My birthday

My sixth birthday was pretty awesome. It was my first real "friends" birthday party, and my mom made a Flintstones-themed birthday cake. We played pin-the-tail on the donkey and the party eventually dissolved into the boys chasing the girls in our smocked party dresses around our house.

Thirty years later (oy), I am happy to report that my birthday Saturday was awesome in its own right. It's all due to my great husband for making good plans and watching the kids. The day was peppered with phone calls, text messages, emails and Facebook posts from friends and family. Each of those greetings only took a minute for the person to do but it added up to a day of love for me - I was overwhelmed by it all. Thank you if you were one of those kind souls who reached out to me - it meant the world to me!

As I am a mama blogging about my family's life living in Chicago, I wanted to share with you some of the great experiences I had in my city Saturday:

Cake decorating class at Give Me Some Sugar. I don't think I've taken a class since Jack was born, so this was literally and figuratively a treat for me. The class is a basic 101 on cake decorating and they provide you with a cake to decorate and bring home. The owner-instructor was helpful, approachable and sassy. My dear friend Emily and I practiced row after row of design and were proud of our final work. If you live in Chicago, the owner promises there will be a Groupon out for a group class after Thanksgiving. The store is based in Chicago's Roscoe Village neighborhood.

Autumn fun at Christy Webber Landscapes - Farm and Garden Center. Formerly Grand Street Gardens, this garden center welcomes each season with fanfare. In the springtime, there are pastel-colored flowers and wind chimes for gentle breezes. In the summer, there are vegetable plants and garden tools. In the winter, the cold wind makes the festive party lights twinkle and smells of earthy pine fill the air. And in the fall - my favorite - there are piles of orange, white and green gourds and pumpkins, a haystack maze for the kids and some city free-range chickens walking around.  Jeremy, the kids and I filled our red wagon with mums and pumpkins. This center is based in Chicago's West Town neighborhood.

Dinner for two at Chez Joel. Nothing like a romantic dinner for two in a French bistro on a brisk autumn night. Chez Joel had excellent service, a lovely atmosphere and delicious, honest bistro fare. The restaurant - believe it or not - is located in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood.

Jazz and drinks at the Jazz Showcase. Jeremy and I love seeing live jazz and it was one of our typical dates in college and our young married life. We haven't seen live jazz since Jack was born (sensing a theme?) and we were excited to visit the new location of the Showcase. While it didn't have the grit of the old location, it was a great place to see pianist Benny Green and his trio. We had front row seats, and it was the perfect nightcap to my birthday. The Showcase is located in Chicago's Printers Row neighborhood.

All in all, a great day!

Today's charms

Today is St. Patrick's Day. It was 80+ degrees in Chicago, and when I ventured out, I saw many a green-clad person dancing through the streets.

I project there will be many sunburnt hungover people tomorrow.

We probably couldn't be further away from the revelry of St. Paddy's Day celebrations, and that is certainly fine. We spent the morning hosting a play date between Jack and his school friend Charlie. Charlie is Jack's first friend he hasn't know since the crib - he is such a sweet boy from a thoughtful family. He showed up with a fistful of daffodils for Jack's mommy.

I loved having a pirate and a Superman run around, looking for monsters and laughing when I told them their pirates' treasure was called "booty." (Admit it, you smiled too.) 

I kind of love play dates, as the kids entertain themselves. With Jossie napping, I had time to try my hand at an omelet. Yes, City Sweet has not conquered omelets. And I did not do it today - letting the egg burn on the outside while the inside was still runny. I do love this book however - Cook's Illustrated is trying its hardest to give me step-by-step, scientific-based instructions to cooking perfection. 

After good-byes to Charlie, lunch, a grocery trip and an afternoon nap for Jossie, Jeremy and I took the kids up to the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve in Lake County. The capital campaign for the Preserve started two months before Jack's birth, so I like to think of both of these projects as things I've seen grown, myself maturing too. I played a small role overall in this project, but I can certainly take credit in front of my kids, right? "Mommy helped make this place," I told Jack as we strolled along the sunny lake bluff trail, with glittering views of Lake Michigan to our left. (Though I realized I may have led him too far, after Jack asked me if I made Lake Michigan.)

