More summer fun

 so Welcome to July! the ocunrty's 250th birthday - AAACCCCKKK - 

our July 1st dinner was at Le Bouchon, a truly excellent bottle of wine was the highlight of the evening. The place is one of our "in the hood" French favorites, Le Bouchon. Phil ordered the duck (he always brings home one portion for a later meal) and I had the soft shell crab. We split the waffle with boursin, truffles and honey which was tasty. As starters he had a duck and foie dish and I had a zippy strawberry gazpacho. The house comp'd the seafood gougeres as well as a guava sorbet. I preferred my scoop of vanilla ice cream over the guava flavor. And Phil preferred his tart au pommes with caramel sauce over the guava so most of that went to waste. The staff here is always first rate. Always worth the trip three miles down Damen Avenue. (Past the old Bristol - a loss) and always on our summer tour of Chicago favorites.

On the 2nd we went to our across the hall neighbors house for tacos etc... sadly they are moving ot the suburbs at the end of August. They were our faovrite second floor neihgbors so we will miss them. 

The fourth of July weekend was one of work around the house and eating at home. Over the weekend we got a nice photo from Todd of the two of us with Carl & Roya at the wedding shower/reception. 

Then Sunday the 5th came around and Phil and upstairs Mary went to a women's soccer match in Evanston and I met them for dinner at Alcove.  We try to get up to this place at least once a summer. Good menu, food prep to match the menu's pretty high aspirations and while they have a good selection of wine they also let you BYO with a corkage fee. Service is attentive but not intrusive. Phil went to Evanston with our neighbor Mary and her friend Linda to see a women's soccer match between the Stars and the Utah Royals. I met them after the win, at Alcove. The 2005 Vosne-Romaneé was really excellent. That vintage took a long time to come around but it is outstanding when you are patient enough to wait for it. 

Then suring the week we headed off on a short road trip to delis and pizza of the midwest. Our first destination was Noble Ropmans in Carmel not far from our very nice hotel (Ironworks Indy). It was still good "detroit style" pizza. But we were in town to go to Shapiros deli.  Founded in something like 1906 it is very old cafeteria style deli with made to order sandwiches and plenty of choices for sides and desserts.  Top tray - Phil's tongue and pastrami sandwhiches along with soup. Bnottom tray my corned beef with swiss and a devil egg.

our partially eaten desserts of cherry cheescake and chocolate eclair - Phil said the cheesecake was good I found the eclair to be lacking 

Then we were off to Ann Arbor. When I was a senior in high school (back in the middle ages 😂) Chuck Muer was HUGE in the Detroit area.  He was known for Gandy Dancer and Charlie's Crab and I think maybe had some other affiliations  in the industry. All hotspots of the late 60s and early 70s. 

AI tells me:

Signature Establishments: He specialized in a style described as "accessible elegance". 

His most famous properties included:

Charley’s Crab: Highly successful white-tablecloth fine dining locations.

Big Fish: A trendy, casual seafood bistro concept.

The Gandy Dancer: A celebrated landmark restaurant inside a historic train depot in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Muer was highly regarded as a charismatic, hands-on leader and mentor within the regional restaurant scene. Following his disappearance, his children temporarily managed the company before it was sold to investment firms in 1997 and eventually acquired by Landry's Restaurants Inc. in 2002.

I also learned that his father was in the restaurant business and owned Joe Muer's Seafood.

Chuck and his wife and another couple disappeared while sailing in the Bahamas, no bodies were ever recovered. 

Tonight, after having started our day in Indianapolis with lunch at Shapiro's Deli (founded in 1906), we dined in Ann Arbor so it seemed like this would be a trip to the past. My ex husband grew up in the area and in his family Gandy Dancer was a place mentioned with almost reverant tones back in the very early 70s, as was Chuck Muer. 

The setting was lovely and the food choices were pretty standard for this type of establishment. Mostly well executed, I liked my choices of lobster bisque, wedge half salad, and snapper better than Phil liked his choices. He was happy with his scallop starter and his half wedge, but less so with his halibut. We made it up to him by ordering the dessert featured in the box and photo on the menu. It was tasty and large enough that I was happy we split it.

Then the following day we were off to Detroit tiself for lunch.  My favorite pizza in the world is from this dive bar style place from 1946 (80 years old this year!) only the original will do. The franchised ones scattered throughout Detroit don't do it the way they do on the edge of Hamtramck on Conant Street. 

We were stuffed but managed to ge carry out for dinner - which we consumed much later at a table in the hotel lobby - we of course chose Zingerman's a famous deli in Ann Arbor for our purveyor of the repast.

The next day we headed back to Chicago but made a lunch stop on the way  in Marshall Michigan - home of Schuler's from 1909! You can see we were hitting all the latest places.... LOL

So you may have noted we made no stops at currently trendy restaurants on our short road trip this long weekend. Here is another tried and true "ancient" dining establishment. (1909!) We didn't have dessert but we did buy two of the cookies on sale in the reception area. A traditional menu and really excellent service from friendly people (not "professionally" friendly). Phil came for the prime rib. I was along for whatever hit me when we got there, which turned out to be chowder and a very large salad. It was on the way between Buddy's, Zingerman's, and Chicago. So a natural stop...

Prime rib came with potatoes, veggies and a side salad. So a full meal for a guy who also had the meatballs for a starter. 

We "dined at home" on Saturday night and Sunday met after pHil went out for a walk at C'est Bien Thai on the corner.

 we tried the ice cream place around the corner but were unimpressed. spoiled by MITO in Sevilla- no doubt. So now we are off to our post trip week of regular life. Seeing friends for dinner - catchin up on pizza choices we have not yet made it to this summer and that sort of thing.  More to follow.