Category Archives: friends

food glorious food

Posted on by
7

I spent the weekend in NYC with three of my favorite people; Sarah, Candice, and KP. We did much. But to begin with (since this will require multiple posts) I’m going to chronicle our gastronomic adventures!

It started with lunch with a woman at my summer internship company…at a fabulous little place called V-Cafe. I didn’t take any pictures (somehow I thought it might not be appropriate?), but I must say it was delicious, and pretty affordable for NYC.

Dinner was at Isle on Bleeker (a short walk from my summer digs–as in less than a block); a delightful little Thai place.

Dessert was at Grom. An incredible gelateria also in my neighborhood. Living in Greenwich Village is going to be awesome…and very, very fattening.

The plan for Saturday was to go to Brooklyn for lunch at The Good Fork, a fabulous dumpling place featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. However, when we looked at the site online to find the address, we discovered that The Good Fork isn’t open for lunch. So…Max Brenner it was! Eventually, I will make a trip to NYC without a visit with Max, but really I didn’t mind at all. And really, the spinach and goat cheese omelet…amazing!


Kelly got a yummy panini with fantastic waffle fries.

Why yes…that is chocolate on my biscuit. Thank you for asking!

As if chocolate for brunch wasn’t enough, we made a quick stop at Levain Bakery on the way home. Seriously, Sarah brought KP and me a few of these delicious cookies when we were all in Chicago last month. They were incredible. But fresh? No comparison. My favorite is the Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip. No shocker there!

Ahh, and then there was a late night feast at Junior’s. We went after seeing Guys and Dolls (more to come on that later). Totally enjoyable! I love a good Reuben! I didn’t necessarily need the milk shake. But it was good.

But my absolute favorite of the weekend? Pommes Frites, authentic Belgian fries. For those of you who don’t know, I spent a semester in Belgium when I was a sophomore in high school. There is nothing like Belgian fries. Another “for those of you who don’t know”, fries are actually Belgian, not French. And these fries? Totally authentic. They even had European mayonnaise (they call it fry sauce at Pommes Frites). I know that mayonnaise with fries probably sounds disgusting, but I assure you, it is not.

I have often tried to explain how the fry stands in Belgium were, and I don’t think I’ve ever done them justice. This place? Exactly how I remember them (not the look, but the process). For anyone visiting NY (who also enjoy fries), Pommes Frites is well worth a visit. There isn’t much room for sitting, but it’s supposed to be a fry stand, not a restaurant.

Notice the cone in the guy’s hand (above). This is how the fries are served.

And in this picture, you can see the different sizes.

And finally…Doughnut Plant. We got there late, so the selection was limited, but still fabulous! My favorite? The Creme Brulee. Normally I’m not really a filled doughnut fan, but this was incredible! (The pictures with the borders were taken by KP and her fabulous fish eye lens.)

Oh wait…and finally, frosting shots and cupcakes from Babycakes, a vegan bakery. Really, I’m not gonna lie, this was not my favorite of the trip. Maybe if I was vegan and needed something like this to satisfy my sweet tooth, I’d feel differently, but…I’m not and I don’t. Hallelujah! Oh well. It happens. I will say that I didn’t bother wasting the calories once I realized that I didn’t like any of their stuff.

Thankfully, I had another doughnut to end the trip on a satisfying note! Wouldn’t that have been sad? A whole weekend of gourmet eating, only to end with some less than great cupcakes.

adoption

Posted on by
3

My darling friend, Michelle and her husband, Aaron were just approved to be selected for adoption (basically, they are now officially on the waiting list).

You can read their profile here.

I don’t know why I get so emotional about adoption. I’m not adopted. Neither are any of my siblings, nor have any of them adopted, but for some reason I have always just had a special place in my heart for adoption.

I think part of it has something to do with how blessed I feel to have had the mom I got…and with her dying so young, I think I’m a lot more aware of how lucky I am and I want all kids to have that opportunity.

Another part of it is seeing how many children really suffer because their parent just wasn’t quite prepared to have a child, either because they can’t provide for their child (and I’m not talking extravagant, I’m talking basic needs) or because they just aren’t mature enough to handle the responsibility (which makes sense when someone is 15 or 16).

I also have a very dear friend who placed her baby for adoption a number of years ago. She has since married and has two darling little girls, but at the time she was only 15 and just wasn’t ready to be a mom and she recognized that. She is still in touch with the adoptive parents (they came to her wedding) and she knows she made the right decision, not just for her, but for her darling daughter.

I also have a cousin who was adopted. I remember just feeling so excited when I found out that my aunt and uncle had been selected to adopt their darling daughter (who I absolutely adore)!

In any case, I cry every time I watch anything to do with adoption. I cry for how completely unselfish the birth parents are to place their child with another family, entrusting them to care for and raise a child that they could have kept for themselves. I cry for the new parents who are so excited to have this little baby they have prayed for and thought about about for years.