I proudly took in the many visitors we passed - mostly military families who reside at Fort Sheridan, cyclists and a couple getting their engagement pictures taken by a photographer.  "Mommy," Jack observed. "People like your place!"

I'll take that as a working-mama validation any day.

The sun and warm temperatures are so refreshing - it was great to play outside. I was struck by this picture however - look at those long shadows from the sun. Those are winter shadows despite our summer temperatures.

Jeremy had heard good things about Real Urban BBQ in neighboring Highland Park and is always excited to try a new BBQ joint, so we took the kids for an early dinner. The food was good - we would recommend it. They featured Carolina-style of BBQ - smoked meats and you can add your own sauces - which you ordered cafeteria-style. The kids and I love the sides, and they had an unsweetened peach iced tea that was very refreshing. People say that Jossie girl is my mini-me because of our looks but I saw the way that girl eyed her brother's mac and cheese - that is all me, baby.

They have seating outside, and I'm always quickly reminded how beautiful al fresco dining is with kids. Once you're finished, you just stand up, brush everyone off and go, go, go.

We finished our night at Homer's Ice Cream in Wilmette on our way home to the city. I like to think of it as really good birth control - the place was extremely loud, overrun by families and groups of tweens. While Jossie has had other sweets, this was her first bite of ice cream - despite her early startled reaction to its coldness, she loved it. And as I watched the tweens laughing with each other, pulling out iPhones and acting goofy, I pulled Jack's chair close to me. Grateful he's still mine, and he still wants to spend his time with Mommy.

An Irish blessing for today:

These things I warmly wish to you-
Someone to love
Some work to do
A bit o' sun
A bit o' cheer
And a guardian angel always near.

Food-rific weekend

I love that food is always more than just food. It's friends and family coming together for a shared experience.

Friday, Jack, Jossie and I dropped off a meal to a new friend, who is a beautiful person inside and out, and mom to a 2-year-old daughter and newborn twin boys. Oy! You can check out her blog here. I love bringing new parents brunch (because, honey, you ain't going out to brunch anytime soon with a newborn), and this dish is over-the-top in every way:

Savory breakfast bread and sausage strata
Adapted from Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes from Foster's Market by Sara Foster
Serves 8 to 10

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 lb breakfast sausage, de-cased (your butcher can do this for you)
1 5 oz bag of pre-washed baby spinach leaves
2 1/2 cups milk
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
6 cups 1 1/2-inch cubes day-old French bread
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (about 6 oz)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 oz)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Melt the 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook for 4 minutes or so, breaking into pieces as it cooks.  Stir in the spinach and saute until it is just wilted, about two minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, and drain off any liquid.

2. Whisk together the milk, eggs, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the bread and stir to coat. Stir in the sausage mixture, cheeses, thyme and rosemary and pour into prepared dish.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or, preferably, overnight.

3. Twenty minutes before you're ready to serve, remove from fridge.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until it is puffy and golden brown.  Remove the bread pudding from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm and enjoy.

Saturday, we headed to the Green City Market with our friends Emily and Steve. On his own, Jack discovered pickling cucumbers at Genesis Growers, and Auntie Em encouraged him to make pickles. So we bought four, and Jack and I made a batch of these yesterday afternoon. This is an easy recipe for kids, and Jack proudly peeks in the fridge from time to time to see how his pickles are doing:

Jack's superhero "get you out of a pickle" fridge pickles

Adapted from The Foster's Market Cookbook by Sara Foster

Makes about 1 quart

2 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon pickling spice

4 to 5 small pickling cucumbers, sliced in quarters

1/4 small white onion, thinly sliced into rounds

1. Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper and pickling spices in a quart jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Layer the cucumbers and onion in the jar using a wooden spoon to press them tightly into the jar. Place the lid on the jar, shake it well, and refrigerate at least 4 hours, shaking the jar occasionally to keep the ingredients mixed. These pickles will keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.

