Check out Hotel Godfrey in River North – rooms starting at $109, reallly?
Tank Noodle, Francesca’s, Eataly, The Public– Chicago
At the Public, Chicago
Coffee break, Eataly
Busy Saturday at Tank Noodle where everyone seemed eager to come in from the cold for some steaming hot Pho which is what I should have ordered instead so my usual Bun, which was not as good as I’ve had elsewhere. next time.
for dinner we had a nice quiet table at Francesca’s on chestnut for our party of six. not the best Italian food but a warm pleasant place with nice easy going vibe, good service and cozy environs. also with in walking distance of my aunts apartment, another plus.
We braved the cold (at least it was sunny) to walk to Eataly, which is always fun for the sensory overload alone. I picked up a loaf of the rustic orange bread and we had some overpriced coffees a t a very Italian feeling expresso bar.
Today we stopped for more coffee at the cafe by day/bar by night at the Public hotel, a high style place that used to be the ambassador hotel. quick trip but good to get out of out cabin for a few days.
Fireside, the Public
Filed under Chicago
Frozen fog over the Mississippi — LeClaire, Iowa
The temperature gauge in our car kept sinking lower and lower as we got closer to the Mississippi River, here in eastern Iowa. At one point it dipped to a surreal -11 before climbing back up to still-nostril freezing -4. And as we approached the river town of LeClaire, an odd low hanging cloud — frozen fog perhaps?– sat low int the sky. we are bunking at the surprisingly comfy Comfort Inn, which actually feels a bit like an inn, with a crackling fire in the lobby and old black and white photos of the area on the wall. En route we stopped for excellent middle eastern grub at Oasis and found an old Dino at a Sinclair gas station.
Filed under Iowa, Uncategorized
Sheesh Mahal, Zorba’s, Cafe Kakao, automobile alley– Oklahoma City
We are here for a funeral, sadly. But a girl’s gotta eat and so we have. Last night it was Greek good at Zorba’s and tonight very good Indian/Pakistani meal at Sheesh Mahal on May Avenue. On Friday, we had very good Guatemalan food at Cafe Kakao, then stopped to visit little pockets of coolness including the Paseo arts district, The Plaza area, Heritage Hills (huge old oil baronesque homes) and automobile alley, old brick car showrooms turned into restaurants and high end design stores including coffee slingers and for good. We are pretty sure we had a conversation (about sex toys no less) with Wayne coyne, lead singer of The flaming Lips, who was painting the sidewalk pink and green outside his psychedelic- colored warehouse in automobile alley. And then to Johnnies for one more classic Oklahoma City meal, burgers and fries. No stop in OK CY is complete with out visiting the memorial to the victims of the 1995 federal building bombing downtown, which we did. br /> 
Filed under Oklahoma, Uncategorized
Blizzard and empanada madness: Kansas City
We took a welcome break from white out conditions along Interstate 35 from Des Moines to Kansas City for some grub at Empanada Madness, a little hole on the wall on southwest boulevard, just off the interstate in KCMO. Found was fresh, delicious and cheap. We ate crispy empanadas, arepas and plantains, plus rice and beans in a small nondescript dining room, then braced ourselves for more snow ahead. We seem to be traveling with the snowstorm, unfortunately, but for now it does look relatively clear south of overland PArk/ Olathe Kansas. We are passing the new ikea here, as I type, in Shawnee or mission or some such (Johnson county).
Filed under Kansas City, Uncategorized
ben’s chili bowl, rosa Mexicana : Washington, D.C.
Didn’t have much time to be a tourist this trip but I did go to a reception at Rosa Mexicana, which had good -you guessed it – Mexican food — near the gallery metro stop (and hotel Monaco, where my work meetings were). I also had a bowl of chili at the Reagan national airport outpost of the famous Ben’s chili bowl. Didn’t bowl me over. But it obviously lacked the more urban atmosphere of the original Ben’s.
I had hoped to go to the ramen noodle place, daikaya izakaya, my sister highly recommended, also near the gallery metro but ran out of time. Next trip.
Last night I made my requisite pilgrimage to Politics and Prose, a longtime favorite bookstore on Connecticut. Always have to buy a book there, every DC trip!
Filed under Agritourism, Airlines, Washington D.C.
Coppi, Newt, 14th street, Amsterdam falafel : Washington, D.C.
At good wood in DC
I’ve been reluctant to go to Italian restaurants in the u.s. After two weeks of eating the real deal in Italy last fall but Coppi, a small neighborhood place in DC’s Cleveland Park neighborhood was excellent. My sister and I shared an appetizer sized plate of pasta with tomatoes, grilled shrimp, feta and then pizza. Also had an easy flight –direct– from Des Moines to DC — and this being Iowa, my fellow passengers included Newt Gingrich, his helmet-haired wife and lots of reporters who had been attending a conservative Republican gathering of possible presidential candidates in Des Moines.
Today my sister and I walked around 14th street, exploring the little boutiques and vintage stores there. had a very good lunch at Amsterdam falafel. (Excellent grilled eggplant side). Some good stores including: good wood, millennium, and home rule.
Went to a trader joes where the check out lined snaked throughout the store. I have never seen such a thing and apparently it’s routine on weekends (and not just because DC is bracing for a snowstorm.)
Filed under Washington D.C.
Hopmonk Tavern/Sebastopol; Shunzi./San Raphael; Bacco/Noe Valley S.F.
