i drank that

Cranberry spritzer at a carnival-themed baby shower

2012-02-13T04:07:00.001-08:00

Something about this Sunday, my last day of detox, and first baby shower caused me to tilt and whirl.

in lieu of coffee

2012-02-11T09:36:00.000-08:00

Brene Brown

detox version of pizza and wine

2012-02-09T12:22:00.000-08:00

Popcorn cooked in coconut oil sprinkled with nutritional yeast flakes and fruity sparkling mineral water.

Cinnamon raisin mochi drizzled with maple syrup subs for Reese's pieces.

3 Tea Saturday

2012-02-06T20:14:00.001-08:00

The first
warm peaches
for noshing and cheeks kissed
off season sweet elixir
shrug the peripheral garbage
pail fire

The second
garnet hibiscus
tendril limbs
Quatre Nuits Dun Reveur

The third
burdock and nettles
cleavers, dandelions, lemon myrtle
Dreamy chrysalis

Reset

2012-01-23T20:25:00.001-08:00

It's a new moon today and the first day of my three week whole food detox. That's a lot of potential energy to spray at a Monday. Monday of my first five day work week since the holidays came a-caroling. I'm taking it all gingerly.

The above drink isn't too far from a Southampton, the only non-alcoholic drink recipe listed on the bottle of angastora bitters. I sub seltzer for tonic. If you're cutting out the booze, you might as well cut the calories but keep the bubbles. The dashes of bitters do make the ice, seltzer, and lime seem almost like a cocktail. The name conjures sun burnt, hungover vacationers reluctant to return to the city. They need a drink to brace them for itchy suits and monotony. A bloody mary would send them tumbling into the surf. The Southampton, however, sits them straight as they watch the water from the porch. Remember common pleasantries like chopping vegetables and walking home from the train at sunset?

Return to turn to return.

Kumquat is not a dirty word

2012-01-20T15:48:00.001-08:00

My mom is doing this totally awesome thing. She's 52 and trying to do 52 things she's never done in her 52nd year. Yeah, mathletes, that works out to one new thing per week. Do you do one new thing per week?

One of the 52 in 52s she did during my last visit was try kumquats. She candied them and had the brilliant idea to plunk a few in the bottom of a mimosa. Yes! When you reach the tasty little bits, they have absorbed some of the booze and effervescence of the champagne.

Enjoy the tickle of the new.

good stuff

2012-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

This and this.

99 bottles of wine in the fall

2011-12-22T04:47:00.001-08:00

This has been our everyday wine since the days have been mostly night. Though the ratio will begin its slow inversion today, I'm sure to drink dark through the equinox.

A toast to the reds and umbers to come in winter. Happy solstice.

The new way

2011-11-29T16:12:00.001-08:00

Cider, bitches.

Thanks, Mom!

2011-11-28T14:39:00.001-08:00

Young's Double Chocolate Stout ice cream floats in adorable vintage frosty mugs.

anticipation

2011-11-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for Emily to write about our trip to The Aviary.

Drinking the Kool-aid at Hot Doug's

2011-11-15T04:49:00.001-08:00

When you have true and great company like Emily, an hour wait is nothing for these gourmet dogs and duck fat fries. I recommend a 3/4 diet and 1/4 cherry coke blend to accompany the feast. Breakfast of champions.

the comforts of home

2011-11-02T04:39:00.001-07:00

My mom's tuna casserole and everyday wine, Woodbridge Chardonnay. Like a hug wrapped in cozy.

Note to self

2011-10-13T18:52:00.001-07:00

Always get a shot and a beer at Delilah's before getting your hair did.

Indian summer

2011-10-13T18:47:00.001-07:00

My family came to town and brought with them even better than days of wine and roses. Settling into fall, we were tickled with sunny outdoor drinking in October. Call them days of Malibu and mums.

i feel pamplemousse

2011-09-30T18:52:00.001-07:00

another reason to love fall

2011-09-25T09:02:00.001-07:00

It's tea season again.

You can still see the steam on my morning steep.

I always think that Earl Grey smells like Fruit Loops. I love it.

Implicit complicit

2011-09-24T23:45:00.001-07:00

Spring, summer, fall...

Zubrowka is a bison grass vodka distilled from rye and served (traditionally, so I'm told) chilled. It sips of almond and herbs. A bracing sweetness. Goose-bumped and pinched-nipple anticipation of getting out and in trouble.

Daisy Cutter is a local favorite. Cut green grass synethesia and lawn chair low key. Zinc oxide. Skeeter bites you scratch 'til they bleed.

Post Road Pumpkin was my first one of the season that I drank at my first trip to a neighborhood bar on my new side of town. Pleasant punkin pie spices leaning toward creaminess. Easy comfort. Reminiscence rolled and molded by reticence.

Making it better?

2011-09-23T11:43:00.001-07:00

Sniffles and soar throat. My co-worker gave me this not Emergen-C dissolvable vitamin packet. Intense!

The real celebration

2011-09-11T16:27:00.001-07:00

A Michelob Ultra is not good enough. I'm celebrating with a Negroni, book, and new bar.

I will bring you to Wee Gee's Lounge when you visit for classic cocktails and shuffleboard.

Two new records (perhaps)

2011-09-11T16:23:00.001-07:00

I drank this Michelob Ultra at 9:30 this morning. This may be my earliest breakfast beer. Though, let's be adults here, MU is hardly beer. I wouldn't normally drink the stuff (except for that short rendezvous I had with the Tuscan Orange Grapefruit flavor but I certainly never confused that with beer) but I got a free one with with the registration for the Chicago Half Marathon and 5k.

The record I know I set was running my first 5k ever. I ran it all. I'm really fucking proud of myself. When I was in high school and was forced to run, I couldn't and wouldn't do it - nothing close to a mile. Today I ran 3.1 miles.

I felt tough. And strong. I passed people on the course. I repeat, I passed people on the course. This made me feel like a bad ass and true to myself. As I shuffled around folks, I wished them well and cheered em on in my head.

We have bodies.

though i haven't said it

2011-09-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

I think of you when I'm feeling healthy and drink guava kombucha. Thought of you when I the best cold potent margarita after moving furniture up to a third floor walk up. When I had the first autumnal seasonal beer. Had a pickleback at a wedding. Iced tea - I forgot. Water water water.

2011-06-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm keeping another blog for a few months. Scandalous, I know. I may well write here because this, along with letters, are my creative writing outlets. This other blog is about preparing for a 5K to raise funds for Open Books. I'm excited about writing about my body and the fears I hold in it as I try running.

remember, reflect, refer

2011-06-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

I've had some amazing drinking experience that I didn't capture here in the past month or so. Let's remember.

Early this month, my dear friends Eben and Anna got married. For four days, we celebrated with Natty Bohs, bloody marys, and wine. So many of my best friends were all in one place at the same time! Not only did we celebrate with booze, we celebrated with love and exuberant joy. We were excited for the new couple and just to be together. These are people who knew me and know me. They, like family, shape who I am and how I see myself.