Last night, we met friends Scott and Sarah for dinner out at Nightwood in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. It's been a long time since the four of us have been out sans kids, and this place was perfect. They used locally sourced organic ingredients, integrated into wonderfully creative dishes with Latin and Asian influences. 

And now it's Sunday. I had high hopes of going to church by myself but it's raining and we're all tired and hanging out in our pjs. As you can see, I'm on a Foster's Market kick - Sara Foster worked with Martha Stewart before opening this market in Durham, NC in 1990. We had the opportunity to visit when my cousin got married in Raleigh in 2007. I love all of her cookbooks. Here's another favorite recipe, which we made this morning:

Buttermilk pancakes 

Adapted from The Foster's Market Cookbook by Sara Foster

Makes about 20 (4-inch) pancakes.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix the flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk egg yolks, buttermilk, 6 tablespoons of the butter and vanilla in a separate bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form.

Meanwhile, heat a griddle over medium-high heat until a drop of water dances on the surface. Add flour mixture to liquids and stir just until well blended. Gently fold in the whites; do not overmix.

Scoop about 1/4 cup batter to make each pancake, spreading it or allowing it to settle. Space pancakes 2 inches apart. Cook until batter forms bubbles. Flip the cakes and cook about 2 minutes more. Top with berries, bananas and/or syrup. Enjoy!

A table for four

Jeremy and I ventured out tonight with Jack and Jossie. We went to Feed in Chicago's Ukranian Village. It's a funky place with eclectic decor, colorful strings of lights, loud music and the "egg machine" for Jack. It has counter service and features comfort foods with a Southern bent - roast chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, pulled pork, the list goes on.

The crowd is mostly hipsters in their twenties and cops from the local precinct. And then there was us - Jeremy is his Brooks Brothers shirt and I in my maternity yoga get-up. Jack - in fact - probably looked most in place there with his dinosaur pajama top (don't ask) and his skull cap.

He had a great time - putting quarter after quarter in the egg machine, which gave him a plastic Easter egg with a prize inside, or as I might call them, "choking hazards." Itty bitty little prizes like pirate rings and cheap yo-yos. (Note to self: Hide these before Jossie can crawl). 

It was so nice to be out, even so casual. Jack could dance around, and Jeremy and I actually could talk about our days. And Jossie just snoozed in her stroller.  We even split a piece of homey berry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Jeremy has declared that pie is the new cupcake by the way) for dessert before heading out into the chilly Chicago night, our family of four.

Feed

2803 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago

Cash only

Go here now

Here's my admission: I'm not really reviewing restaurants on this blog. Basically, I'm telling you when I find a good one. And I loved last night's place.

Jeremy and I rarely have a date night these days, so we gotta make it count. Province features New American food with South American and Spanish influences. It really feels like you're going out - a very modern, clean, white atmosphere with shocking pink accents hidden here and there. The room was bustling but it was easy to carry on a conversation.

This restaurant is a sign of the times. Its menu features local, sustainable ingredients and - in this economy - has a number of small plates and you can do a half-order on many of the entrees, making it fairly easy on the wallet.

This is serious grown-up food - melding together seasonal vegetables and spices, this restaurant did not disappoint. Our favorites were crab and fresh corn chowder with poblanos and fingerling potatoes; a 10-hour lamb with roasted eggplant, chorizo and cornbread stuffing; and an over-the-moon blueberry tart.

The wine list was varied and budget-friendly.  The staff was accommodating and street parking was plentiful. What are you waiting for???

Province
161 N. Jefferson St., Chicago

Adorable, seasonal and kid-friendly

Friday night, Jeremy and I had a very nice dinner at Chalkboard in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. This is one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants, and it's not just because of the fried chicken!

Adorable: The restaurant has a French bistro feel with pale-green-colored walls and fresh white brick. The staff is adorable as well - thoroughly charming and helpful. When we order the fried chicken and mac and cheese, the server proclaimed that this was his "favorite combination in the world."

