Communal eating

I had already checked deep dish pizza off my list and there was one Chicago food I needed to mark off before leaving...The Chicago Hot Dog. The problem was that I had no idea where to go. I have to say that I don't think I have ever had one in Chicago. Minneapolis, Buena Park California, and a town north of Chicago named Winnetka. I couldn't for the life of me remember what the place was called in Winnetka all I know is that my family refers to it as Crispy Fries, but I couldn't wander around asking people where Crispy Fries was, they like other outsiders to my family language would not know what I was talking about.

I remember vaguely seeing a Portillo's after wandering around Friday after Frontera so it was there for lack of somewhere old school to go. 

There was a place for dinner we wanted to check out as a recommendation, Publican, where we had an early dinner due to not having a reservation. We sat at a communal table, luckily next to a big group who had eyes bigger than their stomachs and ordered the entire menu. (Sometimes it is hard to know if people are having fun or if they are food bloggers) due to their over ordering and i think some non-oyster lovers in their group we were offered a near dozen oysters so that they didn't go to waste. Twist our arms. I actually am not an oyster fan, but theirs are good.

We continued on with razor clams (a first for me) roasted rabbit and beef tongue done almost like corned beef and cabbage, all were excellent. We denied more offererings from the people to the left while giving recommendations to people to our right who had never done the communal dining thing. I like communial dining especially in Chicago where people are friendly.

I really loved Publican and have since seen their mouthwatering posts on Facebook.

hobnobbing and surprises

Spending 4-6 hours together is better than spending no time at all. It is a measure of how much you are loved by how many people will come from far and wide just to see you for those few hours.

I love that my family loves to celebrate, make big productions out of milestones, surprises out of days.

Enter stage left....

Water parks and surprises

Spending 2-4 hours with people you haven't seen in years is better than spending no time at all.

K and I crammed like sardines in the Johnson family minivan for the ride to Gurnee to where we were meeting the rest of the fam. I was a little nervous because this was the first meeting of K and my D.A.D. which at 37 is still nerve wracking.  It was nicely diffused by some surprise mystery guests at lunch, my Aunt Carol, Uncle Mike, Cousin David and members of the other Johnson clan. We had lunch at this soda counteresqe diner with a waiter who told very bad jokes, I mean awful, so bad I can't remember any.

Since my birthday had been the weekend before, some people thought it would be a great idea to conspire with the waiter to bring me a dessert and have everyone sing to me, which everyone knows is mortifying to me. The sting of embarrassment was mitigated by sprinkles.

It was really great catching up with everyone, it had been far too long.



 

The second part

When we last left Chicago....

Team Sisters had to return after lunch and K and I decided to explore all the places team sisters had explored already followed by dinner at Frontera Grill although we thought we were waiting for Topolobambo. It was worth the 2+ hour wait, please make a reservation if you are thinking about going, although the couple next to us waited an hour for their reserved table.  Anyway, pictures

Where have I been??

My suitcase has seriously been my best friend, now she is battered and worn and excited to stay put for a while.

I have been in the past 4 months to New York, Chicago(i need to get back to those posts before I forget), the Dominican Republic, and San Diego. I have also been splitting time between my two homes in Los Angeles, one in downtown and the other closer to the ocean. ;) 

I have so much to write about, it is hard to know where to begin. I will try though to remember as much as I can, but forgive me if it ends up being posts mainly of pictures.

I am so full of surprises

About 2 weeks after I got back from New York, I headed to Chicago for a surprise bday party. I hadn't been to Chicago for at least a decade, I forgot how much I really love that city and how much nostalgia I have for it.

