Entries Tagged as 'wine'

Celebrating with Wine, Cheese, and Pizza

November 13th, 2009 · 2 Comments

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Triple XXX Cheese Flight :: Bin 36, River North, Chicago

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Sauvignon Blanc vs. Chardonnay :: Bin 36, River North, Chicago

Anjum and I planned to take Aimee out for her birthday and Aimee insisted we also include my engagement, so there was a lot of celebrating to do last night! We walked over to Bin 36 and each got a flight of wine. Mine was the Sauvignon Blanc vs. Chardonnay flight.* We also shared the Triple XXX flight of cheese that included an American mozzarella, Brie, a goat cheese, Camembert, and one on the end I can’t remember. On the side we had apricots and figs and some truffled honey. Delicious, delicious, delicious. We need to do this more often!

Aimee and Anjum surprised me with a gift, which was a gift bag with a bunch of wedding magazines in it. It was fun to look through them, although I’m so not in a wedding mode yet. Someone needs to knock me on the head and remind me that when you get engaged then you have to plan a wedding. I think Dallas and I were just so excited to get engaged that when people immediately ask us when or where the wedding is, we have no answer just yet. But it was fun to page through and look at the different stuff. A lot of it is way more than anything we want, I think. One of the magazines was a destination wedding magazine and that was fun too.

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Wild Mushrooms, caramelized onions, taleggio cheese, hazelnuts, truffle oil :: A Mano, River North, Chicago

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Buffalo mozzarella oven dried tomatoes, basil pesto :: A Mano, River North, Chicago

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Classic margherita: Tomatoes, basil & mozzarella :: A Mano, River North, Chicago

After our cheese and wine extravaganza, we decided we should probably eat some real food. Downstairs at A Mano they were having their $5 pizza night so we ordered a few pizzas and had a bit more wine. Great night! I need to go out with the girls from work more often!

*Note to self: Favorite wine of the night was the 2008 Domaine Des Fontanelles Sauvignon Blanc.

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Free Nintendo DSi

August 13th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Last month Nintendo had a dinner for all of the Nintendo Enthusiasts who were attending the BlogHer conference. I wasn’t at the conference, but since it was local, I was still invited to the dinner. I was able to bring one person with me and didn’t think that Dallas would appreciate all of the blogging ladies, so I brought Jess.

We went over to the Sheraton, where BlogHer was being held. From there we were taken in horse-drawn carriages up Michigan Avenue to the Hancock Building.

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Carriages to pick us up at the Sheraton

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This is our driver. Can you tell how dashing he is?

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Arriving at the Hancock Building

At the Hancock, we were taken up to the Signature Room for hors d’vours and wine. Lots of wine.

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Justine, on the left, is who I have had the most contact with in the Nintendo program.

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Rachelle & Jess

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Wine!

Then we all sat down for dinner and more wine.

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Getting ready for dinner

After dinner we all got surprise gifts: Nintendo DSi!

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Jess and her Nintendo DSI

Had a great time at the party. This Nintendo program has been awesome. Remember the Nintendo DS Lite party and the Nintendo WII party and giveaway? How could this all not be a blast!?

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Nintendo Enthusiasts

All photos, with the exception of our dashing driver, are courtesy of the Nintendo event photographer, Jamie Kelter of West Loop Studio. More photos here.

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Happy Belated Birthday and Merry Belated Christmas

April 5th, 2009 · 3 Comments

This weekend my mom drove down from Wisconsin and cashed in on her birthday and Christmas gifts. For her birthday gift we went out for dinner and then to see Jersey Boys at the Bank of America Theatre.

Rhapsody Restaurant
Wild Striped Sea Bass :: Rhapsody, The Loop, Chicago

Dallas suggested dinner at Rhapsody because it was nearby the theater and he’d been there before for lunch and liked the food. I thought the food was good, but we were kind of wedged into a table with people really close to us on each side. The service was just ok.. and compared to other fine dining restaurants that are still kind of fun and casual, Rhapsody felt a bit stuffy. Lots of suits in there. Still, we had a good dinner.

For a starter we split a daily special of seared scallops. I haven’t had scallops in a really long time and these were really good. The portion was a bit small. I think the dish was $10 and you only got 2 scallops. For wine we split a half bottle of Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc. It was nice and crisp and refreshing. For an entree mom got the pork tenderloin that was cooked with apples. I got a wild striped bass (above). Surprisingly, after our starter, the entrees were pretty good sized. We each enjoyed what we ordered. We also split a side of first of the season peas with mint, almonds and preserved lemon. They were so fresh and flavorful. I spotted a dessert next to us that I thought looked interesting, so we ordered it to finish off our dinner. It was called chocolate symphony. You got four different small desserts, maybe a bite or two for each of us, which was just the right amount. The four desserts were warm chocolate lava cake, chocolate peanut candy bar, chocolate chip pain perdu, and cookies & cream lollipop.

Jersey Boys at the Bank of America Theatre
Rachelle & Mom :: Bank of America Theatre, The Loop, Chicago

After dinner we walked a couple blocks over to the Bank of America Theatre to see Jersey Boys. I Tried to get my mom tickets to see the show for her last birthday but they were all sold out. Jersey Boys was worth the wait, though. I was surprised that I knew or recognized most of the songs even though they are 40+ years old. I thought it was interesting to see the timeline of the Four Seasons and how the personal lives of the band reflected on the music. The cast was really talented. The recession was showing at the theater. Half the seats on our level were empty. I’d recommend this show, especially if you’re looking for something to take your parents or grandparents to .. people who would remember the songs the first time around. The theater could probably use your money too.

The next day my mom cashed in on her Christmas gift: Brunch and manicures and pedicures.

Bongo Room - Chocolate Tower French Toast
Chocolate Tower French Toast :: Bongo Room, Wicker Park, Chicago

I took my dad to Bongo Room once a few years ago and he still talks about it, so I thought my mom would like to see what all the fuss was about. Plus, I made our spa appointment at a place right next to Bongo Room. Mom and I decided to split two things, one savory and one sweet, so we got the sweet potato and black bean breakfast burrito and the chocolate tower french toast. Both were very good. We were glad we didn’t get two really sweet things to eat. With the burrito, the savory balanced out the sweetness.

After lunch we took a much needed walk around Wicker Park. It was nice and sunny out and we had a bit of time to kill. It’s pretty crazy how different some of the neighborhood is compared to when I lived down there.

Mojo Spa Pedicure
Mom :: Mojo Spa, Wicker Park, Chicago

Next, we went to Mojo Spa to get manicures and pedicures. My mom never had a pedicure before so I thought she’d enjoy it when I gave it to her as a gift. She was a little apprehensive because she’s had foot surgery and stuff, but the nail technicians at Mojo were perfect. They took their time and explained everything and were very friendly. It seems like most nail places are either high-end, expensive and stuffy or completely the opposite: a rush job. This place was funky and cute and personable, not busy, and somewhere in between. It was just the right choice. I think my mom might be hooked on nail treatments now!

Mojo Spa Pedicure
Rachelle :: Mojo Spa, Wicker Park, Chicago

Great weekend that went by too fast!

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