Weekend Wrap Up

There's nothing I love more than a nice, relaxing weekend and that is exactly what this weekend was! Friday night I met my good friend Mary Kate for dinner at RPM Italian (once considered to be called Mama DePandi's) which is owned by Bill and Guilliana Rancic. Wow. The second we walked in, Mary and I were instantly on sensory over load! The ambiance is very trendy and a lot to take in. Since we had to wait a few minutes we thought we'd get a drink in the bar which was like walking into a Cougar den. Everyone there was very dressed up and looked like they intended to hit up the clubs after dinner. At one point we headed to the ladies room, and on the way out Mary Kate insisted she saw Brian Urlacher (of the Chicago Bears). Doubting her skills (which I should know better than to do), I went to check out for myself and we definitely agreed it was him (later to be confirmed by the staff there), AND just our luck we were actually seated at the table right next to his! Because Mary Kate and I are used to rubbing elbows with the upper echelon, we played it cool and did not take any pictures (we did however stare at his table the entire night and hardly spoke with each other). So in lieu of a candid picture I will provide one from google (which by the way, when looking for pictures of him I saw he used to hook up with Paris Hilton, weird.)

After our brush with stardom (we were also told we just missed Lance Bass) we focused on the food at RPM. Everything was great! I had read some mixed reviews about this place, but everything we had really hit the spot. We started with the Truffle Garlic Bread, an order of their meatballs and the Gnocchi al Forno. So yum! The Gnocchi was very unique and not like any other Gnocchi I have tasted before. We also had a mushroom mini pizza and shared the Mama DePandi's Pomodoro. Everything there is small plates and meant to be shared which I love! Overall, it was a great experience!

Saturday morning I woke up with an urge to give in and see the Hunger Games so Mary Kate and I went to see an early show. Holy cow! The movie was so great and surpassed my expectations. Having been a die hard Harry Potter fan, I have to say I was always disappointed in the movies, but the Hunger Games really followed so true to the book! I highly recommend it and can't wait until the next movie comes out!! I chose the below picture because I was obsessed with how great Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz were in the movie!

Sunday morning started off as a beautiful day so Neil and I went for a super long walk. We were going with intentions to look for sunglasses, but it appears all eye glass stores are closed on Sundays, so we went to lunch instead :) Sunday night Neil grilled on his roof top for me and his roommate Bill, who just returned from a 4 month trip to India. Great way to wrap up the weekend!!

Vatican Museums

This morning we bought our tickets to The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel!!! This is really happening!!

The Beauty that is Kale

Lately, I've been obsessed with Kale! It started a few months ago when I went to my friend Annie's for dinner and as a snack she made Kale Chips (cut up Kale, but it on a cookie sheets, put some EVOO over the Kale with Salt and Pepper, put it in the over for about 10-15 minutes. When they come out they are a crunchy, yummy snack). Since then, I've been putting a bit of it in my dinner almost every night! The last two nights I've put Kale and mushrooms together in a frying pan with a little EVOO and then add angle hair pasta, S&P and some garlic. Sprinkle some feta on top (if you'd like). It is so good! I see my love affair with Kale continuing  into the future!

One More Month....

Today begins the official countdown for London and Rome. Ok, so I've had a countdown going for the past 100 days, but one month from today (April 19) Neil and I will be heading to London and Rome!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!

St. Patty's Weekend!!

What an amazing weekend! In addition to record breaking temps in Chicago it was also St. Patrick's Day and to top that all off, my favorite person came to Chicago to celebrate for the 6th year in a row, my sister Megan! We've typically had a bigger group attending St. Patty's festivities but this year was Megan and Neil and I holding down the fort.

The weekend started on Friday when Megan came into town from New York. We quickly went to my rooftop to celebrate and then hopped in a cab to the West Loop where we met Neil at Avec (http://avecrestaurant.com/). The space is tiny and unfortunately we were crammed into a spot that really was meant for 2 people. Overall, the food was good, my favorite being the wood-fired squid with san marzano tomatoes, guanciale, fideo and fennel aioli and the flatbread. I probably wouldn't rush back here though. 


On the walk over to drinks, we stopped at Carnivale for a mojito (and quick session in the photo booth). 

We then walked over to the Aviary (http://www.theaviary.com/) which is the bar attached to Next. The drinks were all so good and unique!! We had two rounds of drinks, the first was a champagne cocktail, an old fashion and a pina colada:

The next round was a little more unique, if only I could remember all the details.....

After the Aviary we hopped across town to meet up with my college roommate Erin (Shea or Balls) and her boyfriend Greg. Shortly after we were joined by Mary Kate and her siblings. It was such a fun night and a great way to kick off the weekend!!! 