Seasonal: The menu is ever-changing and is written on a large chalkboard on one wall (hence the name), and they feature the season's best ingredients.

Kid-friendly: The owners are a married couple, and their son is often at the restaurant during the early dining hours. They have a kids' New Year's Eve bash that has a countdown around 6 p.m. with sparkling apple cider.

Chalkboard also features a very delightful, reasonably priced afternoon tea service on Saturdays and Sundays, which I recently enjoyed with two good friends.

Chalkboard
4343 N. Lincoln, Chicago
(773) 477-7144
Open: Dinner, Monday, Wednesday-Sunday, 5-10 p.m.
Afternoon Tea Service, Saturday-Sunday, 2-4 p.m.
Sunday Brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

What we did with our rainy morning

Chicago parents - if you're looking for a cheap fun activity this summer on a rainy day, check out Andy Warhol's Silver Clouds exhibit on display at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which can be accessed right off of the L's Green Line. Jack had a ball running through this interactive exhibit. (And when I say "interactive," I mean giggling uncontrollably, barreling through the silvery balloons.) Props to Jeremy for dressing him in orange today so we could actually keep track of him. If you have time afterwards, take a stroll around IIT's campus to admire the modern architecture.

Jeremy took Jack and I for lunch at Lou Mitchell's in the West Loop; in business since 1923, this establishment's one of many claims to fame is it marks the start of Route 66.

Now this is a great place to bring kids (and my brother-in-law Peter, for that matter). As you wait for a table, they offer their signature donut holes. Once seated, this diner's menu seems endless. We stuck to breakfast - fluffy French toast, rich coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and a great children's menu.  The place was loud - which we appreciated, as parents of a tot. As Jack began to serenade me at the top of his lungs, I had nary a worry nor care. And just when my little guy started the "I'm done" dance, a voice whispered in my ear, "How about some complimentary soft-serve?" The server smiled as she returned with a round of small cups of vanilla ice cream. I hear they also give Milk Duds on the way out, but not today. Lou's, we'll be back.

Just one note: They only accept cash, but they do have an ATM machine in their entryway.

Lou Mitchell's, 565 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago
Open: Monday-Saturday, 5:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Sweet treats in Lincoln Park

 The gang at Floriole Cafe & Bakery never disappoint. Jeremy, Jack and I enjoyed their baked goods at the Green City Market - snacking on sweet raspberry teacakes - all last summer. They recently opened a storefront in Lincoln Park, and I took Jack for lunch today.

The space is airy, light and modern. Exposed brick walls, stainless steel and a beautiful reclaimed wood table are all highlights. "This is just like Gack's house," my pint-sized lunch date declared. (I wish!) The cafe features two levels with lots of sunlight on the second level. On the first level, there is a big window to see into the kitchen.  The cafe has counter service, and I ordered a pizzette with grape tomatoes and basil for Jack and an egg salad sandwich for myself. The bakery case was filled with cakes, tarts, pots de Creme (a silky custard dessert) and cookies, but Mommy resisted. Jack loved his mini-pizza, and my egg salad was mustard-based and was topped with fresh spinach leaves. Floriole uses many seasonal, local ingredients, and they bring a lot of creativity to their work.

They are child-friendly with booster seats at the ready and a very snazzy stainless-steel changing station in the bathroom. This is the perfect place for a steaming cafe au lait and a decadent croissant in the morning or for a salad, sandwich or piece of quiche for lunch. It caters more for the girlfriends getting together to talk or to work on your laptop (they have free wifi) but I totally felt comfortable being there with my young son.  Their prices were a bit high but hey it's Lincoln Park. Get thee to Floriole and be sure to try the teacakes.

