Theater Season Begins...

As I mentioned in the Cascabel post, our theater season begins in September and our first production on the calendar is Jane Eyre at Timeline Theater - followed by the Northlight production of Pensacola Commons.  Also on the schedule: Death Tax at Lookingglass Theater, Both Your  Houses at Remy Bumppo, and Danny Casolaro Died For You at Lifeline Theater. All before we leave for the winter and the theater season there (scheduled for eight productions over the winter.... five at Asolo and three at FSU Conservatory) - so stay tuned if you are a "theater buff"....

so follow along for reviews of the things we go to see and then keep an eye for the good ones in your own local theaters- many of the places we go are very small- Northlight is a moderate sized theater, as is Lookingglass but the others are really small and off off off Loop.... so never a moment without something to do here in the big city.... LOL

feeding Phil's addiction

We had been home less than one week when Phil called me and asked me if we could go to Restaurant Michael for a lobster dinner... he was missing having lobster every other day... I mentioned that if we went that would make six of seven nights coming up when we would be eating out for dinner...  his response was "I miss lobster".... so last night we had the

5-Course Lobster with Wine Pairings Menu

Cognac-Lobster Bisque en Croute

Chilled Lobster & Apple Remoulade with Sweet & Lightly Spiced Curry Cream

Paired with; CHARLES BAUR, BRUT, CREMANT D' ALSACE NV

Lobster Risotto, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Fava Beans, Fresh Corn

Maine Lobster Tail, Galantine of Scallop, Shrimp & Lobster, Honey-Brown Butter Fennel, Lobster Beurre Rouge

Paired with; 2011 COTES DU RHONE, ANDRE BRUNEL

Your Choice from our Dessert Menu

And here is the newsletter that snagged him: 

as long as lobsters stay consistent and priced as they have been, I will continue to deliver great value-driven menus like the one we are running tomorrow, Friday, September 12! I challenge everyone to find a better deal in Chicago this weekend! (at $49 per person including two glasses of wine- how could you go wrong?) 

for dessert I chose the Baked Alaska and Phil chose the hazelnut souffle... we were both happy with the choices-

so yes- Phil is missing lobster.... that is an issue when you have spent two weeks eating lobster on the eastern coast of Canada... they turn you into an addict - LOL - not to mention the scallops.... another story altogether!

here are a few photos of Phil's lobster tour of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (not exhaustive because I know I missed (at the very least) his lobster sandwich at Herring Choker in Baddeck - and likely more (Lincoln Street Food- no photos at all- where was I?) 

I should have bought him one of these lobsters so he never felt he was without lobster- LOL

so on we go... tonight dinner with friends at Cyrano's Farm Table (same Chef Didier as Cyrano's on the River from last Sunday night but at his full service restaurant near north) will get back to you about that one- and tomorrow theater season begins in earnest with three plays in the next week at various venues- so stay tuned....

our day in Halifax

we only had a single day in Halifax but we got really lucky on the weather- bright blue sky and warm temperatures made it possible for us to sit outside for a drink in the late afternoon.  During the day we visited both the Pier 21 Museum of Immigration and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

The Pier 21 Museum is the Canadian version of Ellis Island (minus the trauma most went through at Ellis Island) and the Atlantic Museum is where the Titanic artifacts and the exhibits on the Halifax Explosion reside.

each drawer of this trunk told a segment of the story of the Jewish immigrant from Shanghai-

displays of activities for kids on the ships that brought them-

the most interesting exhibits of the Pier 21 museum were the filmed interviews with immigrants who got to tell their own stories in their words...many of them very moving -

we had lunch at a thoroughly forgettable pub between the two museums- and went on to the Maritime Museum- we were greeted by Merlin, the museum mascot, a Rainbow Macaw (identified in the museum as a parrot) along with a description of pirates and parrots of folklore...

Our first stop was the Titanic exhibit- which had a film and some artifacts and a memorial to those who lost their lives in the disaster -

these menus were not from the Titanic but from the same cruise lines-

a photo of the interior of the Titanic will look very familiar to anyone who saw the movie - apparently the sets painstakingly reproduced the actual Titanic -

Cunard was born in Halifax and got his start their before moving to England-

Miscellaneous ship items in a different display-

 a nice collection of mastheads-

another exhibit featured items from the war of 1812 - four different perspectives...

our final stop was the exhibit and film on the Halifax Explosion- more acreage destroyed than the Chicago Fire yet much less well known...

and of course - as with pretty much everywhere- you can exit through the gift shop....

and on the way stop and bid farewell to the local celebrity - Merlin (who has his own webcam site- http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/special/merlin-live-stream.html)

our evening meal was already posted (the Gio meal) and so we had only to figure out how to get all the dirty clothes into the suitcases and head off to the airport in the morning for our flight home to Chicago.  We arrived by late afternoon and by Saturday evening were mostly caught up with the work (except the blog posts which are now complete - only a week later despite a busy social calendar...!!!) So we have a lot on our calendar coming up with dinners and theater tickets and concerts and company from out of town and overseas... stay tuned- will be updating regularly until we head off to Italy the first week in October...

The blog will be four years old October 22nd and I am still having a blast doing it- while I don't seem to have many official followers - over 2300 posts were viewed last month and I am about 250 views away from 40,000 post views... who knew it would be that popular? LOL... thanks for following along... I promise to keep writing if you are willing to keep reading!