Summer in Chicago. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
Brown Bag Seafood
Lakeshore East is one of my favorite neighborhoods. Yes, I am biased because we lived there for 2 years but this little hidden gem on Lake Michigan and steps away from Michigan Ave is just the best…and now it has Brown Bag Seafood.
I was starvation city last night after Flywheel but wanted something fresh, healthy, that wasn’t a sit down restaurant but also wasn’t Whole Foods. Brown Bag Seafood fit the bill and then some. I grabbed one of their “brown bags” (piece of paper with all the food options), marked down what kind of fish I wanted and how I wanted it prepared (tacos, salad, sandwich, plain, etc) and obviously checked the box for a glass of wine and a few minutes later…dinner.
After much debate (and the help of the sweet man taking my order), I went for the Power Pack: white fish on top of a red quinoa & wild rice blend atop spinach with lemon and herbs. But with 4 different types of tots, I will be back soon to try those and the fish tacos. And probably a sandwich. Such a fun find, this urban fish shack!
Clever Thank-You
I received this thank you card from a reader whom I had coffee with several weeks back. Personal branding- subtle, authentic, meaningful. Nailed it!
(And congrats on your new job!)
Midway Morning
I have primarily been flying out of O’Hare for work the last few months so while this might be old news, I was thrilled this morning to find that Midway now has mobile boarding passes AND Intelligentsia Coffee (that fake Starbucks Potbelly used to sell was gross). Adding to that? A yoga room is going in! Midway, you flirt.
I boarded next to a mom and little girl who was taking her first flight. She was so excited and dying to get a window seat. My mom always made air travel such a big deal and fun thing and now that it’s a part of my job, seeing that little girl reminded me that it is truly a modern miracle- I am sitting in a chair that is going to be in the sky. I get it, little girl in 6A. I get it.
Farm to Table
Living in a large city, it can be easy to lose sight of “the real world”. I love our urban bubble but I’ll admit, there are times when my view of normalcy is slightly skewed (refusing to own a car, $17 cocktails, grocery delivery services…).
Take the whole farm-to-table movement. Restaurants all over the place are calling their menus farm-to-table and people are going nuts for it. Me included. I had a kale salad at this place that screamed farm to table, going as far as having picnic tables for seating because that’s how their suppliers eat on the farm and I lost my shit, I was so excited and by god, that salad was the best salad in the history of ever.
But guess what? Farm to table isn’t a trend or a marketing ploy- it’s how you get your food.
Hey, anything that gets people eating whole, healthy foods that didn’t have to travel a continent to get to them is fantastic, I am all for it. But this week, I was at an actual Farmer’s Market (not my beloved yuppie, overpriced Green City Market but a real farmer’s market with people who actually work on farms) in a small town in Michigan and it hit me- I think it is incredible when I eat out and they make everything in-house because gosh, I could never do that. So here I am, looking at all of this gorgeous produce, grown from the ground miles from where I stood and it was…inspiring. I could make anything I wanted from scratch. I could! And I would!
So I made pickles.
No canning required, this recipe from Smitten Kitchen is great. Thinly sliced cucumbers (I used a mandolin), white vinegar, salt and dill. Refrigerate. Shake. 3-5 hours later, pickles. They’re fresh, crispy and I know where everything in them came from because I bought it. It felt so good to be inspired by food again and genuinely bring the farm to my table.
RPM Steak Opening Party
There are some plans I have to remind my husband of multiple times…attending the Opening Party for RPM Steak was not one of them. From the second we were invited, August 9th at 7pm was top of mind- I would imagine it had something to do with visions of steak and manhattans dancing in his head.
The new space at 60 W. Kinzie is beautiful. Huge and airy with the same sleekness RPM Italian has but toned down to highlight what’s clearly the star of the show: the steak. Chef Psaltis was on hand serving up quite the spread and while I first congratulated him on the gorgeous new restaurant, Ryan went back and congratulated him on the steak. He was wildly impressed with everything from the ribeye to the lamb chops to the skirt steak.
Me? Glass of champagne in hand, I was happy as could be…and then I made my way upstairs to what will be the private dining space and found lobster and oysters perched atop a bar made entirely of ice. Jack.pot.
Also to be noted: dessert. Mini lemon sorbet baked Alaska. Basil hazelnut cream puffs. Yes.
It was such a fun, almost interactive date night. We walked around, sampled the food, ran into some people we hadn’t seen in ages, caught up on our weeks. There’s no official opening date announced yet but a waiter told us that Bill Rancic (partial owner) told them 10 days so get ready to snag a reso- I know we can’t wait to try RPM Steak in full.
Hello! And Link Love
I have no idea where this last week has gone! Nothing life changing happening over here just work travel that includes driving which means less time for blogging and other internet related activities. Sigh. How about a catch-up related version of link love today?
I set a co-worker of Ryan’s (who also happens to be a good friend of ours) up with a friend’s sister this winter and now they’re totally in love and having a blast all over town. So I go to meet up with Ryan at a work event last night and, apparently, I am now the Holy Grail of dating. “Do you have a girl for me?”, “When are you going to set me up?”, “I like nice dinners– do you have a foodie friend I could take out?”…it was hilarious. And unfortunate because I think I just lucked out that one time. I hear the kids are into Tinder these days, maybe try that?
My reward for being the most popular wife in the office was wine and bruschetta at Enolo Wine Bar. The wine poached salmon was out of this world and the kale salad with poached egg was awesome.
Back from a week on the road, I cleaned this morning…and found this list of how often you should clean certain things in your house and now all I want to do is clean all of the things.
So this guy bought 23 pies to spite a small child. Hell yes and high five.
A friend came over for lunch today and so generously brought me a Diptyque candle and 2 Stan’s Donuts. “Fancy Candles & Donuts” should be the name of my memoir- I love both so much.
We have an event tomorrow evening but other than that, Ryan and I are committing to eating every meal at home this weekend (something we have NOT been doing). I can’t tell you how great it felt to pull a fresh loaf of bread from the oven this morning and make fresh salsa from the Farmer’s Market I went to in MI.
Happy Weekend, friends!
Link Love
My girl Megan is getting restaged today in her Stage 4 Hodgkins battle- if you have any prayers to offer up at 1pm, please do so!
“I panicked at the success and fell immediately.” Loved this post about wake boarding and the life metaphors that come with it.
Tomorrow morning at 8:30am, there will be a yoga class at Adler Planetarium. Cool, right??
This is the weekend we attempt pizza on the grill. Trusting this guide will get us there.
Mark your calendars- the Tortoise Club has $20 whiskey flights next week. I’ll take live jazz and a Manhattan flight, stat.
It’s time to put something on the walls in our bedroom- considering this print. Urban and abstract.
Updated because the internet is awesome today:
Under Armour nailed it with their new ad. Beautiful and strong and an incredible message for young women.
Now THIS is how you make an exit. I am such a sucker for mariachi bands and gospel choirs and group singing- well done, Elle Magazine and Mark Sebba.
Luna Bell never sits on my lap so when it happened this morning while I was working…it was about the best thing ever.
Peace, love, and mariachi bands,
Nina
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