I also got to spend some quality time with Eryn at her grandmother's sweeeet house on lake Michigan. Part of what made that lakehouse so incredible, aside from the QT with Eryn, was the massive collection of booze grandma keeps for entertaining. From the high-end scotch in crystal decanters to Coors Light cans, this woman can meet any guest's boozey needs. Also, she takes the time to make imbibing an experience. For example, she keeps Waterford crystal around for Sunday bloody marys in case she's feeling luxurious. She is truly an inspiration.

Both of these weekends of booze got all shaken (not stirred) in my head with what I'm doing, where I am, where I've been, and who I want to be. Generally, I've been preoccupied with the shifting notions of identity. Is there some essential part of us that remains and sustains over time or is everything about us malleable? Am I who I think I am? What I do? Who others think I am?

This sums it up and stabilizes me.

hangover reveries

2011-05-22T10:50:00.001-07:00

I woke in my party dress this morning. And party earrings. And party mascara. It's the most beautiful sunshiney day in Chicago. Perfect for a pool party but the pools aren't open. It hurts, but it's worth it.

I love the vulnerability of a hangover. I'm so susceptible to joys and sadness. The ebbulience of brunch well-chosen! And now, air-conditioner on and curtains drawn, in bed with a new Bitch magazine, I heart Your Style by Amanda Brooks, and a piece of coconut tres leches cake. My only plan for the day is dancing.

A few days ago, I got the best haircut. It's short and curly and wild and makes me feel like my best self. Concurrently, I decided if I don't love my job, I can at least look damn good at it. This is important. "Let me begin by saying that find your personal style is really about discovering yourself." This is important.

Here's to: Things that Sparkle

2011-05-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

- The California sunshine
- Elizabeth Taylor's eyes
- The above pictured Elizabeth Taylor tribute cocktail which was sipped in the California sun (the single large ice cube suggesting white diamonds)

neighborhoods and community

2011-05-08T15:37:00.001-07:00

Sun and warmth are finally meandering their way into Chicago. This means that people are uncurling from their apartments and remembering that there is pleasant living beyond the sofa.

I sometimes worry that I don't have friends in the winter.

I have been more social in the last week than the last four months combined. A super fun outing that I just embarked on with my friends Betsy and Sara was a neighborhood exchange. I went up to their 'hood to see their favorite everyday places. Saw their bar, coffee shop, bookstore, and Swedish pastry shop. Soon I'll have them down to our lands between lands to walk my walks, snack my snacks, and drink my drinks. Maybe we'll swim in the community pool and eat popsicles from the paleta man with his wandering bells. I'm excited to show them my space.

I wonder what will be lost by having them down for the free and easy sunshine versus the trapped, stilted winter. Because that's when we really live in these places -the mile radius around the house is our whole world.

Next year I'll make snowshoes.

to many happy returns

2011-05-07T07:57:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how I heard, but I had to go to Lillie's Q. They have boiled peanuts! I love those little nibblers. Your fingers get all salty, pruney from popping 'em open so you can slurp 'em out of the half shell. Lillie's also had mighty tasty pimento cheese and thick cut fried pickles just how I like them.

I will come back this summer to sit on their patio, sip moonshine-spiked Arnold Palmers, and snack on the peanuts.

I miss the Latham Mart's vats of regular and cajun style boiled peanuts. They were perfect to bring to a potluck.

isn't she

2011-04-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

Big walks on beaches Long and Venice with a stop for a passion fruit bellini. I said, "I'm just a bit red," as we headed back out. Enjoying the California sun left me a deeper blush than the rose sangria we shared at dinner.

satisfied yet longing

2011-04-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

I bought this big red because my honey's been on a wine kick, and I thought he'd like it. Too bad he won't be able to try it. He's gone of to London for work, and I'm alone doing what I do when I'm alone - eating pizza and drinkng wine. I'm not in with my other boyfriend, the Red Baron, tonight though. I'm doing a whole wheat, white bean, and kale pizza by candlelight with Beach House as background. A special treat for one but ultimately true to what I do when I'm with or missin my boo. Here's to the spaces where how we romance ourselves and romance others kiss.

the last days of detox

2011-03-27T17:01:00.000-07:00

left me with lots of questions. What is the making of a woman? Is she what she has done? What she does? Who she thinks she is? All of this is to say that I missed drinking booze. Desperately sometimes. During the detox. Drinking is a part of so many of my social activities. As this blog implies, it's what I do when I celebrate. What I do when I lament. What I do in groups to party. What I do alone along with introspection. And while clove and sage tea and spicy beet juice are delicious, amazing even,

they are but an amusing sidebar of the narrative I care to create.

Learning new things

2011-03-06T11:42:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite bars in Chicago sells soda water and a lime wedge for $ 1.

Awesome or rip-off?

'tis the gift to be simple

2011-03-03T18:00:00.001-08:00

I'm going from this

to this

for the next three weeks.

Vegan, caffeine-free, booze-free, gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free. I'm charged with slowing down, spending time mindfully paying attention to my breath, and getting a full 8 hours of sleep each night. Less time multi-tasking, more time detached from all my technologies, and moving my body without much attention to time at all. It's a kind of freedom. Pause.

Airport logic

2011-02-17T19:13:00.001-08:00

I just thought very seriously about getting a shamrock shake.

bourbon and bitters

2011-02-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

A Saturday night at home rewarded. I am the medium as two artists communicate 'cross the fuzzy post humous divide. The doc above reminds me of Gravity and Grace below.

"Literature and morality. Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvellous, intoxicating. Therefore, 'imaginative literature' is either boring or immoral (or a mixture of both). It only escapes from this alternative if in some way it passes over to the side of reality through the power of art - and only genius can do that."

Hank, Simone, and I will sit on the beach where reality and imaginary lap against each other. In the wet, on the sand, let's raise our naked Manhattans 'til the tides turn around.

much ado

2011-01-30T12:02:00.000-08:00

about something.

more importantly

2011-01-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

Overdue...

A giant dirty gin martini and crab spinach dip. More importantly, a giant gin martini and pulled pork sandwich. Casually, a winter coat and scarf strewn over a chair at Mc Cabe's (leaves me wondering about the Misses).

More importantly, we listen to big dreams between hand claps.

Champagne of beers

2011-01-02T16:36:00.001-08:00

This is something worth cheers-ing over. A tight Belgian beer with an after-taste of champagne while having a progressive dinner with mom and sis. Abby pointed out when the three of us are together it's like anything is possible. Here's to flames not smoke.

I love the holidays

2011-01-02T16:06:00.001-08:00

I had chestnuts roasted on the open fire with mulled wine. They are as good as the holiday mythology suggests.

