erin go bragh

Kellie came out to Chicago for St. Patrick's Day, which was entirely fitting since we'd spent the holiday (yes...holiday) together in Dublin, Ireland three years ago. her trip was (too) quick, but we laughed like crazy, ate like fools, and I'm so so so glad she visited.

the eating and drinking began on Thursday afternoon with a pre-philanthropic-event-beer at some divey little New Englander bar on Armitage, followed by some tapas and sangria at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. Rob and I had been for Restaurant Week, and ordered a handful of the same menu items, and branched out with baked goat cheese + tomato sauce and bacon-wrapped dates. first-timer Kel opted for the calamari and a chicken empanada - all with excellent excellent results. fat n' happy.

on Friday, Rob worked and Kel and I took a lonnnnnng run/walk down the waterfront trail and back through Lincoln Park before lunch at our fave pizza joint, Pequods. cabs were scarce all weekend, so by the graces of public transportation, we headed downtown to do a little shopping and found every. other. person. that decided to visit Chicago for the St. Patty's weekend. holy hell. we shopped quickly (read: got the hell outta there as fast as possible) and had a mellow dinner at home before whipping up some soda bread and hitting the hay.

it was dark when I got up on Saturday morning, since we'd already all agreed that it ain't a valid St. Patrick's Day if you don't eat a full Irish breakfast. we packed a few road sodas (read: homemade Irish coffees) and headed to an Irish bar downtown that we love. there wasn't a huge crowd when we arrived, but it definitely got more and more busy with each passing minute. breakfast did not disappoint. nor did the oh-so-cliche-but-come-on-you've-gotta-have-one green beers at 9am.

like everyone else in the city, we headed down to the River to check out the green glory. it's dyed using some chemical concoction that plumbers discovered and about 40 gallons of vegetable oil. would this fly in California?! methinks not. I'd seen a few photos from year's past, so I knew it would be a highly unnatural shade of green...it was even more fluorescent in person!

see that greenish/white line at the base of the buildings in the distance?! those aren't balloons or streamers...those are PEOPLE gathered along the bridges/riverbank. people. everywhere.

we stumbled upon a bagpipe crew warming up (Kellie: "how do you tune one of those things?!")

before: a murky brownish-green

during: tie-dyed

after: antifreeze-green

on the way to the River, we'd passed the Hard Rock Cafe's outdoor beer garden and scoffed at how unauthentic it would be to celebrate anywhere but an Irish pub. on our way back to our beloved Irish pub at 10:30a, we spotted the growing line and decided "hell - let's have a couple beers at the Hard Rock and be on our way". a couple beers turned into ALL THE BEERS, and other friends soon joined us. soaking up the amazing weather won out over the more authentic dark pub experience, and I've got the sunburn to prove it.

babies ... (turns out they were daughters of the owner, Jim)

the day ended gloriously: back to our place by 5pm, a skype check-in on Summer's surprise birthday party, a 2-hour nap, dogs + burgers + fries from FlubADubChubs, and the realization that we were much better off than the 99% of the people still drunkenly roaming the streets.

we all slept in a bit on Sunday and woke up miraculously hangover-free! since the weather was still so beautiful and we had some time, we wandered toward the lakefront again and watched part of a race along the trail. I was bummed that Kel had to leave so early (or at all!), and kept telling her to 'accidentally' miss her flight...no such (Irish) luck.

for the love of food: Taco Joint (02.20.2012)

Rob snagged a Groupon for tacos and margaritas at a place called Taco Joint, and we needed to use it or lose it. for a Monday night, the place was PACKED (other folks musta had the same soon-to-expire-Groupon). after a 20-minute wait, we were seated and ordered.

barbacoa (braised beef brisket garnished with cilantro & onion and roasted red jalapeno salsa): yum, spicy. I liked it, Rob didn't love the spice.

al pastor (marinated grilled chicken breast garnished with Serrano-pineapple pico and tangy tomatillo salsa): tangy is a good description for this one.

cochinita (Yucatan-style pulled pork garnished with pickled red onions and spicy habanero salsa): would definitely order this one again...holy cow.

arabe (grilled Puebla-style Lebanese-influenced taco with marinated pork loin and chipotle salsa, served on a Mexican style pita): yuuuuum.

estilo baja (Victoria Beer-battered tilapia garnished with a creamy-arbol cabbage slaw): pretty classic and tasty.

the margaritas + chips and salsa were pretty legit too. overall, the tacos were probabaly a bit spicy for Rob's liking, so we'd ask 'em to hold back on the sauces a smidge in the future. we haven't found much Mexican food here, so its nice to have a decent go-to.

for the love of food: Sepia (02.19.2012)

as part of Restaurant Week, we decided to check out some fancier spots that'd typically be too spendy for us to even want to consider. I watch Top Chef like its a job, and wanted to see what all the fuss was about over terrines and giant plates topped with a tablespoon of rich food. I'd heard good things about Sepia via various blogs, and snagged an early evening reservation on the first Sunday of RW. the restaurant was built in an old 1890s print shop, and actually features original flooring. its dark and cozy, and a modern-day printing company still uses the upstairs space.

cool tile

cocktails

r & r smash (templeton rye, carpano antica vermouth, cherry heering, brandied cherries, rosemary, lemon, old-fashioned bitters): so so good. I learned that templeton rye is a whiskey, and it was crazy-good with the brandied cherries and lemon. so good.

boston martha (magnolia & oolong tea infused michael collins irish whiskey, yellow enartreuse, honey, lemon, eggwhite, orange bitters): tea and whiskey was yummy. topped with frothy eggwhites, it made me think of a more mellow pisco sour. it was sweeter than the other drink, so it was fun to sip different drinks with different courses.

r&r smash ... boston martha

course one

cavatelli, duck sugo, grana padano: this was really really rich. and the portion teeny tiny. the sauce was light but creamy, and the the little pastas were like mini-gnocchis.

salad of fennel, blood orange, baby arugula, ricotta: when we scooped up a little of each component on the fork, this was yummy as hell. it was fresh and bright and really light.

course two

hot smoked rainbow trout, dill, apple, buttermilk: the smoke made me think of camping, and the apple + dill + buttermilk combination killllllllled it. the portion was generous, and the skin was crispy.

fig-stuffed pork tenderloin, sauerkraut, potatoes: bites with fig in 'em were deadly and juicy. the fig-free bites were less impressive, though I liked bites of pork and sauerkraut and potatoes. Rob was happy that we got more food in the second course, and the housemade bread and butter was awesome.

course three

chocolate port mousse, chocolate cake, meringue, almonds: hellllllo. little bites of marshmallow-y meringue with super-chocolatey cake, a light chocolate mousse, and candied almonds? yeah, I'd eat this again.

rose yogurt bavarian cream, coconut cake, dried fruit: so light and delicate, the coconut cake was almost like a souffle. the cream was delicious, and I could actually taste the rose (read: it tasted like roses smell...does that make sense?!)

overall, the food was tasty. rich. different than our typical fare. the drinks were pretty damn good. service was exceptional (to the point that the frequency of check-ins made Rob a bit uncomfortable). looking around, it seemed as though other young-professionals had the same idea, as no one really looked like they were 100% comfortable in the surroundings. they stored our coats in a heated closet, for God's sake. I don't think Sepia is a place we'll frequent, or really even visit again, but it was fun to try something fancy and new.