Chicago Style Weekend

My weekend in a cell phone photo tour:

First, sparked with some curiosity about the neighborhood and a little cabin fever, Roommate and I went to the beach on a blustery cold day. The beach is only about two blocks from where we live. I can see it from the el platform when I wait for the train, so it seemed worth exploring up close.





Can you see the Hancock Building? Pretty sweet.

It was fa-reezing! And like most things I see in Chicago I thought to myself: this will be way better when it's warm out. And by "most things" I mean going outdoors.

But the outdoors didn't stop us from from going on a hike later. Bound and determined to fulfill a noble quest, Roommate and I went bar hopping.

Four bars in one night to be exact. Thank you foursqaure for motivating me to leave the apartment on a Friday. The first two bars were just north of us next to the train, kind of little hole in the wall places. Once we committed to earning the badge, we found a really cute bar attached to a theater in Roger's Park. Louis Armstrong music, festive holiday decorations, reasonably priced beer...what's not to like? And on our fourth and final stop...

Giordano's! From what I understand of Chicagoans eating here is a pretty crucial step in becoming a true local. And like I said before, being a Chicagoan is 10% what I witness and about 90% what people tell me... more specifically what Tina Fey tells me. According to Misses Fey, I'll be going to Gio's East of Chicago next.





While it is described in above article as "a casserole in a bread bowl" I think it's more like a giant mozzarella stick with plum tomato sauce. The crust, which is normally my favorite part, was a little too bland and cracker-y. But wash it down with some Goose Island 312 and you feel like a legit local. I'm still longing for some deep dish turbo crust from Jet's Pizza. Word on the street is I can get Jet's here, but somehow it isn't the same.

Saturday I woke up to this...

It was somehow more magical than the first snow. The flakes were sticky and fluffy, and the ground was evenly coated. It put me in a much Christmas-ier mood. The rest of the day was spent shopping in the loop, more specifically at Christkindlemarket. It's a German Christmas pop-up festival that sells cuckoo clocks, hand blown glass, and tasty tasty smelling food. I say this because I was not willing to wait in in the super long lines. I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures but it was elbow to elbow people shuffling in circles looking at all the different arts and crafts. The rest of my x-mas shopping was done in Andersonville in their awesome boutiques.

After Roommate and I got back there was a holiday gathering with only neighbors in our building that don't have children. It was filled with mulled wine and watching Jackass 3D, the perfect holiday movie if you ask me. It's right up there with White Christmas.  

Today was a lovely rehearsal and blog writing session complete with apple slices, cheese, and sour patch kids. Yum! A super weekend.

Happy Sunday All!

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