Day one:

We took the train from Evanston into Chicago, a little later to meet Team Sisters to do some Chicago touristy things. We met them at the Shedd, they were just finishing their aquarium related business. We pondered what to do next when we were approached by a salesman to buy tickets for a water taxi to Navy Pier. Usually we wave these people off saying that we weren't interested because it is usually people selling glo sticks or super sweet lemonade in this contraption you have to carry around all day with sticky hands. The more we thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea, especially after the schlep team sisters had already that morning from hotel to Navy Pier, Millenium and Grant Parks to Museum Campus. That idea turned out to be one of the best of the trip. Chicago has a great coast line, full of random archtecture that somehow all works together. Sears Tower, John Hancock, and the modern shiny Gerhy amplitheater in Millenuim park. (I will show these later, my post is aleady getting long)

 

We landed on Navy Pier about 20 minutes later walked around a bit, kids riding rides, stopping for refreshments. Then I did something I never thought I would do, agree to ride on the GIGANTIC ferris wheel. 

We met up with Mandu and had a nostalgic late lunch at Due, it was as good as we remembered

Dinosaurs wolves and mamoths

I have passed by the Page Museum twice a day at least five days a week for the past 4 years and have never gone in. Los Angeles is like that, you pass by a place a million times, but it is often because you are on your way to some place else.

For Ciclavia I wasn't really on my way anywhere, just east and the Page ended up being on that path. The page museum sits at the site of Rancho La Brea which used to be cattle ranches, pretty hard to believe, although it is on museum row, it still is one of the more active and more stinky fossil sites.

I was pretty amazed at its collection and had no idea mastadons/mammoths only had 4 huge molars in their mouths, like super huge like the size of my head.

Here are some photos.

 

1 antique bison

2 mastadon

3 dire wolf skulls

 

 

4 anamatronic saber toothed tiger falling a giant sloth

Meanwhile back in Los Angeles

Last Sunday I took part in Ciclavia: iconic Wilshire Blvd.

What the heck is Ciclavia? Well I am glad you asked. Ciclavia was started in Columbia as a response to congestion in the streets and pollution due to cars and other automobiles. LA knows a little about those two things. It is a day when the residents take back the streets by closing down a main thoroughfare only for bikers, skateboarders, rollerskaters and walkers.

This time is was Wilshire from Downtown to Fairfax, but also involved was a self guided architecture as part of PST presents tour with a little kbbq fest thrown in. I couldn't resist and I really didn't have an excuse not to go, since it was basically a block from my house.

There were several stations set up as rest stops for ciclaviaers (?) including djs, cultural dance and martial arts demos, food trucks and there were several 25 cent lemonade stands that neighborhood kids set up to make some summer cash.

Here are photos:

While digging through dropbox....

I found that I actually did take picture of Jean Georges and Red Rooster

Monday in New York

Monday in New York museums are open, and I took the opportunity to see my cousin Nick who has been touring the country, but happened to be in New York coincidentally. This trip was full of coincidences.

At MoMA one of the special exhibits was a rain room. Wherever you stepped, the rain suddenly wasn't there, they warned that you might slightly wet, but after two days of getting rained on, this really didn't really sound appealing to me. Especially a 2+ hour wait. I am too old to wait 2+ hours to get slightly rained on. No thanks.

I did however want to see the Applied Design exhibit. 

What the heck is applied design? I know you had  that question.

I guess the best way to answer that question is to tell you what I saw.

Artfully designed chairs made from unlikely materials

A rolling giant ball made from big plungers that rollover and detonate undetonated mines 

A visualization of the internet

Tetris, super mario brothers

A machine that makes pottery out of sand using sunlight

I don't know if that explains it, but i hope it does. 

This is a chair

The day we ate all day

Sunday was for eating. Knocking off all the little snack places we wanted to visit. This involved a lot of walking through neighborhoods, but it was also the day it rained, all day, that misty annoying rain. My shoes never dried, the waterproofing didn't stand a chance.

Stop one: Russ and Daughters for old school authentic bagels lox and cream cheese.

Stop two: the original babycakes. I wanted a gluten free chocolate donut really bad.

Stop three: Big Gay Ice Cream for soft serve and bourbon chocolate sauce

Stop four: Arepas at Cara Cas. I had the reina pepiada which was avacado chicken salad between fried corn bread.

Between 4 and 5 we met up with my oldest and dearest friend who was also my very first boyfriend, but who is now like the older bother I never had.

Stop 5: Gluten free sicilian crust pizza at Keste. I want to go back right now.

