Chicago: Day 29 - 31

Dear Diary...

Guess what? It's finally Day 31! I've been here officially for a month :) And it's Sunday... the beginning of a new week and a routine for me in Chicago. I'll be going for my silent retreat tomorrow. Wondering what it'll be like?

For now, I'm just gonna do a quick recap of the past 3 days :)

Friday *Day 29*

As mentioned in my previous entry, I woke up early in the morning and accompanied Steph on his drive down to work. We were going to a suburb near his workplace for lunch that day, so it made sense for me to follow him to work (rather than have him drive up and down, an hour each way). 

We had lunch at Sushi Station that day and then we went to the Streets of Woodfield to catch a 3.30 p.m. movie, "Prometheus". While waiting for the show, we killed some time at the arcade and I felt like a teenager all over again:) According to Steph, that was how he would typically spend his Friday evening when he first came to Chicago and lived in the suburb. We played a motor cycle racing game (where we thrashed some kids), DDR (OMG! which we were both terrible at!) and Time Crisis (which I sucked at :P).

The movie was scary, but it definitely kept us awake compared to the previous show we caught. It was gross though, watching humans being killed and mutilated by aliens. 

Later in the evening, we decided to have some tapas for dinner. According to Step's phone app, the nearest place that served really good tapas was a bar-cum-restaurant called Cafe Ba Ba Reeba! The place was just along N. Halstead Road, a few blocks down from Chez Moi. When we arrived, there was a thirty minute wait, so we hung around the bar for awhile. 

Roasted trotters dangling over the bar.

Say "Ba Ba Reeeeeeeba!"

Soon, an announcement was made for Mr "Steve J". To our surprise, we were seated on the patio, away from the noise and crowd. It was lovely!

A photo from the patio peeking into the restaurant area.

Pouring eagerly over the menu (which boasts of 73 different spanish dishes), we quickly narrowed down (with the help of *yelp*) the dishes that had received glowing reviews from previous diners - the gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes), costillas de buey a la riojana (rioja-braised short ribs with mashed potatoes). albondigas al jerez (meatballs with sherry tomato sauce) and their paella de mariscos (paella with shrimp, sea scallops, green beans and cherry tomatoes). 

Steph also ordered some pintxos (which are bite sized tapas for just one person), namely, the short rib-stuffed piquillo pepper and the deviled egg with bacon and mustard. 

Of course we ordered drinks too :) Past reviews showed that the sangrias here are a must-try! I had a white peach sangria while Steph ordered a mango flavoured one. It was absolutely yummy!!! ;)

Our sangrias! :)

My sangria with a free basket of bread to whet our appetites.

First, came our drinks, followed by the garlic shrimp and the meatballs. The shrimp was alright, but the garlic sauce was appetizing. I could not resist eating it as a dip with bread. The meatballs, however, were awesome. There was six of them, huge and served in a generous amount of sherry tomato sauce. The meat was tasty, soft and so tender that it almost melts in your mouth. 

The pintxos came next (I loved the deviled egg best :)) followed by the paella. Now that was a dish to absolutely die for! The consistency of the paella was just right - not too mushy, soft or hard. The scallops were really fresh and so were the shrimps. It was definitely a dish that left an impression on my palate. No wonder customers had to wait 30 minutes for it!  

Our garlic shrimps and giant meatballs :) Mmmmm.

A serving of our seafood paella, the best I've ever tasted so far.
It's the type that leaves one craving for more....  

Our rioja-braised short ribs.
(which paled in comparison to the paella and the meatballs :P)

We were stuffed full by the end of the meal that we had to pack half the rioja-braised ribs and the paella to go. That ended up becoming our brunch the next day. Our verdict? The meal at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba was definitely a memorable one and a place worth coming back to. Given the extensive menu, and the delicious dishes we've sampled, I can't wait to find out what the rest taste like! 

* Cafe Ba Ba Reeba also has a lunch menu on Fridays (from 11 am to 3pm) and a special spanish brunch menu on weekends (from 10 am to 3pm) ;)

Saturday *Day 30*

Steph had dance practice today. Our original plan was to head to Six Flags. However, while he was away at dance, I discovered from Cheng that the Chicago Annual PRIDE festivities (a festival that celebrates the liberation of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders) will be taking place this weekend at Boystown. I did a bit of research online and found out that one of this GLBT neighbourhoods, Andersonville, which has a number of lesbian-owned businesses, was initially a Swedish settlement. Hence, one could find really good swedish brunch here! ;) I was extremely keen and tempted!

Further research revealed that the Randolph Street Market would be taking place this weekend as well. I simply could not resist the urge to explore these places! As a result of my distraction, Steph and I had a change of plans. We eventually decided to give Six Flags Chicago a miss and explore the street market instead. (We'll visit Six Flags next week instead!)

