Sunday, February 22, 2009

Key learnings, Restaurant Week part one and more snow

Happy Oscar Sunday! Squee! I'm so excited. And I'm still full from the beginning of Chicago Restaurant Week (more details below.)

Oh yeah and we got about 2-4 inches of snow again! Boo. Come on global warming, swing back around with a 60-degree day again.

Anyhow, back to Hugh Jackman and here are some key learnings.

Key Learnings:
  • It's acceptable to tip your eyebrow wax girl only 10 percent when she consistently calls you a "waxing sissy"
  • A snowed in Saturday is still fun as an adult
  • Drinking can really add up at a bar/restaurant. One drink at $6 suddenly multiplies into $30
  • Cutting hair out of your clogged vacuum cleaner is messy, gross and humbling. Enough hair for a small dog can be next to you at the end of the task
  • Shaving your legs during winter really isn't a priority 
  • You don't have to be a major Cubs fan to enjoy the thrill of getting tickets online
  • Riding in an elevator that smells like puke will make you consider doing it yourself
  • Note to guys: I don't watch you adjust yourself, please don't leer at me when I'm fishing out a hair that's fallen in my sports bra
  • Loud and obnoxious drunk girls who sing in the hallway still irritate me, even if it's before midnight
  • There is no graceful way to regain your balance when you slip on the wet bus floor in boots. Just fall and let it go
Chicago Restaurant Week (part one)

As I mentioned Friday, Restaurant Week is going on right now in Chicago and this weekend I hit my first two restaurants, Prosecco and Carnivale. Below are highlights of both.

Prosecco - Grade: B+

Starter: Butternut and acorn squash with pancetta - amazing. Great flavor, very smooth and a lovely start to the meal

Meal: Butter noodles with braised pork loin and red sauce - also amazing. Very light, well seasoned and the pork loin was very well prepared

Dessert: Tiramisu - not great. In fact, it was still frozen when served. I could taste the "freezer crystals." Definitely a disappointment, but not enough to kill the entire meal

Carnivale - Grade: A

Starter: Spinach, Parmesan cheese and butternut squash empanada - superb starter. Only complaint was the empanada crust, which looked like a Hot Pocket

Meal: Beef tenderloin, peppers and aji panca with rice - very well done. Meat was perfectly cooked and the beef went together very well with the rice, pepers and aji panca (I don't know what that is, but it was awesome)

Dessert: Coconut flan - very nice finish with heavy whipping cream and caramel. 
This week I have two more places to visit and I'm excited about both. I'm trying to sample different types of cuisine through this, such as Vietnamese and Latin, which I don't eat on a regular basis, but am excited about trying.

Giveaway winner

Drumroll please! The winner of my BOCA giveaway is......Working Girl Two! Congratulations! Please e-mail me at myeverydayadventures@gmail.com with your contact information and I'll ship out your prize this week! Thank you again to everyone who entered, I'll let you know if I can do another one soon.

How was everyone else's weekend? Do anything fun? Are you watching the Oscars?

Remember! Tomorrow is my Oscar's fashion recap, be sure to check back and let me know if I hit the mark or forget anyone.

25 comments:

  1. Ugh, I've cut hair out of the drain too, its incredibly gross but it must be done. You have my sympathies.

    I cannot wait till your post tomorrow! The restaurants sound great. I spent all weekend hanging around the house.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 2-4 inches of snow? Dang I'm complaining about 55 degree weather! And cleaning the hair out of the shower drain is no fun either, chunks the size of chewbacca!

    I nominated you for an award on my blog! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Damn I can't believe the Tiramisu wasn't that good it looks amazing! What a let down. Both meals look pretty good I have always wanted to go to carnivale....was the interior cool?

    This weekend was a bunch of relaxing....it was nice!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Waxing Sissy? I'd find a new Waxing Lady!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Everything is making me hungry tonight! the food looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The squash sounds good. It's one of my new favorite foods.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UGH I'm jealous of Carnivale. It looks amazing. I'm glad you kept the reservation, I slept for 14 hours. What a waste of a Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is so weak when your dessert is still frozen. It's like they're not even trying to pretend it's served fresh. Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oooh, thanks for the reminder about restaurant week. We've got free tickets to see Chicago: The Musical on Thursday night so I just made us reservations at the Rosebud Theater District restaurant to try their restaurant week menu. Never been there before. Hubby chose it because it's close to the theater.

    ReplyDelete
  10. and now i'm starving! damn that butter noodle dish looked so good.

    ReplyDelete
  11. if i didn't feel like a clump of nasty wet hair i'd love the food review.

    i can't wait until your oscar review!

    shaving during the winter is totally not worth getting rid of the extra warmth!! (altho the man likes it when i shave, lol)

    the snow is making me want to go to florida even more... didn't it just melt?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Is it weird if I tell you I kind of like freezer crystals? As long as they taste fresh, not stale. Stale freezer crystals are BADDD.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I want to come visit Chicago so bad. Your blog makes me want to come there even more.

    Oh, and shaving legs is so not necessary in the winter...and even better for single people! Woo!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I never shave my legs in the winter. Wait, I take that back. I shaved them once back in December. I'll wait until later next month to start that crap again.

    That empanada looks good. I might have to try making a homemade version of it. Is the Carnivale restaurant Brazilian? Whenever I get to Chicago I must check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Those restaurants sound amazing! I am one of those girls who still shaves in the winter, I hate being all hairy and I wear shorts at the gym.

    And I can't wait for the Oscar dress recap!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Shaving your legs during winter really isn't a priority ... unless you're married and want to get some. =)

    Also? We were just talking about taking some out of town friends to Carnivale. I've been, but my husband has not.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh wow - restaurant week looks & sounds amazing, how many are you going out to?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yes...it's perfectly acceptable to only tip that girl 10%. Waxing hurts, darnit.

    I've never done a restaurant week... we have one in Delaware every year in Wilmington and in Newark...and I've never gone. Maybe I should this year.

    ReplyDelete
  19. That flan looks amazing. I want some. Right now. But I think I will just indulge in a Panera cinnamon roll.

    ReplyDelete
  20. wow, they served frozen tiramisu?!! that's pretty dang awful..did anyone inform the staff of the mistake?

    amen to the non-shaving (so frequently) of the legs during the winter.

    ReplyDelete
  21. More like 0% tip...

    And I have a Dyson. No hair gets caught

    ReplyDelete
  22. You'll do a fashion post for the Oscars yes? I loves me some bayjb fashion critique.

    ReplyDelete
  23. God...you nailed it. Nothing more humbling than having to take scissors to your own fallen hair on the underbelly of a vacuum.

    And per Prosecco- that's pretty lame that such a nice restaurant is serving frozen desserts. If you're going to dumb it down for restaurant week, don't bother playing.

    Per Carnivale- I think hot pockets are made to look like empanadas rather that the inverse. And if you liked those...have you had the ones from Tango Sur?? So good!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Riding in an elevator that smells like puke will make you consider doing it yourself

    You must live in my old building!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of
    volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche.
    Your blog provided us useful information to work on.
    You have done a outstanding job!

    Here is my blog; continue reading

    ReplyDelete

Loving or hating my Everyday Adventures? Leave a comment below and let me know. I love hearing what you guys think.

Note: You don't have to like everything you read here, but personal, unnecessary attacks will not be tolerated and those comments will be deleted.

Now please leave me a message. Beep!