Mom's Night Out

A mom needs a night out every once in awhile. Last night, I got the chance. And it was with the childless! Which was both good (real conversation!) and bad (what to talk about?!). The occasion for last night's outing was my college friend Matt's 35th birthday; I met him and our friends Melissa and Andy at Kamehachi on Wells in Old Town.

It was a warm (but not hot) evening, so I took the train. I ran into Matt just outside the station, so we walked over together. Melissa and Andy did the same thing, and they met us about 20 minutes later outside the restaurant. I don't know if we can thank the price of gas, the weather, a collective interest in public transit, or the pain-in-the-ass factor of parking in Old Town, but we all took public transit last night.

I am not generally a fan of sushi, or Japanese food in general, so I had never been to Kamehachi before. Matt loves their sushi, and it probably is very good, but I was not particularly impressed with my experience. They sat our party of four outside on the airless, covered patio. I got a salad, a stiff drink served in a pretty martini glass (that the waitress took away before it was empty), and the Chilean Sea Bass. I had asked the waitress whether it was better grilled or marinated/baked and she recommended the baked version. It's unlikely that I will be back, but I think I should have overruled her and gone with my instinct, which was for the grilled version.

After dinner, we walked around the corner to the Old Town Ale House, which I found very charming. It reminded me vaguely of both Murphy's, our old hangout at the University of Illinois, and a Paris bar. It was a very laid-back, unassuming crowd. I was surprised to find such an establishment in the current Old Town. But I would definitely go there again.

I buggered off around 11:30 or so, as I still had a 40-minute train ride ahead of me and needed to get my tired old bones to bed. I owe everyone a round. It was raining and chilly by the time I caught the L home. I had to get off at the library and walk a bit to change trains if I didn't want to take the red line the long way around the Loop, but it was all OK. There were a few drunk law students asking me where the library was; um, I don't know, follow the signs. I am not your mother. I'm off-duty.

Disastrous Morning

Well, that was a disaster. I took The Boy, The Girl, and The Baby with me this morning to the Green City Market in Lincoln Park/Old Town. After eying all the gorgeous produce on display in Seattle this weekend, I was jonesing for some produce that I could actually take home and eat. Plus, the weather today was perfect for the market -- 70, sunny, with a slight breeze.

Apparently, everyone else with small children had the same idea because the market was mobbed, and parking was difficult to find. We parked on Wells at least 3 blocks away from the market itself (at least the meter was broken) and walked over with the stroller. The Baby was one giant temper tantrum, starting from the moment that The Girl got out of the car and wanted to get in the front of our stroller. He didn't want to ride in the jumpseat. So he threw a tantrum, complete with top-of-the-lungs screaming. I decided to ignore him, which is apparently not done in Old Town. A sales clerk at Handle With Care peeked her head out at him, and not in a sympathetic way. If I could afford to shop there, I wouldn't anyway just for that.

At the market itself, things were not much better. The Girl wanted to get a pastry at Bleeding Heart Bakery, and I got one for The Baby as well. The Boy didn't want anything. We sat down in the kiddie chairs set up by the demo table adjacent to the bakery's stand, but The Baby took one look at The Girl's raspberry bar and went ballistic. Screaming ensued, pretty much until we left the market. While I strapped a writhing, screaming Baby into the stroller, an older, bearded man made a comment that The Baby was protesting his loss of liberty. When I said that he'd been screaming before I put him in, he noted, accurately, that he was just tired. With the wait for a crepe totaling more than 30 minutes, there was little reason to stay. So we headed back to the car. At least The Baby stayed awake until we got home.