Winding Down in the Windy City

So I didn't end up getting a veggie burger at Wishbone, after all. Got the crawfish po' boy instead, which came with a side of vinegary red cabbage cole slaw. While it hit the spot, it was pretty salty (seems to be a common theme in this trip). The one thing I really enjoyed at lunch, however, was quite unexpected: a cucumber lemonade. The concept was pure genius: cucumber, probably a little bit of ice, and lemonade blended together to create an oddly refreshing, slightly frothy beverage that tasted like lemonade with a hit of cucumber at the end. Except, in this form, the cucumber tasted a little more like a cucumber-y melon rather than a cucumber cucumber. I'm going to have to try to replicate it once I have a blender again. But topping even that was the crazy chicken-themed decor, which I was surprised to find myself liking. A lot. I mean, look check out this light fixture! It reminds me of a rug I coveted for a long time, but never bought... Might be time to purchase it.

In the afternoon, Esther and I hung out in Lincoln Square, which has developed so much since the last time I was there. We had a ball going in and out of the cool shops there (one place even had what looked like some Alpine-looking outfit in the window, similar to what you'd see a ride operator wearing at Disneyland's Matterhorn ride), and of course had to top off the excursion with an afternoon coffee/pastry break at Cafe Selmarie, where we each had an Intelligentsia iced coffee and shared an insane apple caramel bread pudding (check out the picture at left) and oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookie (as if I hadn't had enough oatmeal cookies in the last couple of months! I miss them already!).

Driving down Lakeshore Drive in the gorgeous, early evening weather to get downtown to dinner brought back so many memories: of bike rides along the lake, of going to and from Evanston and Chicago on the ghetto NU night bus and later the new and improved intercampus shuttle bus, riding as a passenger in friends' cars, and finally driving myself down the same path, starting from the snowy day I moved back to the city for my first real, full-time job after college. Yup, coming straight from O'Hare in a crappy half-broken rental car driving in snow for the first time ever and nearly going the wrong way on a one-way street.

The tapas dinner at Cafe Iberico was great (aside from my spilling a glass of sangria onto the table, the floor, and Avery's white shorts and shoes--sorry!!--after which two other tables flanking us to the right and behind followed suit about 10 seconds afterwards), but spending time with so many friends who I hadn't seen all together in the same place for at least 3 or 4 years was even better. As for the food itself? It was mostly as good as what everyone had said about it over the years. The paella? Eh, so so. What really stood out, however, were the seafood items, notably the grilled octopus, which had an aroma very much like Chinese barbecue sauce (sa cha jiang, not char siu) but which tasted like garlic instead; the mussels in saffron broth; and clams in shallot-white wine sauce. All in all, for sangria, 12 plates of tapas, and 2 orders of paella for $20 a person, the value really couldn't be beat.

It's now three hours since we left the restaurant, and I'm still full. And happy. And tired. And looking forward to whatever tomorrow may bring.