an eating tour of Chicago

In the tone of some of Mary's blogs
a few comments on my weekend with a culinary theme.

Friday evening: Inspired by Mary's infatuation with fried chicken, five friends gathered in Chicago, enjoy Erin's fabulous mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, Popeye's chicken and a few beers. Adrianne, an old high school friend married and living in Detroit, Erin, a world traveling Madisonian, Jenny, a witty journalism grad student, the famous missmaryb and myself, accompanied by some gorgeous yellow daisies, under the shade of a plastic palm three. Just a little relaxed chatting before some delicious fondue at Ethel's Chocolate House.

Saturday afternoon: En route to one of my favorite restaurants in the world, Joy Yee's in Chicago. Despite the dark rumors spread by one Allan,, it was indeed open, free of rodents and pestilence and sating the appetites of many. The food was great, and introducing Adrianne to the legendary Joy Yee's was quite a treat. Where else can you find huge fresh fruit smoothies for $3 and amazing Pan Asian food for $8 a plate. Good times.

Saturday evening: My first dinner at Coobah, a fun Cuban place with great sangria and mojitos. Whoever thought up the mojito is a genius. Rum with lime and mint leaves (and some other things I am sure) - yum, it's a perfect refreshing herbal pleasure for me. Erin and I shared some appetizers and tamales which were all spectacular. It's fabulous trying new cuisine for me. I've tried a lot of different foods in my life, but even trying things I may have tasted before wrapped up, combined, sauteed in different ways always holds a magical affect for me.

Take bananas for example. How many plain, out of the peel bananas has any American kid eaten in their lives, and how many different delicious ways are there to prepare bananas in so many other cultures? We have banana bread and banana cream pie, but there's also sauteed plantains with sweetened condensed milk and carmelized bananas and probably a thousand other delectable ways to eat bananas.

Sunday morning: A gorgeous perfect day with two amazing people at one fantastic cafe. We stayed for hours, talking about what our lives have become in the last few years, pondering 20-something-ness and relationships. I can't think of a better way to end the weekend, eating, drinking (coffee!) and being merry.

Mary spoke about wanting to enjoy life, to remember her 25th year like any other year past, not as a blur, but as a combination of great moments, I think. This weekend was one of those moments - being together, bonding, laughing, learning, enjoying. For me, this is life, and this is memorable.