Floriole, 1220 W. Webster, Chicago
Open: Tuesday-Friday, 7 a.m. -3 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.; closed Mondays

What I learned today

Today, Jack, his nannyshare friend/close bud Nate, and nanny extraordinaire Maria took me on a lunch date to one of their favorite places: Borinquen, a Puerto Rican restaurant somewhere between Chicago's Humboldt Park and Logan Square neighborhoods. This is what I learned:

1. I might have too short of a leash on Jack. When Maria encouraged the boys to run across the (small) room to take a look at the large fish tank, they both took off. Jack then froze, turned around and came back to me with a look like, "is this cool?" In that instance, I realized I don't give him much freedom in public to explore but our circumstances often dictate that in the city. Must put that on my mommy to-do list to reconcile.

2. Jibaritos are just plain awesome. This sandwich uses fried plantains rather than bread, people. That is an amazing, decadent discovery. Ripe, red, August-looking tomatoes, lettuce and onions top the flavorful steak, cheese and a dab of mayo.  The service was extremely friendly, and it's BYOB to boot. I'll be back....maybe you'll join me?

Cloth-napkin dining with Jack

I've had the opportunity to eat lunch at Prairie Grass Cafe twice, paired with visits to one of my favorite places, the Chicago Botanic Garden. Tonight, Jeremy's mom took us all - including Jack - out for dinner there, which I was very excited to do and introduce Jeremy to.  This restaurant has a menu of upscale comfort food made with seasonal ingredients.

Prairie Grass Cafe is the perfect restaurant for recovering new parents who were once foodies. They use ingredients from local farms, mostly organic, and are extremely accommodating of children. When we sat down, I relished the cloth napkins...cloth-napkin dining with Jack? They asked if Jack wanted whole or skim milk...another plus. They had a very nice children's menu, and we just love our appetizers (how could a simple cream of mushroom soup be so velvety and so delicious?). Our entrees of duck for Ellen and Jeremy and beef from Tallgrass Beef for me were great; the wine list was reasonably priced and extensive.  Dinner was finished with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream for Jack.

It was a great dinner for the fabulous food and not being stressed about having my two-year-old out after sundown. The atmosphere was friendly yet elegant. It was a bit expensive but I highly recommend for a special treat!

Whoa

I'm still talking about food from the weekend! As part of our dinner at Bon Soiree - since we were chatting up our server - she had us try a sechuan button and described it as "fuzzy TV" in your mouth. Go here to learn more (thanks, Emily!).

One word to describe this weekend: food

I can't believe it's Monday night; we have survived the weekend! Openlands had a great fundraiser lunch Friday, complete with talks by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Bill Kurtis and Donna LaPietra and a wonderfully inspiring talk by Rick Bayless. As Rick said, buy local (food); be happy! We had about 700 guests, which was extremely satisfying, given our economy.


On to the weekend...Friday night, after taking Advil for my aching legs (running in heels all day), I started pulling out my party plates and purple napkins. Our good friends Emily and Steve came in late that night and after Northwestern's Homecoming football game Saturday, we hosted a pre-reunion party at our condo that included grilled lemon chicken skewers, Emily's homemade beef wontons, hummus with fresh vegetables, brie en croute - here's one variation - Emily's included fig jam, walnuts and dried cranberries, garlic and cheese crostini and pumpkin bread.


Pumpkin bread
1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup applesauce
4 eggs
3½ cups all-purpose flour
3 cups white sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons ground allspice
1½ teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chopped nuts


Blend eggs and sugar. Blend in pumpkin, vegetable oil and applesauce. Sift together dry ingredients (including spices). Combine the two mixtures, blending thoroughly. Stir in nuts. Pour into 2 greased 9” x 5” x 3” loaf pans and bake at 300 degrees F for 1 hour. After removing from the oven, let the breads rest for 10 minutes before removing from the pans.


