Thursday, August 20, 2009
Turkey for Turkey Day
Turkish Airlines is having a great sale on non-stop flights from Chicago to Istanbul in November. We are seriously thinking about taking a 9 day trip over Thanksgiving to Istanbul and Cappadocia. For now I have 2 travel guides I'll be reading on my 6 hour drive back to Ohio tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Adobo Grill Part II
I have been a bad blogger lately. But there have been no new shoes, no new trips, and no new restaurants lately. We head off to San Francisco for Labor Day weekend. And I'm trying to convince The Husband to go to Denmark and Sweden (or really anywhere in Europe) over Thanksgiving but I don't think he has any extra vacation days. And we probably shouldn't be spending a couple grand unplanned anyway. Plus once we've made it to Thanksgiving, our Thailand trip is very close.
We did return to Adobo Grill the other night, this time to the one on Division Street. I'm changing my review to skip it. The food was nothing more than okay and with all the delicious other choices in town you should pick another restaurant. I should have realized the experience would be bad when as soon as I ordered a strawberry daiquiri (I don't do tequila and margaritas) they told me they had no Bacardi. No rum in an entire restaurant? Plus I'm pretty sure there was a liquor store within walking distance. My current pick for Mexican is De Cero so try there instead.
We did return to Adobo Grill the other night, this time to the one on Division Street. I'm changing my review to skip it. The food was nothing more than okay and with all the delicious other choices in town you should pick another restaurant. I should have realized the experience would be bad when as soon as I ordered a strawberry daiquiri (I don't do tequila and margaritas) they told me they had no Bacardi. No rum in an entire restaurant? Plus I'm pretty sure there was a liquor store within walking distance. My current pick for Mexican is De Cero so try there instead.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Milwaukee
We're off to Wisconsin! I've lived in the midwest almost my entire life and in Chicago for 3.5 years and I've never been to Wisconsin. That's all about to change as we just booked tickets on the Megabus to Milwaukee for our anniversary weekend in September for a grand total of $4.50. As it gets closer we're hoping to get a hotel through Priceline for a good price.
Milwaukee for our anniversary....how romantic.
Milwaukee for our anniversary....how romantic.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Colorado
We went to Colorado last weekend for a friend's wedding. It was the 2nd of 3 reunions this summer for all my college roommates. Plus The Husband had just gotten his brand new fancy camera and couldn't wait to try it out on some scenery.
We flew into Denver early Friday. Denver has a fantastic airport. It also looks like a circus tent.
Then we started off to Colorado Springs. We were staying at the Colorado Springs Marriott. The hotel was pretty nice. Unfortunately there was nothing in the area. If you're going to stay in Colorado Springs I'd recommend staying downtown. I saw a Hilton that looked nice.
We started off with some lunch and beers at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company.
Then we were off for the hottest day ever. It's barely broken 80 in Chicago this summer and here it almost hit 100. Plus the two beers at lunch didn't help. Nor did the greasy food.
We first headed to the Air Force Academy Chapel. There was a wedding going on in the main chapel so we didn't get to peek in. Very cool looking. I didn't enjoy the rest of the architecture around the campus. Too 60s/70s.
We flew into Denver early Friday. Denver has a fantastic airport. It also looks like a circus tent.
Then we started off to Colorado Springs. We were staying at the Colorado Springs Marriott. The hotel was pretty nice. Unfortunately there was nothing in the area. If you're going to stay in Colorado Springs I'd recommend staying downtown. I saw a Hilton that looked nice.
We started off with some lunch and beers at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company.
Then we were off for the hottest day ever. It's barely broken 80 in Chicago this summer and here it almost hit 100. Plus the two beers at lunch didn't help. Nor did the greasy food.
We first headed to the Air Force Academy Chapel. There was a wedding going on in the main chapel so we didn't get to peek in. Very cool looking. I didn't enjoy the rest of the architecture around the campus. Too 60s/70s.
Second was off to Garden of the Gods. Very beautiful.
Then back to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.The rehearsal dinner was held at a country club-ish place overlooking the Garden of the Gods. It was a beautiful setting.
Saturday started by loading our caravan up and setting out for Pikes Peak. It was a beautiful drive up there and there were some stunning views. The Husband stopped the car at every one of them. We decided we enjoyed the drive up more than if we'd taken the train.
The air was definitely thinner at the top and after being up there for a while several of our group got a little dizzy. Plus the temperature up there was 48 degrees.
Some crazy people in our group thought they wanted to hike it. I convinced them otherwise considering two of them are not in the best shape (ahem Husband I'm talking to you) and one of them has asthma and has a hard enough time breathing. Oh and from the website I consulted you're supposed to start at dawn (ummm not happening after our boozefest the night before) and it takes 6 to 10 hours to get up to the top, let alone come down.
