Chi-blog-o (title by Molly)

I've been a bad blogger. I know this because both Molly and Steve M. have told me so. What can ya do? Here's a long post to make up for it...

Meghan and I took a girls' weekend to Chicago 2 weekends ago, fun times. Let's see, what did we do... one additional weekend of alcohol consumption has already fogged my memory, so I'm going to have to look through my camera to refresh.

Friday night we went to a favorite local hang out called the Billy Goat Tavern. There's some SNL connection to this bar that I don't know about, but the word "Cheezborger" was written on a bunch of signs. If you're an Ithacan reading this, the bar was kind of like the Chanticleer. Mostly creepy locals, the occasional young people (us), and some weirdos in suits. Nobody had an eye patch though. Later we met my friend Katie who was also in Chicago for the weekend, visiting this guy who I went to preschool with. One of the only things he really remembered about me was that I didn't like the yellow pieces in fruit snack packs. I thought it was the green ones... We met them in a bar near Wrigley field, which was the closest we got to seeing the Cubs.

Saturday we braved the rain and went on an architectural boat cruise up and down the Chicago River. We saw the Sears Tower, the Hancock Center, the Chicago Tribune building, and some wackily designed apartment buildings that had no 90 degree angles. We tried the "famous" Chicago pizza at Giordano's (I still like NY pizza the best) and then on Steve Q's advice, walked over to Navy Pier. Exactly as he described it, it's like a less tacky version of Coney Island. We indulged in only one carnival ride, this simulator spaceship ride thing, which was unimpressive but still left me feeling queasy. After that, a 30 minute boat ride on Lake Michigan to see fireworks. How romantic!

I think Sunday was my favorite day. We went on a bike tour which took us through various Chicago neighborhoods, with stopping points at places like the Chicago Art Institute, the first Playboy mansion, Oprah's apartment, Lincoln Park, St. Michael's church, a beach along Lake Michigan... my camera died somewhere along the ride, shit. But if you go to Chicago some time, I really recommend going on Bobby's Bike Hike. The staff is friendly, and it's a nice 6 mile ride through Chicago. The only annoying bit is that some people ring their bells incessantly, and others should probably still be using training wheels.

At night, we went to a show at The Second City improv/comedy theater called "America: All Better!" I'm pretty sure this was the funniest show I've ever seen. It was a lot of Obama making the world a better place humor, mixed in with a lot of racy humor spanning general life topics. I don't know how long this show is running for, so you should get your butt to Chicago and go see it, now!

After the show, this nearby street festival was ending, and selling large discounted cups of Bud-Lite for $2. $2? Drinking in the street? Sure. This night ended in a blur, with a lot of dancing at a dive bar, and then devouring leftover cold pizza in the hotel room.

On our last day, we had lunch with my second cousins at their friend's Italian restaurant called A Mano. I'll leave the food portion of this trip up to Meghan, but I will say that they serve a mean pistachio gelato.

I think that's it!

Queensboro bridge birthday

Not too long ago, I took a taxi over the Queensboro bridge on the way home from my sister's apartment and immediately declared it my favorite bridge in NY. The bridge itself is really pretty, but the view is better. You can see everything....the billboards, the skyline, the water towers in Brooklyn, the Roosevelt Island tram running parallel, the Pepsi billboard in Long Island City...the works. Coincidentally, I later read that the bridge was turning 100 today, and there was a big hullabaloo going on to celebrate. Meghan, Billie and I had a good view of the fireworks from our roof. It was worth the climb up the wobbly ladder. Here's a video in case you missed it!

Stealth

The Ethiopian Restaurant

I've never had Ethiopian food before, but my friend was visiting from CA this weekend, and the friends he was staying with knew a place nearby. It is uniquely called "The Ethiopian Restaurant," and it's on York Avenue between 83rd and 84th streets, conveniently located just 3 blocks from my sister's apartment, who we happened to run into on the way.

The Ethiopian beer tasted like Coors Light rebottled with Ethiopian labels, but the food was really good. Everyone orders, and then they plop everything in a circle on this big spongy pancake thing. Here's a photo to make up for my lack of eloquence:
I ordered the "Vegetarian Delight," not because I'm a veggie, but because I don't usually order meat when I eat out, unless it's monthly burger time. Since they do put everything on one dish, they will ask if you are vegetarian and want your dish to be separate.

Here's the link: http://www.theethiopianrestaurant.com/

Back to food...

Meghan made this recipe last night, and it was super awesome. And easy. Maybe easier for me because all I had to do was grate some cheese (with a microplane!! also awesome!) and chop some basil. Here's the recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Orzo-with-Everything-5608

Someone in the comment section suggested adding some feta cheese, which was good. I think Meghan said something along the lines of "the more cheese the better." Or "the more cheese the feta" if you want to make a pun out of it. I do.

A few notes: Jer, I think you'd like this recipe. I don't really have a basis for that comment, but you should give it a shot since you seem to like fast, easy, and delicious recipes. Who doesn't?

Lastly, Meghan is a good cook. Here's the link to her blog, if you don't already have it. She reviews restaurants and cooks better than your mom: http://cookingdrinkingswearing.blogspot.com/

I guess that was only a couple notes. Oh well.

Charlie's diet: the first days

Agony:

Withdrawal:

Gradual acceptance:

Broccin' Rabin'

Though I always knew I would probably like broccoli rabe, I have typically avoided it, because on a lot of Italian menus, I've seen it written as "broccoli rape." Which doesn't sound particularly appetizing. I don't know much Italian beyond "Prego" and "Ciao," so maybe this was a common typo on the menus, or maybe it's one of the real spellings for it, I don't know. Anyway...

This weekend, KG created a lovely spin on Bittman's recipe for spaghetti with broccoli rabe, toasted garlic, and bread crumbs. Here's the article with the link to the original recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/dining/15mini.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=broccoli%20rabe&st=cse

Kate used penne instead of spaghetti, buffalo parmesan instead of regular (found at the Garden, for all of you Greenpointing cookers), and I slivered the garlic the wrong way, but I think Bittman would have still been proud.

The fixin's, plus Ritz crackers and wine:

Toasting garlic:

Sauteeing the broccoli rabe:

Adding the pasta:

Pre-stuffing my face:

Some tips and observations: I find a lot of Bittman's recipes kind of plain or boring, but this one really hit the nail on the head by incorporating the toasted bread crumbs, so don't leave them out. The buffalo parmesan was a delicious touch, and this was a really good dish for anyone trying to carbo-load the night before a race. And from the chef comes the advice to be careful while putting the wet broccoli rabe into the pan with hot oil. Kate G says "I believe the recipe says exactly that and I did it anyway." Ouch. So please try not to sautee yourself, it's not Kosher.