A Gluttonous Experience

Today has been a slow moving day. Getting up and off to the gym was unusually difficult and I seemed to feel as though I had been hit by a truck, sometime between last night and 6:30am this morning. I arrived at the gym around 7:30am, still feeling REALLY sluggish. Half hour into my workout, I am slow moving, have no endurance, and sweating like a pig. Right after this thought, the light came on and I realized the culprit was the pig, in last nights dinner. After hearing nothing but good things, I checked out "The Purple Pig", (500 N Michigan Ave), last night. Let me start by saying that nothing about this morning makes me regret the indulgence that took place, last evening. 

Being fortunate enough to catch a great Chicago evening, we were seated outside. The menu, alike the communal table arrangements, were designed for sharing. We started with a great rock shrimp antipasti with three different types of peas, shaved asparagus with feta cheese, a fried cheese dish that reminded me of a great Greek saganaki (sans fire), and a fried deviled egg. The deviled egg stood apart as an early favorite, mostly because it was fried, but also because it didn't remind me of the traditional deviled egg that I don't particularly like. We then moved onto the "Smears" portion of the menu. Feeling adventurous, we went with the roasted bone marrow with herbs. Never having ordered, or eaten, bone marrow before, I can say that it's texture was similar to the fat on a grilled ribeye steak. We "smeared" the hot marrow over bread, and mutually found our maiden marrow experience to be better than expected.

For our final round, we ordered braised pig's tails, pork blade steak and the milk braised pork shoulder with mashed potatoes. Alike the bone marrow, eating pig's tail was a new experience. After marinading in balsamic vinegar, the tails were covered in brown sugar, then braised. The end product was delicious, and tasted a lot like ribs. For desert, we tried the Sicilian iris, which came heavily recommended by a neighboring diner. The iris is a deep fried ricotta and chocolate chip filled brioche, and yet again, delicious!

Everything we had at The Purple Pig was fantastic. If you're in Chicago, and enjoy pork, check out this restaurant, you won't be disappointed. Just be forewarned, you won't be operating at full speed the next day! 

Brunch in the City

Over the last few weeks, I have taken the opportunity to hit some early morning brunch spots. Though I hit some old favorites, I have also tried some new places as well. Until this morning, I was solely smitten by Bakin' and Eggs (3120 N Lincoln Ave). B&E's menu offerings range from healthier options, such as the oatmeal with peach lavender compote, pecan streusel and brown sugar (ok, so not TOO healthy), to the clearly gluttonous options that include the bacon flight (7 types of bacon) and the Southern Comfort Bowl (basically cholesterol covered with sausage gravy... clearly delicious). Yesterday I had the caramelized onion frittata, was happy as ever, and couldn't imagine topping that breakfast, this weekend.

This morning, I woke up with a list of to-do's that I needed to fulfill. I figured a good breakfast was a no-brainer, so I hit up Google requesting the best brunch spots in Chicago. I weeded through the list, and came across the bar/restaurant, Old Town Social (OTS for short). Though I have passed this place a few times, I have never stopped in and have heard rumors of it being a little pretentious. At any rate, I took a glance at the menu and noticed the not-so-bar-food options. I liked what I saw and figured, what the hell.

When I arrive, the place is empty, or so it seems. I have no idea how many square feet the restaurant is, but it's big. I take a seat at the bar. Looking around, I notice an absence of TV's that usually adorn every square inch of the bar/restaurant combo that exists in Chicago. What OTS has done is smart. Most all of the TV's are either raised into the ceiling, or lowered behind the bar during typical dining hours. According to the bartender, once the facility goes into full-on bar mode, the TV's appear, the lights go dim and the music gets louder. To me, if you put time into a menu, and offer menu options that go beyond fried mini-tacos and cheeseburgers, it should feel like a restaurant, not a bar! I digress.

I glance over the menu. I am torn between two options: the cornmeal-bacon waffles with maple syrup and homemade grilled smoked sausage, or the pork belly benedict. A tough call, but I chose the waffles. After the first bite, I was immediately compelled to text a few foodie friends about just how good that bite was. Honestly, I am not a man that gets excited over waffles often, but this sausage/waffle combo was serious! After I finish my last bite, I glance over at a fellow patron who happens to have the benedict. I ask the status of his meal, and he he claims this pork belly benedict, is the best benedict he's ever had! Is this attestation debatable and overstated? Perhaps. But if they were anything like my waffles, then I think I believe him...

I will be back next Sunday to see for myself.

In and Around Town

In an effort to keep my mind busy, I have stepped out and done some pretty cool things lately.

First on the list is the William Eggleston exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute. Eggleston's photography is interesting and frames much of his photography around ordinary moments, and brings them to life in full color. What I found most interesting was the preservation of color in each of the shots. The vibrancy of the images, after so many years, turns out to be due to the specific way he processed his images. This process is known as dye transfer printing and is detailed further here: http://tinyurl.com/2839kgm. The exhibit runs until May 23, 2010 and I would definitely catch it if you can.

Next up is Across the Table, “Chicago’s Largest Conversation”, a nonprofit dining experience where 10 random diners meet at a restaurant for great food and conversation that stems from a predetermined topic. My dining destination was a little Mexican restaurant in Lincoln Square, Los Napoles. Our topic for the evening was beauty and the perception of beauty. Without laboring on the entire 2.5-hour conversation, I will say that it was interesting how people perceived beauty, and the fact that it had little to do with vanity. Across the Table is hosting a fundraising dinner on June 28, 2010. I will be reminding everyone of the occasion as the date gets closer, but I would highly recommend attending if you can. You can find more information at: www.acrossthetable.org

Last weekend I checked out Scoozi!, one of the original Lettuce Entertain You restaurant concepts. Located in River North, Scoozi! is a large Italian restaurant with a pretty cool dining atmosphere. I had the homemade gnocchi with Bolognese sauce. By no means would I say this restaurant was the greatest Italian restaurant in the city, but I will say that for the cost and the atmosphere, it is definitely worth trying.

Lastly, although it has nothing to do with Chicago, I will give credit to the Saturday Night Live that aired this past weekend. As most know, I am pretty outspoken about my dislike of SNL, but was willing to waste an hour and a half for Betty White and Jay-Z. Having DVR'd the show, I was finally able to watch it last night. All in all, I thought the show was pretty damn funny. Lines uncharacteristic of a Golden Girl and filled with innuendo, Betty White, at 88.5 years of age, delivered. If you are like me and typically don't get how SNL is still on TV, catch this episode on hulu and I promise you won't be disappointed.

@ the 'Bux

Currently, I am sitting in a Starbucks close to home. While employed by a small hotel consulting company, this coffee shop was amusingly known amongst friends as "my office". While working from home, I had no other daily social interaction and quickly came to miss the white noise of an office space, the water cooler conversations, and the occasional co-worker distraction. And so, Starbucks came to the rescue.
During my tenure as a pseudo Starbucks super-fan, I have come to recognize a lot of regulars that appear to be putting in office hours as well. The interesting thought that comes to mind is that although we’ve had what everyone wants - the ability to work from home 5 days a week – we have come to miss the traditional office environment that we thought we despised! I’m thinking the adage “The grass is always greener on the other side” pertains to all life situations.
Are we ever truly happy with what we have, or do we take it for granted until it’s gone? If we do take it for granted, what about the influencing factors that drive us to a decision? If certain aspects were different, would we feel the same way and still gravitate towards that same decision? As I drink my last few sips of coffee, I realize that pondering the “what if” doesn’t matter as my mind is made up. Life is about experiences, and for me, working from home can be checked off.