The Windy City

So we're back home and Chicago was fabulous as always. It's such a handsome city- vibrant, bustling, yet still charming and courteous. As always, we only spent a couple of days there but it was still a good trip with lots of eating (no surprises there), walking (I love this aspect of a city- that you can walk almost anywhere...), and discovering. We forayed out into the outer distrcits this time and unearthed the Wicker Park/ Bucktown area. Somewhat gentrified and chocablock of vintage clothing stores, hip record stores (see Reckless Records- I almost had to physically dislodge Jude from the premises...) and a gem of a second-hand bookstore, Myopic Books. I also almost bought the most droolsome pair of black Mary Janes from a John Fluevog shop in Wicker Park. Note operative word: almost.

Honestly, we would have spent the entire day AND night there did we not then crash (or so Jude would like to think) an art exhibition opening. I don't quite know how to describe Kirsten Ulve's work- a digital media artist maybe. She does commerical stuff like product ads and caricatures for Entertainment Weekly, but is a really enthralling artist in her own right as well. Her works are whimsical, tongue-in-cheek, and definitely not boring. Jude and I were really close to buying a print of one of her pieces, but we figured investing in original art at this point in our lives would be nothing short of indulgent...

Speaking of indulgence, can two people on a three-day holiday eat more than we did? If we hadn't walked so much, I think we would have collapsed in the middle of the Magnificent Mile from a gastro-intestinal arrest. Some highlights:
1) Our favorite restaurant in Chicago, Grand Lux Cafe. You can't beat this place- awesome food, generous portions (read: huge. The servers even warn you before you order), reasonable prices, and an awesome Gustav Klimt meets Art Deco interior. We've been to Chicago four times, and we've been to Grand Lux all four times.
2) Comforting, heartwarming Singaporean/ Malaysian food at Penang in Chinatown. When I first laid eyes on the Hainanese Chicken Rice and Penang Char Kway Teow, I thought I was going to cry. I think we might have overdid it a little, and by the time we were done, there wasn't room left for Bubor Cha Cha or an Ice Kacang...
3) Jude brought me to Russian Tea Time (aren't you proud of us Stan??) where we had a really hearty meal of Borscht Soup, Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (with a beet and bean salad that I didn't quite care for actually), and a tasty, crispy Chicken Tapaka. Oh my god, and that onion rye bread thing that they serve at the beginning... to die for...

For those of you who know us well realize that we could not have possibly have had only three meals, so just know that apart from these, we also partook (does this word even exist? partake, partook?) of a whole myraid of snacks, coffee, cakes, Italian take-out and two servings of MacDonald's. Oh, and before I go sit in the corner and repent of my gastronomic sins, for those of you contemplating a trip to Chicago, go check out the museum shop at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Without compare, we agreed than this has got to be the most interesting of all the museum stores we've been to, and we've been to MOMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal. In fact, we might have spent more time in the store than in the museum itself (the exhibits were a little lacklustre to tell you the truth). Good stuff for sure.

Ok, on a completely unrelated note, just to inform anyone who might be contemplating contacting me for any reason tonight; barring a life-threatening emergency, unless your name has six letters and begins with 'A' and ends with 'N', or if you have anything you absolutely need to discuss with regards to Jon Stewart and the Oscars failing which your respiratory system would give way, please do not call me. I will ignore you. From 8pm EST till goodness knows what time tonight, Serene Koh will be unavailable to the rest of the outside world. Thank you for your kind cooperation.