nonnino
I visited Revival Hall, an upscale food court in a stately early 1900’s building due west of the art Institute, at the right time, this time. It was lunch time on a weekday and the place was packed with young downtown workers, ncluding my stepdaughter. the line for poke was long but moved swiftly and we easily found a seat at a high top table since the place is designed for people to eat and run. The last time we visited was in the late afternoon on a bitter cold weekday during the quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s. The place wasn’t hopping. Other options that looked good include the BBQ and the hot chicken places.
Dinner was classy But friendly Italian (a Chicago specialty) at Nonnino on North Clark near Wacker, west of downtown near The River. We shared a Caesar salad and two entrees (spaghetti with meatballs, veal Marsala) which was too much. Next time, one shared entree…good spot though! The night before we went a little more casual at a longtime fav, Santorini in Greektown and MAT showed me around all the new West Loop development including the Fulton Market District, which has lots of restaurants and a little retail.
I appear to be at the gate (C14) where the decent dining options are which may be handy for future long layovers (Ian almost done with a three hour one after arriving bleary-eyed from a 7:20 am flight from Burbank) at Las Vegas Airport. When we were last here about 10 days ago we searched in vain for a good dinner option.
Baby Benji — my cousin’s so sweet four-month-old son- was the highlight of (and reason for) my trip to Venice but I was reminded of how cool and pretty and pricey this seaside community is. I loved strolling along the narrow pedestrian-only lanes of the Places, “walk streets” each lined with usually small (but sometimes large) houses, some old bungalows and cottages (my favorite) or sleek flat-faced modern newcomers, most with gorgeous overgrown foliage and lush colorful flowers. (Nowita, Marco, Amoroso Places)
I had a delicious (but almost $20) Niçoise salad and green apple lemonade ($4 but u was relieved to learn, after-the-fact that the refill was free) at trendy Superba Bar and Grill. I drove around until I found Rose Street, which I decided was the emerging area I visited a few years ago. It appeared to still be emerging.
I also wandered a little along Abbott Kinney, window shopping and people watching and since I happened to park around the block from the superb ice cream shop Salt & Straw, I decided it was a sign from above and had a large (almost $5) scoop of “freckled woodblock chocolate,” which was delicious although I didn’t really understand the name. (I choose it in part because it was the rare chocolate flavor without salt as a touted ingredient.)
“Mister Ed” fans take note: you can see Mr. Ed’s descendants up close and personal, in the small backyards of the Rancho area of Burbank, where residents (and day trippers) on horseback are so common along the wise suburban streets leading to Griffith Park’s more rugged Cowboy-esque terrain that some of the buttons to push at the crosswalks are high enough for riders to reach.
TakeBetsywithyou 