Ribfest


Smoke Daddy


Smoke Daddy (If you look close you can see Dallas and Josh)


Sola


Sola Malasadas (after Sugarlips ate a few)


Ribs from Blue Bayou. Liked the meat and the grill, but didn’t love the sauce.


New favorite drink.

Dallas and I met up with Todd, Kelly and Chad at Ribfest on Saturday. As the name implies, this is a festival based around live music and ribs. This was the 14th year of Ribfest and about 20 different vendors participated. We spent a lot of time by the Smoke Daddy smokers and visited Josh. I also wanted to check out what Sola was offering and conveniently enough, the Sola booth was right next to Smoke Daddy’s. Even better, Chef Wallack was there. Dallas and I chatted with her a bit about the restaurant and Hawaii and she was kind enough to hook us up with some short rib sandwiches and later on some malasadas! YUM! We haven’t been to Sola for a few months and need to get back soon!

While the guys stood around and drank some beers, Kelly and I took a walk around and actually split some ribs. We also discovered our new favorite drink of the summer, Lime-a-Rita. I really did not like Bud Light Lime when I tried it last summer and everyone (Jess, Sara) was raving about it. The good thing about Lime-a-Rita is that it doesn’t taste anything like Bud Light. It’s sweet and tangy and limey and margarita-y. I suppose it’s probably best poured over ice, but we just drank it straight from the can.

After sweating it out at Ribfest (it was something like 90 degrees outside), we headed to Timo’s roofdeck birthday party. And after that to Brian and Sara’s roof deck to watch the Pacquiao/Bradley fight. I could have cared less about the fight, but it was a nice night to be outside on roof decks with friends!

Lillie’s Q

Dallas and I recently met up with Todd for an early lunch at Lillie’s Q, a barbecue place on North Avenue that we’ve been meaning to try. Dallas and I arrived early, so we ordered boiled peanuts for an appetizer. We are both boiled peanut lovers, as they’re a local specialty in both Hawaii, where Dallas grew up, and in the South, where my dad’s family is from.

For drinks, Dallas ordered a Lillie Palmer, which is basically a boozed up Arnold Palmer. Don’t ask me what kind of booze was in it, the menu said “moonshine” and you could pick the potency! I got my first Bell’s Oberon of the season. Tasty. All drinks, including water, are served in Ball jars.

Lillie’s Q makes five of their own sauces, which are bottled and available on every table. You can pick and choose whichever sauces you want. Here are the choices:

  • Smoky: A unique blend of ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, apple concentrate, liquid smoke, and a few other spices known only to Charlie.
  • Hot Smoky: A unique blend of ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, apple concentrate, liquid smoke, and a few other spices known only to Charlie.
  • Carolina: A unique blend of ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, apple concentrate, Worcestershire, and a few other spices known only to Charlie.
  • Carolina Gold: A unique blend of mustard, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, apple concentrate, Worcestershire, and a few other spices known only to Charlie.
  • Ivory: A unique blend of mayonnaise, apple cider, vinegar, lime juice, and a few other spices known only to Charlie.

You can also buy the sauces for barbecuing at home. We all definitely liked the Carolina sauces the best. Dallas loved the mustard-based Carolina Gold. My favorite was the Carolina.

For lunch I had the pulled chicken sandwich on brioche, southern style (with coleslaw on top) and the baked beans. Always the baked beans. The chicken was flavorful and so tender. And I loved the beans. Not too smoky, not too sweet.

Dallas got the pulled pork with sweet potato fries as a side.

Dallas and Todd split the tri-tip. Todd didn’t love it and though it should have had a better sear or char on the outside, but Dallas thought it was great.

Todd got the baby back ribs with the stone ground grits with bacon as a side. He gave a rib to Dallas and I to try and I really liked them, but I’m not a huge rib connoisseur. Well, a few days after this lunch I saw that Lillie’s Q was recognized by Food and Wine as one of the top six new barbecue restaurants in United States. And the magazine specifically recommended the baby back ribs. I guess it’s not just me who thinks the ribs were good!

So yeh, we liked Lillie’s Q. When we arrived at 11:30 the place was empty but by the time we left it was full. Not sure how busy they are at night. I think my dad would like this place. Maybe I will take him next time he is in town!