Always hard to leave San Francisco on a sunny day, especially after walking The dog with Susan in Golden Gate Park, shimmering as green as Ireland after yesterday’s mist and rain. But I will be back. and maybe someday to live here. Susan drove me north yesterday through Marin to Sonoma County to check out the relatively rural, affordable town of Sebastopol (relative to San Fran) but the beauty of the area was obscured by mist and rain. What little I saw made me wonder what kind of life and community we could build in a place with both a young counter culture vibe and an older casual California moneyed chic vibe, since we belong to neither tribe. We did have the best grilled artichoke I
Susan, parking spot park, Outer Sunset
have ever tasted (and there is a lot to be said for that) at the rustic-cozy Hopmonk Tavern. It was marinated in vinegar, oil and seasoned, cut in half and grilled then served with a grilled but still juicy lemon and a creamy white dressing. Susan’s tomato soup was full of flavor and had little cream, another plus. My small pulled pork sliders on little homemade Tasting buns was good. We stopped en route in San Rafael at Shunzi, a favorite clothing store of Susan’s, full of comfortable California chic clothes (I am still working though the guilt of the money I spent there.) In San Francisco, we had pasta and sautéed Brussels sprouts at Bacco in Noe valley, which was good but having spent two weeks recently in Italy, I am a tough customer. We walked along the main drag in Noe valley, windowshopping, the tiny shops closed but lighted, peddling an often idiosyncratic selection of wares, or as Susan observed, a hyper curated collection of overpriced stuff. Other things of note: – Urban Putt, a very inventive indoor miniature golf course in the Mission. – See’s lollipops, sold near gates 82 and 68 at the San Francisco airport.
Filed under California, San Francisco
Susan, Mifune Japanese, Outer Sunset, the Mission, Golden Gate Park: San Francisco
Exploring the Outer Sunset neighborhood
Tartine
Easy one hour flight from San Diego to San Francisco. (not so easy a flight for D whose flight to Denver was cancelled due to mechanical problems so he got home 5 hours late via Houston). so far I haven’t seen much of this city I adore because I am really hear to see my old friend Susan and we have a lot to catch up on since we last saw each other three years ago.
We did return to Mifune, a good place in Japantown, for udon noodles and tempura. And we have walked her dog several times through Golden Gate Park down the back, which never gets old. We also walked down to the Asian shops on Irving (we are in The Sunset neighborhood) to pursue the little ceramic bowls Decorated with whimsical drawings of animals that I always restock when here.
We also explored the Outer Sunset neighborhood around 46th street and Judah,which has a smattering of little shops and coffee houses including Trouble Coffee, General Store and Carville Annex.
The next day we wandered around the ever-evolving Mission neighborhood, visiting some old favorites like Tartine Bakery, for fabulous bread, quiche and grilled sandwiches and new spots like the gorgeous Heath Ceramics show room, Charles Chocolates, the Local Mission Market – all park of this “small batch” hyper local “maker market” high design aesthetic that’s so big here and beyond. We also stopped for overpriced but incredibly flavorful and creamy ice cream (malted milk ball) at Humphry Slocombe. We also visited a super cool inside put put course in the Mission. Dinner was at a favorite from my last visit – Burma Superstar in the Richmond.
Filed under California, San Francisco
Coronado Island, Balboa Park, Blue Water SeAfood and Gelato velo: viva la San Diego
hotel del coronado
balboa park museums
Fun day. And what a difference a good walking tour can make! I visited The famous Victorian resort Hotel del Coronado last time I was in San Diego some 30 years ago but didn’t remember much except that it was charming. This time I decided to take a 90 minute walking tour of the area around the Hotel, led by a woman in her 60s who has lived on the Island (or isthmus) for decades. She was terrific. (Coronadowalkingtour.com) Granted she has a lot of good material to work with but her presentation was great too. She was enthusiastic but also funny and offered lots of interesting insights.
We started at the pretty Glorietta Bay Inn, across the street from the hotel, which turned out to be the former home of John Spreckels, a sugar magnate who bought up just about everything on the island including the hotel by the turn of the century. Gorgeous place with a lot of original elements still in place (light fixtures, marble kitchen, brass and marble staircase.) The tour went around (not in) the hotel and then over a few of the huge mansions on Ocean Blvd. and to a pretty side street, Loma Avenue.
I had breakfast at the counter of Clayton’s, a popular unpretentious coffee shop on the main drag, Orange Avenue, and picked up some takeout fare from the Bayside Market, an excellent store on the bay side of the island that our guide Jerry steered us too.
It was a surprisingly quick drive to North Park and South Park, both neighborhoods with lots of interesting independent shops and galleries and restaurants, plus small well tended or revived craftsman bungalows. It’s the neighborhood I could see myself living in…Did a quick tour of Balboa Park and was particularly impressed with the lovely Spanish style buildings housing the various art museums. must remember to visit the international art museum next time. it looked really interesting. (Also next time, I will pay the $5 and hike the trail at Cabrillo national monument!)
For dinner we had excellent fish tacos, grilled Ahi tuna and lobster bisque at the Blue Water Grill on India street (a two block restaurant row with ethnic places but none Indian.) It’s a casual order-at-the-counter place. Nothing fancy but fresh fish and cheerful service. Gelato Vero happened to be a block away. Oh happy day!
Filed under California, San Diego
TakeBetsywithyou 