Entries Tagged as 'olivia'

Chicagoist Alumni Reunion

October 20th, 2010 · No Comments


Sam (Former General Contributor), Chuck (Former Music Writer, Former Food/Drink Editor, Current Editor-in-Chief), Jocelyn (Former General Contributor), Margaret (Former Television Writer), Benjy (Sports, then and now!), Rachelle (Former Editor-in-Chief), Jim (Music/A&E Editor, then & now!)


Thales (Former Ask Chicagoist Writer), James (Former Copy Editor), Chuck (Former Music Writer, Former Food/Drink Editor, Current Editor-in-Chief), Matt (Former General Contributor), Olivia (Former General Contributor)


Mike (Former Political Writer), Benjy (Sports, then and now!), Justin (Former A&E/Culture Writer)

Earlier this week a bunch of Chicagoist staff from the olden days, i.e. back when I was the Editor, got together for drinks at Cole’s in Logan Square. A few people I run into every few months, but many I had not seen for a year or several years. I made everyone line up and take photos just to prove we actually did it. We were all in one room together!

It was great to catch up. Back in the day we all had such close, daily contact. It’s fun to check in with everyone and see how everything is going. I mean, many of us stay in contact online, but in-person is so different. I hope that we can make this a more regular thing, so that years and years don’t go by before I see these dear friends again!

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Restaurant Week Lunch at Cafe Spiaggia

March 24th, 2010 · 2 Comments


Bread basket & Spiaggia Olive Oil


Baby arugula with toasted pear chips, Alto Adige I.G.P speck, goat cheese & balsamic vinaigrette


Hand crafted butternut squash filled pasta with amaretti, Parmigiano Reggiano, brown butter & sage


Pistachio, Espresso, & Chocolate gelato

Last month Olivia and I got together for lunch during Restaurant Week at Cafe Spiaggia. Restaurant Week is is a great opportunity to try out high-end restaurants without spending a ton of money. In Chicago more than 130 restaurants participated and offered a 3-course prix-fixe menu for $22 at lunch and $32 for dinner. Now, $22 isn’t something I could afford for lunch very often, but to try a resataurant I’d never be able to afford otherwise, it was fun.

Cafe Spiaggio is the less formal, more affordable version of Spaiggia, but it’s still pretty much out of most people’s range. I liked the food that we had, but honestly, I don’t know if I’d ever pay full price there. For what we got, it seems like there are more affordable Italian places around town. Still, I was glad to try it and see what people talk about when they talk about Spiaggia. People… like… you know.. the Obamas. They went to Spiaggia a couple years ago for Valentines Day and spent $700 on an eight-course meal, including wine and dessert. So, yeh… $22 for lunch at the cafe is not bad.

It was good to see Olivia again. It had been a long, long time! We need to get on it this year.. or at least get some good lunches in before wedding season is in full swing (she’s a wedding photographer). Last year Olivia and I lunched at Topolobampo during Restaurant Week.

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Lunch at Topolobampo

April 17th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Sopa Azteca :: Topolobampo, River North, Chicago
Sopa Azteca :: Topolobampo, River North, Chicago

Vegetable enchilada :: Topolobampo, River North, Chicago
Vegetable enchilada :: Topolobampo, River North, Chicago

Crepa with cinnamon-pine nut ice cream & cajeta :: Topolobampo, River North, Chicago
Crepa with cinnamon-pine nut ice cream & cajeta :: Topolobampo, River North, Chicago

Last month. Lunch. Topolobampo. Olivia. Restaurant Week. Great lunch.

imageWe weren’t expecting it, but Olivia and I were served a complimentary, generous portion of guacamole with chips. Next, we each had the sopa azteca. According to The Trib, the guac y sopa are Michelle & Barack’s favorites at Topolo. For a main course I had the vegetable enchilada with roasted tomatillo sauce and Olivia had the pork loin in mole poblano (her photo here). We shared and both were excellent. Dessert was a crepa with cinnamon-pine nut ice cream and cajeta. Oh, and the soda fresca of the day was raspberry-blood orange so we each tried that. It was nice and refreshing.

I’d been to Topolo with Dallas for dinner once, but it was years ago. I was glad to go back. I can now say that both dinner and lunch are great… you should go. I love Rick Bayless.

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De Cero Lunch

January 28th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Tacos, De Cero, ChicagoOlivia and I met up for the second lunch in our Monthly Lunch Club. Last month we went to Blackbird. This month we went to De Cero. I love De Cero so much. All I have ever gotten there is a la carte tacos. The tacos are delicious but De Cero also has a lot of sentimental value to me because when I worked at FeedBurner we used to go to De Cero for every occasion. It was appropriate that we also had our FeedBurner reunion there over the summer, which was the last time I was at the restaurant. I was due for a visit. Olivia had never been to De Cero. Hopefully she enjoyed it as much as I do.

Pictured above from back to front above, I had:

  • al pastor, tender chile seared pork with onion, pineapple, cilantro and lime (great spicy/sweet combo)
  • avocado, with white onion, roasted garlic, cilantro, and crema (least best this time, it was cold and the onions very raw)
  • vegetarian black beans, with garlic, avocado, cilantro, and crema (a favorite taco)

Not pictured, Olivia had:

  • rajas, hot and mild roasted peppers, potatoes, cream, and cotija queso
  • braised duck, with sweet corn salsa
  • tilapia, special taco of the day

It’s nice that Olivia and I are seeing each other more regularly now and that the time doesn’t slip by and we say “oh, we should hang out” and then never do. I’m having fun trying these restaurants and getting to know her better. One by one we plan to meet monthly and peck off these higher-end restaurants that may be too pricey for dinner, but are affordable for lunch. For next month we talked about maybe going to Bayless’ place. Anyone have any other suggestions?

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Lunch @ Blackbird

December 23rd, 2008 · 1 Comment

blackbird_sandwich_chips
Classic seared whitefish sandwich with lemon and herb aioli, gribiche, roasted tomato.

olivia
Olivia @ Blackbird, West Loop, Chicago

Olivia is one of those friends that I have always meant to hang out with more, but just have not. We have had a few failed dinner dates and have hung out numerous times in groups of friends and online, but not just us face to face. So, when she contacted me yesterday saying she was going to be downtown and asking if I’d like to go to lunch I jumped at the chance. We decided to go fancy (it’s the holidays!) and dine at Blackbird, which is actually pretty reasonable for lunch. I mean, it’s too much to spend every day on lunch, but priced really well if you want to try Blackbird without going broke.

Each of us got the prixe fixe which included a salad, sandwich with pomme frites, and doughnuts for $15. As you can see in the photo, we got some kind of fancy chips instead of frites.. and there was no explanation as to why, which was kind of how the service was overall. I thought the food was good, but I not what I expected, and the service wasn’t rude, but it wasn’t very friendly or informative either. Very different than my last experience at Blackbird, granted that was a special invitation sort of thing. Still I’m sure I’ll be back for dinner or lunch again.

Every time I talk to Olivia I think we should hang out more and get to know each other better and then we don’t. Yesterday we made a pact to have lunch once/month so hopefully we will finally follow through! Also, it’s nice to hang out with a friend who will take photos with me (hers from yesterday are here and here), which is something I often miss from when I lived in New York where many of my friends were hobbyist photographers.

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