Blizzarazzi 2011

What a wild whirlwind it's been these last few days! Chicago was hit with on of the worst storms it has ever seen, with cars still littered and abandoned all around the city.

Since I work for a great employer, we we're urged to leave as early as possible on Tuesday and brace ourselves for the quickly approaching storm. I stupidly decided the bus would be my best route home, only to realize once we we're in express mode that road conditions were the worst on Lake Shore Drive.

I'm so grateful to have made it home in one piece, as a bus not far behind mine ended up stuck on LSD, causing a delay and back up where people were stranded in their cars for more than five hours, some even more.

+1 stopped in for a second to make sure I was ok, and quickly went on his way before roads became blocked. I sat in my lonely apartment listening to the boisterous thundersnow howl outside my windows. I've never missed having roommates so much. I wish someone had been there to hold my hand and sing Broadway tunes to drown out the loud howls!

With such treacherous outdoor conditions, I had the next two days off of work. Now for those who know me, you know that eventually I want to be a freelance writer/copy editor, working from the comforts of home. I got a taste of the freelancer lifestyle the last few days, and was shocked at how much discipline and focus is needed! Instead of getting any work done, I watched mindless TV (when the power wasn't out) and cooked like a fiend, only interrupted by panicked work e-mails and calls.

On another note, thank goodness I don't work from home... I'd get so FAT!

SNOW DAY #.5 Menu:
Grilled Chicken and Mediterranean Pasta

SNOW DAY #1 Menu:
Breakfast Frittata w/ green onions, sausage and red onions
Southwest Mac and Cheese (from scratch!)

SNOW DAY #2 Menu:
Spinach Quiche
Sweet and Sour Pork

Oh man, I've never been more grateful for the indoor gym in my building. I was getting a bit stir crazy and feeling a bit heavy after all that cooking!

Wednesday, the storm finally broke. Neighbor J lives in a high-rise and texted to let me know that people were crawling all over the snow! We quickly got ready and ventured out into the catastrophic outcomes of Blizzard 2011. Struggling through 3 feet of snow in each step, we made our way to LSD which had been closed off to traffic (who would be driving in this madness anyways?). We joined the few brave ones and walked up and down LSD, something I'll probably never forget!

Oh man, I missed work greatly, but it was nice to be a "kid" again and play in the snow:

Community Art

Mosaic on the Underpass to the Lake

Community art breathes life into the lives of neighbors, reflecting the joy and hope of the neighborhood it represents. After years of living in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, I made the move away from the cookie cutter walk-ups, and made my way to my new neighborhood, one that I've come to love and appreciate to no end. Each day as I jog (albeit, verrrrry slowwwwwly) past, it's a comforting feeling I get from seeing the heart that was poured into creating this art.

I wish more that our "western" culture would incorporate art into our lives. Many Muslim countries incorporate art into the most minute of details of their buildings, really bringing all viewers into a scared space of exaltation of the space.

My favorite activity when I was studying in Morocco was seeing all the different patterns of buildings, sidewalks, doors, ceramics, which is incorporated in really every aspect of Moroccan urban living. Here are a few of my favorites:

I loved hearing from guides, shopkeepers, my host sister (or really anyone in ear shot of my aloud-wondering) about the history and significance of each design. How one famous person or another commissioned one piece and the next. How the numbers used in these intricate tile designs were exaltation to Koranic verses. It was all so breathtakingly beautiful.

But I a fool, and always a goof:

Tile, tile, everywhere!

All about the art!
♡M

Me, You, and M Henry = ♡

Friday, I'm in love... with breakfast. hahaha Breakfast is the best meal of the day, and according to scientists it's the one meal where you can be a glutton and feel... less guilty about it.

M Henry
5707 N. Clark St.

The patio at M Henry

And SINCE breakfast is the MOST important meal and the best meal to indulge in, that makes M Henry the breakfast palace.

Last weekend, (after a long night of party-ing) Neighbor J was in need of a pick-me-up, and I... well I'm always along for the ride anytime breakfast is involved. As we're both still new to the neighborhood, we decided to come check out the plethora of breakfast options on Clark in Andersonville. I love the versatility of Clark in Andersonville, as it could be breakfast heaven if you want, lunch love, dinner dash, delicious dessert, or devilish drinks... your preference is catered to on this versatile street!

Back to  breakfast. M Henry is the best. When Neighbor J and I arrived, we were seated immediately since we had asked to be seated in their back patio. This was a real treat since the weather was still warm but breezy and not yet freezing cold. We were just one of a handful of people who chose to sit outside, but it was better than waiting in front for an hour to get a table!

COFFEE... NOW.....

I love drinking coffee on the weekends, since I rarely drink it outside of the office. M Henry made it especially a treat, as their coffee had a slightly nutty taste. Apparently both Neighbor J and I loved it, since we each drank four cups each. The busboy eyed our table the entire meal to make sure our cups never ran low.

The Rustic Peasant Quiche

Oh me oh my. This quiche, completes me. I know I say that about everything (apparently also proving I use the Jerry McGuire reference way, way, WAYYYYY too much for someone living in the now), but this quiche was amazing. A perfect blend of egg and cheese, packed with veggies I love (asparagus, sautéed leeks, shallots, applewood bacon, gruyere and lorraine swiss).

M Henry is quickly winning my vote as breakfast heaven.

Beggin' for more Breakfast,
♡M

weekend catch-up: 10.16.2010

Neighbor J and I spent a lovely weekend doing what neighbors do, pouring over our sad little apartments wishing for bigger, better places. So after a quick bite at the always amazing M Henry (review to come!) we made our way to target.

We lamented over the abundance of stuff we want and the lack of funds to provide for such. So we picked up a handful of items then we stumbled our way over to Gethsemane Garden Center.

