Chicago

Day 2, Part 1 of Chicago

We got up bright and early (going by Estephania's time) and headed to the Art Institute of Chicago. We took some time out from our cultural edification to take goofy pictures in the Modern Wing.





We capped our cultural experience by being materialistic Americans. There was a sale--what can I say?




The awesomeness of this picture probably makes it difficult to read the card. It is a Frontera Grill business card. Rick Bayless' restuarant! I love Rick Bayless. I heard he's a regular reader of this blog. We love you, Rick!




For appetizer, we had queso. It was delicious melted cheese with grilled onions and chorizo. Scrumptious. (It's almost as good as when I melt the Kraft Mexican Blend over Tostitos in the microwave.)




Lindsay and I split an appetizer platter. On the left are two gooey quesadillas. Going clockwise, we have some sort of chicken taco-like thing, chips, guacamole, and ceviche. In the middle is a jicama salad. I loved it all. Lindsay did not care for the ceviche.






Steff got this, but I can't remember the name. Starting at the left, we have scrambled eggs, plantains, and chicken in a mole sauce. It was all so good!

Chicago

Day 1, Part 2 of Chicago

On our way back from Taste, Lindsay tries to take a jumping picture. Fail, Lindsay, fail.

She's better in front of the camera than behind it.

We went to a bar, got drunk (from one, overpriced drink), looked stunned, and snapped a picture. The third blogger wasn't invited, because she stopped blogging. We're punishing her.



Hey, remember how this is a food blog? Well, here's some food! We went to a restaurant in Wicker Park called Thai Lagoon. Steff got the yellow curry, because I asked her nicely. (I wanted the pad thai.) She even got it mild for me. It was yummy, but my mouth was aflame.



I ordered my pad thai "as bland as possible." The waiter kind of sneered and said, "Well, we call it no spice, as bland would suggest no taste." But I forgive him, because he has watched Kate & Allie and didn't act like it was a weird thing to ask of him. My companions hadn't even heard of it.

Chicago

Day 1, Part 1 of Chicago Fun.

The fearless driver.

The stylish passenger. The other passenger was camera shy.

Driving into Chicago.

We got into Chicago at a time that we thought was early. We were meeting Elizabeth & Brian, who had an evening wedding. It turns out that we were lucky that we got in early. It took us a while to find parking, for which we paid an arm, a leg, and an ear. Then we were about a mile and half away, so we hoofed it. Lindsay had a big, fat foot from a bee sting, but she was a trooper. We passed these art trees on the way there and decided to be trees ourselves.

Taste of Chicago. We forgot to take pictures of the actual food, but we had pierogies, tacos, goat, crab rangoon, hamburgers, and something else -- all taste size portions. We also bought a $4 bottle of water, because there were no fountains. Not cool, Taste of Chicago, not cool.

After roaming around the crowds, we took a little breather beneath a tree. Lindsay & Stephanie took a self-portrait. I was asleep.