Labor Day Weekend at the Lake House

img_8098.jpgimg_8091.jpgFor Labor Day Weekend we stayed overnight for a couple nights at the lake house. The first day there were so many friends: Brian, Sara, Kelly, Todd, Mikey, Tamara, Damian, Vanessa, Dylan, Derek and Kim. It was hot and sunny on both days and we swam a lot in the lake. Makai is super comfortable in the water. Maybe TOO comfortable! We have to lecture him a lot not to go on the dock without us and only to go out if he’s wearing his floaty life preserver. This Pipeworks Pineapple Bling beer was just one of many that we drank.

img_8113.jpgTwo boys on an adventure! Damian and Vanessa were not sure if they were going to come up to the lake and were on the fence literally til the last second. When they showed up with Dylan and Derek, Makai was so so happy. It’s fun to watch them pal around. Derek was so excited to have a sleepover!  I don’t think Makai even realizes that he is younger than the other two!

img_8109.jpgFor dinner on Saturday Dallas made the traditional Labor Day banh mi sandwiches with pork meatballs. He wanted me to note that this sandwich didn’t have the cilantro on it that the rest did. This wasn’t his BEST presentation, he said. But it sure tasted delicious!

img_8167.jpgI don’t know how these got into the house, but I was afraid to eat them.

img_8178.jpgOn Sunday Dylan and Derek had to leave to go to another barbecue. There was a lot of goodbye hugging!

img_8179.jpgOn Sunday night we went to a bar (Chances) and a restaurant (Ad Lib Geocafe) that Brian and Sara were interested in. I’ve had Not Your Father’s root beer a million times, but never the vanilla cream ale. Tasty, but probably too sweet to drink too much of it. I also tried this Latitude 42 Brewery‘s beer called Luciver’s Cuvée. It had a chocolate taste and Makai said it smelled yummy!

img_8180.jpgThe restaurant was pretty much almost connected to the bar. It was for sure the fanciest place I’ve been to in the area. Everything is based on seasonable availability and the menu changes constantly. On the way home we went to Dairy Queen in Antioch. And then we just hung out at the house.

Monday not too much happened. We came home. Todd, Kelly, Brian and Sara went to the Cubs game in Milwaukee!

Banh Mi & Co.

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Banh mi is still a big trend food in Chicago, I think. I’m still seeing stores specializing in the sandwich opening up around town. Banh Mi & Co is a small chain with four locations around Chicago. Last month they opened one nearby Dallas’s office on Van Buren so I met him on a slow day for lunch to check it out.

We shared a big bowl of Traditional Vietnamese Pho (A combination of beef and chicken stock served with fresh rice noodles, accompanied with bean sprouts, cilantro, chives, white onion, basil, lime and jalapenos. Your choice of shredded chicken or beef brisket.) and each got a sandwich. Dallas got the Saigon Classic Special Sandwich (Ham, pate and pork rolls. Served with cucumber, pickled carrots and dikon, cilantro, jalapeno and mayo on a fresh baked baguette.) and I had the Vietnamese Meatball Sandwich (Steamed pork with tomato sauce. Served with cucumber, pickled carrots and dikon, cilantro, jalapeno and mayo on a fresh baked baguette.)

I thought all of our food was good. I liked the crispy freshness of the dikon, cilantro and pepper in contrast to the meatballs. And the prices on the sandwiches are very good – $5.85 each. Makes for a pretty affordable lunch option and something different than the run of the mill places. I wish one would open closer to my office!

Brooklyn’s Chinatown

Butcher in Chinatown, Brooklyn
Butcher, Chinatown, Brooklyn


Butcher, Chinatown, Brooklyn

Toothpaste, Chinatown, Brooklyn
Toothpaste, Chinatown, Brooklyn

Crabs in Brooklyn's Chinatown
Having Trouble Keeping His Crabs in the Basket, Chinatown, Brooklyn

Sarah‘s latest assignment took us to Chinatown in Brooklyn to sample several Banh Mi (vietnamese sandwiches) from 2 different restaurants there. The sandwiches are overstuffed, toasted french baguettes with mayonnaise, pate, meat, pickled vegetables and cilantro. They were pretty good but I let everyone else eat most of them. I ordered a vietnamese iced coffee at the first restaurant we went to. Vietnamese iced coffee is different from regular coffee in that it’s really strong and is mixed with sweetened condensed milk. I liked the coffee I got today but I think that it’s better from the place we sometimes go to on Baxter street in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

At the second restaurant we went to they had avocado shakes. We were all intrigued by what these would taste like so we ordered one to share. I really don’t like avocado much, which almost got me kicked out of Southern California because I rarely ate guacamole, but I wanted to taste it anyway. Surprisingly, it was really good. Very sweet and it barely tasted like avocado at all. I was reminded that avocado actually is a fruit, even though it doesn’t taste like one in guacamole. The shake was so rich and creamy that I would never be able to drink the entire thing. As it was, the four of us couldn’t even finish one.