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Archives
Category Archives: Evanston
Farewell to Evanston
It always seems a shame to sell a place, just when you get it perfect. The Evanston condo served Dani well for six years, beginning with her Sophomore year at Northwestern. Here is a look back. Before OK, it is … Continue reading
Chicago Architecture Boat Tour
I really enjoyed this tour of Chicago’s architecture, as experienced from the river. The volunteer docent on the 90 minute trip was a professional architect who provided great insight into the history and design of the buildings. I had been … Continue reading
Next: Trio
Next is Chef Grant Achatz’ “next” restaurant. Achatz is the creator of Alinea, regarded by many as America’s greatest restaurant, and Chicago’s only 3-star Michelin restaurant. I approached Next with some trepidation because I’m not a fan of Alinea. I … Continue reading
Three Dots and a Dash
I’ve always loved Tiki bars, since I grew up in Los Angeles, frequenting Trader Vic’s, Don the Beachcomber, the Islander, Beachbum Bert’s and many others. It’s sad that they’re all gone. But the good news is that Three Dots and … Continue reading
Boka
Of all the Michelin starred restaurants in Chicago, Boka must be one of the greatest bargains. For little more than the cost of a typical restaurant you can have a spectacular meal. And the cozy yet classy, relaxed yet professional … Continue reading
Pride Sushi and Thai
What a delightful surprise! This small fusion restaurant is creating some of the most beautiful—and tasty—sushi in Chicago. The menu is about half Japanese, half Thai, and many of the fusion items are spicy, such as their take on … Continue reading
Grace
Grace is certainly deserving of its two Michelin stars. Everything about the experience is near perfection, from the extremely professional yet friendly service to the plating of the food, which turns each dish into an individual work of art, combining … Continue reading
Chicago Dining – Summer 2014
L2O Having dined at nearly all the top places in Chicago, this one stands out. Just on the basis of the exceptional wine list, L2O (which stands for Lakes to Oceans) deserves its Michelin stars. Each offering is so well … Continue reading
Moto 2014
It had been a couple of years since we went to Moto, Chicago’s temple of molecular gastronomy. We had a very different experience on this visit from our past visits. It began with a table downstairs, in a space we … Continue reading
Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
Linda flew in to Chicago for a long weekend and to escape her Disney projects. Dani and I met her at Midway with Korean Barbecue tacos from the nearby Dos Ricco’s Mexican and Asian Cuisine. I like the Korean taco, … Continue reading
Bottles and Bottega
Last month Dani and her friends visited Bottles and Bottega to drink some wine and paint a picture. It looked like so much fun I suggested we go there on the evening I arrived in Evanston, and Dani eagerly agreed. … Continue reading
Posted in Art & Sculpture, Dani, Evanston, Wine
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Enterprise Car Rental, Midway Airport
This was the most amazing car rental experience I’ve ever had, and in the place I least expected it. My absolute worst car rental experiences have all been at Midway, where I have slowly been working my way through all … Continue reading
Lang Lang at Ravinia
Chinese pianist Lang Lang rose to fame with his first performance at Ravinia in 1999, when he was just 17, as a last minute substitution. He returned this year for his 12th Ravinia appearance. It was a cool night for … Continue reading
Peach, Brie and Bacon Pizza
Thanks to Kara for bringing this recipe to my attention! It was fabulous. If served to me blind, I don’t think I could have identified the ingredients, they meshed so well. Ingredients 1 lb pizza dough Flour 2 Tbsp extra … Continue reading
Smoke House Garlic Bread
For years I’ve been trying to duplicate the amazing garlic cheese bread served at the Smoke House Restaurant in Burbank, California. Tonight I finally did it. The secret is to make up a paste and spread that on the bread. … Continue reading
Why Are Concerts So Loud?
I’ve never been to a concert that wasn’t too loud. But last night’s One Republic concert set records. Even though we always wear earplugs, our front row edge seats were right in front of the sub woofer, and we were … Continue reading
Oil Painting Class
I took a one week break from my sculpture classes to attend a five day oil painting class taught by Ken Minami. Each day we spent the morning drawing and he afternoon painting. I leaned to use gray paper and … Continue reading
Posted in Art & Sculpture, Evanston
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Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox Twenty at Ravinia
For the Fourth of July Dani and I took the Metra up to Ravinia Park for dinner and a concert, rather than watch the Evanston fireworks from her balcony. The timing on the train worked out pretty well, because we … Continue reading
Sculpture Class at the Evanston Art Center
This summer while Dani is at work I wanted something to do, so I went up to the Evanston Art Center It’s in the three-story house on the lake, next to the lighthouse north of the Northwestern University campus. I intended … Continue reading
Posted in Art & Sculpture, Evanston
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Jackson Browne at Ravinia
We have a full summer of concerts planned, mostly at Ravinia, the wonderful outdoor venue north of Evanston. We usually sit in the pavilion, but for this concert we could only get lawn tickets, which turned out to be lots … Continue reading
Northwestern University Graduation
Dani graduated from Northwestern University on June 21st, 2013, with a BS degree and double majors in Communications and Psychology. Linda, Nicole and I travelled to Evanston for the festivities. It was an activity-packed few days. We began at the honors ceremony … Continue reading
1985 & 1985 Bordeaux
Every year Hart Davis Hart hosts a comprehensive Bordeaux retrospective, and this year’s event focused on 1985 and 1986 Bordeaux. HDH pulled out all the stops, with two bottles of almost every notable wine, including the first growths. There was … Continue reading
Tru
Five years ago Dani and I visited Tru while on her college tour, and we had one of the greatest meals of my life. But then a year later Linda and I returned, and had seven courses of glop in … Continue reading
NU
I took a walk with Dani around the Northern Evanston area and the North part of the Northwestern University campus so she could put up flyers about her thesis project. I hadn’t been on that part of the campus before, … Continue reading
Kitchen Remodelling
Our final remodeling project for the summer was the kitchen. It was Dani’s idea to add stone to the walls above the backsplashes, and she also picked the ceramic murals for above the sink and stove. Quite a difference! Before: … Continue reading
Posted in Evanston
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Wynton Marsalis
We decided to check out the downtown venue used by the Chicago Symphony, but since they are playing opera at Ravinia, we went to a jazz concert by the Wynton Marsalis Quintet. Before the concert we had lunch at one … Continue reading
Posted in Dani, Dining, Evanston, Music, Photography
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Roller Derby
Last night Dani took me to her highly anticipated roller derby game. She explained the rules before we went, which helped me to understand what was going on. It was a little hard to understand the announcer, so things were … Continue reading
Gotye and Missy Higgins
Last night we went to Chicago’s other outstanding outdoor performance space, The Charter One Pavilion near the Field Museum, to see Missy Higgins and Gotye. Charter One Pavilion offers a great view of the city, and you can walk along … Continue reading
Restaurant Michael
Last night we went to Restaurant Michael in Winnetka, about four miles north of Evanston. The original plan was to take the Metra train, but it was a cool, rainy and blustery night, so we opted for a cab. The … Continue reading
Terra
A few nights ago we visited Terra, an American bisto just north of Central Avenue in Evanston. It’s about two miles from the condo, so we took the Metra train up, and then walked back. It’s a small plates sort … Continue reading