Flashback with a Twist

With the work-holiday, today was like a flashback to November 2008 -- plus two. After staying up way too late last night to work on my first Oliver + S project, I slept in a bit this morning. Then The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I headed out to Aurora to visit Cara and her ever-growing brood (the plus two since last year are Kenley and Tillie).

Cara and I had an an old-fashioned mom-visit, complete with tea and toys and kids running around all over the house. The Girl and Gracie, and The Boy and Johnny started back where they left off, playing Barbies and dolls, and battlefield-stars, respectively. The Tot eventually warmed up to the toys in the living room, and was quite upset when we left around 2:30 because Tillie had to go to the pediatrician's office. 

All three kids fell asleep in the car on the way home (w00t!). When we got home, The Boy and The Tot went on the L with The Dad, while I took The Girl to the Treasure Store. We picked up Aunt Sam, who is visiting from Texas this week for the holiday, along the way.  I love the Treasure Store: this cabinet (in white) for $20, plus the usual clothing deals. The Girl drove our departure from the store, but I want to go back for the mod cabinet and about half a dozen other pieces.

We had planned to go to CBA for dinner, but discovered after we parked and paid our LAX fee that it was closed for the holiday (or maybe it closes at 3 p.m.? I can't remember a time that I went there for anything other than lunch). I was quite surprised, but most of Lincoln Park-DuPaul seemed to be buttoned up for the day, actually.  With rumbling bellies, we trekked up Armitage to Halsted to see what sort of food we could procure that would be as suitable for me, Aunt Sam, and an adventurous-but-messily-attired 4-year-old

...and ended up at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba! I've been there only once before, in 2003, for a moms' night out with our playgroup. On that occasion, we waited for 20 minutes for our reservation. Tonight, we walked in and were seated immediately. Cafe Ba Ba Reeba is definitely tapas for an American (Chicago, Lincoln Park) palate, but it suited The Girl just fine. We ordered a few pintxos, potato salad, baked goat cheese with tomato sauce, artisanal cheese plate, chicken empanada, and fried green peppers. Plus mango sorbet and caramel-almond cake. The Girl is, and always has been, a fantastic dining companion, especially outside the negative influence of her brothers. She eats everything, is willing to try almost anything, and can be entertained with a pencil and paper or people-watching. We sat just opposite the main prep bar, so we had lots to see.

Big Jones

Last night, I had the rare opportunity to go out with The Dad "on a school night." We attended a celebratory dinner for his friend, Brian, and Brian's new wife. Another pair of Brian's friends own Big Jones, a relatively new restaurant along Andersonville's north Clark strip, so they generously hosted the party of 12. Big Jones's schtick is southern coastal comfort food, but it also uses fresh, locally sourced organic ingredients. The Dad and I left the kids asleep at home with a sitter, but the restaurant has a kid-friendly menu from which my three would happily eat; I joked that they must have had me in mind when they came up with their target demographic. I had the Chicken Benne with southern greens and grits, which was really, really good -- and that's saying something as the food genre is not one that I eat often or would gravitate towards if left to my own devices. The Dad had the Tallgrass Beef Burger, which looked really good. I skipped the beer for the most part and spent most of my caloric-splurge on the Red Velvet Cake*. One of the best I've had -- delightfully moist and flavorful, with a perfectly rich and lightly tangy cream cheese frosting.

In addition to the great food, the evening was enjoyable for me because the rest of the party consisted of a cross-section of Chicagoans with whom I am not ordinarily in contact. Most people did not have children -- and if they did, the children weren't the focal point of dinner conversation. We talked about politics, the economy, the restaurant itself, obscenely rich people, the Joffrey ballet and dance education, crazy You Tube videos, Chicago Public Schools, neighborhoods, and shooting off rockets with a group of grade school kids with Mad Science.









*Red velvet cake has become a bit of a theme in my life lately, as my new friend Jenna has about 8,000 recipes for it and made some for The Girl, The Boy, The Tot and me on a recent playdate, thereby renewing my love for the red velvet cake. I've made it only a handful of times and have discovered that it is a lot of work, and it's probably best to focus on the baking that I do well and leave red velvet cake to someone with more time, more patience and more red food dye than me! Apparently, I am not the only one who is obsessed with red velvet cake; there was talk that the Trib will run a food piece on the best red velvet in Chicago. I hope Big Jones's entry makes the list.

Moving on up

Signs that my neighborhood is moving up in the world:

1. Mario Greco is building a place here.
2. Starbucks is opening a new store at Addison/Elston/Kedzie.
3. Ripley's Gift Store is opening in the 3900 block of Irving Park Road. I have no idea what it is, but anything that isn't a church/ministry, greasy spoon, or laundromat is probably a welcome addition to that stretch of Irving Park Road.
4. Walgreen's opened last year.
5. ARCC opened on Irving Park Road.
6. Tippy Toes Shoes is coming back.
7. Smoque BBQ, next to the train, does a hoppin' business.
8. Hot Woks/Cool Sushi just opened next to the train. I'm not a sushi fan, but I am pleased to see something go into that prime commuter real estate, and also pleased that it's already been reviewed by the Yelpers.
9. Dunkin' Donuts opened in two locations: one in the Mobil at the Pulaski/Irving Park Road intersection and one in the strip mall across from the YMCA.


Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Coco Pazzo Cafe

Tonight was our first Kids' Restaurant Week dinner. We went to Coco Pazzo Cafe, which is on St. Clair, about a block away from Northwestern Memorial Hospital (which detracted from the ambiance as an ambulance or fire truck went screaming by every 10 minutes or so). I knew going in that it might be tricky, as The Boy woke up before 6 a.m., The Girl woke up from a snooze-on-the-couch just before we left for the restaurant, and The Tot had had a short nap.