Since it was looking fairly ominous when we got back we had to skip the pool and we headed out for lunch at Salsa Brava. This place was heaven. It was happy hour and margaritas were only $3.50.
Then we rushed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.
The last day a whole group of us including the bride and the groom went to the Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado for a tour. The tour was really good and they give you three glasses of beer at the end.
We had hoped to stop in Boulder but were running low on time. So we headed into Denver for a quick lunch at the 16th Street Mall. We ate a very late lunch at Marlowe's.
We'd love to return to Colorado sometime and hit some of the little ski towns in the summer in the future.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Date Night
On Friday night The Husband proposed a date night for Saturday. He wanted to go see Rod Blagojevich Superstar. So we decided we needed to go to dinner as well and chose Shaw's Crab House.
We had quite a bit of time between our reservation and the time the show started so we managed to go through two bottles of a wonderful sauvignon blanc from Chile.
We started with the crab and shrimp fritters. They were very light and were wonderful.
Then we each had a bowl of lobster bisque. It was good although we've had better at David Burke's Primehouse and N9NE. We didn't like the big pieces of carrot in the soup.
For dinner I had the 1.5 lbs of king crab. The Husband had the lobster, brie, and penne pasta. We'd been to Shaw's about 3 years ago when we first moved to Chicago. I remember being the lobster, brie, and penne being much better that time. It was quite disappointing the second time around although maybe our expectations were too high. The king crab was fabulous. I'd been craving some for a while so it really hit the spot.
We headed over to the tourist attraction of Navy Pier. I've lived in Chicago for 3.5 years and have only been to Navy Pier twice. Once I walked over during the day from our condo. Another time my office took a boat ride that started off Navy Pier. In general you do not want to eat or drink at Navy Pier. Very expensive and much better food elsewhere in the city. The Shakespeare Theater was very nice though and the Cirque Shanghai performance looked pretty cool.
Rod Blagojevich Superstar is put on by Chicago's famed Second City comedy troupe. Alumni include Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Chris Farley. The musical is a spoof on Jesus Christ Superstar and also has songs based on other Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. Unfortunately 2 days later and I can't get the song Rod Blagojevich Superstar out of my head. I highly recommend the show. It was hilarious. Those who aren't from Illinois and don't have much political knowledge might not get it though.
At the end of the show they did about 20 minutes of Improv based on suggestions of the audience too.
After the show we decided we needed to ride the Ferris Wheel. It was pretty cool being able to look out at the city. I only wish we had the good camera with us.
We had quite a bit of time between our reservation and the time the show started so we managed to go through two bottles of a wonderful sauvignon blanc from Chile.
We started with the crab and shrimp fritters. They were very light and were wonderful.
Then we each had a bowl of lobster bisque. It was good although we've had better at David Burke's Primehouse and N9NE. We didn't like the big pieces of carrot in the soup.
For dinner I had the 1.5 lbs of king crab. The Husband had the lobster, brie, and penne pasta. We'd been to Shaw's about 3 years ago when we first moved to Chicago. I remember being the lobster, brie, and penne being much better that time. It was quite disappointing the second time around although maybe our expectations were too high. The king crab was fabulous. I'd been craving some for a while so it really hit the spot.
We headed over to the tourist attraction of Navy Pier. I've lived in Chicago for 3.5 years and have only been to Navy Pier twice. Once I walked over during the day from our condo. Another time my office took a boat ride that started off Navy Pier. In general you do not want to eat or drink at Navy Pier. Very expensive and much better food elsewhere in the city. The Shakespeare Theater was very nice though and the Cirque Shanghai performance looked pretty cool.
Rod Blagojevich Superstar is put on by Chicago's famed Second City comedy troupe. Alumni include Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Chris Farley. The musical is a spoof on Jesus Christ Superstar and also has songs based on other Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. Unfortunately 2 days later and I can't get the song Rod Blagojevich Superstar out of my head. I highly recommend the show. It was hilarious. Those who aren't from Illinois and don't have much political knowledge might not get it though.
At the end of the show they did about 20 minutes of Improv based on suggestions of the audience too.
After the show we decided we needed to ride the Ferris Wheel. It was pretty cool being able to look out at the city. I only wish we had the good camera with us.
De Cero Taqueria
We ate at De Cero Taqueria a few weekends ago. It was excellent and I highly recommend it.
We started with some delicious drinks. I had several raspberry basil daiquiris. They were so good that I may come back just for the drinks. Very fresh and refreshing. Not too strong but not too sweet either. The Husband had the De Cero margarita. He liked it as well.