We took the CTA to Adam/Wabash and changed to the green line towards Harlem. We then stopped at Ashland station and walked a few blocks down towards The Tasting Room. The market was located just next to it. We had to pay $10 per person as an entry fee. The space was huge. There were outdoor stalls as well as indoor ones. Most of the stalls were selling antiques or indie designer stuff (mainly accessories, bags or clothes). There was even an artist who did nude sketches for customers who were interested!

Anyone interested in antique furnitures and vintage wares? The market was brimming with them! 

There were loads of stalls indoors as well, selling everything from antique wares and artworks to jewellery, clothes and specialty food 

As most of the things in the market did not appeal to us, one of the perks of course was the food. (What can I say? I'm a foodie!) There were food stalls both indoors and outdoors. We tried a chicken empanada from EmpanadUS drizzled with their chimichurri sauce. The sauce was what gave the empanada the kick! 

Empanada. Tastes exactly like a chicken puff.
Just with a spicy, tangy kick.

We also had some mediterranean food - falafel and baklavas. The falafel was a little dry for me. It was my first time eating it and I discovered that they were basically fried balls of chickpeas and fava beans. The baklavas too were passable :( (I liked the one I had in Aussie better!)

Queuing for mediterranean fare! :)

Falafels!

Of course, I was tempted to get a souvenir for myself from our little exploration. I was indeed tempted to get a simply, versatile silk wrap... when I discovered the price for it!

A handmade silk wrap I considered buying for the beach - until I learnt that it cost US$60! 

In the end, I settled for a black wrist cuff made by a metalsmith, Kelly Marie Novak. We chatted a bit and I found out that she actually runs metalsmith workshops for kids in Summer. She's currently a student in Indiana, studying for a Masters in her field of design work. I was really amazed! I asked if she had an online shop - unfortunately she did not, but she does have an online portfolio .

Black flexible wrist cuff, which costs US$40 - a steal compared to my ring ;)

Given the amount of stuff we had munched on throughout the day, we had a late dinner that evening. Having eaten out quite a bit this week, we decided to stay home for a change. We were both tired from walking the entire day. Steph suggested cooking curry for dinner (a japanese pre-mix :) We bought 2 giant onions from carnival and 2 potatoes. Steph sliced these up, together with the eggplant we had gotten previously. He fried all these in a pan together with the pieces of beef chuck I got and then transferred everything to a pot. Then he added the curry-mix. After stewing it on the stove for twenty minutes, dinner was soon served! 

Chef Steph at work! :)

Mmmm... yum! :)

The end product! Ready to serve :)

I was so hungry that I had three servings of curry just to finish that small amount of rice I had :) After dinner, we both decided to take a walk to the park. Along the way, we passed the barriers of the Chicago Summerfest. It was one of the biggest events going on that weekend, apart from the PRIDE festivities, but we decided to give it a miss as we wanted to avoid a crowd. We had enough of street events for one day! :)


Sunday *Day 31*

We decide to head down to Svea at Andersonville for some brunch today. This quaint little eatery, which serves Scandinavian food, was first set up in 1972, by Kurt Matthiason, founder of the Swedish American Museum just across the street. It was later sold to a local, whose Swedish mother-in-law was the woman behind it's reknowned Swedish pancakes recipe - "the best swedish pancake outside of sweden", as we're told.

The eatery is so quaint that it doesn't have it's own website nor does it accept any credit cards. Fortunately for us, the place served brunch until 3 p.m. so we managed to have a late lunch after Steph's rehearsal.  I was excited to explore a new part of Chicago and to try out some Scandinavian food!

Welcome to Andersonville! :)

We managed to find a parking spot just outside Ann Sather's, another well-loved popular scandinavian restaurant.

Shisha pipes! Or Hookahs.

We soon found Svea across the road. I was fascinated by the cosy interiors of this unique, little eatery and could not wait to have my first taste of brunch. 

After scanning the menu, we decided to have the signature Viking Breakfast and an order of Swedish Meat Balls. The Viking Breakfast was absolutely heavy! It included two pieces of toasts (we ordered the limpa, a swedish rye bread), two eggs (in any way you'd liked done - we had them poached), two Swedish pancakes with lingonberry sauce (their specialty), some swedish sausages with sweet mustard sauce and spicy panfried potatoes. 

I have to admit, I found the potatoes rather oily, but the sausages were delicious (especially with the sweet mustard sauce) and the Swedish Pancakes tasted good with the lingonberry sauce. Steph liked the pancakes best, which were like a crepe, only more spongy and chewy in texture. The Swedish Meat Balls, too, did not disappoint. They were presented simply with a side of boiled mixed vegetables and mashed potates, and doused in a generous serving of lovely brown gravy. 

