Things have been busy for me lately, but in a good way! Mike finished up his semester at Loyola last weekend and I've had a partner in crime again! It's been weird to have him around in the evenings, I mean, usually he is here just off in studying lala land. We've been indulging in some good dinner, good drinks and more good drinks.

Last week we went to Handlebar again,I have blogged about this place many times before, it is one of my fav vegetarian places. I tried something new this time. I believe it was called the green meanie sandwich. It was so, so good and fresh! It had a goat cheese spread and avocado, two of my favs and these amazing, huge sprouts. I have to figure out what these are because they are not your average sprouts. I also ordered it with a fantastic side salad!



Another thing that comes with the season is beer! It never fails, spring comes and I just crave beer. Mike and I have become very fond of Stone Brewery out of Cali lately. Mike and I were at Long Room, one of our fav local bars, the first week they had Stone available, we tried the IPA and loved it. The next time we went back we had, what I now say is my favorite beer of all time, Sublimely Self Rightous Ale. The beer is so delicious, and I have been back several times to indulge since!

Beer Advocate gave it an A-, not too shabby!

Poured from bomber into a tulip glass.

Appearance: Pours almost a stout like black with one finger of fluffy tan head that settles after a bit.

Smell: Citrus and piney hops, smokey malt and some chocolate notes.

Taste: Bitterness from the hops hit at first, followed by burnt malt, coffee and a dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, well carbonated and slightly hot.

Drinkability: A very enjoyable beer from Stone. I had this when it was the Anniversary beer and loved it then. Extremely glad they brought this back, at $6 a bomber, this is a great deal.

Serving type: bottle



Last, but not least, we recently made out way back to the Killer Margarita. These strawberry banana babies speak for themselves!! Ahhhh, summer!



and some love from the bug

Absinthe Minded

Last night me and two girlfriends met up at In Fine Spirits, a wine bar in Chicago, specifically Andersonville. I am a HUGE fan of wine bars, they are great to go to with friends and great for a date. They usually serve smalls plates which means you can taste many different items and even get a little romantic if you are with your sweetie!

Now, I know this is a wine bar, but they are also known for their amazing cocktails. I decided to start with a cocktail and work my way into wine. I ordered up a Chrysanthemum, not the flower, the drink. I mostly ordered this because it had Absinthe in it, but unfortunately I did not hallucinate. It was still a mighty fine drink!

We decided to order a cheese plate that featured 5 different varieties, olives and a bubbling crock of something really good! I tried a Malbec from Washington that was delicious and a Syrah that had words like "lurking", "forest", and "floor" in the description which made me think odds were pretty high it might taste like a basement. If you've read my previous blogs you know I love a red wine that tastes like grandma's basement!

During our last round of drinks I took some pictures of course! Note, I am not in any of them because too much stress, salt and stress has not been kind to me lately.





Even better I was hangover free today! Always a beautiful thing!

Revolution Brewing Co

Last night Mike and I hit up a new brewery in Chicago called Revolution Brewing Company. We took a beer class a few years ago where we made our own beer and since then we've kinda been beer snobs, which is a beautiful thing, trust me!

When we arrived we were told it would be about a 2 hour wait, it was already 8ish but we thought, eh, we'll get some beers and hang out. I started off with the Working Woman Brown. I chose this for two reasons, first, it sounded great and second, I myself and a Working Woman Brown, so how could I go wrong? This beer is currently not listed on the website so I can't give you a detailed description but it was dark, but not heavy, I think it was an ale, and I would definitely order it again! Mike started with the Iron Fist Pale Ale. We both tried each others and liked what we ordered for ourselves the best. Next up we went for the Samadhi Double IPA. These were fantastic and served in a snifter vs a pint glass which I love.

We were seated shortly after ordering our second beers, only 45 minutes later, SWEET! We were hungry but full of beer so we decided to skip on the apps, which was unfortunate because they looked delicious, and went straight for entrees. I ordered the Smoked and Grilled Tofu sandwich with blue cheese potato salad. Mike ordered a monster burger, the Smokehouse Burger which has pepperjack cheese AND South Carolina style pulled pork. He had his with fries and apparently has no worries when it comes to his waistline!

The food was good, the beers were GREAT! Next time we go I think I will do beer and apps. Just so I can drink more beer without getting full and try more items on the menu!

tequila

Spring fever is definitely in the air and this past Friday night it led Mike a me to a blast from my past. "The Killer Margarita" When I first move to Chi I lived about a block from this place and would go quite frequently. I have never lived more than a few miles from Killer but I find when I leave or move to a new neighborhood I rarely go back to my old spots but rather, find new ones.