I don’t know. I just love that adoption happens! I love that there is a solution for everyone (and I’m not presumptuous enough to think that I know what that solution is…every case is different).

On that note, if you know anyone who is considering placing a child, please have them take a look at Michelle and Aaron’s profile. They will be great parents!!!

chicago…the details

Posted on by
6

I was so excited to get back to Chicago. It had been almost a year since I’d been there. I was so excited to see Kelly and Sarah and spend a fabulous weekend with those girls.

So, here’s how it went down. And yes…pretty much what I do on vacation in big cities is eat and shop. Don’t judge me!

Kelly’s boyfriend picked me up from the airport and we headed to Uncle Julio’s for dinner. Think Chevy’s…only better. We shared the most delicious fajitas I’ve ever had; lobster, shrimp, and steak. After we headed to Kelly and Kevin’s apartment (new since the last time I was in town) and hung out waiting for Sarah’s flight to get in.

Side note: While waiting, we watched this 20/20 report about people in eastern Kentucky. So disturbing. It seriously broke my heart.

Anyway, Sarah got in and the rest of the weekend included Rockit Bar and Grill for Valentine’s, where I got to meet Kelly and Sarah’s friend, Liz. We went to see He’s Just Not That Into You. It was the second time for me. I think it’s pretty dang funny…because it’s so true.

Sunday morning we went to Hot Chocolate for brunch. There was quite the way, but it was delicious! Seriously. So good. I love yummy breakfast.

We then headed downtown to see this amazing photography exhibit featuring the photograph’s of Yousuf Karsh. So amazing. I’m so glad we went. We also saw a number of other great paintings, like Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatter. I love this painting.

And onto some serious shopping. Seriously. We hit the jackpot at Steve Madden. I bought these three pairs of shoes for under $100. How rad is that! (And yes, two pairs are the same, just different colors).

After shopping, we headed out for cupcakes at Sweet Mandy B’s. Delicious. Oh, and don’t worry, we got cupcakes the day before…I just can’t remember the name of the place where we got them.

Of course it wouldn’t be a trip to Chicago without Chicago style pizza. (Or I guess it would be a trip, just not a complete trip.) So Sunday night we went to Giordano’s. This is the place where I had my first Chicago style pizza. So, so good.And then we went to see a movie that could be my own biography; Confessions of a Shopaholic”. Very cute.

We finished off our weekend of food, fun, and fabulousness at Southport Grocery. While the service was less than stellar, the food was absolutely amazing; the most unique French Toast I’ve ever had. It was delicious. Sorry, no pictures.

It’s amazing how much we packed in to 2.5 days. I have got to stop traveling if I’m ever going to get this weight off, but at least I enjoy myself, right?

oh…chicago with kp and sare

Posted on by
5

One of my favorite things about my fabulous friends is their willingness to just make things happen (i.e., go on random trips at the drop of hat).

Here is how it went down. One afternoon in January I was bored with my studying and decided to look at ticket prices to Chicago (it had been a year since I saw the fabulous KP). Well, tickets were cheap, so I purchased one…after quickly checking to make sure that weekend worked. I then sent my itinerary to both KP and Sarah, knowing that Sarah had been wanting to go out to Chicago, too. Ten minutes later, I had an itinerary for Sarah’s flight. And this is how it’s done. It’s how I live my life. As a boy from my past always used to say, “Never invited. Always welcome.”

These are the types of friendships that I just love.

The photos are how that love manifested itself Saturday morning (aka Valentine’s Day); KP, Sarah, and me in the photo booth. Who doesn’t love a photo booth?

And yes, there is more to come; movies, restaurants, and lots of cupcakes.

a song off

Posted on by
9

A while ago, my friend Katie, and her friend Dainon, decided to have a “song off”. Since then, they have both been challenging people regularly and this week, it’s my turn. I consider it kind of an honor to be selected for the challenge. Honestly, I love music, but I don’t pretend to be anywhere near as knowledgeable as these two and I generally get my “new music” second-hand; I just happen to know good sources.

Anyway, here’s how it works. You listen to my song, then you listen to Katie’s song, and you vote in the comments.

I had a tough time deciding which song to share as there are no boundaries or guidelines and I have years of “favorite songs” to choose from. Did I want to introduce the world (or my five readers) to a new artist, or share an old favorite, etc? In the end, I chose a song that encapsulates much of what I love about music; catchy tunes performed in new ways by amazing artists (it’s a cover). So there you have it. If you’ve never heard Glen Hansard before (or The Swell Season) go check him out…this is not his song, and I daresay it doesn’t totally do his talent justice, however I love that he did this cover, which incidentally happened because a fan at a concert yelled out “Cry Me a River”, and he went for it. Give it a listen and then head over to Katie’s blog for her selection.

Cry Me A River – Glen Hansard

P.S. If you want to hear Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s Oscar winning song, you can do it here and if you want to see them win the Oscar, you can do it here. Just don’t vote based on this song…vote based on the one above.