The Gage Review - Two Stars

Recently I checked out a new, downtown "gastropub" one night after work this week. While the term gastropub has become as overused as small-plates and ceviches I do like the concept. A place
that is still essentially a bar but with a bit more upscale food, drink and decor. Why they went with the term gastropub when it could have been "fanci-bar" I don't know - maybe I'll start my own fanci-bar chain someday, but I digress....
The Gage is in a great location, directly across from Millennium Park on south Michigan Ave. and in what is primarily a tourist or non-descript office building strip this is a more appealing option for people looking for a decent but not over the top spot to head to after work prior to another evening event. The look is what you'd expect, dark wood, shiny fixtures, tiled floor - but all nicely done and a roomy bar area that is definitely a welcomed downtown addition. Having a drink at the bar prior to dinner, I enjoy the generous pour I received from the bartender (but that could just be because I'm cute!). We were in a bit of a time crunch so I didn't order any of the appetizers but they looked tasty and I would go back for those fondues, chips and curry gravy (fries for you non-Anglophiles) and one that I was interested in, an olive and pickle selection. The menu divided up into firsts/second/mains was all very tempting looking and I actually ordered a first and second and was plenty full with my selections. A cold cucumber soup, while only average was a find I wouldn't expect in a pub, albeit, a gastropub, so I felt compelled to try it. My entree was the caramelized lobster on a bed of lemony quinoa, the seasoning of the quinoa was great but I couldn't find proof that the lobster had seen anything close to carmelization but I managed to chock it down - hey, it's lobster!
Other's at the table had an aged Manhattan strip, duck confit and your standard burger spruced up with some fancy cheese and onions. The verdict: strip was good, duck was undercooked and the burger was also undercooked. While not a catastrophe and certainly easily remedied by the kitchen, it did end up putting a damper on the meal, we were on a time crunch to catch a show (which we had explained to the server earlier) so the fact that we waited quite awhile for our food which then came out undercooked really was an amateur's mistake made by the kitchen. I must say the staff was very courteous and apologetic when they realized what happened and took at least one of the items off the bill but their apologies actually became a bit irritating and overdone. So I am equating The Gage to that nerdy boy who likes you in high school, he's very nice and well meaning, your mom thinks you should like him but you just can't, at least not yet - give it some time, maybe till your class reunion or in the case of The Gage maybe another month or two.

So the majority of my sunny, 80 degree weekend was spend firmly engrossed in the last Harry Potter book. Do I feel slightly guilty for missing a great summer weekend, slightly, but
the enjoyment of reading the last book was well worth it. These things are like crack! I am thankful that I didn't start reading them until 2005 otherwise I would have had serious issues waiting for
so long between each book. I won't spoil the end for anyone since I am an abnormally fast reader - even my speed-reading boyfriend was impressed (or was that pissed?) with my skills - but to sum it
up, it was great, ended just as it should, although I am now fully depressed that there will be no more to come and wondering if I should start re-reading them again?
Since the news media has totally overdone everything Harry Potter these past few weeks I won't wax poetic about it too much here but I do need to say that I never expected to like
a "fantasy" type book but they have been wonderful, so entertaining, great charcters, a wonderful imaginary world that you can envision and simple but good messages that
we all need to be reminded of - so while there might not be another Harry any time soon (or ever for that matter) we should all make a point of trying to find those things that
make us feel like we did when we were reading about Hogwarts, mandrakes and muggles.

On The Road Again

I had the pleasure of a personal roadtrip to wilds of Wisconsin last week (hence my lack of blog postings) and it actually reminded me of some of the joys of roadtripping.
This came as quite a surprise to me because ordinarily I am someone who abhorrs long car rides, much less being the one who has to drive for the duration of the trip! Given
my need to be continuously entertained I usually find long drives boring and I am prone to nodding off - thankfully my main source of transportation these days is public, so no need
to fear for your safety on the streets of Chicago (at least due to my drving skills).
So as I was making my lonely, four-hour trek into the land of cheese and beer - I learned a few things about myself along the way. For example, randomly as I was searching through the radio
stations I discovered that I knew by heart the lyrics to some 1993 John Michael Montgomery song (this from a self-professed country music hater) - just a little piece of me that I forgot existed, that I wasable to enjoy for a brief 3 minute stretch. I also learned that I can be that jerk who drives in the left lane the whole way - not intending to hold up traffic but becoming so engrossed in my fabulousAmerican Idol Car Radio skills that I fail to pay attention to how fast I am (or am not going) - I like to think that this makes me a kinder, more understanding driver when this then happens to me butsadly I am not that evolved and still get mad at that stupid Taurus put-putting along in the left lane.
By far my favorite moment came on the return trip as listening to the radio I had the thought "I really need to download some Heart songs onto my iTunes" - now I ask you - would that thought have come across my mindnormally (perhaps) but now I will a richer iTunes collection thanks to that drive.So though much different were my joys than those of the typical, male roadtrip (no beef jerky or sunflower seeds were involved) - for a moment in time I liked the enforced, quite contemplation and enjoyment of random 80s tunes.
A little Rick Astley anyone???