Once I learned Mike had never been I was on it! For our first round we got the jumbo size, aka medium, this isn't even the large! I got a strawberry banana and Mike got a mango. I am usually a rocks margarita drinker, but the frozen at Killer are the way to go, unless you're eating. Then stick with the rocks to avoid getting too full. That's my strategy at least!



After some major arm twisting, haha, we ordered a second round. This time we ordered smalls. I got a banana and Mike loved my first strawberry banana so much he ordered one for himself.



These were so good, we are already planning another trip back!

The friend that always wants to hang out..

Wine? Ok, maybe wine and I have become a little too close lately, but I blame it on old man winter. I love a good glass of wine on these cold Chicago nights as much as I love a cool, crisp beer on a hot summers day. Tonight I just finished off an excellent bottle that I purchased Sunday at Whole Foods after and evening of, well, wine tasting.

My friend Erin and I have a new favorite past-time. We like to go drink flights and try new wines at the new Whole Foods on Clybourn. This is not your ordinary Whole Foods, as Erin put it, "It's like a little town" inside that is. There is your normal salad bar, bakery, cheese section ect. BUT this Whole Foods also has a full out bar, and a wine and cheese bar, in other words pure bliss!

After we both had the "Pacific Flight" and a glass we headed off into the aisles for some shopping. I had two purchases in mind, a sweet and a bottle. I will be the first to admit that after a flight and a glass my decision making powers were not at their finest. I saw a women who knew what she wanted walk into the department and pick up 4 bottles of a Cabernet Sauvignon from Brownstone Winery in Cali. I quickly snatched one up before heading to the bakery and picking up a slice of vegan cookies and cream cake from my fav, The Chicago Diner.

Neither let me down. Mike and I shared the slice of cake two nights in a row! It was a delicious and umm, big!



I am partly noting this wine to share with you all and so I don't forget in the future. I prefer a deep, rich (basement) flavor in my wine versus a grapey fruity flavor. As my palate continues to refine I'm sure I will be able to tell you the specific grape variety but for now, well here is the description straight off the bottle. "Blended for maximum flavor and color, this wine has rich cherry, tobacco and oak components with supple tannins and smooth finish", I am starting to see a trend here with "oak" maybe that is the basement flavor I am so found of. At any rate, if you see this wine, pick up a bottle, at $10.99 it is a bargain for the deliciousness it will dazzle your palate with!

Basements Taste Good

I have a new requirement in my wine, red in particular, it must taste like a musty basement. I'm sure there is a proper term for this, so please, share if you know! It's actually very ironic that I now associate this taste with good wine because I have a vivid memory from when I was 22 years old. I had just started to drink wine, I had graduated from keg parties in college and my palate was becoming slightly more refined, basically I was drinking Chardonnay and Zinfandel. I opened a bottle of wine that my Dad had received as a gift, it was red, I spit it out after taking a sip and remember saying "This is bad, it tastes like a musty basement, it's spoiled!" What I didn't say out loud just to myself was, "I bet this is what good wine is supposed to taste like, and I bet I'll get it when I'm older."

Well, I FINALLY get it! Last week my friend Erin and I went to a wine bar by my place called Volo. I tried a Malbec from Argentina, since that region is known for their Malbecs. It was good, but then, I tried a French Malbec and it was AMAZING. Erin and I both said, it tastes like a basement. When I looked up the wine the next day, one of the reviews said it was reminiscent of grandma's basement! My palate was right on!

This week I picked up two different Malbecs. One was French and good but the other was from Argentina and jackpot, basement again! I've learned that Malbecs from 2005/06 are so, so tasty. Must have been a good year for the grapes!! Below is a review for one of my new, favorite, basement wines!


Cueva De Las Manos | Malbec | Argentina | 2006

Deep red/purple color, expressive notes of ripe cherries, plums, violets and chocolate. Full bodied with chewy black fruit and spicy oak. Good balance and finish.

12 gifts that keep on giving...