Then we moved on to guacamole. This was one of the best guacamoles we have had in town. And the chips were great too.
We shared a tamale to compare De Cero's tamales to those of the Tamale Man. Not surprisingly De Cero's wins since theirs aren't served out of a cooler to drunk people in dive bars.
For our entree we shared the taco plate with 8 different tacos. We had the ahi tuna, chipotle chicken, chicken mole, tres queso, skirt steak, battered shrimp, chorizo, and al pastor. The only one we didn't like was the chorizo. It tasted more like ground beef then chorizo. My favorites were the chipotle chicken, skirt steak, and battered shrimp. The tacos are pretty big so 8 is plenty for 2 people, especially if you get an appetizer.
Service was only so-so. Our server seemed overwhelmed and was slow to take our order and refill our drinks.
They have a nice outdoor area that you can sit at when it's nice out. Unfortunately we went in July and it was too cold and rainy to sit outside. What the heck is wrong with Chicago's weather?
We started with some delicious drinks. I had several raspberry basil daiquiris. They were so good that I may come back just for the drinks. Very fresh and refreshing. Not too strong but not too sweet either. The Husband had the De Cero margarita. He liked it as well.
Then we moved on to guacamole. This was one of the best guacamoles we have had in town. And the chips were great too.
We shared a tamale to compare De Cero's tamales to those of the Tamale Man. Not surprisingly De Cero's wins since theirs aren't served out of a cooler to drunk people in dive bars.
For our entree we shared the taco plate with 8 different tacos. We had the ahi tuna, chipotle chicken, chicken mole, tres queso, skirt steak, battered shrimp, chorizo, and al pastor. The only one we didn't like was the chorizo. It tasted more like ground beef then chorizo. My favorites were the chipotle chicken, skirt steak, and battered shrimp. The tacos are pretty big so 8 is plenty for 2 people, especially if you get an appetizer.
Service was only so-so. Our server seemed overwhelmed and was slow to take our order and refill our drinks.
They have a nice outdoor area that you can sit at when it's nice out. Unfortunately we went in July and it was too cold and rainy to sit outside. What the heck is wrong with Chicago's weather?
Monday, July 13, 2009
Itinerary for SE Asia
We have finally solidified our itinerary for Thailand and Cambodia that has changed a million times since we booked our tickets in January. I only wish we had a month because I'd love to add Chiang Mai, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. I know we can go back but realistically the next time we go to Asia will be a long time from now. There's lots of other continents to see!
We head out right after Christmas and come back 2 weeks later.
Day 1 - leave Chicago
Day 2 - arrive Tokyo, fly Tokyo to Bangkok, arrive very late at night
Day 3 - Bangkok
Day 4 - Bangkok
Day 5 - Bangkok
Day 6 - Bangkok
Day 7 - early flight to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Day 8 - Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Day 9 - Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Day 10 - early flight to BKK then on to Phuket
Day 11 - Phuket
Day 12 - Phuket
Day 13 - Ko Phi Phi
Day 14 - Ko Phi Phi
Day 15 - flight from Phuket arrives in Bangkok airport at midnight. Spend night in BKK airport for flight at 6:40 am the next day.
Day 16 - flight leaves Bangkok at 6:40 am. We arrive home at 2:30 pm the same day which I think is somehow 2 days later in Bangkok at that point.
We'll be in Bangkok for New Year's Eve so that should be exciting. We just have to find something to do so we're not stuck sitting by ourselves at the hotel bar at midnight!
We head out right after Christmas and come back 2 weeks later.
Day 1 - leave Chicago
Day 2 - arrive Tokyo, fly Tokyo to Bangkok, arrive very late at night
Day 3 - Bangkok
Day 4 - Bangkok
Day 5 - Bangkok
Day 6 - Bangkok
Day 7 - early flight to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Day 8 - Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Day 9 - Siem Reap/Angkor Wat
Day 10 - early flight to BKK then on to Phuket
Day 11 - Phuket
Day 12 - Phuket
Day 13 - Ko Phi Phi
Day 14 - Ko Phi Phi
Day 15 - flight from Phuket arrives in Bangkok airport at midnight. Spend night in BKK airport for flight at 6:40 am the next day.
Day 16 - flight leaves Bangkok at 6:40 am. We arrive home at 2:30 pm the same day which I think is somehow 2 days later in Bangkok at that point.
We'll be in Bangkok for New Year's Eve so that should be exciting. We just have to find something to do so we're not stuck sitting by ourselves at the hotel bar at midnight!
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