We were the first family to arrive at the restaurant -- the valet expressed surprise that I was taking not one, but three children out of the car. I imagine that the folks who came up with restaurant week were envisioning newly minted parents with their 8-month-olds in tow. And that was pretty much the profile of other KRW diners. Oh well. Readers of this blog know that my departure from the expected is nothing new.

They had a special, 3-course menu for KRW patrons. There were 3 options for starter, 4 for the main, and 2 for dessert. We ordered bruschetta (good) for The Boy, The Girl, and The Dad, while I had the vegetalli chopped salad (needed salt). The Tot shared with everyone, although he doesn't actually like the taste of tomatoes. I ordered the fish of the day (Alaskan halibut with olive tapenade over grilled fennel); The Dad had pork chops, and The Girl and The Boy both had, shockingly enough, pasta (with tomatoes and basil -- The Boy ate his on the side). The Girl is either a seafood lover or just an adventurous eater because she asked to try my fish and then spent the rest of the meal demanding bites. The Dad and I also each ordered a glass of Italian rose, which I was expecting to be like Provencial rose -- light, refreshing, the perfect summer drink for dining al fresco -- but it was darker and heavier. The Tot kept asking for sips, and once he had sampled it, could not be distracted by water.

There was a huge gap of time between our main course and dessert. There was another couple with a 1-year-old seated just after we were, and they had finished dessert, paid, and departed by the time we received our 3 fresh strawberry tarts with whipped cream, and 1 sorbet and melon. By then, the restaurant was quite busy, not only with other KRW families, but also with their usual crowd. It seemed we never really saw the same waiter twice, but I ended up in a corner, so I may have missed something. We paid our bill ($69 with drinks) and skedaddled in short order after dessert.

All in all, we thought Coco Pazzo Cafe was OK. We probably would not go back again without children, outside of KRW. The Girl said her favorite part of the meal was my sorbet. The Tot seemed to enjoy the foccacia, and The Boy liked the strawberries (which he scraped off the tart) and whipped cream the best.

I guess I really am an introvert

I love spending time with my children, but every once in awhile, a mama needs a day off. Today was that day. The Dad took the day off from work, giving me a vacation day of my own. Rather than spend it shopping*, I took advantage of the silence in my head to enjoy experiential pursuits by myself. It was bliss. I guess I really am an introvert.

I took the Blue Line down to Kendall College to have lunch at The Dining Room. I ordered from the prix fixe menu. It was delicious. The waitstaff were all very attentive, but some dishes were slow coming out of the kitchen and left me a bit anxious that I would be late for the matinee at the Oriental Theater. Still, at $18 for three courses, it was a fantastic deal. I ordered everything from the specials menu: spring pea soup with creme fraiche and mint; grass-fed beef tenderloin stuffed with goat cheese, spinach, and mushrooms, served with fresh beets and a cream sauce; and a trio of orange: orange-vanilla panna cotta, chocolate-dipped mandarin orange slices, candied kumquats, and an orange sorbet. I greatly enjoyed the food, service, and the time to leisurely read my book.

After lunch, I walked to Halsted and Grand Avenues to flag down a cab -- a rare indulgence for me these days -- and got to the Oriental Theater for Wicked just as the entrance tones were ringing. Sarah had told me about a deal for reduced-price tickets, so I got a great seat -- Row X, seat 109, which was smack in the middle of the row, on orchestra-level -- for less than $40. Several rows in front of me were empty, so I moved down to Row T (same seat) after Intermission. I have not read the book, but I really enjoyed the musical. The story was basically the classic unrequited love/love triangle/high school popularity contest, played out against the backdrop of Oz. I liked the way they tied things into the Wizard of Oz so that the original story/musical would still make sense. It made me laugh, and the ending even made me cry.

I clapped loudly with the rest of the audience, and then beat feet to catch the L. I just missed a train at Clark and Lake, but managed to snag a seat when the next train showed up. The blue line is back (mostly) to its rapid transit time, so I got home within 20 minutes. The Dad and kids were playing in the front yard with the neighbors as I rounded the corner; they all ran for hugs as soon as they saw me. The Baby was particularly glad to see me, but I wasn't as exciting as La Villa's pizza man, who arrived 10 seconds later (this is what happens when The Dad is in charge of dinner).



* Although I did go to the Treasure Store this morning for an hour by myself.

Mother's Day

This year, Mother's Day was not all about me as a mother. But that's OK. It was a nice day anyway.

The Dad's 35th birthday happened to fall on Mother's Day this year. And his octogenarian grandmother was visiting from Florida, so we skipped our usual Mother's Day brunch at Ina's Kitchen in the West Loop and went out to the suburbs for a huge family gathering at the Holiday Inn instead. I was a little frightened when I walked into the hotel and saw large rounds and other tables scattered around a cavernous banquet room. But the food was good for what it was (mass buffet), and the dessert table was even better. Uncle Bad Influence riled up The Boy, The Girl, and their second cousin, while The Baby snuggled on Uncle Fuzzy's lap. The Dad and I got a rare moment of peace (but only a moment!) and some adult conversation.

Afterwards, we headed back into the city to clean the house before The Dad's friend and former colleague, Ranga, came to visit. Ranga used to be a software engineer, but now does IP work for a respected Silicon Valley firm. He was in town to depose an expert witness for the defense (his client), so we talked about people and places we used to know back when The Dad and I lived in San Francisco. We ordered Chicago's famous stuffed pizza and, afterward, had an ice cream cake to celebrate The Dad's birthday. The Dad took his friend back to his hotel and I put the kids in bed.