November 22, 2011 · 1:17 pm

NYC here we come

We leave for NYC on this rainy morning in DM and as always, excited to see friends and family but dreading some of the hassle involved in navigating the airports and the city during the Thanksgiving holiday. On tap:

– dinner tonight at Il Corso in midtown with family and friends

– lunch tomorrow with an old friend from London at Fireside in midtown; drink in early eve with old college friend at Doc Watson’s on upper east side; dinner with family at Scaletta’s on upper west side (first I have to figure out if I can get a cross town bus, given the parade set up right – including the balloons that are blown up on 77th, right outside the restaurant.)

– Parade party at my cousin’s apt on Central Park West (I’ll be walking across the park and hope to arrive when the parade has just passed by – so I can cross the street….), Thanksgiving dinner at other relatives down the street.

And so on….Happy holidays!

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November 19, 2011 · 6:18 pm

A few more hotspots in Chicago’s Logan Square

Here are a few more places that looked great (or were great) in Logan Square – especially for H/M’s next visit from NYC:

– Lula Cafe

– Cafe Con Leche

– wolfbait & B-girls – boutique (which had my all-time favorite cupholder which reads “Your Blog Sucks.” I was tempted to buy for myself.

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November 19, 2011 · 12:26 am

minneapolis – top bike-friendly city

When we were in Minneapolis last month – we wished we had our bikes as we watched people gliding along beautiful bike paths along the Mississippi. So no big surprise that it’s at the top of this mag’s bike-friendly cities – although it can get awfully chilly  for bike riding up there.
Minneapolis, the largest city in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” is adding 57 new miles of bikeways this year, with plans to add another 183 miles during the next 20 years. With these efforts, Minneapolis nabbed the top spot in Bicycling magazine’s Top 50 list of bike-friendly cities and was designated a Gold-level bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists. To learn more about the city’s trails, visit TrailLink.com.

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November 15, 2011 · 2:56 pm

Chicago’s Printers Row, Evanston’s Dixie Kitchen

I had a little time to kill between meetings in downtown Chicago yesterday so I took a walk south down Dearborn past the beautiful old 19th century buildings of  the Printers Row area. The street is nicely laid out for architecture buffs, with helpful tourist signs en route that point out various design and historical details of the buildings you’re walking past. Next time, I need to walk along Plymouth Street and to the old Dearborn station. for more info see: http://explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods/printers_row.html

Later we went to dinner at Dixie Kitchen in Evanston which continues to impress – affordable and such portions! My son had half of my husband’s red beans and rice with  sausage to bring back to his dorm room. I enjoyed my gumbo but gave up after eating half – and gave the rest to my son (who also couldn’t finish it.) Next time I’m told we need to try the burger place Edzo’s which is only open until 4 p.m. Davis Street Fish Market is a favorite of my aunt’s.

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November 15, 2011 · 5:09 am

Logan Square in Chicago – well worth a visit

We had such a good time in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood on Sunday, starting with a visit to the indoor farmers market at the remarkable Congress Theater, a huge wreck of an old auditorium where my kids have gone to several concerts. The farmers market is held in the small lobby – and had some great stuff in addition to veg and fruit including fantastic bread, baguettes, croissants and pain au raisin sold by La Boulangerie (a  shop closer to the square that also serves crepes and lovely little bowls of mousse); a English guy from Leeds who made homemade bangers and mash; and a woman who made fresh caramel.

Next store was a pop-up vintage sale – with several vendors. I got a fab green long wool coat with brown leather buttons from Austria for $24. Yes, it has a cape and yes, I look a bit like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music. I also got some vases that I’m told were done by a Greenwich Village potter in the 1980s but look quite like Jonathan Adler’s modern day retro work.

