Chicago Wrap Up

We’re back home now and back in the regular routine. We had a fantastic time in Chicago and I think we’ll be back in the winter/spring for a preview of our Spring Release.

Saturday we slept in to rest up for the party Saturday night. Since we’d be skipping dinner we decided to load up on a big lunch. We started with a walk to Daly plaza to see some of the sculptures there. There’s a large Picasso in the center of the square that Stef wanted a picture of.

Then we walked down to the Gold Coast and landed at Carmine’s on Rush and State. This was Stefania’s Lasagna:

I had a classic New York Steak with Roasted Peppers. One of the best steaks I’ve had. A prime cut, cooked perfectly.

We managed to spend two hours at lunch. Those aren’t dishes you choke down in a hurry. Besides it was fun watching the comings and goings from a street side table. That night at the party I went to show a picture of the lasagna and everyone I was talking with also had a picture of their lunch. Food and wine people are a little weird, we all photograph our meals.

This was the rush to get food as our friend Francis laid out everything he’d brought to the party.

We had a fantastic time. Hooking up again with old friends and meeting new people. We’ve been to Chicago so often now that there were neighbors of our hosts who recognized us and we caught up with them also. Stef and I managed to try all the Zinfandels and Syrah’s at the event. The 2003 Copain Broken Leg Syrah was my favorite. In all I think we each tried about 60 wines.

The bus ride back to the hotel from the event was a chance for one last picture. Here our friend ‘Tbird’ shows off his purple tongue while lounging on another new friend from Florida. That is a bottle of wine in his hands.

The next morning we had to make a 10am flight. Luckily we were able to upgrade to first class and do some recovering in the Admirals Club at the airport. This was the view of downtown from the club. The warm cookies helped too in the recovery process and we were back at home in time to have some friends over for dinner a just a bit more wine.