Limey’s Going Away Pub Crawl


Bernie, Vickie, Limey :: Rockwood Place

After 18 years in America, Limey Dave is leaving. His work Visa has expired and without a sponsor he has to go. We have done a few things over the past few weeks as part of Limey’s going away period – cooking class, dinner and football – but this past weekend was the big blowout.


Limey & Kevin :: Bar Celona


Limey & Trent :: Bar Celona


Loden & Limey :: Bar Celona

Limes will still be here for a few more weeks and then he’s off to explore the world. I think he’s still unsure of where he’ll end up. I heard Australia and Asia are in the running, as well as England, of course. All nice places to visit, I hear, so I can’t wait to see where he lands.


Chad & Limey :: John Barleycorn


Limey & Rachelle :: John Barleycorn


Wrigley Field

Limey has lived in Wrigleyville the whole time he’s lived in Chicago, so for his going away party he coordinated a pub crawl around the neighborhood. As well, he’s always loved the Cubs so he chose to make the pub crawl baseball themed. Game time began at 1:20 p.m. with a celebratory shot and then we went to 9 bars around Wrigley Field, one bar for each “inning.”


Ted, Trent, Kevin, Chad, Danny :: Cubby Bear


Natalie, Limey, Annie :: Cubby Bear


Paulie & Limey :: Sports Corner

Dallas and I actually missed the first inning at Mullens, but made it for inning two at Rockwood Place. From there we went to Bar Celona from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Bar Celona opened the bar just for Limey, their most loyal customer, so we spent two hours here instead of one. From 5 – 6 p.m. we were at John Barleycorn, from 6 – 7 p.m. we were at Cubby Bear and from 7 – 8 p.m. we were at Sports Corner.


Ted, Dallas, Jen, Loden, Danny :: Yak-Zie’s


Ted, Dallas, Jen, Loden, Danny, Chen-Je :: Yak-Zie’s


Here’s a secret: Limey’s shot only had Monster energy drink in it! :: Yak-Zie’s


Somewhere between Yak-Zie’s and Guthrie’s we saw this snowmobile and Sara and Jess had to get on it.

We were supposed to go to Murphy’s Bleachers next, but it was too packed to get in. Limey’s entourage was about 50 people strong and there was just no way we could fit in there. So, we were going to go to an alternate, Bernie’s Tavern, but we ended up going right to the next inning at Yak-Zie’s. The final inning, beginning at 10 p.m., was at Guthrie’s, of course, and we stayed there til close.


Eric & Kevin :: Guthrie’s Tavern


Sara, Jess, Rachelle :: Guthrie’s Tavern


Limey, Maria, Jill :: Guthrie’s Tavern


Jill, Danny, Jamie, Fitz, Paulie, Kevin, Jen, Chad’s Hands, Dallas :: Guthrie’s Tavern


Dan, Limey, Maria, Jill, Danny :: Guthrie’s Tavern


Limey & Maria :: Guthrie’s Tavern


Chad, Ted, Danny :: Guthrie’s Tavern


Time to go!!!

It was a fun day and great to see all of Limey’s friends come together. He is a great guy, which is reflected in how many people made a point to be there. We were taking over whole entire bars and making them open for business when usually they’re closed. It was such a fun day. Bittersweet. I’ll miss The Limes, but I know this will not be the last we’ve seen of him. Maybe he’ll even move back one day, who knows. Hopefully we can get to see him a time or two more before his actual move date.

Famous Last Words

“…. I’ll just go for one drink, maybe two….”

It all started with these delicious drinks at Gilt Bar. They were called Le Bar St. Germain and were made from St. Germain (a French liqueur made with elder flowers), lemon and prosecco. Brett, Annie, Jess, Kristin and I were all drinking them. They were so delicious.


Brett, Annie, Dallas


Brett, Annie


Jessica, Rachelle, Killian


Killian, Brett, Annie, Dallas

The drinks were potent too. And as if that wasn’t enough to confuse you, try finding your way to the bathroom in this place.

I’d never been to Gilt before, even though it’s about a block from my office. My coworkers had raved about it, so it was about time I finally got there. In fact, I even ran into some of my coworkers there. ha. The inside decor is gorgeous. Fancy, lots of wood, but still rustic and with a kind of old-timey twist that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The drinks were great and eventually when we ordered food, that was really good too.

