cuban, but nevertheless, the Latino festivities will surely be raging on, reminding me a little bit more of home.