Sometimes you get just what you want

2010-12-05T14:56:00.001-08:00

A cold and sleepy Sunday afternoon in Chicago. Running errands with mundane to-dos crackling on my mind. I took a break for sitting and settling with an afternoon stop at Bridgeport Coffee. Instead of a pot of herbal tea I got a cappuccino.

From the brown mug to the thick head of foam --> perfection. In the moments before ordering did I recognize a cappuccino-shaped hole inside? Is satisfaction having that unique lack filled? Should it be filled perfectly, exactly full or leave a sliver that I seal with satisfied recognition of my own need?

I can appreciate the shadow dancing on the wall.

dirty, nerdy, purty thirty

2010-11-28T15:05:00.001-08:00

I have been celebrating my big birthday for over two weeks. A bar hop, a make-up lesson, a cozy cabin stay - I've done a lot of celebrating because I have much I'm grateful for.

The drink that kicked it all off was The Nordic Track at Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar. It's gin-based balanced by a sweet liquor and brightened with a slapped sprig of dill. The description read as a drink that I may not like, but I trust the bartenders at this lounge. The drink enlivened me like an everyday polar plunge.

I am celebrating small, seismic shifts. At 29, I was afraid to ride a bike. At 29, I thought only in monuments. At 29, I thought I AM this way or that.

In thirty, I hope to find moments and wee sprigs packed with stinky, energizing essence.

Sazerac Sunday

2010-10-03T16:41:00.005-07:00

The blues are more amusing and ridiculous in faux noir.

2010-10-02T15:27:00.001-07:00

Fat Tire, tiny burger, skinny fries, and football at Jimmy's. Must be fall.

livin the dream

2010-08-20T15:56:00.001-07:00

I walked by a 7-11 on my way to one of the free music Mondays in Millenium Park last summer and remembered Slurpees and how awesome they are. My stepdad used to be obsessed with them and my mom, sister, and I knew that if we wanted to be really nice we'd bring him one on our way home from running errands. In my vast experience, a round of Slurpees makes everybody happy.

Being on my way to music in the park, I had booze in my hand and on my mind. Slurpees are delicious; booze are delicious... boozey slurpees! I'd bring this idea up pretty every time I saw a 7-11 over the past two years. Today I actually did it (25/100).

The full plan for my post work Friday was amazing.
1. Get Slurpee (a mix of flavors - hopefully something blue)
2. Add tequilla
3. Ride home on the water taxi while sipping boozey slurpee

While it's unfortunate that the water taxi ride fell through, I just grinned while walking to my bus with this flavor rainbow.

monday night

2010-08-16T20:18:00.001-07:00

I forgot about how the time outside of work spins. It goes. Go, go, goes. There's so much wonderful boring shit that I want to do.

Painting my toe nails, writing letters, shifting paper from place to place on my desk.

Cooking dinner, using coupons, reading books.

Bally's, The Wire, iPod.

Gardens, lists, happy hours.

And, sometimes, La Croix (24/100) as nightcap. I think its not blasphemy but alchemy.

west coast adventure: cocktails

2010-08-14T07:05:00.001-07:00

Though the drink of choice for the trip was wine, we managed to fit in a few cocktails. We focused on the classics. The first cocktail I had was a dry gin martini (19/100) at Tosca in San Francisco.

The martini was perfect - so cold and appropriately sized. This wasn't a jumbo martini glass that tips out of your hand and sloshes everywhere. Those big gulp glasses are meant to contain all the juices, puckers, and sugary adult candies that people call martinis. Bah humbug. Nah, mine was all gin and vermouth, baby. And, as it should be, if I had three of 'em, you woulda found me under a table. Granted, Tosca had outstanding tables (large, round red vinyl booths) and it would have been my great pleasure to end up underneath 'em. I liked that bar.

It is also worth nothing that my mom had her very first gin and tonic at Tosca. The first of her entire life. Can you believe it? Her second was at Carrie's house in Portland after day tripping around the city. Carrie imparted some valuable wisdom - gin in the summertime, whiskey in the fall. So simple and beautiful, I almost take it for granted.

Another gin drink that simple and sublime is the Negroni (20/100). I ordered this at Clyde Common because they had a Barrel-Aged Negroni on the menu. Unfortunately, they were out of it the night that I was there so I just had a traditional, fresh made drink. Someone please go drink the barrel-aged version because it sounds stupendous.

As rules are made to be broken, I strayed from gin and had (scotch) whiskey in the summertime in a Rob Roy (21/100) at the Doug Fir. Ain't that place relaxed-classy-kitschy-fun? The atmosphere begged a Rob Roy - Drewars, sweet vermouth, and a Maraschino cherry. Yes.

The next two drinks I debated putting in the wine blog, but one's a total classic and the other should be.

Mom and I started our last day in Portland with mimosas (22/100) at Broder. I brunched at this spot with Emily on my last visit west. While the food and drinks were just as delicious as last visit, I spent much of the meal wishing Emily could be brunching with us. Alas.

Finally, I sampled a new favorite drink on this trip - the bicicletta (23/100). I know that I might be parital because I've got a little crush on my bicycle right now. I also recognize that alongside house-made salami, I might have declared Tang my new best drink.

But this mix of white wine, Campari, and club soda is a party in my mouth even without the cured meats or the two-wheel cruisin round town. I know because I've been sipping a homemade bicicletta while simply sitting and typing away.

it's not that serious

2010-08-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Egad! I've had so many note and sidenote-worthy drinks since June 21st. And yet I've raised my blog cup to a mere 16 of them. 16?! I still have two more installments about the trip out west (cocktails and caffeine) to write. And there's a backlog of post-trip bevvies to pour over... Zounds!

40 days from the autumnal equinox and 84 drinks to document.

relax.

The beginning of summer was marked by these:

A mix of diet and cherry coke (17/100) in a big ol' plastic cup at a BBQ joint near the Warren State Dunes in Michigan. After a day of lounging by the lake beach, this bad boy was perk perfect for a new-freckled drive home.

A Nalgene full of water (18/100) from my first bike ride by the lake.

west coast adventure: wine

2010-07-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

My mom and I love wine. The Dionysian deliciousness helped inspire the whole vacation. Yes, like all the other lady tourists, we did wine tours and tastings in Napa, the amusement park for grown-ass women. It's crowded, a bit nauseating, full of over-priced souvenirs, and giddily fun.

We had a lovely start with Sterling Vineyards, which many travel guides refer to as the Disneyland of wineries. As you would expect, the wines weren't much good. Except for the Muscat Canelli dessert wine (13/100) which I could slurp down Capri Sun-Style. The best part of Sterling was the ride in to the tasting room: a gondola through the sky with amazing views of California countryside. It was better than the flying Dumbo rides.

We closed our first day of wine tasting at the Frank Family Vineyards because they serve champagnes (14/100). Coincidentally, Rich Frank, one of the owners of this winery, was a long time Disney executive. There were no rides except the bubble buzz.

