It’s Groundhog Month Here in Smoky Chicago

What have we been doing for the past two weeks, you ask. Eating! Well, eating while we enjoy friends and family. That gadabout Steven has been dumping his wife to carouse with friends — oh, excuse me, not friends, business associates — every night (not every night! We went out together sometimes — see list below of all the places we have eaten TOGETHER). As a woman of a certain age (which is 58), I tend to go for walks or lunches with my friends, some of whom are retired and some of whom are teachers with the summer off.

OK, we’ve done a lot more than just eat, but especially during the week, it feels like that’s all we do. Here’s a brief list of what we’ve done besides eat:

• Enjoyed a typical summer Saturday a couple of weeks ago when we went to the Gold Coast Art Fair (what’s a Chicago summer without an art festival?) followed by Craft Brews at Lincoln Park Zoo. I like looking at art in the sunshine, but who are we kidding? We’re not buying anything. We don’t need a museum in our storage locker. Brews at the zoo was a blast, although I did water the grass (far from the animals) with a lot of beer. It seems that beer people don’t understand the words “short pour.” If you do plan on going to this next summer, I highly recommend the early entry tickets. Hardly any lines. It got crowded after 7 pm when the regular people arrived. (Thank you Brian for the tickets.)
• Had Father’s Day brunch with the family at the Bongo Room. Yum! OK, that’s eating, but it’s a family event.
• Saw Lyle Lovett at the Chicago Theatre with David and Stacey on Father’s Day. Lyle is a summer tradition and although he was not at Ravinia, we had to go anyway. He’s always worth it for his wry humor and Large Band. Plus, the Chicago Theatre is beautiful. He said that Chicagoans always treat him well, but we bet he says that to all the cities.
• Went to the JCFS Striking Event in support of a great charitable organization run by a great woman (my sister-in-law!). Hearing what people do in service to others makes me feel small, but at least I can add our money to the pot. If you’re looking for a worthy cause, consider this one.
• Steven went to a White Sox game with some friends — er, business associates.

If you’re dying to know where we ate, here you go, in the order that I remembered them:

• Caro Mio: Yummy Italian (both (and more than once!))
• Libanais: Lebanese (duh!); if you were at the recovery part after our wedding, this is what you ate (both)
• Ovo Frito: Mexican breakfast and lunch (me)
• Tava: Indian (both)
• Koi: Asian (both)
• Dona Tola: Mexican (both)
• Tocu and Blondie: Mexican (me)
• Libertad: Latin American (both)
• Elephant and Vine: Vegan (me: what a surprise (yup, this is one I didn’t mind missing))
• Tweet: American comfort food (me)
• Taco Diablo: Tacos (duh, again) (both)
• Noon O Kebab: (both (twice – once in their city restaurant and once we had take out from their Highwood location))
• Cupitol (me)
• Yard House (Steven (mmmm beer))
• Pita Inn: Middle Eastern (triple duh) (both)
• Little Dave’s: Italian (both)
• Joy Yee Noodle (Chinese) (both)
• Cross-Rhodes: (Greek) (Steven, but he brought me lemon soup!)
• Slightly Toasted (Steven)
• Parson’s Chicken & Fish (Steven)
• Five & Dime (Steven)
• Little Bad Wolf (Steven)
• Bat 17 (Steven (corned beef on rye!!!!!))
• Taste of Nepal (both)
• Bar Roma (both)
• Himalayan (Steven)
• Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria (me (another one I didn’t mind missing))
• Union Pizza (me)
• Dairy Star: Ice Cream (both)
• Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (both)
• New York Bagel & Bialy (ok this was just buying bagels to bring home – does that count?)

Oh, and we had a request from our current temporary landlord (that seems like it’s a word that’s past it’s prime, what’s a better one? I’m going with lessee). Here’s the place we are staying in Evanston in case you’re interested and don’t mind climbing 43 stairs. It’s quite nice.