1) to get a delicious apple cider SLUSH! Mmmmm.
2) to get in a car accident.Doh! Turns out my car is mostly just scratched, and the offending driver agreed (at least in principle) to pay for it, but it's definitely not something I was prepared for on the way out of town! At least the rest of my drive to Chitown was uneventful. After the shock though, I was going to need a few glasses of wine that evening to calm me down. Erin Fleck didn't disappoint, as she made reservations for us at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba (a Tapa's and paella joint) where they serve up not one, not two, but SIX different kinds of Sangria. Mmmm. We went for the sparkling cava versions, followed up shortly by a basic red. Both were yummy, although the cava did remind me a bit too much of green apples. Our tapas were amazing though. We went through several courses. First up, bacon wrapped dates, spicy potatoes, beef empanada, and skirt steak with seasonal veggies. The bacon wrapped dates did not disappoint (I've had them before), nor did the potatoes, which Erin described as nothing short of heavenly. They were that good.
Heavenly potoatoes
The steak was good, but not incredible or anything, as was the same with the empanda, so onto round 2 we went. This time it was citrus salmon cucumber sandwiches and tomato bread. The salmon dish was interesting, and the flavor was certainly meant for a warm summer evening, but it was a bit uninspiring after the first toast. Certainly too much for only 2 people to share. The tomato bread on the other hand, while not being served quite how I expected, was really good. I was expecting a grilled bread rubbed with garlic and tomato pulp to just season the bread. Instead I got toast with a puree of tomatoes garlic and spices. Yum! Finally, the evening ended with something I couldn't pass up. A Pintxo Platter! Tapas is already small plates to share among a group of friends, but a mini version of tapas? Sign me up and bring it ASAP. And thankfully, they did.
Ba Ba Reeba menu descriptions
Pintxo Platter
Of course, the pintxo platter did not disappoint. I did share a bite of the croquettes with Erin, but otherwise, I scarfed those babies down. The surprise pintxo was the egg salad with shrimp. I had no idea I would enjoy it so much! Our bellies were full after this though, and looking at my phone to realize it was 1:30am Central time (2:30am me time!) I was more than a little tired and ready to head home. Thankfully Erin lives right on a bus route, and the bus arrived fairly quickly after we arrived at the stop, so off to sleepyland I went.
Pintxo PlatterSaturday Erin and I slept in late, which was much appreciated. We finally rolled our lazy bones out of bed around 10am, and after showering and donut munching, we headed out and about town. We did some shopping and grabbed some quick sandwiches while watching the Michigan game at a little place in Wicker Park. It was certainly a hipster scene. After lunch though, we embarked upon a fun little adventure Erin thought I would really enjoy. A visit to icream. Now Erin told me that she was taking me to a place where I got to make my own ice cream flavor. But I had no idea they would actually make it right before my very eyes in a parlor that looked like a science lab! icream's schtick is that you pick your type of milk (whole fat, light, soy, yogurt, etc), your flavors (almond, chocolate, etc, etc), a color, and then any number of mix-in's (berries, granola, chocolate, etc, etc). They then take this mixture, dump it into a Kitchen Aid mixer piped into a liquid nitrogen feed, and tada! instant ice cream. So cool.
The counter (aka science lab) where decisions are made
Mixing up some ice cream goodness
I went with purple almond ice cream with raspberries and chocolate chips as mix-ins, while Erin chose green cinnamon ice cream with graham crackers and chocolate chips as mix-ins. Delicious!
Mixing up some ice cream goodness
Erin with her green machine
My purple fruit monster
After ice cream, Erin and I headed back to her apartment to await a furniture delivery, and to rest up before heading out that evening for dinner, and then to Brauhaus to celebrate my college roomate Jamie's 30th birthday. We finally left the apartment around 7pmish, and although we intended to get some great pizza at Piece, when we arrived it was far too crowded. So instead we opted for a quiet dinner at Feast. Boy am I glad it worked out that way! Feast was a lovely little place with a semi-Italian feel, and beautifully presented and reasonably priced food. In fact, I told Erin that if I were ever to own a restaurant, it's exactly how I would want my restaurant to feel. I stood and watched the line cooks for at least 15 minutes. It was pure fascination to me. Anyway, no pictures of our meals, but I enjoyed a lovely bruschetta trio (roasted tomato, olive tapenade, and ricotta/honey/walnut) and a crisp Caesar salad topped with a poached egg and prosciutto wrapped bread sticks. Erin went with the butternut squash ravioli, and we both enjoyed the homemade butter with mini biscuits.
My purple fruit monsterBy the time we looked at a clock again, we were running a little late, so we scurried off to join my friends at the Brauhaus. What a place! I had never been before, but it was quite similar to walking into a traditional German beer hall. Ompa band, silly hats, 2 Mass boots and all.
Kara with a 2 Mass boot
It was a lovely evening getting to meet some new people, introducing Erin to people who lived in the city, and most of all, toasting Jamie on the eve of her 30th birthday. Her and I hadn't seen each other in quite some time, so it made it that much nicer to be able to spend the evening together celebrating.
U of M Freshman roommates, 10 years later!
We ended up staying out that evening until about 2:30am, and after that, I was in need of some serious shut-eye. All my travel in the last few weeks had really taken a toll on me!
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