Lemon Merengue Tea

Swedish Soup of the Day, made mainly of chickpeas (lots of it!)

Part of our Viking Breakfast.
Swedish sausages, potatoes and poached eggs.

Swedish Meat Balls! :)

Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberry sauce. Mmmm.

Despite the amount of food that we had, the bill was relatively easy on the pocket. Our meal cost us no more than USD$26/- (excluding tips) overall. Indeed, Svea is value for money if you want a lovely Scandinavian meal.

We took a walk around the area after that :) The place is lined with pubs and many fantastic eateries offering a good range of sweets and swedish fare. We caught sight of other popular joints like the Swedish Bakery, Hamburger Mary's, Lady Gregory's, A Taste of Heaven and Simon's Tavern. As it was the PRIDE weekend and Andersonville is part of the GLBT community, we caught sight of many people out partying that day, with colourful beaded necklaces draped round their necks. I came across a number of GLBT couples here too. It was quite an eye-opener! :)

Hamburger Mary's

Interestingly, some businesses here had a dominant feminist theme (Andersonville appears to be the female counterpart to Boystown). For instance, we wandered into a bookshop called "Women and Children First", which proudly proclaimed that it sold feminist and pride books. The purpose of the shop is admirable: 

"Our purpose in beginning the store 31 years ago was to promote the work of women writers and to create a place in which all women would find books reflecting their lives and interests."

It didn't take long before Steph noticed that most of the books here were written by women, addressed to women :P

I spent quite a bit under the Psychology section and found an interesting book written by Melody Beattie - something to read while lying on the grass under the sun.

We wondered further down and came across a puppetbike! 

As I was trying to snap a photo of this with my phone,
the puppet immediately whipped out a  phone and did the same ;)

After awhile, we decided to stop by a shop for some dessert - ice cream!! :)

Welcome to George's Ice Cream and Sweets! :)

The colourful menu on the board.
 I was struck by the themed flower arrangement which looked like a giant vanilla cone :)

Gorgeous gigantic cakes.

A generous cone of Mocha Fudge :)

My Key Lime Pie :) 

As usual, we were stuffed full by the end of our exploration that we decided to skip dinner entirely! We spent the rest of the evening at home, nursing our full and aching bellies. 

It was time to prepare myself for my retreat and the week ahead. 

Chicago: Day 28 - 29

Dear Diary,

Here I am at a Starbucks outlet in Plaza Del Prado Shopping Centre, Glenville. I've been here for the past hour or so - and it's only 8.12 a.m. here. I woke up early today cause Steph suggested following him to work this morning. It's Friday today which means that he gets to knock off work by lunch time. We wanted to go either to the Sushi Station or H Mart area (to eat zha jiang mian) for lunch which is located in the suburb, near Steph's workplace. 

Unfortunately, this means I have to keep myself occupied for a good 5 - 6 hours. 

Things have been alright so far. I had dance classes yesterday and on Wednesday. Body isolations class with Zeke is really fun. He made us do all kinds of exercises to increase our flexibility and isolate areas such as our hips, butt, shoulders, chest and ribcage. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The tough part for me was synchronizing my ribcage isolations with my salsa footwork - I sure felt like a duck doing it!

Rey's class was a little more intimidating. I've never had any formal bachata basic training before so I really didn't know what to expect. Plus, from what I've gathered, Rey tends to stretch his students more so his routines are more challenging. Fortunately for me, I could pick up the steps relatively quickly enough, and I had a lot of fun doing it! I enjoyed dancing with Rey best cause he would lead the female students into a few spontaneous moves (to teach us to follow), beyond the routine. Now, that was fun!:)

I was pretty tired yesterday though, as I had been up since 6 a.m. in the morning. After Steph went to work, I started preparing the sack lunches. I had to make 12 hardboiled eggs and 24 luncheon meat sandwiches. By the time I was done preparing all the sack lunches and packing them into 6 grocery bags, it was only 7.40 a.m.! There was still time for me to drop off the lunches at the Church and attend mass, so I had a really good arm workout that morning :)

The evening before, Steph and I had headed down to Whole Foods Market. He wanted to show me the biggest (and one of the more expensive) organic supermarkets in town. It reminded me of Three Sixty Degree Market at ION. We spent about US$65 on snacks alone! We got some cheeses (which were marked out to show which types of wine they complemented), a riesling, some hummus, pita snacks, dark mint chocolate, mint tea (and even mint shower gel!), some organic grapes and tofu. It was impossible to comb all the aisles but I would have probably spent half a day there if I was in Singapore! :)

Prior to class on Wed, Steph got some Thai food home from Miss Asia - his favourite pad chai with Crab Rangoon appetizers. We ate half and saved the other half for the next day. It was better to dance on a less heavy stomach, especially since it involved body isolations. We then drove to class together.