We wandered through some other boutiques and ended up at the bar at  the restaurant/bar/inn Longman & Eagle, which was a lot of fun. I had the best Bloody Mary I’ve had in a long time (not that I have them often) and watched the alchemist/bartender using a medicine dropper, shot glasses, and fresh ground nutmeg to make various one-of-a-kind concoctions. Also watched people eating what looked like delicious hearty, fresh, inventive food including, oddly, a popular entrée that combines fried chicken and waffles (it looks better than it sounds.)

What I liked about this place was that was not only hip but inviting – with servers, bartenders, hosts who are genuinely welcoming and seem to really like their jobs.  Great ambiance too – we’ll be back for brunch if not dinner, where I”m told we should order many of the small plates. It also has several rooms for overnight stays, each uniquely and tastefully designed, starting at a very reasonable $75.

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November 13, 2011 · 4:04 pm

Indian food in Lincoln Park – (chicago)

Once we got a table – that’s another story – we had a good meal at Hema’s Kitchen on Clark, a casual Indian restaurant in Lincoln Park. The place was busy at 7 p.m. on a Saturday night and doesn’t take reservations – so we were trying our luck to begin with. My son and his college roommate were told they’d have a 2 hour wait. Five minutes later my 26-year-old stepdaughter arrived and was told the wait was 1/2 hour. Hmmm.  Then we heard something about a ten minute wait. So we took our chances and waited maybe 1/2 hour. No big deal.  Particularly good was the lamb and eggplant dish, the chicken tikka masala, the sag chicken. (There’s also a Hema’s on Devon, the Indian area.)

We walked down the street on a suddenly blustery evening to the froyo shop down the street (berrymoon?) to cleanse our palate…passing a much livelier cupcake shop also on Clark.

In Evanston we had some coffee at a cozy cafe – the Unicorn?

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November 11, 2011 · 4:34 pm

On tap for Chicago: Sharon Hayes, Logan Square Farmers Market, Clybourne Park, Chocolate etc.

Some ideas for our weekend in Chicago:

– The Logan Square Farmers Market Sunday from 10-2. The Congress Theater Lobby 2135 N. Milwaukee Avenue

– Clybourne Park, last weekend to see the Pulitzer Prize winning play at The Steppenwolf Theater.

– “Ann” – a play about former Texas Gov. Ann Richards Sunday through Dec. 4 at Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.; $20-$85 at 800-775-2000 and broadwayinchicago.com

– The exhibit all about Chocolate at the Field Museum. (From the museum website:Get a better understanding of where this sweet treat comes from — hint: it doesn’t grow in the candy store — when the popular exhibition returns to the museum, allowing visitors to explore the relationship we have with chocolate and its rainforest roots. Learn about the plant, products, history and culture through science and pop culture.)

– Sharon Hayes exhibit in the modern wing at the Chicago Art Institute. I don’t really understand what it is but that makes me even more interested. Something to do with performance art, video installations and free speech.  (From the institute’s website:The performance artist’s first solo show at a major museum in the United States features three recent moving-image and photo-based installations exploring the role of speech in personal and political contexts.) (more below)

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– This looks incredibly cool – alas we won’t be around when it’s happening.

Twilight Tour

What: A guided tour ($15) at the Driehaus Museum of how Chicagoans might have entertained after-hours in the late 1800s

Where: 40 E. Erie St.

When: 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday each month; the next tour is Nov. 15.

More information: 312-482-8933, ext. 21; driehausmuseum.org

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More on Sharon Hayes: From the art institute’s website:

The performance artist’s first solo show at a major museum in the United States features three recent moving-image and photo-based installations exploring the role of speech in personal and political contexts.

November 10, 2011–March 11, 2012
Galleries 182–184
Member Preview: November 9, 10:30–5:00

Overview: Over the past 15 years, American artist Sharon Hayes has been probing how speech—both public and private—intersects with politics, history, personal identity, desire, and love through her performances and multimedia installations. …she has tackled a diversity of issues and topics including the 1968 Democratic Convention, Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This presentation, the first solo museum exhibition of the artist’s work in the United States …includes several recent media and object-based installations as well as a live performance. 