On our way out to the coast, we happened upon the Francis Ford Coppola winery in Geyserville. While my mom got to see William Shatner at the airport, drinkin' Frank's Director's Cut Zinfandel (15/100) was as close as I got to any stars while in Cali.

Our final winery visit spun out of serendipity. We drove up from Northern California until we wanted to stop and landed in Eugene, Oregon. A woman at the motel recommended a Thai restaurant nearby. The waiter at the restaurant recommended an Oregon Chardonnay from King Estates (16/100) that's just the style my mom likes - more crisp than buttery with little oak.

We found out that King Estate Winery was right outside of Eugene, focused on sustainable practices, and had a restaurant to boot. Yes, please. We partook of an informative winery tour, unpretentious tasting, and a lunch with veggies grown on site. This was a winery that my mom actually considered buying wine from, but they didn't ship to Nebraska. You can't mail the magic kingdom.

west coast adventures: beer

2010-07-14T10:33:00.001-07:00

My mom and I ate, drank, walked, drove, and boated our way from San Francisco to Victoria, British Columbia. The mission was to not have one. Accomplished with joy and relaxation.

Somebody forgot to pack summer so we found fall out west. Within an hour of arriving in San Fran, we found ourselves in jackets sipping Anchor Steams and slurping chowders. It sure was nice to drink this old standby of a beer in it's hometown.

(8/100)

Most of the beer that we drank was consumed, appropriately, in Portland, Oregon. We drank some very nice local beer at the LaurelThirst while listening to some bluegrass with my dear, Cindy. Unfortunately, the good beer escapes my mind because we followed them with tallboys of Hamm's (9/100). Happily predictable, Hamm's.

We toured all over Portland and Sauvie Island with one of my oldest friends, who goes by Caroline but I know as Carrie. To sustain us on our island travels, we got some Beer Chips and Henry Weinhard's Root Beer (10/100). The root beer was amazing - just what I want real-deal root beer to taste like. Carrie cautioned me against the alcohol-containing Weinhard beers. I didn't drink any cuz I trust my friend.

I trust her because she's got good taste. Carrie took us to Pambiche, a Cuban restaurant, for dinner. I washed down my Ajiaco, a delicious stew, with their Michelada Cubana (11/100). As advertised, it was "an ice cold Dos XX Amber beer prepared with special spices, fresh lime and clamato juice served on the rocks with salt." It packed a bit more citrus-y punch than I wanted, but started me on a Michelada kick that's sure to last all summer.

The last beer I had was at the Bard and Banker, a Scottish pub in Victoria. The inside of this place is quite fetching. I'd love to reserve one of their snugs for a session. After a morning of shopping and touristing in the sunshine, the pint of Vancouver Island Brewery's Sea Dog Amber (12/100 ) with a side sit in the cool was a real winner.

noshing very very fast

2010-06-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

I guess it wasn't truly brunch that me and my family went to at Nightwod since we didn't consume any booze in the morning time. I did, however, leave the morning meal on a crisp caffeine cloud. Servers refilled cup after clean-lined cup with Intelligentsia coffee.

7/100

first bike ride downtown

2010-06-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

I drank some Bushmill's with a few ice cubes and decided to, as Nike once advised, just do it. On the way, the tires spun liquid courage, liquid courage, liquid courage.

Rewarded:

6/100

happy solstice

2010-06-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Marcus and I made this drink up and sipped on the porch after spending a day at the lake beach. It has no name but tastes like summer.

Shake four parts tequila, two parts pomegranate juice, and one part orange juice with ice cubes in a shaker. Put two ice cubes, a squeeze of lime, and about one part sparkling water in two high ball glasses. Fill each glass with juice and tequila mixture. Enjoy.

5/100

celebrate good times, come on

2010-06-16T15:26:00.001-07:00

The school organized a party to help us almost-Masters celebrate our hard work. For $25, we could embark on a boat cruise with unlimited food, drinks, and views of the Chicago skyline. A boat cruise? What a treat!

But then the day was overcast and rainy. And when I walked onto the boat, my classmates were already seated and eating the buffet food. Shouldn't we mingle and chat? No? Ok, I guess I'll get a drink then. The unlimited drinks were limited to Miller beers and Tisdale wines in red, pink, or white. Tisdale goes for $3.99 per bottle at my local wine store. Kenny G playing in the background, I grabbed a glass of white, a plate fulla food, and harrumphed into a seat. I assume this is what all cruises are like - (near) strangers trapped together in badly carpeted rooms trying to get the most of the money they've spent while grasping at fun.

The waiters filled and refilled glasses with red, pink, and white. Smooth jazz gave way to pop hits. Just like that - people went from early dinner to early dancing. The rain cleared while my head grew fuzzy. I mingled. I chatted. I had a handsome backdrop.

I stopped grasping and started having.

4/100

for the midwestern southerners

2010-06-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

The Mississippi Punch we made was equal parts cognac, bourbon, and rum shaken with a bit of sugar and lemon juice. Poured over ice and garnished with raspberries, it's a sipper.

Sit in the sun on the porch and greet the slow, sweaty haze with a spreading smile.

3/100

the sweet taste of success

2010-06-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna take the bold stance here that no good can come from blue curacao.

After winning a charity pub quiz the other night, my team was treated to a round of "smurf piss" shots.

Appetizing, eh?

2/100

introducing: 100 drinks of summer

2010-06-09T07:13:00.001-07:00

Though I haven't seen 500 Days of Summer nor do I own any music by She and Him, I followed the masses to Millenium Park to see Zooey D. and M. Ward play a free show a few nights ago. Crowded onto a blanket on a cozy patch of concrete, my friends and I chatted, picnic-ed, and drank wine out of Solo cups while the sweet music drifted over us.

Though not officially started, it has begun.

1/100

what is the making of memories?

2010-05-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had a lovely alfresco dinner at restaurant with a BYOB policy. After a few beers, a salty terrine, and the fall of darkness, we opened the bottle of wine I brought. A name so clumsy - Wrongo Dongo. It's nice for a $7 per bottle wine and I was going to describe it but why? You can find it here and here and here.

