A Tribute To Dan

Well as of the 1st Dan and Hilary are out of Chicago, Hilary to Dublin and Dan to Buffalo then Dublin. Dan was a friend of mine and the apartments since I moved in. I really will miss him. He was always a blast to hang out with. Dan was the first new person I met really moving into the apartment. I remember back when I was smokin cigs Dan before he even had met me knew I smoked, cause of the million cigarette butts in the trash, and taped a pack of camel lights to our door with a little note saying he got them at a bar, but doesn't smoke any more so he was giving them to me. Dan is a great soul and is a part of my history in that building so I am giving him a tribute through some funny pictures I have taken over the years. Have fun in Ireland Danny Boy, I'll miss you. I am grateful though of the fact that I now have an excuse to visit Ireland. Save me a spot on the couch.

My MBA

So I am going for my Master of Beer Appreciation this year. I signed up at the Goose Island brewery to become "educated" on all of thier beers. What this means is that I have to sit down and try all of the beers that they offer, no not all at once, but over the course of more than a year. The way it works is you get a little checklist with all the beers they have broken down by: spring, summer, fall, winter, year round classics, and reserve. The seasonal beers only happen during that season, obviously, but also they can run out so you will have to wait till the next year. That is when you go to the year rounds and the reserves. I started just a few weeks ago and haven't really made to big a dent. I have 5 checked off out of the possibly 45. When you reach your first 15 different styles of beer they award you with your own growler, 64oz, and same with your 30th. On your final beer though you receive a shirt showing that you are an MBA graduate and also your name is put on a plaque and hung in the Clybourn street brewery next to all the other graduates. I will let you know my progress and any especially delicious beers I come across. Right now my favorites are the Matilda and the Christmas ale, we'll see if that changes.

An Activity Day

Well I was feeling a little lazy lately, not really moving around that much this summer, so I planned an activity day. It actually turned out to not be the best day ever for it, but a good day none the less. So the plan was to go into Wilmette and pick up some bikes and cruise the North Shore. After a short ride we would then stop off at Gilson beach and jump in the lake for a swim and some kayaking. Then lastly a quick game or two of tennis. The day went really well and was a lot of fun I actually got to work out a little and not feel as shitty as I have been. Kayaking was a great time and was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be even in a some what calm Lake Michigan. After kayaking and swimming for awhile we grabbed a picnic in the Wallace bowl a little outdoor theatre in Gilson park that is actually a great place to see a play or even a little concert. Then a quick bike ride to dry off and we were off to tennis. This was somewhat new to me seeing as I have never really played tennis EVER, but it was a lot of fun. I knew tennis would be hard, but I didn't expect it to be as ridiculous as it was, trust me I need a lot of work. After all that a bike ride back home to find out that I also had a wedding that day and was late for it. In the end it was a great day with a crazy ending, but I cant wait to do it again. I highly suggest if anyone can get a hold of a kayak somewhere to give kayaking in the lake a try. Its a good work out and a lot of fun.

Just thought I would let you know what I did last weekend. Some more pics here

Nacional 27

Went to a fancy restaurant the other day with Erin. I have heard a lot of good things about Nacional 27, so I thought I would check it out. The restaurant serves modern Latin food and has a new and interesting approach to its ceviche. They also seem to take great pride in their cocktails cause they have a lot to choose from. The strange and great thing about this restaurant is later in the night they clear away several tables and become more of a dance club, they have dj's and dancing going on till 2 in the morning. Our dinner was earlier so, missed this, but do want to go back and see what its all about. The drinks we had were actually really good and made me want to check out some of there other fancy drinks, but held off. There is a 100$ drink called the millionaire something and has gold in it, that's a little ridiculous and obviously I wasn't going near that. The food we had was really good, we started off with a watermelon and Ahi tuna cheviche, which tasted like no other cheviche I have had before. The cheviche tasted like they switched the lime from a normal ceviche and used watermelon, it was interesting. We then tried some tapas as an appetizer and got the chicken empanadas, which were also very good. For dinner I got the steak tenderloin medallions which was obviously delicious and melted in your mouth. The steaks came laid over potatoes these were phenomenal. Erin got the pacific blue nose "hauchinango", a tropical white fish, laid over a salsa verde with cilantro. Hers was really fantastic and didn't taste at all fishy. For dessert I got the churros with three cheese ice cream. At this point I was really full, but still managed to force this down cause it was so good. Erin got the better of the desserts. She got, cuatro chocolates, which was chocolate cake, chocolate sorbet, pudding and chocolate milk. Overall the food was amazing and the atmosphere made you feel like you were definitely in a nice restaurant, but the feeling we got when we were there was they were rushing us. We received our cheviche and tapas at the same time as our bread and drinks then 5 minutes later we received our main dishes. So we had to put our meals aside while we finished the first parts and the entrees some what cooled off. We figured what the hell though, but then when we did start finishing things our cheviche, empanadas, drinks and bread they never really came back to clear it off. It wasn't all that big a deal except that the food is kinda expensive so you figure you wouldn't really be rushed considering we were there at an early time and it was not that crowded. Any ways like I said the experience overall was good and I would probably go back, but I would go later maybe just for the tapas and the late night dancing.

Usagi Ya

Usagi Ya, another of the many sushi places in and around Chicago, happens to be relatively unknown, yet very good. It's not the best in Chicago, but a lot better than most. This passed weekend I went there for my second time and was just as impressed with it as the first time. All the food was fresh and tasted delicious. Sometimes at certain sushi places the sushi is either not fresh or it's not the right temperature (either too hot or cold) and what I hate the most is when they use to much of the vegetable, whether it be cucumber or avocado or whatever instead of a good portion of meat. Well none of this even has anything to do with Usagi Ya because all their food has been great. I think the only reason it's not all that busy is because its on the corner of Division, Ashland and Milwaukee. There is a lot of other crazy stuff going on at that corner that makes a good sushi restaraunt being on the corner a little out of place. It might have something to do with that it is across the street from Nelson Algren park, which happens to always be full of homeless people, but I don't know. All I know is that I have been there and it's worth giving a try cause it's better in my opinion than Zen noodles and Sai cafe. Oh and their Saki was perfect.

ZK Foods

I cant believe it has taken me this long to write about this place, maybe because I always forget about it, not at all because of its food though it is because of its location. For some reason when walking around my neighborhood I never really find myself on Milwaukee north of North ave and when I do I really only go to the Hair Cuttery or Blockbuster, which is strange because there is a lot of really interesting things over there. Anyways, This place is a hidden gem. ZK Foods serves a lot of home cooked style meals, but also has some interesting dishes you wouldn't normally see. It seems there main meals at lunch are soups and sandwiches both of which I have tried, the chicken chili, split pea, and a Reuben sandwich all of which were delicious and very well portioned (the sandwich was huge). I also was there another time and was able to try the mac and cheese, talapia tacos and had a bit of Erin's "Grilled Eggplant Sandwich with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and fresh basil leaves" which was cooked very well. I saw the meatloaf and the turkey sandwich that were also giant plates full, but also looked good, probably checkin one of those out next. I really did like there soup though and they have fresh ones all the time so if you just stop in there they have soups ready for carry out and made a sandwich for me to take out real quick, but there seating area is inviting so if you have the time I'd just grab a seat. If you happen to be walking by this place definitely check it out.