There’s a section of the Gilt food menu called “On Toast”. I thought these things were going to be wimpy and lame, but when we ordered the triple cream délice de bourgogne cheese with apricot preserve and herb salad, it was awesome. Good-sized slices of thickly cut grilled bread. The cheese was a generous serving, unlike some places where you only get a sliver. The cheese and apricot was a great pairing. I don’t know that I’d really consider a few leaves scattered upon the cutting board it was served on to be a salad, though.

Later on we ordered the bouchot mussels with white wine, shallots, herbs & smoked paprika. Very good. Dallas loooved the bread so much, we had to ask for more. It was great dipped in the mussels sauce. We also got an order of the kennebec fries. I asked our waitress Kat (who was awesome) what kennebec was and she said it was a kind of potato that is starchier and makes a better french fry. She was right. These fries were served with garlic aoili and disappeared so fast from our table that we had to order more STAT!

After a while some people left. Brett and Annie had late night dinner reservations but it was still kind of early. Jess and Dallas and I decided to go back with Annie and Brett to Brett’s apartment for a bit, since she lives not that far away at Cityfront Place. Brett just moved to Chicago about a month ago and is subletting this place. The view is great.

In Brett’s fridge there were about 30 of these bad boys:

Grapefruits. Brett got them from her grandma in Arizona. So Brett used her huge guns to make us Greyhounds (freshly squeezed grapefruit and vodka).

Delicious!

And a dance party may have broken out, but after a while, we knew we had to go. Dallas and I dropped Jess off in a cab and then went back to our house. We stopped at Boiler Room and each got a slice of pizza to bring home and eat. I went to the bathroom there and took this photo of the unique bathroom doors.

I know we were drunk last night, but we may have changed our minds about Boiler Room. We weren’t totally sold on it the first time we went and we never went back until last night. But last night’s pizza was SO good. I had just a plain slice and Dallas had a pepperoni slice.

I don’t know what happened after we left. Brett and Annie went back out and some of our other friends met up with them. I can’t imagine how late they were out (we were home by 11 or so) or how drunk they got. I’m so glad we went home when we did! I was feeling rough the next day and had so much to do!

Dali Tapas in Somerville

Dali Tapas in Somerville

One last thing about my trip to Boston. .. and this is more of a note to my future self so I can remember. The night I went out for dinner with Matt, Molly, Ross & Annie we went to Dali in Somerville, Mass. It’s a really great Spanish tapas place that Matt recommended. Really fun. The decor is interesting and lively and the food was delicious. This is what I can remember having:

  • SANGRIA
  • Setas al Ajillo | Sautéed “Meaty” Mushrooms
  • Alcachofas Salteadas | Sautéed Artichoke Hearts
  • Queso de Cabra Montañes | Baked Goat Cheese w/Tomato & Basil
  • Gambas al Ajillo | Garlic Shrimp
  • Ravioles de Mariscos | Lobster/Crabmeat Ravioli w/Langostino Sauce
  • Pollo al Ajillo | Garlicky Chicken
  • Croquetas de Pollo | Chicken Croquettes
  • Pato Braseado | Roast Duckling w/Berry Sauce
  • Lomito al Cabrales | Pork Tenderloin w/Blue Goat Cheese & Mushrooms
  • Solomillo en Tostada | Beef Tenderloin w/Pimento on Toast

Eleanor!

(Whenever I hear that name I think of the movie Annie when they go and visit FDR and sing the song Tomorrow and FDR says “Sing, Eleanor, Sing!” I love that movie. I used to have hair just like her.. .little white girl afro. And I used to sing Tomorrow for my solo in music class…. that and Country Roads.)

Anyway, I knew Eleanor was reading my site because she wrote me email when I upgraded my Mac OS.. it was a crazy week.. I honestly can’t remember if I responded but I thought of it a few times since then. If I didn’t respond, definitely upgrade! So, Jeannette told me today that Eleanor has a site and when I went to it she was linking to me. Yay! So I’ve added a link back on the right sidebar. Everyone check it out! Also, Jeannette was kind enough to show me a photo this morning of them at their high school graduation. Eleanor, you have justified reason to kill her now!