Stop 6: industry party at this live work loft that had stereo and tv systems on a track so that they could move into any room you were.

Stop7: louro, where I had this amazing papardelle made from white asparagus, with uni butter and peekytoe crab. It would have been gluten free too, if I hadn't used the bread to mop up that delicious, delicious sauce.

Stop 8: blind tiger bar where I tried a strawberry flavored gluten free beer, and it was good

What are they wearing: festivus for the rest of us

Los Angeles is in its summer festival mode. Bohemian high low dresses, chain of flower headbands, tye dyed bra tops. I expected NYC to be different, but it wasn't too much.

What are people in new york wearing? 

A lot of lace cut outs in tops and dresses and a lot of lace patterned tights, all black of course.

A social movement with a soundtrack

After a trip down  to penn and back up to columbus circle armed with umbrellas, we hit the Met for a quick 45 minute tour. Definitely not enough time. I b-lined for the punk fashion show. It had gotten some negative reviews and I understand why. A movement started by poor and working class as retaliation against the disparity of wealth represented by dresses inspired by moth eaten clothes for a purchase price of $5,000.

Seems a little off.

Interesting to see that Vivian Westwood's first designs were made of muslin, a very inexpensive material and worn by original punk icons.

I did wish I could have spent more time with the show, but it was off to Harlem for over priced soul food.

;)

50 50

I never know why I trust the Weather Channel's forecasts. They are often if not always wrong. No rain until Sunday and I was duped again. As we sat finishing our homemade marshmallows at Jean Georges it began to pour and as it poured it said that there was only a 10% chance of rain and the icon had a big sun with a tich of cloud over it. I think I am in the wrong profession. I should have been a weather girl and changed my name to Haily Storms and get paid thousands of dollars to be completely wrong.

We had no umbrellas and a big day planned.  

Cuisine american

The only thing planned during this trip, although its impetus was the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, was where we were going to eat. Every meal, snack and drink was all part of a plan. Bagels and lox at Russ and Daughters, Arepas, ice cream with bourbon chocolate sauce at Big Gay Ice Cream,  this heavenly drink at macao trading company. Everything. At first this was a bit daunting with no room for spontinaity, but in the end with how long it takes to get from point a to point b, this, the eating was the most refreshing part of the trip.

Saturday was the day we had a 2 hour and 15 minute lunch at Jean George in the Trump Tower off of Central Park and Columbus Circle. All I kept thinking was I am glad that I know what all this silverware does so I don't make an idiot of myself like Tom Hanks in Big. This was also the day that was my turn to meet all of the boyfriend's friends.

I strongly recommend coming to Jean George during lunch, it still has all of the fancy of dinner service with being a little more laid back in atmosphere. (Dress code still enforced) It is also pretty economical at lunch, with a two plate meal at $38 with $19 for additional plates and offer half glasses of wine for tasting with your mea have to say that the options for plates are hard to pick with many things in season, like softshell crab, white asparagus, uni, etc.

I chose the ahi tuna ribbons that came out in a nest on top of pureed avacado, bright crimson and topped with chili oil, and finished off by the server pouring a small tea kettle of spicy soy sauce mixture. It was pretty fantastic. It was followed by arctic char, which is my favorite fish. The perfect mixture of the good things about salmon and trout, without the things you don't like, like after taste. This was perched on top of logs of white asparagus in a jade emulsion sauce, which tasted like green curry and green tea and a pureed herb of some sort, but I don't know. It was just good, believe me. If I weren't in such a fancy place I would have drank my plate. I tried some of Kam's sweet and sour black cod, which was crusted in nuts and had a mushroomy, nutty sauce that was crack like.

The waitstaff here are all very talented and work in precision like a gourmet flash mob, I loved watching them, clearing and serving, women first then men second, revealing meals at the same time from underneath bulbous ceramic covers, turning away like the last scene of Oceans 11 away from the fountain. I wish I could go back just for that show, with my headphones on with ballet music.

pictures are of amuse bouche and K's appetizer

Friday I'm in Love

Three hours is a huge difference. After going to bed at 4, too many cocktails served by mustachioed men who look like they belonged in barbershop quartets. 4 very much felt like 1 and 10 very much felt like 7.