Saturday morning got a later start than we intended (see posts above..) but once we got moving Megan and I headed to lunch and then met up with Neil in River North at our new favorite St. Patrick's day location. Hard Rock has an outside tent with live music and lots of beer. Because it was so beautiful outside we were able to move around a lot and enjoy the temps! We also found our own pair of tiny hats!!!! 

Such a fun weekend all around! I'm so thankful to Megan for coming in each year! It's always my favorite weekend of the year and it makes me so happy to spend it with her!  

Happy 6 months!!

My yet to be named car has turned 6 months old this week!! I love her more today than the day I got her!!

Spring has Sprung!!

It has finally started to feel like Spring around Chicago!! This weekend was amazingly beautiful!! However, I don't think March got the memo that it's not April, and a beautiful, bright weekend has made way for a rainy Monday morning. 

In addition to the weather, the weekend itself was lovely! Friday night Neil and I continued to work through the bib gourmand list and had dinner at Ceres' Table (http://www.cerestable.com) in Uptown. The ambiance is adorable!! Everything is painted robin's egg blue with brown accents, which is so cute! We started off the dinner with fried risotto balls which had braised goat, saffron and taleggio cheese in it. AMAZING (obviously, it was fried, of course it's amazing)!! We also had gnocchi al Gorgonzola  dolce e tartufo, which is potato dumplings with creamy Gorgonzola and truffle sauce. This was so rich and good! The gnocchi melted in your mouth!! 

For our main course, Neil had  the braised pork belly. It was maple syrup braised pork belly, cauliflower puree, brussel sprout leaves and baby turnips. I had the braise wagyu beef cheek, which had eggplant parmigiana, ricotta cheese and tomato sauce basil. It was unreal! We also had brussel sprouts wrapped in kale and balsamic vinaigrette. This was the best meal I've had lately!! Everything was cooked to perfection, the staff was helpful and friendly, and the environment was great! We intended to go listen to some jazz afterwards, but I entered a food coma fast and almost fell asleep at the table!  

Saturday was beautiful outside!! Since Neil had to work, I went to get a pedicure and did a little shopping before meeting up with his family for dinner! We ventured down to Bridgeport and met Neil's parents, his sister and her boyfriend, Kevin, at Han 202 (http://han202.com). Han 202 is a prix-fixe Chinese restaurant. We had a bunch of choices and everything was very good. Post dinner Neil and I said everything was very good, but we were a little surprised it was on the bib gourmand list. Good food, but I always expect these places to be so unique and have a menu full of food I've never even heard of! That was not the case here, but the meal was excellent!

Sunday, Neil and I took a long walk through the neighborhoods! We started at my apartment and worked out way to his neighborhood, where we stopped for a rooftop drink and to watch the Rome No Reservations episode! I wish every weekend could be this nice and relaxing!! 

Weekend Wrap Up

After a painful week, I was looking forward to a weekend of relaxing! I was slated to go to Las Vegas for work this Wednesday, but at the last minute my boss decided I needed to be in town for a local meeting and cancelled the trip. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but I was looking forward to seeing one of my college roommates and spending the weekend with her and her fiance, so I was pretty down about that! To get my mind in a better place Neil and I went to dinner in Chinatown and saw "The Artist."

For dinner, we went to Lao Hunan, which is a part of the Tony Gourmet group. Neil loves the Lao restaurants, which are very authentic and known for their hot and spicy plates. I personally love Chef Tony (chef to celebrities such as former mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley and current mayor, Rahm Emanuel). At each of the Lao restaurants there is a Chef Tony bio on the menu, stating that he is a "celebrity" chef. Having only seen pictures of Chef Tony with local political figures, I haven't pieced together the "celebrity" part yet, but I still love him and he sure can cook!

"The Artist." Don't really know what to say about this movie yet. We went to a movie theater in the south loop that has assigned seating which did not sit well with either of us! We moved about 10 times just so we were not on top of the people next to us. So I was totally focused on that, and not the silent film playing out in front of us. When we finally settled into a seat I found I was focused more on the man chewing his popcorn next to me than the movie. I knew it was a silent film, but part of me was waiting for someone to say something the entire time! Neil made a great analogy after the movie; its like going to look at a classic painting, even you're not a huge fan of art, you can still appreciate it for what it is. As the days have passed, I do appreciate it more.

Saturday I had lunch with a good friend who I hadn't seen in ages, which is always great. We recapped over  lunch and beers as it snowed outside.

Saturday night Neil and I, totally prepared to go out to dinner, decided to stay warm and inside and ordered sushi!! On Sunday, after spending the morning at PAWS together, we met Neil's parents for dinner on Taylor Street (Chicagos' Little Italy) at Tuscany. It was a great dinner and so good to see Neil's parents! He and I always talk about how lucky we both are to have such amazing parents, and seeing them is just another reminder of that!