The Fat Head Doesn't Deserve the Accolades

I'm so annoyed with the whole Barry Bonds breaking the record. I wish they could revoke it from him because he's a big, fat (emphasis on fat- do you see that head!) - CHEATER!
I don't even care if they can't prove it, rumors are enough. It's kind of like being in high school or college, if the rumor goes around that you are slut even if you aren't, some people will
always associate that with you (for example purposes only - this was never said about the author of this blog!).
I hate that everything is tainted lately - even golf! It is a sad day when a sport that used to consist of mostly mildly out of shape WASPs who smoked a lot turn to the roids - although based on my description they appear to have the most legitmate, physical reasons.
So boo, hiss to all those lazy, sad athletes. You get paid millions of dollars to play a sport for a living and you can even rely on your own physial prowess to get the job done?? That would be like be like me using some Ph.D genius to do my work for me everyday, but I don't! 1) Because really the number of people I would honestly trust to be "smarter" is limited and 2) super smart people are never normal and socially adjusted, so that makes the average worker and the average athlete who relies on their own talents much more likeable - so Barry and all the neurosurgeons out there can take that!


Side note: while I'm on an apparent rant today. Another thing that's been driving me nuts lately - men who commute to work in flip flops. This is unacceptable because not only does it look dumb with your dress pants but also because your shoes are comfortable and FLAT! Women commute in flip flops because we wear heels which are hard to commute in, climb El stairs in and walk over sidewalk grates. If you are a guy you should be embarassed about doing this - put the Kenneth Coles back on and march yourself into work!
(I swear I'm in a good mood this week -really I am!)

I Heart NY

So I just came back from a long work/fun weekend in New York. I've only been to the city a handful of times but each time I go I love it even more. I won't bore you with all the reasons it's great (amazing shopping, food and people watching!) but I'll give you a few highlights from the weekend if you happen to be looking for something to do next time you're there (even though the options are limitless - so basically I'm just looking for an excuse to chat about my trip: )
On a friend's recommendation went to a restaurant called Hearth in the East Village on Friday night. They describe themselves as Italian but I would just classify them in the more general contemporary, American genre. A simple, yet inviting space on First & 12th, Hearth was definitely a find. Dinner consisted of a cold, corn chowder soup with some peekytoe crab and a grilled quail for Mr. Man who was with me. I did have any of the quail so I can't comment but my starter was delicious, anticipating our phat/fat Mario Batali dinner later in the weekend we both opted for lighter dishes for our entrees, me with the poached halibut and he with the scallops and as soon as those babies came out I had intense ordering envy - they were perfect! Great wine and a lemony/blueberry dessert combo topped off the evening - a definite recommend to anyone looking for a good, but not over the top spot in NY.
While I could continue to go into detail about the rest of my eating and wanderings that weekend, I'll just focus on the highlights. Upper East Side neighborhoods - so fun, lots of bars and restaurants to keep you endlessly entertained, Bergdorf Goodmans - I can't in good conscience buy most anything in there but it is glorious to walk around and see those beautiful things. We ended the weekend with a Sunday night dinner at Mario Batali's Babbo, that place must do an amazing business because I had to call like it was my job to get a reservation there. The restaurant itself is a little unassuming place on Waverly just off of Washington Square, located in an old townhouse, simple decor yet upscale just enough without being stuffy at all. The menu was amazing although if you expect standard Italian, lasagnas, meatballs, etc. don't come here. Batali is inventive with the menu - just a few of things I saw on there: brains, tongue, cheeks, feet - you get the picture. While it all looked fabulous we felt that we should pay service to the excellent pasta they are known for and we went with the pasta tasting menu - Yes! We went with the full-on carb-fest and I loved every minute of it A total of five pastas and three desserts in all (can you say decadent) it was a great choice (and I didn't eat all of any of the servings lest you think I am a complete glutton). Tagliatelle was black and fresh with charred sweet corn (my fave), raviolis with scallions, braised beef, delicious mushrooms - it was all wonderful. Of course you then need to jog around the entire island of Manhattan about 18 times to work off that dinner but well worth it. Staff was friendly and very knowledgeable - if you have a month in advance to plan for a reservation you should book it.
Each successive trip that I make to NY I love it more and more, that along with London - and I SWEAR I don't only love the most expensive cities in the world but if you can find me a cheap one that's just as fabulous please let me know.

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!