On Thursday though, I had to go to class on my own as it started early. I enjoyed the chance to take the CTA bus on my own. The journey was a lot shorter than expected. I even had time to stop by a cafe just round the corner, called the Jupiter Outpost for a drink, before class itself.

Steph gave me a lift home after class. We had dinner together and then had some cheese and wine while watching "The Notebook". He felt sleepy thereafter, so he went into the room to sleep while I had my bath. When I was done, there was suddenly a blackout in the apartment! I suspected it had something to do with Steph's a/c. I waited until Cheng returned, then we went down to the basement, past the laundry room to find the powerbox to the apartment. We saw the switch that had tripped and flipped it to and fro, until the electricity came on. We decided that as a safety measure, we'll probably use one less lamp or refrain from watching TV while the a/c is on :P Thankfully, the weather was lovely and cooler yesterday (due to some rain in the afternoon) so we didn't need to switch the a/c on again ;)

Chicago: Day 27

Dear Diary,

Turns out Steph had to work late yesterday :( His department had an informal gathering after work. So that pretty much left me with some extra time to crack my brains and think about what I to do over the next couple of hours. I was a little desperate to be honest cause I was running out of ideas!

But then again, being in a big city, surrounded by nature and little quaint eateries, there's always something to do for the plan-less single. I whipped up a bit of dinner for myself and left the remaining in the rice cooker. It was beef fried rice - I marinated some minced beef chuck with Steph's steak rub and fried it with some mixed vegetables and left over rice in sesame oil and soy sauce. It turned out a little too oily for my liking! But I couldn't stop eating spoon after spoon while cooking. I was just so hungry!

After dinner, I decided to take a walk down by the beach and wet my feet a bit. Along the way, I ran into a girl who was lost. She was walking around in her bikini wrapped with a beach towel. I saw her asking a few passers-by for directions. We ended up walking in the same direction. 

"Are you heading to the beach?" she asked me. 

"I'm hoping to find my way there," I replied. Then I pointed to a couple in front of us. "I think those people in front of us are heading in the same direction too. Let's follow them." I suggested. She smiled and nodded in agreement. 

After awhile, I decided to make some conversation. "How did you end up lost?" I asked, seeing that she was a little more relaxed.

"Some of my family members are at the park. But I got hot waiting, so I wanted to cross over to the beach and join my family on the other side,"she replied. "How about you? You got friends waiting on the other side?"

"Nah, I'm on my own," I replied. 

She drew closer to me and we were silent for awhile as we continued walking. After a few minutes, I couldn't help but ask "How old are you?" She gave me a sidelong look, pulled back her shoulders and said in as mature a voice as she could muster,"Fourteen"

I smiled to myself. "Fourteen? You sure don't look like it."

"I just said that to see what your reaction was," she confessed, breaking into a sheepish grin. "I'm eleven."

"Eleven. That's a good age to be at," I replied. "Guess how old I am." 

She looked at me for awhile."Twenty," she finally replied. I laughed and told her to add ten more years to that. "No way!" she replied, her eyes widening. Somehow, Asians always look younger here than we really are. I think it's because of our petite size and features sometimes. We walked further until we reached a water cooler and she had to stop for a drink. "Stick to the path," I advised,"until you reach the overhead bridge over there!" She didn't seem like the sort who needed handholding and she sure could carry her own. So I left her at the water fountain and made my way over to the beach. 

After the I hung around the beach for awhile, got my feet wet, watch families and kids play by the lake, I went home, grabbed some cash and headed for Annette's. I figured some icy treats would help cool the heat. To my surprise, I found a long queue just outside the stall! There were a lot of people, young and old, just queuing for some ice cream or Italian ice. I decided to try the Low Fat Frozen Chocolate Yogurt. It was absolutely yummy, like a soft serve MacDonald's ice cream!

Steph called while I was in the queue. He was on the way home and wanted to know what I was doing. He felt bad leaving me all alone:P I admitted sheepishly that I was beginning to grow bored and tired of trying to find things to do. Even blogging has become a chore.

Steph suggested getting me hooked onto a computer game or a tv series. He recommended a legal series called, Damages, starring Glenn Close and Rose Byrn, (he was sure I would like it) and true enough, now I'm hooked onto it. 

Tomorrow will be a better day - I'm off to making sack lunches for the homeless! Wheee! :)