You can learn baseball stats or record producers or all the varietals of wines and hold them tight in your mind. But you know they are best, fist unclenched, shared. I hold none of that tight but instead experience just the sips. Why can I not conserve, preserve, then serve? What does the fleeting do?

coffee for here, coffee to go: negotiating presence and distance at Valois

2010-05-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

Finalizing final finals. Drinks of celebration soon to follow. In the meantime, a snippet from a Community Ethnography paper:

Before I left the restaurant, a pair who were both clearly together and not together came in. A middle-aged, bobbed blonde in pink was trailed by a wiry, dirty-haired Black woman draped in an over-sized coat with a large stain across it. In a croaky voice she asked the woman in pink, “Won’t you please by me a cup of coffee?” I looked down at my table to avoid eye contact and interaction. Then I overhead her saying almost triumphantly to the kitchen staff, “She’s gonna buy me a cup of coffee.” Without missing a beat, a Valois staff member trumpeted back, “Go wait outside, go wait outside, go wait outside.” Though taking her time, the bedraggled woman walked toward the door, talking perhaps to herself or to others in the restaurant along the way. Almost out the door, she stopped in front of a mural of an elaborate metal gate opening into a bright floral garden. Gazing up, she leaned into and against the wall with her hands, creating one side of an A-frame, as if trying push open the gate further. A Valois employee with a to-go coffee cup in his hand led her out the door. He waved her away from the building while holding the door open for stately Black couple both clad in pinstripes. The couple and the employee exchange a few words and shake their heads. Soon they separate as he goes back to work, they come into eat together and alone, and I look for a moment at the gate and garden mural.

we are total trendsetters

2010-05-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my good buddy, Sarah Sherman, for sending this my way. Bourbon and Brine, baby.

anticipation

2010-05-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

Just last week, we had some of the first days of real spring. In the evening, I could kick-back with my feet up on the porch, sipping a tasty brew. Fat Tire's malty, caramelly goodness sits well with the shitty-pretty view from the deck of alleyways and, if you look hard to the left, the whatcha-talkin-'bout-Willis tower. On the porch, my mind and mouth are free to wonder beyond the sometimes strangling realm of social policy.

Once I finish school, I swear I won't spend all my time relaxing on the porch singing the praises familiar beers and letting my mind get flabby. Nay! I will challenge myself with the discipline of continuing education. I will learn about bitters and vermouths and liqueurs. Like a fool, I have overlooked these quiet sidekicks of classic cocktails. I too firmly fawned over the seeming heroes of these drinks - your whiskeys and gins. Yes, these get you drunk but that's reductive. What makes classics classic are the roundness and depths of these pack-a-punch drinks. Thank you, Longman and Eagle, for reminding me and letting me revel in your Vieux Carré, an earthy mix of Old Overholt rye, punt e mes, Landy cognac, Bénédictine, and aromatic bitters.

ontological security

2010-04-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

"If some ritual - the ceremony of tea among the English for example - is an exact repetition of that which I observed yesterday and I shall observe again tomorrow, then the present moment is the past brought to life again, the future anticipated."
-- Simone de Beauvoir

Spring Break '010 USA!!!!

2010-03-25T16:36:00.001-07:00

Spring Break elicits a certain silly joy in me. Thinking about it makes me giddy - actually giddy. I think part of that is because of what it is not. Spring Break is not the school or work that harshly demarcate its boundaries. It is not the claustrophobia of winter nor spontaneity's summer. It is not a given, and I will not let 'em take it away.

Drinking Bicardi Raz and watching Finding Nemo on the big screen is not the same as being at the beach.

Drinking a cup of Metropolis's coffee as big as your head and chasing it with a vegan scone does not make you a savvy, self-deprecating intellectual. (though you will think very very fast.)

Drinking a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice does not make you vomit.

What was not was amazing. Unlikely and likely combinations erupt in a thousand little bubbles of joy.

i probably should have known about this earlier

2010-02-24T19:21:00.000-08:00

Chicago Bar Project. I should probably be a stringer for this.

i can sympathize

2010-02-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

Walking to class today (in the second-to-last week of my second-to-last quarter), I saw the remnants of someone's private moment. On the sidewalk side-by-side sat a 22 of Old English and a pint of Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Clearly, this raises a number of questions. Ruminate accordingly.

kindred

2010-02-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

Two sets of dear friends visited in January. Visited Chicago in January. Clearly, I am loved.

Eben and I are truly at our best together on a porch, beers in hand, music playing, and time stopped or spread. Alas, the Adirondack chairs are yet to be purchased and snow's all that sittin on the porch. So when Eben and Anna visited, I had to plan some indoor activities. Many of them involved beer including a tour of Half Acre Brewery.

Half Acre's brewery tour was free yet they still pumped us full of free beer. Amazing, tasty, complex free beers. The kind of beers that you wouldn't want to have as an everyday beer but you would because the Half Acre folks are so knowledgeable and charming. The beautiful foamy head on this hoppy afternoon was that Half Acre doesn't want to expand. They don't want to get big. They don't want you to drink their beer everyday. Hallelujah.

Eryn lost her scarf, but we still found fun

2010-01-10T07:56:00.000-08:00

Just a day into the oh-ten new year, I had the good fortune and good company to sample a new drink. Glogg! A drink made all the more exciting by the fact that there's an umlaut in it. (I don't know how to type an umlaut.)

Glogg is a Swedish mulled wine. Of course, I've had mulled wine before, but the familiarity of this drink is part of what makes it so special. It was slightly sweeter than similar drinks I've had and was finished with raisins and almonds that wait as tiny alcohol-soaked treats at the bottom of your mug. It didn't suprise me but enabled me to appreciate nuances of a drink I've had, but haven't had, every winter.

I want to recline in the moments and tastes and spaces where familiar and new meet. Here we have experience yet fresh perspective. Like having a dear friend in your new(ish?) city. I was reminded about why I love my neighborhood bar. We went places I've never been, but they seemed intimate and comfortable. And I was able to softly detect the ways she's changed yet remains true.

we'll take a cup o' kindness yet

2009-12-31T07:30:00.000-08:00

was '09 the year to grow up? the unexpected death of extended adolescence? the slow birth of adulthood? hello, oh-ten. bring a new and curious infancy.

and, of course, delicious drinks i have never tried like the classic jack rose cocktail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sebfwBVEVKE

the first supper

2009-12-12T14:37:00.001-08:00

I managed to make it through another set of finals. This is a privileged triumph following a few weeks rife with privileged complaining.

In the days leading up to the end, it helped me get through to think about what I would do when I had free time again. Laundry! Books for fun! Cooking a real, healthy meal! I even bought ingredients to make a dinner that had distinct elements that sat apart from each other on the plate and complimented each other. Nothing special but it sounded exquisite - fish, collard greens, and scalloped taters spiked with some fancy cheese finished with fresh baked banana bread ice cream sammiches.

But when it came time for the first supper of freedom, all I wanted was a buffet of finger foods and a bottle of a hearty, cheap, red wine. I needed to nibble and sip for hours. I popped olives in my mouth, plucked pomegranate seeds from the fruit, and traced patterns in the hummus with crackers.

After a few weeks of big bites and big tasks, it needed to be small. Well, except for the wine.

for when i venture outside the box

2009-11-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

I work in a cubicle in an office full of cubicles this year at my field placement. It's strange, as years of Dilbert comics can attest, to work this way. People do weird things like cutting their fingernails or burping when seemingly isolated from their co-workers.

The company provides coffee and tea for its employees. After sampling all three varieties of Farmer Brothers coffee, I would recommend the Columbian. I'm pretty sure the blends for the Northwestern and French roast are full of robusta because they give me the jitters. You'll have to bring your own cream, but this is a good way to push through those chin-high modual wall structures. Perhaps one day I'll meet "Megan" who always has her organic cream appropriately labeled with her name in the communal fridge.