I had to dust off the groggies and meet my new niece, ArMarBar who was staying in times square. She is already part of the young jet set at 10 weeks.  We got off the train one stop too early and wandered through the square at day time which is much different, less crowded, more faded so that our friend who came with us had a comparison of what would happen later. I was a little nervous since this was the first intro between family and the boyfriend.

We met mom and mandu at her hotel, for a second before she had to run off to meetings. The rest of us decided to enjoy the weather at a French restaurant across the street. ArMarBar was on a sleeping jag that just wouldn't quit. Slept through lunch, the crowds of people in the MoMA gift shop, and the begining of our trek through Central Park. I have been to New York a few times, but never to Central Park not sure why. Pre smart phone and gps I think. (Yes it had been a while) i had no idea is was so close to MoMA.

The following are pictures from Central Park. We took pictures of the babe a la Amelie, but those will come at another time.

I thought at first that it would be hard to be the "cool" aunt to all of the the nieces and nephews, but after talking with Arden about our day at Central Park, she is very chatty when she is awake, something I said must have been funny and I got some of her first giggles out of her.

Saving space on my carryon

First off let me say that I completely regret having my only camera be my iPad. I though that the camera on this thing was supposed to be good. It just isn't. It is a bit cumbersome, I got a lot of pictures of my fingers and pictures of people turned out super grainy and not in that retro hisptamatic kind of way. It was such a pain that I ended up not documenting this trip as much as I would have had I brought my camera. So this trip will be mostly description and photos I could salvage. A lot of them just weren't that good.

View from hotel room

We arrived in new york around 11:pm which felt like dinner time for us Angelenos, but sleeping time for people in new york. For a city that never sleeps, there are relatively few people out on at 11 on a Thursday night. We dropped off our bags at The New Yorker and I had to see what our view was from the, gulp, 24th floor. 

Pretty nice.

We then headed to Tribeca, to Tribeca Canvas, a late night spot to grab a bite to eat. Their kitchen is open until 3:am. We were the only people there. We shared a lot of the late night menu, my favorite, a twist on what I can get in my own neighborhood in Koreatown, ddokbokki wrapped in seaweed. I loved the decor, almost like eating dinner in a forrest.

Then it was off to sample a couple cocktail bars before bedtime at 4:am

Stars-it's a terminal 3 thing baby

I have seen a fair share of celebrities in the seven plus years that I have lived here. A lot of them, if not all, have been documented on this blog. When I see these people I think, people will be excited to hear about this on the blog, but there hasn't been too many people I have been excited to see myself.  That was until going through security at LAX.

I hear the TSA security guards joking around, random whispers about Star Trek, Reading Rainbow and a guard who says loudly.

"Hey man, you taught me how to read"

I pass by him with all of my carry-on items and shoes balanced in my arms. I see LeVar Burton. It was kind of emotional the reaction I had. It felt strange, I was so star struck, so happy. I loved Reading Rainbow when I was a kid. I loved reading so much, I still do, and I think a lot of that had to do with that show. How it opened your imagination by reading.

I really wanted to say something to him, how much that show meant to me, how much I loved his interview on the new Larry King show with Bill Nye on the state of education in this country. I didn't, I figured it would come out as a jumble of words and leave me misty eyed, for no reason really.

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Have any of you been watching Mad Men? I have seen every episode. Things have really come out of left field this season. A great addition though to this season is Harry Hamlin. You may remember him from LA Law perhaps. He was in first class on my flight and he is very handsome.

Day of beauty

I have been spending a lot of time on the west side lately. In LA the east side and west side are very different, different in congestion, space and attitude. On this side the eastsiders say that westsiders have lululemon problems. I don't really know what that means, see through pants?

Perhaps it is because everyone is always carrying a yoga mat.

I kind of like the chill attitude, but mostly the farmers markets and opportunities to hike.

Here is one day where I did such a thing.