Rummikub at the Beach


Rummikub, South Yarmouth, Cape Cod


Rummikub, South Yarmouth, Cape Cod

Our last day at the beach was last Friday. For lunch we headed to our now favorite restaurant, The Skipper, and got our now favorite clam chowder. This was our 3rd visit to The Skipper in just over a week (visit 1, visit 2). Julie got the lobster roll, I got a crab roll and Jess had a hankering for ribs, so that’s what she got. It was all great. I love The Skipper and loved that it was right across the street from “our beach.”

Oh, I almost forgot. On the way to the beach I got stung by a bee. I barely even saw it and for sure didn’t recognize to get away from it. My hand just like hit it and it stung the padded part of my palm just down from my thumb. I could see the stinger and it hurt really bad. Attached to the stinger was part of the bee’s body and it was moving. I kind of freaked because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold still enough to remove the stinger. Luckily Julie heard my yelling and ran over, pulled the stinger out and saved the day. My brother and my niece are allergic to bees, so I was scared for a few minutes.. but then I was eating clam chowder and my face hadn’t swollen up or anything so I figured I was fine. And I was. I just held ice in my hand for a while at the restaurant. My hand was tender for a few days, but that’s about it.

After lunch we went back to the beach. We didn’t want to leave it!! The next day we had to drive back to Jersey and we wanted to prolong the beach time. We spread out our towels and blanket and played Rummikub, Jess’s favorite game of all time. I can remember playing this game on the beach at the Cape in 2002, when New York got 20″ of snow in 2003, and even during the blackout in New York that same year. I won the first game with that 7. Jess, the sore loser that she is, then had to cancel our second game … saying she had something in her eye or something and she had to leave. Just kidding.. her eye really was messed up. At least it was a real reason to make us leave the beach or we might have been there all night!

I want my baby back, baby back, baby back

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Dry Rub on Ribs, Bartlett, IL

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Hydrant, Bartlett, IL

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Maggie, Bartlett, IL

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Riiiiibs, Bartlett, IL

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Ribs, Bartlett, IL

OK. They weren’t baby back ribs, but they were delicious!

After the wedding we stayed over at Dallas’ aunt’s (conveniently vacationing in Hawaii!) house in Bartlett. The next morning Danny got up really early, went grocery shopping and started smoking the ribs. About 4 hours later we feasted like kings!

Maybe it was just me but the suburbs felt like they were about 10-15 degrees hotter than the city. Also, the heat from the grill.. sitting on the deck.. whew!

Re the hydrant and sign, I’d never seen hydrants marked like this before. Lori said it was for the winter so the plows don’t plow over the hydrants. If that’s so then why don’t hydrants everywhere have signs?

Twin Anchors & Second City
2 Must Be The Number of The Night

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Ribs at Twin Anchors, Old Town, Chicago

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Second City, Old Town, Chicago

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Second City Alumni List, Old Town, Chicago

Shaun is in town from Boston and last night we went out for dinner at Twin Anchors and then saw the show Doors Open on the Right at The Second City.

Founded in 1932, Twin Anchors is one of the oldest restaurants in Chicago. It was Opened by the Walters family, who were affiliated with the Chicago Yacht Club and who gave the restaurant it’s nautical theme. Twin Anchors was a favorite of Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, and has always been known for it’s tender, barbequed baby-back ribs. I don’t eat ribs .. like.. ever.. .but I will say these are some of the best ribs I’ve ever had. So delicious.. and go for the zesty sauce, not the mild. Shaun and I both ordered mild because we thought that the zesty would be hot. The waitress brought out both sauces for us to try and zesty was definately better. It wasn’t hot at all, just more tangy than the mild.

Second City is an institution in Chicago. This is the theater that launched the careers of John Belushi, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, George Wendt, Tina Fey, and Amy Sedaris, along with many others. The show was 3 acts, the last one being completely improvised. So funny. I kept wondering which of the performers we would be seeing next on Saturday Night Live.

Overall, a great night. It was nice to see Shaun again. Oh, and this is about my one month anniversary here.. so a good way to spend it.

See also:
ยป Chicago – Day 1 by Shaun