I like to take my time walking back with my cup of coffee. It gives me a chance to enjoy all the cat photos posted in each cube. Hang in there!

empty glass

2009-11-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

my rain boots leaked. the homework i thought was going to be easy is hard. midterms are looming. defensive and taking things too personal. and i forgot my minty green tea.

and though I like to act the part of being tough...

2009-10-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

After a long day of touristing, my mom, sister, and I needed to refuel. I took them to Russian Tea Time for the restaurant's, well, Russian tea time. We didn't do the full $23 per person high tea service. We did, however, enjoy assorted sweet treats and the house black tea served out of glasses nestled in ornate pewter holders.

The waiter brought lemon slices, white sugarcubes, and brown sugar in a roughly cubed shape. He told us to put lemon and white sugar in the tea. Then we'd hold the brown sugar in our mouths as we sipped the tea. The brown sugar would dissolve and sweeten and sediment as the tea would flow and hot and smooth. The sensation was lovely. What was happening in my mouth was a microcosm, a miniature of how I feel when I sit down for tea time.

i'm a fan

2009-10-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

I love to root root root for the home team. In any sport really. Man, living in a city with 5 professional sports teams is awesome. Especially when you can score some free tickets to a game thereby off-setting the cost of the $7.50 Heinekens.

i didn't make it to the formal

2009-10-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

One of my friends told me that the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants would be where she would go in high school before the big dance.

Well, I had a gift certificate and we had some fun plans in the foreign Streeterville region so we went to Ben Pao which is much like a P.F. Changs. When did I last eat at a place where I had to have one of those buzzer things while waiting for a table? Not sure.

Well, I couldn't order a respectable drink like a glass of wine, decent beer, or true martini at this establishment. I had to, of course, get an Asian Pear Saketini which includes a laundry list of ingredients:
- Grey Goose la poire
- Sake
- St. Germain
- Funkin pear puree
- Pineapple juice

The drink was just fine, you know? Ambiguously fruity and decently boozey. So many ingredients to ultimately create vanilla.

a-muse-ing

2009-10-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure that I've ever been inspired to create art by beer, but I am quite fond of PBR. I wish I had an artsy bent so I could win a year of free beer.

ritual

2009-10-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

It's fall now. The new school term is underway, and I'm beginning to settle in to it all. While Tecate needed to be brought in with a drum roll and exclamation points to represent its season, I will just whisper to fall. tea. tea time in the afternoon. as i read. as i finish a day of internship. it's a break and continuation.

To: Vacations.

2009-10-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

As those Corona commercials pun-fully remind us, vacations shift our attitudes. Through disrupting comfortable monotony with new geography and new/renewed relationships, we're jolted to remember what's just so wonderful or what needs to go in our lives. Lists and promises made while away generally fade yet re-emerge in quiet moments - unexpected stay-cations. And here I find myself again, needing to raise a few glasses to my rollicking, recentering trip to Portland.

Here's to occasional, amazing over-indulgence: Bacon Bloody Mary.

Here's to enjoying the best without any snobbery: Right Turn with amazing desserts at Clyde Common.

Here's to being challenged: Salted Plum Collins

Here's to taking the time: Agua Fresca Margarita

Here's to a holistic approach: Milwaukee Mule enhanced by icy cold copper mug

cheers.

i'm not worthy

2009-09-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

I had the most amazing series of happy hours and meals when I was visiting some of my dear friends in Portland. So much drinking, so much fun, so much love. I think I've been overwhelmed by the joy of that visit to the extent that I couldn't put together a few pictures followed by words and sentences to document those times and the beverages that accompanied them. Perhaps un-blog-able.

exeunt omnes

2009-09-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

This picture blends the bourbon and old wood at Berghoff's, a fitting setting for a final hurrah of the fellowship. The restaurant and bar are embedded in old Chicago but are trying to be creative and contemporary to stay afloat.

I was smitten with the $7 bourbon flight. Three healthy pours of three mighty fine bourbons including Berghoff's own 7-year aged.

Summer Sips

2009-08-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

I should have been making hatch marks to tally the number of Tecates I've swilled this summer. While that's the official beer of summer '09, there are a number of other drinks that have tasted like the season.

Cheap, ideally twist-top wines consumed out of Solo cups while soaking up the summerfuntime at free concerts in Millenium Park. Euphoria.

Sangria at a burger and beer joint. Hackney's really decent sangria just has bits of apple and orange in it and always makes me want another.

The iced coffee sweetened with local honey that I brew and fridge each week. Always consumed out of a blue travel mug I've had for ages, this coffee makes me attuned and appreciative of the city I pass through between bus stop and revolving door.

Finally, I have to snag another of Mario's Italian Lemonade before the season is out. More than just Italian ice, there's chunks of fruit frosted in those little paper cups too. Check out delicious cantaloupe Italian lemonade.

what we do when we're alone

2009-08-01T18:31:00.001-07:00

While I have had some lovely drinking experiences this summer (including a hefty liter of German beer The Brau Haus and a few amazing Belgian beers at The Hopleaf), it's too late to write about those. The precious immediacy is past.

Now I'm drinking my way through a bottle of Trinity Oaks' Pinot Noir, a cheap wine that was on sale at Whole Foods. There is little to recommend it beyond its low low price and claim that the company plants a tree for each bottle of wine purchased. That makes me feel good as I engage in hedonism/laziness watching episodes of old episodes Check, Please! on my laptop and gorging myself on finger foods.

"dirty arnold palmer" sounds really dirty

2009-07-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

The summer has me running. Working my Big Deal summer job on the 9 to 5 tip, visiting and having visitors, & meeting and greeting at happy hour o'clock. I've also just read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food so I am trying to recommit myself to cooking and eating real food. Writing letters and journals has fallen to the wayside. I have only been so-so at keeping up with the couch-to-5k training. I do, however, have these lovely slow moments reading sections of A Moveable Feast sitting thigh-to-thigh with a stranger, waking up, sunny, on the bus.

Somewhere in between it all, there's also apartment hunting happening. I have faith that we will find an excellent apartment in Pilsen. And while we're searching there's many a place we can stop and relax in Pilsen. This week it was Simone's. We popped in here twice on one day when we saw apartments nearby. At brunch we were served a banging Bloody Mary. The drink was garnished with practically an appetizer of cracker and cheese. The wasabi spiciness was right on, and I just can't get enough of this Bloody Mary with beer-back.