Sunday night, we went to Bon Soiree in Logan Square. It. was. wonderful. It has changed the way I look at food. The ingredients were seasonal and so fresh - the combinations were eye-opening and intriguing. Jeremy emailed the chef this morning, and he sent Jeremy back a kind note and a list of everything we tasted:

• Salad of shaved cucumbers, sorrel, kombu-tangerine vinaigrette, roasted peach, heirloom tomato
• Rabbit & duck confit motoyaki, torched ponzu aioli
• Kabocha squash soup with tart apples and yuzu citrus, white chocolate and bacon
• Lobster Sous Vide in wasabi duck fat with five styles of eggplant
• Braised Veal Cheek, Duck Breast, Chipotle Jus, Parsnip Potato pure with fines herbs, honey mushrooms and brussel sprouts
• Humboldt Fog, Pomegranate gelee, Thai basil tea puff, malted milk crisps
• Pear Gallette, housemade butterscotch ice cream

It was expensive but they are BYOB (and are committed to elevating the BYOB experience), which helped. I highly recommend! The chef is incredibly accommodating and invited us into his kitchen when we come back, which we surely will.

Review: UrbanBelly and Rootstock

Jeremy and I went with good friends to UrbanBelly last night. We were quite impressed with this counter-service BYOB joint. Very upscale dishes (with prices to match)...our favorites were the pork and cilantro dumplings, short rib and scallion rice, and the udon noodles with shrimp, coriander and sweet chili lime broth. Our orders came amazingly fast, and we sat at long communal tables. Everything had a spicy heat to it, which might not be to everyone's liking. We brought a sweet 2008 Loosen "Dr. L" Riesling that perfectly paired with this Asian food. It was a great room with accommodating service. We will definitely be back, imagining ourselves there on a cold Chicago winter night, with steaming bowls of noodles in front of us.

One of the only downsides was that our dining experience was fast - about an hour. Since it was a Friday night and we had a babysitter, we stopped by Rootstock, a new wine bar in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood that has been getting great reviews. It was full by 8:15 p.m., with people sitting in comfortable chairs, enjoying an extensive wine and beer list. The wine list featured many wines you wouldn't find at the store at truly reasonable prices. They had a small menu with mostly savory dishes (we were informed that their only dessert was bacon toffee, made in-house. Funny aside: Just earlier that day, I was trying to think of desserts with meat in them...) Definitely worth a trip if you're on Chicago's west side.

Top 10 Fried Things in Chicago

Jeremy and I are catching up on our Tivo-ed shows tonight (isn't that what everyone does on a Saturday night?). We are watching Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate...fried food edition.

It got us talking; here are our favorite fried goodies in Chicago:

10. Buffalo wings at Goose Island Brewery. (Jeremy's addition.)

9. Empanadas at Tango Sur. (Tango Sur is in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and is a dining experience you need to have. Trust me. Unless you're a vegetarian.)

8. Sopes at Mixteco Grill.

7. Shrimp po'boy sandwich at Heaven on Seven.

6. Calamari at Francesca's on Taylor. (I love this calamari and I will tell you why: They serve it with marinara sauce rather than cocktail sauce. )

5. Shrimp, crab and vegetable-filled wontons at Lulu's. (I'm glad Lulu is not a real woman - Jeremy may very well leave me for her otherwise.)

4. The onion frites served with the roasted chicken at Bistro Campagne. (Hands' down - my favorite restaurant in Chicago - I love the (mostly organic) food, service and atmosphere...if I was ever on Check Please!, this would be my recommendation.)

3. The Coffee & Doughnuts Dessert at Japonais.

2. Fried chicken at Chalkboard. (If you have not been to Chalkboard, GO THERE NOW. It is fabulous and utilizes lots of organic ingredients.)

1. Two-fer: Tilipia sandwich and pommes frites at Hopleaf. (Promise me you'll visit the Hopleaf this winter - it is super-cozy with super-comfort food.)

What are your favorites?

Makes my toes curl

Yes, I'm talking about food...after a long day yesterday of crazy 2nd birthday fun at my friend's house, Mr. J, Little Man and I were "those guests" who wouldn't leave. We stuck around for dinner, and our friends introduced us to Cafe Orchid in Wrigleyville. Succulent, fresh, delicious...oh yogurt chicken, please be mine. I love that there are probably a million places like this tucked away in Chicago...little secrets yet to be discovered...