Wow-EE! The place was so beautiful and Neighbor J and I ended up spending almost three hours there, pouring over potted plants and fresh flowers.

Flower Lettuce

Flowers in Bloom!

I bought a little lovely yellow flower for my window sill, which I've come to love already! More weekend updates to come.

Fresh Flowers Make My World Go Round,
♡M

roots in history

As a fellow blogger, I have to make note when I stumble across an excellent blog! And so I introduce to you (my, uhhh... 4 readers out there.. hi mom.. haha jk) Uptown Chicago History.

So not to disclose my actual location (hellO, privacy) I'll just say I live close to the Edgewater/Uptown neighborhood border. I consider myself an Edgewaterian, but I venture a lot into Uptown for the Argyle amazingness, tantalizing Target and thrifty finds.

Uptown Chicago History takes us back on an interesting view of what used to exist in the neighborhood hangouts I love. Here are a couple of my favorite photos....

I pass by here sometimes!

Still the same bustling street!

So trendy, with it's nightclubs and hotels!

Uptown/Edgewater seems like it was a happening place, with hotels and nightclubs everywhere and a rich history in these architectural masterpiece buildings. It's hard to imagine my extremely residential neighborhood as the "Lincoln Park" of it's day! (Is it even equatable?)

Festive Fall in Lincoln Square

Taken at Dominicks in Lincoln Square

Man, I'm a horrible blogger. I never remember to bring my camera anywhere (hence the crappy iPhone photos)! Anywho....

Yesterday was a super productive day... I got my blood drawn for testing, got my flu/H1N1 shot, got my teeth cleaned, re-evaluated my savings/retirement plan, and got my hair did. Phew!

I did something unheard of for this glut with a huge gut... I forgot to eat. I spent my morning fasting for my blood test, then was rushed to meeting after meeting, went to the dentist, and after the lecture my dentist gave me, felt too guilty to eat anything then ran off to the salon for my appointment.

So it was a relief when +1 called me to see if I wanted to grab dinner. I love the Lincoln Square neighborhood (where we met up) and everything it has too offer, even beyond the one block stretch of Lincoln off of Western. We debated what to get, what was close enough to go to, if we should bring puppy along, etc. etc. and before we could make a decision, it was fast approaching 9pm and everything would soon surely be closed.

Then we realized that we had biked past the new Dominicks at Lincoln and Farragut a few weeks ago, and it looked like it was near completion. Now I must include, Dominicks has long been building a new facility in my Edgewater neighborhood, one of the strong points that led me to putting down my roots in the new neighborhood. I love Edgewater and living near the lake, but walking past that still incomplete Dominicks structure, is such a tease.....

Anyways, back to the story. We wandered over to the new Lincoln Square Dominicks and me oh my, what a nice place! It was deceptively large, and had a great Signature Cafe area, much better than what I had anticipated! I can't wait now, for mine to be completed....

the long awaited Edgewater Dominicks a la uptownupdate.com

Hunt and Gather, Gaztro-Wagon

Last night, I took Neighbor J on an adventure: Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we went. Or at least it seemed that way.

Neighbor J texted me and asked if I wanted to grab dinner. I had been RAVING about this awesome falafel joint humbly called, "Taste of Lebanon". Well before meeting up with him, I checked my tweetdeck, like the addict I am. A sign appeared from the trending gods, and on top of my recent tweets list, "@wherezthewagon Touchdown ravenswood metra stop."

Conversation ensues:
"Neighbor J, LOOK! The food truck is so close by!"
"Close by? It's like two miles away! And um.. a food truck?"

ㅎㅎㅎ the PR skills of my former life kicked in, and I was able to convince Neighbor J of the awesomeness of the food truck revolution and our impending NEED to be part of the trend.

SO off we went, dodging through foot traffic (aka maneuvering and jumping out of the way as the senior citizens of Edgewater sped toward us on their fast motorized wheelchairs), resisting alluring temptations (gelato, coffee/tea and, desserts galore of Andersonville's Clark street!), and going over and under the bridges of Ravenswood (aka the metra line).  Who knew the northside landscape could be so adventurous?


It felt slightly like what I imagine Geocaching to be like, using tweetdeck to navigate our way to foodventure finds. Wow, they should make a version of urban geocaching for food. Wouldn't that be awesome?


After being on the wrong side of the tracks for a while, we finally found....

Gaztro-Wagon We Found You!!!

Moments of silence took place, as Neighbor J and I devoured out sandwiches...

zee infamous Wild Boar Belly Sandwich

I ordered two sandwiches (one for me, one as a request for a friend I was meeting later) but... temptation took over, and I ended up eating half of each. I know.. I'm a bad friend. So in total I ate:

• 1/2 of the Wild Boar Belly: Blue Cheese, Date Jam, Romesco Sauce, and onions
• 1/2 of the Braised Lamb: Queso Panela, Apricots, Candied Walnuts, Padron Pepper

Man... was it good. The Wild Boar was delicious, containing all my favorite things, gooey oozey cheese, sweet jams (particularly date and fig for me!), and onions galore. YUM.


The Braised Lamb was equally noteworthy. As a love of all meats smoked, braised, and grilled, it was hard not to love the sweet sauce of the lamb, and the juicy tender meat. Sadly, I think the apricots were left out of my sandwich? I didn't get to taste any, and neither did Neighbor J. hmmm....


I can't wait to track down this truck again. I want to try their Fidel Castro (uhh.. hellO Manchego cheese.. one of my favorite hard cheeses) and their Duck Confit. MMMM.... 


Dreaming of my next sandwich,
Your resident, shameless GLUT

Not MY picture, but look how happy Chef Maroni looks!