busy last weeks in the States (Part 1)

 Last week we were out for dinner several evenings... first - Tikal a Guatemalan place on Lawrence

Then Staropolska - a Polish place on Milwaukee  We tried a new place tonight. I wanted to love it but didn't. It was fine but nothing brilliant. For the price I'd rather head to Tikal on Lawrence or D4 on Western. Both really good food with excellent service and good value. The server was really sweet and attentive, and the menu read well. However, the execution of the dishes was just meh. Phil has the duck special and I had the veal meatballs with strange sponge like things as the side. I don't have a clue what they were made of but the texture was off putting... Anyway - exec summary, we won't be heading back soon. I would have liked to order the sampler plate but you need to have three or more to order it. It's possible that their beef stew or the Polish sausage might be fabulous but not sure I want to traverse a street that is literally torn up and lined with orange barrels. No legal parking within blocks (all permit parking.) Here's the thing: it wasn't BAD in any way. It just wasn't what we were looking for. Maybe if we had a larger group to try the family platter of samples of various dishes we would have had a better experience. Oh well.

Then the following night we went to Il Milanese - You know the food is good and the service exemplary when the photographer forgets to take any photos of two gorgeous mains and two good desserts We started with primis of trofie with pesto for me (just like the Cinque Terre) and a seafood risotto for Phil. Then he had the Costelletto and I had the Maialino. Both were terrific despite the lack of "evidence" It was great to see Jason again and catch up with his plans for a trip to Europe (including Alsace where his grandparents lived before coming to the US.) The restaurant was just vetted by some bigwig Italian culinary certification. And tonight they were hosting a fundraiser for Harris. So they are busy, we are busy. Likely won't see them again until returning from Spain, so it was great that the evening was perfect.

We ate at home a few nights and over the weekend we worked in the cellar preparing for Phil's birthday party and the visit from Steve & Suzanne. Then we went to the Pause for the Cause dinner at Brasero -

Another terrific evening at "Pause for the Cause"  a fund raiser for Vibrant Emotional Health. These folks have done so much for implementation of the 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline. The statistics are astounding. Since it was put in place, just a few years ago, the hotline has handled millions of calls. Six years ago Rebecca Kolko Friedlander gathered together a group of somms and restaurant and food & beverage industry folks after the death of Anthony Bourdain, who had influenced so many in the business as well as travelers (like me) around the globe. Since the first dinner at SKY in collaboration with Oriole we have attended as many as we were in town for. In the six years the group has raised more than $300,000. It is a terrific time seeing many of our favorite folks and having great food and wines. We met our friends Sharad & Paige at the very first dinner and have dined with them for years now. 

Handling details of life this week - Covid shots, flu shots, last minute packing lists etc. We are heading out for dinner to two French restaurants this week- Le Bouchon and Mon Ami Gabi. So more to follow.