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November 9, 2011 · 8:37 pm

Things to do in Hawaii – advice from a friend who lived there.

 

 

Here are recommendations on things to do in Hawaii from a friend who used to live there:

 

Big Island

Akaka Falls

Volcano Nat’l Park

CUTE LITTLE ZOO ON HILO SIDE

BAY WHERE CAPTAIN COOK DIED –  NEAR TOWN OF CAPTAIN COOK

CITY OF REFUGE – ON THE WATER; STATE PARK;  GOOD  SWIMMING AROUND IN NEARBY BEACH

Honolulu

Bishop Museum

Academy of Art  — (GOT TO MAKE RESERVS IN ADVANCE FOR LUNCH THERE)

Iolani Palace

Chinatown

Waikiki Aquarium  ( very small,  right near/on the beach)

Hanauma Bay

The drive from Hanauma Bay to wherever the road turns away from directly by the water – before Waimanalo

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November 8, 2011 · 10:04 pm

Dining in Honolulu and on the Big Island

We’re starting to make some advance reservations for dinners in Hawaii. Here’s what’s on tap:

– Alan Wong’s – a gourmet splurge in Honolulu and favorite of our foodie first family in the White House

– Merriman’s – in Waimea on the Big Island

– Kilauea Lodge in Volcano, Hawaii (Big Island – we’re also staying at the lodge.)

Also on our list but no reservations:

In Honolulu:

Duke’s

Helena’s Hawaiian Food (on School Steet and Houghtailing.) Very crowded and only open Tues-Friday from 10-7.

MALASADAS AT LEONARD’S Bakery (malasadas are a portugese doughnut-like pastry)

JIMBO’S (1936 S King St Ste 103 Honolulu)  – HOME-MADE SOBA NOODLES AND MOCHI; HOLE IN THE WALL BUT “ONO”  (delicious)

ZIPPY’S –  (for “PLATE LUNCH”) –  is a fast food/diner type of place that’s been around for ages – multiple locations. (Also heard about Rainbow drive-in for plate lunch; another alleged Obama favorite.)

 

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November 7, 2011 · 9:21 pm

The connection between Cornwall, Connecticut and Hawaii’s Big Island: who knew?

In preparation for our upcoming trip to Hawaii, I’m reading Sarah Vowell’s book  Unfamiliar Fishes which traces the history of the U.S. annexation/Americanization of  Hawaii  in 1898, which began with the efforts of  New England missionaries in the 1820’s to Christianize the islanders.

To date, I’ve learned that some of the Yanks who arrived, full of Christian fervor, in 19th century Hawaii – first landing their boat on the Big Island’s western shore, where I will be landing in a plane in January –  had spent time in Cornwall, Connecticut, a sleepy little village in the state’s bucolic northwest corner where my husband and I happened to stop en route to the Berkshires in September.  Small world.

There’s even a plaque in  Cornwall marking the former grave site of  Hawaiian Henry Opukahaia – credited with helping bring the Yankee missionaries to his homeland – who was originally buried there in 1818.  An orphan, he found his way to New Haven where he converted to Christianity, got swept up in the missionary fervor, and went to a school run by missionaries in Cornwall. He ended up dying at 26 in Cornwall before he could return to Hawaii to spread the Good Lord’s word. His remains were transferred to Hawaii in 1993 where they’re in a vault facing the seat at Kahikolu Church in the town of Nao’opo’o, Kona on the Big Island. (Might be worth a visit.)

Overall, I’m finding  Vowell’s book a good preparation for Hawaii (both in understanding Hawaii’s  history and culture and in figuring out what to see  there) and a good read, although it is definitely not your typical historical tome, punctuated as it is by Vowell’s  rambling digressions, oft-witty asides and commentary linking the past and present, plus her apparent disdain for organizing her dense copy into chapters.  (I’m half way through and so far the book is one very long chapter.)

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