Got To Hand It To Hillary

I've never been a big Hillary fan, she's just too severe for my tastes and I still am not loving universal healthcare but the other day it struck me - this woman is genius!
I was getting ready for work with Good Morning America on in the background (my daily ritual) and was listening to a panel of Hillary's advisers talk, they were trying to humanize her, say
she's fun, etc. and it just got me to thinking about all the she has endured since she was thrust into the political spotlight. While I have to imagine that it is hurtful and humiliating enough for the average Jane to have knowledge of your
husband's repeated infidelities, to have the entire world find about them, in detail, would really be too much to bear. Hillary did handle it like a pro though, you could tell she was furious but she kept her cool and was supportive and professional throughout those years. I always wondered what something like that did to her and Chelsea - they seemed to handle it with such ease, which I found to be kind of unbelievable to say the least. But, here is my revelation - Hillary has been plotting the sweetest revenge ever since that public humiliation. If your husband is the epitome of charisma, ego, and philandering and basically lives to have the spolight on him - what could be the best revenge on him? You got it, making him the "First Man", if Hillary were to win such emphasis and attention would be placed on the first female president, the ongoing press and place in history would be HUGE and what would Bill have to be doing? Sitting by her side, attending state dinners, planning social, diplomatic events - all the sexist, minimizing roles that have been traditionally served for a woman. I think it's brilliant and while I've not yet decided where my vote will be cast since November 2008 is still eons away - I must admit that seeing Hillary serve up the ultimate, symbolic, payback to the universal "cheating man" - makes me like her just the teeniest bit more.

Grow A Pair

Okay, as I've mentioned earlier, I am in the midst of the summer softball season, one of my favorite things. However, my co-ed 12 in. league also provides me with a MAJOR pet peeve - what is might you ask? Shockingly it's not that I get dirty or dusty when I play or even that the outfielders move in when I come up to bat (those fools) bur rather it is the terrible the awful, phenomenon of GUYS that WALK when they get up to bat. Hello?? How can you not just feel all of your testosterone dry up and fly away when you do that? Maybe if this was not a rec. league, and you were 17 versus 32 I could see you waiting for the perfect pitch, but come on! This is a large ball lobbed in the air and you're not going to swing at? This is unthinkable to me!I will swing at what I know is a bad pitch just to hit the ball because is SOFTBALL and you should be able to hit the darn thing. In the interest of full disclosure I must say that I am a pitcher so when these guys walk it irks me even more since they are walking on my pitches - how dare they! I can't even try to hide my disdain for them when they trot to first base, I think I will begin handing out tubes of lip gloss to them when they walk for any games from here on out. Terrible, shameful, all you Y chromosome walkers out there need to grow a pair!

Do You Have to Hear the Pitter Patter of Little Feet?

Lately a question has been on my mind, and it is purely a hypothetical question so after reading this please don't pick up the phone and tell my mom you're so excited that she'll finally be a grandma, but how do you know when you really want to have a baby? I ask this for several reasons, I have seen friends who have rigorously planned the "having a baby" process (I really don't need to hear about how much you are "trying" I get it), those that have wanted a baby but were a little freaked out about it so they just said "whatever happen" and then those that had the baby surprise drop on them (my favorite one of those is a cute 1 yr. old named Erik who lives a few blocks away : ). The little mini-me's came into the world in a variety of ways and of course all their parents are lovely and capable and doing a great job BUT this is not what I'm talking about - what I want to know is do you have this huge thought or feeling of "I must procreate now" or do you just assume you do because you are of a certain age, certain economic status and your peer group is beginning to do the same? I honestly can't say that I have ever had the "oh I want a baby" feeling, this could be because I am still in my 20s and unmarried -not necessarily factors that would block the possibility of baby-dom but still make it a little less likely that those thoughts would pop up. Do they eventually pop up though? I want a lot of things: a quilted Chanel bag, a miniature daschaund, the sparkly pair of Christian Louboutin pumps and before that I want a Marc Jacobs bag, a puggle and okay I still wanted the Louboutins but you get my point what I think I want and must have tend change quite a bit - I am fully self-aware to realize I enjoy the thought of things more than I actually enjoy the things themselves, what if this was the case with a little person!! I am sure I would love a little mini-me once it was here but that wouldn't mean that I wouldn' have the "crap, why did I do this - I do not like this new life" thoughts and you can't return a baby to Neiman Marcus (maybe to Nordstrom's their customer service is much better).
So is there a definitive I thought that occurs when one wants to have a kid or is more likely that is something that you do because you're kind of expected to and then you hope and assume it kind of all turns out for the best? I would really love an answer on this one.

But It's Summer!

I have been a really bad blogger lately but what can I say - it's summer! Chicago is only blessed with a few nice months so I just can't bring myself to sit in front of the computer at night when it's gorgeous out. I promise to try and be a bit more motivated- I have a lot of good things on my mind (when do I not?) I just need to sit down and put it out there - have they invented a computer you can just talk you words into instead? That would be ideal!