Margaritas at Zocalo and Take Out from Butterfly Sushi

My guy came in town this weekend and tonight we met up with some good buddies. We started the night out with a margarita at Zocalo and then Butterfly Sushi take out at their apartment.

Zocalo would be the perfect spot for a first date but I wouldn't recommend anyone go out of their way to go to this place. That being said, there were a lot of good things that would make me come back for a happy hour. The lighting was dim, the music was live yet you could still hear conversation, and the margaritas were delicious. I ordered the Citrus Cazuela margarita, which was citrus infused tequila with white wine and a splash of squirt. The margarita was served in what we thought looked like a dog bowl and what I initially thought was a bowl of salsa. The presentation definitely makes you want to take a picture.

After margaritas, we headed to our friends place for Butterfly Sushi. I have been dying to try this place for a while, as many sushi loving friends told me it was good. The spread we ordered definitely satisfied my craving for quite some time. 

And not to brag, but how cute is this little nugget that is in town? Miss having her around all the time.

Winter Wonderland

Today the snow started coming down hard and fast in Chicago. Check out these pics of the snow in my neighborhood. And look at those two snow free areas on the sidewalks. Those are not shoveled, they are heated sidewalks. Only in the Gold Coast.

This was the eery view from my apartment when I got home. Usually I have a gorgeous view of the lake, such as the below.

Super Bowl week in New Orleans

The past nine days I was in New Orleans for work for the Super Bowl. I was managing a portion of the hospitality activations for a client and in doing so got to be in the same room as some serious football stars including: Marshall Faulk, Rob Gronkowski, Eli and Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Steve Young and Roddy White.

Although this was an extremely busy week with not a lot of sleep, I still managed to enjoy some of New Orleans best. The first day I ate some of the ultimate New Orleans foods. I started the day with one of my favorite treats, king cake from McKenzie's. I learned that McKenzie's is a bakery that started in the Great Depression and has since gone out of business, however a competitor purchased the recipe and is producing their goods. Although I have heard from locals there are better king cakes out there, this satisfied my craving momentarily and kept me wanting more.

When it came time for a lunch break, I suggested to my coworkers that we go to Mother's. I must admit that I heard about Mother's through the tabloids because Beyonce had eaten there the week prior. This restaurant is a uniquely New Orleans tradition and was opened in 1938. They are known for their baked ham. The restaurant is grungy looking inside but that can sometimes be a sign of the best places. I had the Ferdi Special (named after a local merchant and regular patron), which is a po' boy packed with baked ham, roast beef, debris and gravy. In case you're wondering, debris is the roast beef that falls into the gravy while baking in the oven. Yum!

After a long day of loading in the event site, a coworker and I had a backwards dinner and stopped at Cafe du Monde for a beignet and coffee appetizer before heading to dinner. Although I am sure no locals go to Cafe du Monde because it is extremely touristy, I couldn't pass up the chance to go here while in New Orleans. The coffee is traditionally served Au Lait, meaning mixed half and half with hot milk. The beignets are a square piece of dough, fried and covered in powdered sugar. These are so good that I was literally eating the powdered sugar by spoon after finishing the beignets. I couldn't get enough. 

After Cafe du Monde we went to NOLA for dinner. This is one of Emeril's restaurants that I had been to last year when I was down in New Orleans and it was so good I had to go back again. I had eaten so much already, that I was only hungry for a bowl of gumbo. 

After recovering from my first day of food coma, I found some other local spots throughout the week. I had been told that I had to check out Central Grocery, which claims fame to being the "home of the original muffuletta." This place was founded in 1906 and is a small old-fashioned Italian-American grocery store with a sandwich counter. They were featured on the PBS special Sandwiches That You Will Like and a five best sandwich series on The Today Show. The staff here was friendly and the sandwich phenomenal. You can order a half sandwich or a whole sandwhich. The whole sandwich is about 8" in diameter and would be way too much food for one person. I ordered the half sandwich and it was my favorite thing I ate in New Orleans. You can buy the ingredients to bring home, and I wish I had. 

Another sandwich spot I checked out was Johnny's Po Boys. I was inspired by the line I saw outside of Johnny's Po Boys and had to check it out. This place is the oldest family owned po-boy restaurant in the city of New Orleans.They have been featured by Good Housekeeping as one of the top 100 value restaurants in the United States and Rand McNally's Best of the Road. I asked some locals in line what I should get and they recommended the shrimp po' boy. My mouth was literally watering while I was waiting in the 30 minute line to order my food. The restaurant smelled amazing and everyone's food looked delicious, in a southern fried kind of way. The sandwich was so good and I was so hungry that I actually forgot to take a picture. There was also a lot of southern hospitality here - the people I was chatting with in line were so nice and I ended up sitting with them to eat.