In the afternoon, we had the John Daly aka Dirty Arnold Palmer aka sweet tea and lemonade with a boozey kick. The base of the drink is Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka & Bourbon Whiskey. Yes, that's vodka with bourbon in it. While this drink is a little sweet for my taste, I enjoyed the one I had and it inspired me to learn more about John Daly. This golfer apparently said
"I believe nicotine plus caffeine equals protein." Michale Pollan does not agree, but I give this a smug half smile.

one of my best friends' weddings

2009-07-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

One of the signature cocktails - Singapore Sling
+
A champagne toast
+
A mighty fine Rose
+
Keg beer in the wine glass
+
French press coffee toast
=
Tastes like growing-up

drum roll please

2009-06-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

I hereby declare Tecate the official beer of summer 09.

eating and drinking as sightseeing

2009-06-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

My sister recently visited me in Chicago. She, like me, loves to eat and drink. The only activity that was a must on her agenda for her trip was to visit Kuma's Corner for one of their famous burgers. After the standard two hour wait, we were not disappointed. We threw back some PBRs, built our own mac'n'cheese (bacon & peas, please), and finally ordered our burgers which are all named after metal bands. Abby could barely talk after she bit into the Yob (10 ounces of beef, topped with smoked gouda, bacon, roasted red peppers, and roasted garlic mayo on a pretzel roll). Marcus and I enjoyed the Pantera and the Melvins burgers with equal enthusiasm.

I introduced my sister to Dunkin Donuts to get us going in the morning for three reasons. 1. Omaha is surprisingly lacking the D&D. 2. I love dessert at breakfast which is what those cute li'l munchkins are meant to be. 3. I really do love the coffee. What makes it so wonderful? How do they know just the right amount of cream and sugar to add? Ah, Dunkin Donuts, you win me over every time.

As soon as lunch was digested through wandering around and shopping, it was time for lunch and beers. Abby and I went to a Goose Island brewpub so we could sample some local Chicago beers.

Our two favorite beers that we sampled were the Willow Street White ("an unfiltered Belgian style wheat beer spiced with coriander and sweet & bitter orange peel") and the Matilda, another Belgian style beer with "golden sunrise color, fruity aroma, and spicy yeast flavor."

We decided to get dessert for lunch too (hey, it's vacation). Goose Island also makes some of their own sodas and offers dessert options of ice cream floats. We oohed and aahed over the grape-soda-and-salty-peanut-gelato float which tasted like a liquefied essence of an ideal PB&J.

On Abby's last night in town, we made a delicious feast composed almost entirely of goods from the farmer's market. We celebrated Abby's birthday at The Cove, a Hyde Park neighborhood bar, with enough pitchers of cheap beer to lead to impassioned arguments enveloped in love and certain hangover. Luckily, we had appropriate brunch plans the next morning.

The Publican's pristine pork products were well-accompanied with other important hangover curatives. First, they serve Intelligentsia coffee and wait staff don't want to see your cup empty. Second, they leave a big bottle of water at your table. Finally, their Bloody Marys are made with Tito's Vodka and a beer back. Yes.

I love to spend time with my sister.

Blackberry Bellini

2009-06-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

Like everyone in my marketing demographic, I love brunch. I do not, however, love waiting an hour for it. I also feel a little weird about being surrounded by lots of people who look a lot like me but cuter and quirkier. An Ira Glass look alike totally got seated before us at Lula's Cafe. All this hemming and hawing to say mmm... brunch.

a year of percolating

2009-06-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

On one of my first days of my first year internship, I stopped at Intelligentsia for coffee. My friend Emily had told me I had to try their clover coffee. All excited about the new life of internship, school, and Chicago, I went up to the counter and asked for a clover coffee. Turns out Clover is a type of machine that makes coffee one cup at a time, a bit like a fancy-schmancy french press. The coffee brewed through it at Intelligentsia is amazingly flavorful and nuanced.

On one of my final days at my internship, I revisited Intelligentsia (at $4 a 12 oz. cup, this is a special occasion coffee). Waiting in line to order, I realized I've absorbed and become accustomed to the city street bustle. I have learned to better balance my work, school, and social lives. Moreover, I know how to order a cuppa at Intelligentsia.

Pizza and Beer Pt. 3

2009-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

For the latest Chicago-style pizza and beer tasting, we went to Pequod's. The mascot for the restaurant is a whale standing on its hindfins, one hand-fin on hip, mouth tugged down in a slightly peeved expression. He also looks looks like he might be wearing panties on his head. Perhaps that's why he's peeved. Maybe he's quietly judging the customers for not having read Moby Dick. In any event, the pizza the whale oversees (overseas?) is mighty tasty - buttery blackened carmelized crust, cheesey saucy deliciousness.

Great Lakes Brewing Company's Dortmunder Gold Lager coupled with the pizza well in its light Pilsner-y-ness. And in that there's fictional character of the same name in some books I have never read.

hot asian buns

2009-06-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

In addition to tasty bao, Wow Bao serves homemade ginger ale. Consider this place the new reigning king of yuppie fast food places I like in Chicago having dethroned previous queen, Hannah's Bretzel.

you can go home again and/but you'll be older

2009-05-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

On this most recent trip to Omaha, I found myself doing homework at the same coffee shop I studied (and held gainful employment) at in high school. Ten years later and still the same thing but oh-so different.

My sister is just about to enter her early-mid-twenties and is facing that startling, requisite quarter-life-crisis. She said to me, "I just thought I would be in a different place by now." To which I lovingly replied, "When they said that you could be whatever you want, they lied." Perhaps I come off as a cynic, but I think there's something liberating about limitations.

And libations.

My mom, sister, and I finished our mini-pub crawl at the Homy Inn, a small bar in Omaha that has champagne on tap. We split a pitcher of surprisingly decently good bubbly, got some popcorn, played pickles and listened to my mom tell stories about she and my dad before we were born. They knew each other six months before they were married, had their wedding on Wednesday morning, and honeymooned in Jamaica on $160. They were young and in love in the late 70's and drove across the country in a junker. It makes me feel romantic and nostaligic for a time I didn't know.

Before we went Homy, we lounged at the Surfside Club, an Omaha instituion on the banks of the Missouri River. Mooned by a boater? Check. Corn fritters with honey? Check. $7 pitcher of Old Style? Nope, it's PBR now but we still got it.

The pub crawl started at home with lunch with the extended family. My sister and I discovered the new summer beer-verage: Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. It's like last year's Michelob Tuscan Orange & Grapefruit but better. Perfect to sip with ribs and all the Midwestern Memorial Day meal fixins. This beer brings a sunny disposition.

And even if you're not where you thought you'd be, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy where you've ended up.

lesson 1 for the upcoming festival season

2009-05-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

Two Miller Lights is not sufficient alcohol intake to deal with a bouquet of college kids budding in a beer garden.

combinations and divisions

2009-05-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Coincidentally, the day I bought tickets to see Vetiver, Marcus's co-worker recommended a place with amazing steak tacos that was right around the corner from the venue. Vetiver & awesome tacos? Plans made.

It turns out there are actually three locations of La Pasadita within 50 feet of each other which is confusing. Which is the best? What caused the break-up? Family feud? Should we get one taco from all three? We picked the closest one and got a bag fulla carne asada tacos for take-out since there was limited seating. We walked down the street to Rite Liquors which is a bar/liquor store with a big, neon cocktail lounge sign and divey feel. It's the kinda place where the guy beggin for change outside eventually wanders in and has a drink and the bar staff is sweet as schnapps.

