almost forgot

Oh my - things are quite busy and so I completely missed the Friday night outing for Steppenwolf's production of Constellations and then dinner at a new (to us) place called Oyster Bah....

this play reminded me of a David Ives play called "Sure Thing" on steroids- it started with the same - millions of alternative paths in life and went much much deeper on the scientific and existential levels and explored the relationship between two characters on multiple levels while interweaving some theoretical physics and quantum mechanics as the cocktail they were "stewing" in -

interesting intellectually but I never really related to the female character - a bit more to the male lead but overall I found it a thoughtful play but not one that grabbed me emotionally.  You can by the way see the David Ives play "Sure Thing" in various iterations on You Tube- a short fifteen minute funny film about alternative paths on the route to love... or even a date LOL-

Sure Thing is a short comic play by David Ives featuring a chance meeting of two characters, Betty and Bill, whose conversation is continually reset by the use of a ringing bell, starting over when one of them responds negatively to the other.

after the play we went to the Oyster Bah nearby - for some seafood- had some oysters- some crab legs- some chowder, some ceviche, and fish and chips, along with seafood salad- all quite good-

we brought our own (corkage fee reasonable) and it was perfect- still young and balanced - great with the seafood based menu we chose!

we headed home late and crashed - lots of holiday weekend plans--- so this 1st of July evening was the beginning of our settled in part of the summer in the city - Chicago!

one terrific, two will be new

So we are on a round of high end dining before we leave for eastern Europe (maybe we will need the fortifications LOL- not sure about Moldovan cuisine - but we do know they have good wines!)

We started with Oceanique on Monday and then last night we dined at one of our favorites - goosefoot.  We love the owners - Chef Chris Nugent and his wife, Nina (who does everything with a flair and a sense of humor.)  We had made these plans a while back and changed them about six weeks ago to include friends Don & Jim.  Don was the founder of Chicago Gourmets now seventeen years ago, and is still a driving force in the organization.  Jim is an education consultant and retired school administrator.  Don is a retired professor of botany (which makes him an invaluable resource about all things green!)

They brought an impeccable bottle of Krug which we had with the first couple of courses - really showing well with the scallop and the egg... but I am getting ahead of myself-

here is the current menu-

Our amuse was a delicious mushroom and truffle soup - yum yum - especially on the rainy night it turned out to be- 

then the real fun began- the scallop course- 

the egg course in a presentation that kind of looks "chicken-like"

the ALWAYS delicious soup- Chris is the MASTER of soup of all kinds- I could have gallons before I said "Oh No that's too much" - LOL

the fish course - big eye tuna - in a soy flavored sauce - reminiscent of Hawaiian Poke-

gnocchi and white truffles - what's not to love here?????

our white selection was show a tiny bit of age but very nice- 2005 Kistler McCrea Ranch

the beef - excellent as always-

the cheese course - a great pairing of Roquefort and fruit flavors-

a guava based juice with lime olive oil as a palate cleanser-

dessert number one the peaches and cream with a nasturtium atop the creamy bowl of sweet fruity flavors-

the second dessert- a luscious treat of hazelnut and chocolate with mango dots for a counterpoint of flavor!

the end- a cape gooseberry dipped in chocolate and nuts- with a spectacular presentation of drift wood...

a terrific evening of good wines - good food - AND good company... what more could a gal ask for? 

so the title of the post is one terrific - and that was our goosefoot dinner... and  two will be new because we are headed tonight the restaurant number two which is NEW to us... Intro.  Intro is located in the former home of Ambria (long time ago best in Chicago restaurant) and then L2O another highly regarded high end dining place.  The owners Lettuce Entertain You group- have taken it into new territory with a revolving door (deliberately) for chefs- so that they can showcase their work with a menu that will be served for three or four months and then they move to a new chef and new menu.... so far the first couple of chefs have gotten rave reviews- and certainly  the concept will keep folks returning frequently without stressing chef to do a new menu three or four times a year... so I will report back on this one in the next post. 

And tomorrow night- theater again - trying to get everything in before leaving town - and the calendar is quite booked for our return - with only two weeks before we head south...so never a dull moment - and as I was saying to one of my doctors this morning - GO NOW - you never know if there will be another day... so off we go- go - go....