Beyond the food in New Orleans, there is also the charm of the beautiful French Quarter neighborhood. Check out these pics that made me want to come back for another visit, next time not for work. And Travi needs a bike basket like that dog, right?

Refinery 29 feature of Evanston

Evanston is one of my favorite places along the North Shore. There are so many things to do and so much culture. The houses are also gorgeous. Check out this article from Refinery 29 that my sister sent to me featuring Evanston. Day Pass: 10 Things To Do In Evanston

P.S. I love that the first picture is of French Macarons...my all time favorite treat!

Consignment Saturday, Part 2

This weekend my mom and I planned another field trip and continued the hunt for a green club chair (see earlier post Consignment Saturday). We went to three towns in the western suburbs of Chicago to visit the Crate and Barrel Outlet in Naperville, The Courtyard in Hinsdale, and Divine Consign in Oak Park.

We started the day off with breakfast at a North Shore establishment, Walker Brothers Pancakes. This is a restaurant that every family goes to on the weekends if you live in the northern suburbs. They have a consistent & delightful breakfast menu and it is a very family friendly environment. There is almost always a line, so my mom and I got up early to go before the crowd. The pancakes are so good that I was tempted to get them, but I ordered a classic and something I can't make at home, The Dutch Baby. This is a smaller version of the German Pancake, which is "a thin and delicate oven-baked pancake dusted with powder sugar and served with lemon on the side."

After breakfast, we started the trek to Naperville to visit the Crate and Barrel Outlet. This is the place I would go to first if I were furnishing a home from scratch. The prices are high, but it is still a significant cut from the prices at a regular Crate and Barrel store. These are some of my finds. I am dying for the bar and TV stand. Sadly I don't have room for the bar and don't need a TV stand.

Next stop was The Courtyard in Hinsdale. This furniture consignment shop had the green club chair we have been searching for! I spotted the chair immediately after walking into the store, however two men were looking at it. I quickly walked over, looked at the price tag, and flagged over the woman working to let her know we wanted to purchase it. We found the ultimate score and it looks fantastic in my parents house. Now if only I had remembered to take a picture. Although we found the green club chair here, I don't think I would come back. There was a lot of gaudy stuff that wasn't my taste.

The last stop was Divine Consign in Oak Park. This shop had a lot of stuff but you really had to search to find the fabulous pieces. The furniture was priced so low to keep inventory moving. The things I did like were sadly all sold, most likely due to the low prices. If I were to come back to this place, I would recommend coming first thing in the morning to get first dibs on the good stuff. 

After such a fun day with my mom, I went to a bi-monthly dinner party with some girlfriends from work that we call "Pie Night." The friend hosting tonight has a baby we are all in love with. Check out this cutie! Clearly he didn't want to go to bed and would have liked to stay up with the girls.

Song Obsession

I have a confession to make. Today I listened to Taylor Swift's song I Knew You Were Trouble five times on the way to work. I think I am obsessed. That being said, a friend pointed out to me that the music video is quite odd. She does a two minute monologue about said troubled relationship. Based on this, my assumption is that Taylor Swift should stick to singing not talking. Take a look for yourself.

Sunday Coffee

I met a good friend for coffee and lunch on Sunday. She lives on the border of the adorable Andersonville neighborhood. We went to a local favorite of hers, Kopi Cafe. I was thrilled to see that they had an all time favorite dish of mine (Chevre Chaud) from when I went to Paris. My friend also introduced me to my new favorite coffee drink, Mexican Hot Chocolate. Now if only it wasn't so bad for you. Such a yummy treat that I wish I could drink every day!

Consignment Saturday

My mom is on the hunt for a green club chair so my sister and I accompanied her on a field trip to Coyle and Herr in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. This consignment shop was featured on WGN's Bring It Home and is owned by two very lovely ladies. These women have a good eye and the photo shoots on their website practically made me drool. If I didn't live in a tiny studio and if I had an endless budget, I would have brought some treasures home.

After Coyle and Herr we went to an old favorite, Vintage Pine. This store is pretty pricey but has a lot of great pieces. I found a Boston Terrier painting that I adore, particularly because of the play on portrait painting. Taking something so formal and making it so silly. And for 175 bucks, I'm hoping to make this witty painting mine (hint for anyone out there who wants to buy me a generous present).

After hours on end furniture shopping, it was time to relax with a beer across the street at Whole Foods. For those of you who haven't been, the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park is no ordinary grocery store. This place has not one, but two bars. Grocery shopping is definitely more fun when you can walk around with a glass of wine or beer in hand. 

Happy Saturday!