Bellied up to the bar, chowin on tacos, and sipping Dos Equis, it felt like drinking in a combination ABC store and my dad's (or perhaps your vaguely creepy uncle's) house. You know, in the good way.

Vetiver played at Chopin, a beautiful theater space in with an Eastern European leaning. While I'm not much of a thee-ah-tah goer (except for of the cheesey musical kind), I would go back to see one of the plays just so I could sit in the space and enjoy another one of the beers they stock in the cafe. I liked the Warka I tried which advertised both a "unique taste beer" and a tribute to Polish revolutionary Kazimierz Pulaski on the label.

Perhaps for our next outing we'll get banh mi, drink Caipirinha, and fly a kite by the lake. Ah, yes, it's all coming together.

i guess no one would eat there if it was called "fat ass"

2009-05-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

Some Friday nights are fated to end in take-out and television and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful for Potbelly's milkshakes with cookie-decorated straw. I am not, however, appreciative of the name of the fine establishment. Especially as I'm supine on the couch, remote in hand, full of spicy Italian sub, with crumbs on my pjs.

the grape doesn't fall far from the vine

2009-05-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

I really have the most amazing family. Everything you could hope for - smart, loving, comfy hedonists with a penchant for rocknroll who have lived just enough tragi-comic moments to lend credence to a memoir with a true midwestern aesthetic.

My mom spearheaded a cross-country roadtrip from Nebraska to North Carolina with her brother and father with a pitstop in here Chicago. This in and of itself is awesome. We all got together with second-cousin/uncle/future country music chart topper, Bill and his sassy lassy lady friend, LeAnn. Lemme tell you, we had a good time. We had pre-dinner drinks, dinner and drinks, and dessert and drinks. You've gotta take Bill and LeAnn's advice if you go to Bandera. Get the prime rib and grilled artichoke with a 7&7 or dirty martini or glass of wine (or all three) to wash it down. Cheers!

leather and lace

2009-05-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

It's all connected you know. The Thermals played at the Bottom Lounge. When we got there, I ordered a Two-Hearted Ale, a hoppy delicious beer that reminded Marcus of his friend Chris. When Chris drinks Two-Hearted Ale, he sings Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy" along with the name. When I walked in to see The Thermals, I thought of Portland which made me think of Emily and Cindy and Aaron and Carrie. Then as the band started rocking, I reminisced sitting in Andrew's car and hearing this band. I could go on and on...

Beer and Pizza: Pt. 2

2009-04-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm anticipating summertime with my mouth watering for heirloom-tomato-and-basil-with-garlic-rubbed-bread sandwiches. After becoming convinced that it doesn't actually get warm and sunny in Chicago, I semi-satiated my longings with Oberon, Bell's light seasonal wheat beer, and pesto, sausage, and spinach pizza covered in a thick tomato sauce. Caffe Florian's cozy, dark wood charms and thick and crispy not doughy pizza crust almost make it ok that I'm not lake beaching and BBQ-ing.

happy hour

2009-04-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

At a faux pub, I ordered a decent but fairly boring beer for an afterwork gathering. Both beer and event exceded expectations. Perhaps influencing each other?

i did not pay $50 to see the live performance of This American Life

2009-04-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Hideout house drink was perfect, simple (rye, soda, bitters, & lemon), and non sequitur ("The Wooden Leg") .

The accompanying entertainment (illustrated tales) was urbane, humane, and witty

with a tinge of requisite awkward adorable overshare.

last taste of winter

2009-04-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

Uncommon Ground has their organic rooftop garden started for the season, but it's too early to for the menu to sprout spring flavors. On the first seventy degree day of the year, we closed the evening with the last of winter's foods.

To drink

Midwest Maple Manhattan: death’s door whiskey, maple syrup, chai infused sweet vermouth, maple sugar rim

To appetize

Artisanal Sausage Sampler: wild boar bratwurst, cognac pheasant sausage, market potato salad, pickled vegetables, whole grain mustard

To eat

Crispy Gunthorp Farm Chicken Breast with polenta, wild mushrooms, and brussel sprout salad

To finish sweetly

Chocolate chip banana bread pudding with whiskey gelato & caramel sauce

am so am grateful for - april 10, 2009

2009-04-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Poets of triple fermentation.

Poets of 70's songstress obscurity & fame.

Poets of words.

tourists/townies - april 9, 2009

2009-04-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

Like many Chicago tourists, Marcus and I took advantage of Thursday evening free admission to the Art Institute. We got cultured, but didn't belabor the process by seeing everything or staring meaningfully at pieces that held no interest. It turns out that I'm excellent at naming the nameless "Untitled" pieces.

Like many Chicago tourists, we followed-up our art outing with Chicago-style pizza. I'm making it one of my missions to find beer-and-pizza masterpieces.

Pizza: Giordano's Famous Stuffed Pizza - special sans 'shrooms. Okey dokey.

Beer of choice: Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat. I'm a fan of this simple everyday beer.

i drank that

Cranberry spritzer at a carnival-themed baby shower

in lieu of coffee

detox version of pizza and wine

3 Tea Saturday

Reset

Kumquat is not a dirty word

good stuff

99 bottles of wine in the fall

The new way

Thanks, Mom!

anticipation

Drinking the Kool-aid at Hot Doug's

the comforts of home

Note to self

Indian summer

i feel pamplemousse

another reason to love fall

Implicit complicit

Making it better?

The real celebration

Two new records (perhaps)

though i haven't said it

related

remember, reflect, refer

hangover reveries

Here's to: Things that Sparkle

neighborhoods and community

to many happy returns

isn't she

satisfied yet longing

the last days of detox

Learning new things

'tis the gift to be simple

Airport logic

bourbon and bitters

much ado

more importantly

Champagne of beers

I love the holidays

Sometimes you get just what you want

dirty, nerdy, purty thirty

Sazerac Sunday

livin the dream

monday night

west coast adventure: cocktails

it's not that serious

west coast adventure: wine

west coast adventures: beer

noshing very very fast

first bike ride downtown

happy solstice

celebrate good times, come on

for the midwestern southerners

the sweet taste of success

introducing: 100 drinks of summer

what is the making of memories?

coffee for here, coffee to go: negotiating presence and distance at Valois

we are total trendsetters

anticipation

ontological security

Spring Break '010 USA!!!!

i probably should have known about this earlier

i can sympathize

kindred

Eryn lost her scarf, but we still found fun

we'll take a cup o' kindness yet

the first supper

for when i venture outside the box

empty glass

and though I like to act the part of being tough...

i'm a fan

i didn't make it to the formal

a-muse-ing

ritual

To: Vacations.

i'm not worthy

exeunt omnes

Summer Sips

what we do when we're alone