Need I say more? Jeff and Mel sure know how to get a smile and a jaw drop out of Mike! They bought Mike a variety of specialty beers for his birthday. I must say this also put a smile on my face, followed by an ecstatic, "What the hell?" when I saw a few Abita brews included in the mix. Abita is one of my favorite breweries based in Louisiana. I actually called around a few months back to all the area liquor stores looking for Abita and no one stocked them. Apparently this is a strange coincidence or HyVee Grocery in Rock Island, IL really does listen to their customers! I sure do love those helpful smiles :) I even ordered Mike and Abita shirt for his bday that he's wanted since our trip to NOLA in May. Mike and I decided to test this gift out earlier this evening. Our first picks are below. YUM!



On a side note, to all the True Blood fans out there, next time you are watching, notice all the Abita merch at Merlotte's!

What A Night!

Last night ended up being a super fun one! In the midst of drinking our Unibroues we cranked up the tunes and found our red lights. Our old living room in Chicago was red, around Christmas I hung these red lights, they were so cool we never took them down. They inspired a dance party or two while they were up. Last night when we found them I said "Plug em in!" and another infamous dance party began!

Mike and I have not had a dance party to this extreme since living in Chi, last time we danced and danced until 4am while making martini after martini. That Sunday morning was not pretty, or Monday, or Tuesday. I called in sick two days after that dance party.

Luckily last night we did not have two bottles of fruity Vodka and all the fixings for martinis. In fact, the house was rather dry! However, leave it to mixmaster me to save the day!



After we finished our beers I made a wonderful concoction out of the libations above. Luckily we had a can of pineapple juice and lucky only one! This drink gave us just the edge we needed for another hour of dancing.



The party ended up winding down around 3. We had a blast of course slept in a little too late today but o, well! We still got our run in and are hangover free!

I couldn't resist snapping a shot of our wedding picture glowing in our red dance party lights!

Our Saturday Night

Mike and I attempted to leave the house about 45 minutes ago. As soon as we left torrential down pours hit. I made Mike pull over since I am terrified of driving in the rain, he was not happy, and after about 20 minutes we decided we needed to head back home because our Big Buddy aka Finn was probably flippin out.

Well, turns out he was. We came home to #1 and #2 and a lunatic of a dog. Good thing he was in the basement, we'll slip him a xanax (prescribed of course) and he'll go into a blissful slumber.

Heading back home wasn't too terrible since we knew we had three Unibroues waiting for us...my fav beer, Maudite specifically. As I poured my beer I found myself wishing I had one of the awesome Unibroue glasses that your beer comes in at a drinking establishment. This google search led me to the story of Maudite. I found it entertaining and thought I'd share.

We love Unibroue so much we decided we have to make a trip to the brewery in Quebec very soon!





OK, so there used to be these loggers in Quebec. They worked their hands to the bone like every day. And the pay sucked too. They really needed a vacation. Back in olden times, they didn't get two weeks off every year, so they had to take matters into their own hands.

The main logger guy tracked down the Devil and said, "Hey Devil, we really need a break so we can go visit our women. How about a little help, ya know? Flying boat, maybe?" (they didn't have planes back then). The Devil said, "Yeah, that's no problem. I'm the Devil, your wish is my command! But one thing, you gotta give me your souls."

The main logger was a pretty skillful negotiator, so he was like "OK, but lets make a wager first. If we can fly your cursed air canoe all the way to see our honeys without hitting any steeples or saying Goddamn, then you've got to do all our wood chopping for a week. If not, then you can have our souls."

Well, you can see where this story is going. The Devil won the bet, and he condemned all the Quebecois loggers to canoe around the skies for eternity. To commemorate this event, Unibroue crafted a delicious strong red ale, and this is the glass that goes with it.

A Great New Find

Last weekend Mike and I stocked up on some goodies from Trader Joes. I've been looking to try some organic wines and picked up a couple bottles. We pulled the cork on one Friday evening and just finished it off tonight with dinner. I have to say Well Red California Red Wine by Heartwork Winery was a great find at only $5.99 a bottle. I love that it is organic, less chemicals, and sulfite free, no headache. My only regret is that I didn't buy more. Next time!

Perhaps the Perfect Sandwich

I finally got my Reuben! Actually, I had it the Saturday after New Years but never got around to posting this! I opted for the turkey Reuben (yes I'm dabbling in meat again) from my favorite, The Bier Stube, in Moline, IL. I still have yet to try the legendary Belgian Village(another local restaurant) Reuben, but I just can't get past my favorite at the stube!

Along with my turkey Reuben I had German potato salad, just like grandma used to make, and red cabbage. To top it all off I had the 4 beer sampler. I can't remember the exact beers I ordered but one was a delicious IPA, an excellent Oatmeal Stout, O, and a Porter. The perfect meal!