Chicago Food

I must say that while in Chicago, we ate quite well. Everything from an unbelievable multi-course dinner downtown to White Castle was included in our tour. Here is a rundown of some of the tastiness...

Thursday:

delicious cheeses, breads, and wines Chez Eleanore

a yummy flatbread at In Fine Spirits

mini cheeseburgers at White Castle

Friday:

tasty breakfast burritos Chez Eleanore

deep dish Chicago style pizza at Gino's East

the best latte I've ever had at Intelligentsia Coffee

amazing sushi at Tank

Saturday:

my favorite french toast (with ham, gruyere, and maple mustard syrup) at Southport Grocery

yummy vanilla cupcakes too...

Martinis with killer blue cheese stuffed olives at the top of the John Hancock building

The Best Dinner Ever at Graham Elliot (pictures and descriptions to follow)

Sunday:

croque madame at Bistro Campagne

Yes, I did gain at least 5 pounds in 4 days!

Here are some pictures of us at Graham Elliot. If you are ever in Chicago and wanting a dining experience, you should go. He takes ordinary menu items and interprets them into the most fantastic bites you have ever had!

We met the Chef Graham Elliot Bowles as we entered the restaurant! Apparently we made quite an impression because he sent over complimentary appetizers and dessert wine.

The roast chicken was so good...

As was the truffled popcorn they brought us!

The food is so good you want to dance!

Spring pea soup with a mint marshmallow... sounds bizarre, but it was like eating fresh peas with a spoon. As the marshmallow melted, the soup took on a new flavor and consistency

Wagyu beef with arugula salad, cippolini onions, and a really good sauce. Amazing!

Besides the food shown, we enjoyed "foie-llipops"- coins of foie gras on a lollipop stick with orange pop rocks stuck on the edges. They made your mouth sing! The richness of the foie gras combined with exploding orange pop rocks.... how do they think of these things?

Also a whitefish sashimi with passionfruit sorbet and radishes, a tasty seared scallop appetizer, a new take on caesar salad with a brioche twinkie stuffed with marscapone cheese, an asparagus-goat cheese terrine, the best salmon ever, and 4 different desserts. As I said, this was such an incredible experience. Thank you, Graham Elliot!

Chicago 2010!

I had my first getaway from Tyler this past weekend. Kelly, Sarah, and I met Eleanore in Chicago for 4 days of eating, drinking, and hanging out. It was so wonderful to be with my friends in such a cool city. Eleanore was the best hostess with lots of goodies for us to eat and drink, and showed us such a great time. I only had a tiny meltdown via Skype on Saturday, but other than that, I was fine being away from my little monkey... plus I knew he was in good hands with his Nanas and Daddy! I have made up for being away from him for 4 days by giving him 1 million kisses since I got home on Sunday night. Thank you to the girls for mommy's getaway! Let's start planning Escape 2011!

Playground Day

Today was a beautiful day, almost 80 degrees! Quite a change from last week, thankfully. We went to the playground with Kelly and Annemarie and had a great time. Tyler is getting more familiar with playing around other kids and loves the slides. After playing we had lunch at the bar. Tyler was in great spirits and was quite a cutie in his new hat. Thank goodness spring is finally here!

Mmm....crackers... delish!

I love to go head first down the slide!

Wheee! That was fun!

Playing

Tyler is very good at what the books call 'individualized play'. Often we will look over at him and he is quietly playing with his toys. Right now he loves books, his rocking horse, and toys that make noise, like the mini piano or phones, particularly our actual cell phones. I'm not sure how he does it, but he manages to change the wallpaper on my phone (this morning he changed it to a picture of Kirby), play music, make calls, and send text messages. So if you happen to get a random call or message from us, know that it is Tyler sending his best!

Really?

It's April 13th and this is the weather outside....

Really?

It went from a decent day to rain to sleet to snow... all day long. And the power went out at our house for a couple of hours...

Really?

My daffodils are trying to bloom and now we have an inch of snow....

Really?

I guess this is what springtime in the Rockies is all about.... but I am ready for some SUN! They say 65 by Friday....

Really?

Tyler's 15 month checkup

My baby is 15 months old already?!! Today we went in for his well-child checkup to see how he is doing. Of course he is doing fabulously! His development is right on track and his stats are
Height: 32 inches- 75th percentile
Weight: 23 pounds- 25th percentile
Head circumference: 18 1/2 inches- 60th percentile
What is the head measurement for anyway? I think they should do a foot measurement each time, because Tyler's would be off the charts. This monkey's feet are growing so fast!
After the checkup we went to the bar for lunch. After we ordered, Tyler went running off and ran right into Governor Schweitzer, who just happened to be lunching at the Northern as well. The Governor asked Tyler what noises kitties and puppies make, and then was denied a hi five from the kid... I knew Tyler was particular about giving hi fives, but come on!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! We hope everyone was able to enjoy a beautiful day, as we were. We hosted a brunch at our house and it was (of course) delicious! Ham, eggs, biscuits, mimosas and lemon creme brulee tart! Yum! Tyler was the star of the show, as usual. He loved his Easter bucket filled with toys and plastic eggs. I think he would have been happy with 2 empty plastic eggs, since that is what he's played with for the past day and a half. It is so fun to see him interact with everyone when they come over. What a joy he is!

This little thingy plays a song called "We got the Tweets"...over... and over... and over....Even Kirby is tired of it!

Look at all the neat things in the Easter bucket!

C'mon Mommy! I want to play!