Entries Tagged as 'dance'

Hubbard Street Dance at the Harris Theater

March 21st, 2010 · No Comments

This year for our annual dinner and a show night, my mom and I saw Hubbard Street Dance perform at the Harris Theater. This year my dad drove down with her and along with Dallas we all had dinner at our neighborhood Argentinean restaurant, El Nandu. Then my mom and I took a cab downtown for the show while my dad and Dallas fell asleep in front of a marathon of college basketball games.

I’d been wanting to check out Hubbard Street Dance for a long time so when I saw the Groupon for it, I thought it was a good opportunity to both finally check it out and to take my mom out for our annual event. I’m glad we went. Artistically, I don’t know if it was 100% up my ally, but it was a totally impressive, beautiful, inspiring show. Especially impressive given I don’t have a lick of dance talent and don’t know how the dancers can do all the moves they did. Very talented dancers.

On Sunday we all went out for lunch at Revolution Brewing and then my parents were off to head back to Wisconsin. We had a fun weekend together and also very productive. We got to do a brain dump and get feedback about a ton of wedding stuff – invitations, location, dress, etc. Things are moving along slowly but surely on that front.

During a dance intermission my mom and I were trying to count up all the nights out we had over the past years. Here’s my count. I think it’s accurate?

2009: Rhapsody & Jersey Boys
2008: Landmark & Dead Man’s Cell Phone at the Steppenwolf Theater
2007: Costello’s & Blue Man Group
2005/6: Hillary’s Urban Eatery (HUE) & Wicked
2004: Petterino’s & Mamma Mia
Ze Olde Days (1999?): Riverdance in Milwaukee
Ancient Times (1997?): Lorie Line

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Mesa Grill at Caesar’s Palace

December 1st, 2009 · 5 Comments

When I lived in New York I always wanted to go to one of Bobby Flay‘s restaurants, but at the time they were way out of my budget. I’d thought about going when I went back and visited, but never did. So, when Cory and Chris asked if we’d like to join them for Thanksgiving lunch at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Caesar’s Palace, we said “for sure!”

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

Mesa Grill was featuring a Thanksgiving menu, but we decided not to order from it. It would have been nice to actually have turkey on Thanksgiving, but we came to try the food that Flay is known for, and so we ordered from the regular menu. This is what we had:

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Tiger Shrimp + Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale: Corn-Cilantro Sauce

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Goat Cheese “Queso Fundido”: Rajas + Blue Corn Tortilla Strips

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Oyster Special: Can’t remember exactly what was in these, but they were cooked oysters put back in the shell with some sauce

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New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin: Bourbon-Ancho Chile Sauce, Sweet Potato Tamale + Crushed Pecan Butter

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Southwestern Spiced Duck Breast: Carrot-Habanero Sauce, Chorizo-Goat Cheese Tamale + Thyme Butter

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Grilled Lamb Porterhouse Chops: Tangerine-Roasted Jalapeno-Mint Sauce + Plantain Tamale with Molasses Butter

I really liked the cheese appetizer, of course. Unlike other fundido I’ve had, the addition of goat cheese added a nice tanginess to the appetizer. I also really liked the tamale. For the entrees, I had the duck, Cory had the pork and Chris and Dallas both got the lamb. We all tasted each other’s food and everyone agreed that the pork was the tastiest. We all enjoyed the duck as well. It was agreed that the lamb was a disappointment. It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t flavorful at all. Overall, I was glad to try Flay’s food, but I wasn’t head over heels.

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

After lunch, Cory and Chris were off to meet up with some others in the family. Dallas and I hung around Caesars and then headed back to Planet Hollywood, where we were staying. We needed to rest off our food coma because in a few hours we were due to go to a buffet!

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Balinese Dancer, See You In My Nightmares!

September 2nd, 2009 · 1 Comment

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Over the weekend I went to the Bucktown Arts Fest with Jess, Alden and Elizabeth. On a small stage in the park we saw this Balinese dancer and accompanying musicians. The dancer was SO creepy. At least one kid was yelling “NO!NO!” and had to be taken away!

The fest itself was pretty cool. Unlike many of the Chicago fests that are ver much the same, this one actually had many many many artist stalls and tents. Everything from jewelry to paintings to clothing to photography and much more was on display and for sale. I didn’t buy anything but I did take some cards from artists I like.. so maybe later on.

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And Even Crazier

June 22nd, 2008 · No Comments


Maureen, Ross, Nancy, Matt, Kristen, Molly


Matt, Dallas, Ross


Dallas, Adam


Dallas, Adam


Tommy, Ross


Emily, Ross


Molly, Colleen, Anne, Janie


Nancy, Bo, Erin


Ross


Martin & Bo


Anne & Janie

From this to this and here we are. Believe it or not, there are some photos I held back on posting bc they were just too crazy.

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Matt & Molly’s Wedding Dinner & Reception

June 21st, 2008 · No Comments


Nametags were hung outside the tent on a split-rail fence. When you located your tag you found out what what table you were sitting at. We were at lucky table #13.


Molly’s reaction to Matt’s dinner speech where he thanked everyone and especially honored Molly.


First Dance


A backlit DJ Joe Cool


Sarah, Adrian, Rachelle


Adrian’s Fiance Charlie, Sarah


Tom, Maureen


Bo, Sarah


Outside Looking In


Under the Big Tent

As everyone gathered into the tent where the dinner and reception was to take place, it started to rain. And then pour. And then DJ Joe Cool had to unplug all of his equipment because it was thundering and lightening so much that he thought he was going to get electrocuted. Still, no one was really freaking out. They put some flaps down on the tent, threw some mulch down to soak up the rain and wiped off the soaked dance floor. The heavy rain only lasted for maybe 15 minutes, but it was enough to drench a lot of the ground for the whole night. One good thing that came out of it was that it wasn’t just the really drunk people who fell down, everyone was slipping and sliding and had mud on them. There was one particular stretch of grass under the tent that was referred to as “Woodstook.” Unfortunately, that’s where my seat for dinner was located! The most muddy were the guys who decided to try to break dance. And probably Bo who tried many times to do a head spin.

I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the rain, though. It was a part of the night, sure, but no one was really too bothered by it. We all drank and sang and danced the night away without a care. DJ Joe Cool played until 1 a.m., an hour longer than most weddings go, I think. Which could explain how sloppy things got at the end.

I heard that DJ Joe Cool was well known in the area as being the best DJ. A lot of people at the wedding love him. In fact, Anne, one of the bridesmaids, lives in France and got married there.. and she flew DJ Joe Cool out to play at her wedding. Apparently people in her circle of friends in France still talk about him and what a great time they had. I thought DJ Joe Cool was pretty good. Kind of old school. Playing CDs. There was one part of the night where people were kind of annoyed because things like The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B should have been played at like 7 pm, not 11 pm, when a lot of the older folks had already left, but overall we had fun. He played a really diverse selection of music, although I think a lot of people would have preferred some more modern tunes. Then again, people were going crazy when he busted out 80′s. Also when he played Pour Some Sugar on me at like 12:30 am, people went ballistic. Followed up by some Guns n’ Roses? Joe Cool knew how to read and please a crowd.

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