I arrived in Chicago just in time to walk down Michigan Avenue on a beautiful June Sunday and over to the Harris Theater to see the 3 p.m. performance by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago – fantastic as always. Turns out we’d already seen the third selection, Three to Max,  – or at least part of it –  last year. I recognized some of the music (uno, uno duo tres, uno due tres – and so on grunted over and over at one p0int) and some of the choreography (including being mooned by several of the dancers except this time I wasn’t sitting with my 10-year-old niece). The first selection, Malditos, was perhaps the most striking – including a performance by a topless dancer who frankly was so flat chested at first I wasn’t sure she was a she. But she was. And a very engaging dancer at that.  The second piece, Quintett, had very dramatic choreography (there were several times when I feared one of the dancers would get kicked in the face by another dancer) but the music was repetitive and monotonous. As always I was impressed with the physicality of the dancers – and the difficult choreography they mastered effortlessly.

We had dinner on Michigan Avenue at the Purple Pig which was fun – small plates. Some better than others. (My favorite was the Braised Baby Artichokes, Fingerling Potatoes, Asiago & Salami Toscanaand, surprisingly, the fava beans

Fava Beans, Leeks, Hard Boiled Eggs & Crispy Prosciutto.  I didn’t like the caponata (too sweet) although I liked the bread with goat cheese that accompanied it and the clams were not as good as advertised. But the place had a fun vibe – bustling with people sharing long wooden tables and high (a little too high) chairs. As always, Chicago felt like such a vibrant welcoming city. (I also ate at a good quick noodle place on Michigan Avenue near Millenium Park. Nothing fancy but quick and fresh tasting.)