getting ready

We have a Hart, Davis champagne tasting tonight and I have been busy busy busy with my new found favorite collaborative travel website AFAR but I did get my packing list revised and packed this morning (mostly) for Bolivia and Colombia.  Meantime we are still working on the paper chase of a re-fi and trying to squeeze that in before my Tuesday early AM departure.  Since I am mostly ready I thought I would post a few photos that I have been using in my highlights on AFAR.

Laos 

 Vietnam

 Vietnam

Tunisia 

Russia 

Hungary 

  

Myanmar (Burma) 

Amalfi, Italy  

Cambodia 

Poland

Czech Republic

You can see from the variety that I have lots of place to "talk" about - LOL.  So don't look for much in the way of posts here until I get back from Bolivia and Colombia.  Then I will have lots to fill you in on... meantime- go to the photo website and start browsing there- all kinds of fabulous memories are contained within its "pages."

http://victoriasterlingspics.shutterfly.com/

And speaking of that- one of the people (Allison Murray) whose AFAR highlights I have looked at has a little blurb on her profile I think sums it up:

I'm an adventurer and homebody. When I'm tempted to nap instead of experience an event I ask myself, "Would you rather do something you'll never remember or never forget?"

And the cool thing about this website is that when someone posts on a place you might want to go you can save that to a "wanderlist" for your own later use...

been there? done that?

No matter how savvy any of us are - we can never say "been there done that" about everything.  Case in point: Last night's Chicago Gourmets dinner at Calihan.  Haven't heard of it? Neither had we! But let me say this up front- and then fill in the details- this was a flawless meal served with perfect wine pairing and held in an interesting setting that managed to be beautiful and industrial at the same time.

So now- more info on the evening.  Even having been city dwellers for decades we had to look up the address  and use GPS to get there.  The location is right smack dab in the middle of Goose Island (not the beer - or the brewery which is not on Goose Island at all) on Haines Street. Who knew?

We arrived quite quickly by missing the turn at Halsted and making the next turn at Hooker (see, another name you probably didn't have in the address book.) Right at the corner of Hooker and Haines is Calihan.  Why didn't we know Calihan? Well it turns out they perform their amazing feats of culinary magic behind the scenes.  "Dinner for 500 - no problem; dinner for 250 - a sweet spot; dinner for two - we do that too!" said Nash Calihan, manager of Operations at the incredibly decked out kitchen (in the culinary sense.)

Our group was joined by Nash, his father John Calihan (founder) and Michelle Brown (remember her name because it will come up again.) The meal was prepared by Molly Johnson (chef extraordinaire) and her outstanding team. And it was served by a crack wait staff headed that evening by Amy.

Flower arrangements were provided by CG's own Don Newcomb and the table settings made the "industrial" kitchen into a fine dining venue.  OK, I know by now you are saying- the food- get on to the topic of the food and so here goes:

First the menu:

We started with a group of passed and station appetizers as noted above.  There was spirited discussion amongst the members as to which was the BEST...LOL- they were ALL the best- but I have to admit to downing more than my share of the short rib and blue cheese hand pies. Phil spoke vehemently on behalf of the duck and the lobster rolls.  But I felt he could not relegate the epoisses with the cherry compote to fourth place... after a few rounds in the match we returned to our corners having called it a TIE and they all won as BEST.

above photo courtesy of Don Newcomb 

 above and below photos courtesy of Don Newcomb

above Chef Molly Johnson and Member (yes that is me- LOL) admire the lobster rolls

 above photo courtesy Don Newcomb

And while we were gorging on the fabulous apps we could also take a look at the wines selected by Nash Calihan for pairing with the awesome Molly Johnson menu!

All the wines are listed on the menu and each was just the right wine for the food pairing.  However, Nash had a treat for us - as we started with the amuse we had a cocktail of bitters, semillon and rye- a gorgeous color and fun taste to accompany the beginning course of the amuse bouche - brioche with quail egg topped with an Australian truffle.

my place setting above and below our special treat cocktail

above Chef Molly prepares the amuse and what follows are the evening's courses in all their glory:

This meal was note perfect - and that took the whole team to produce along with a "magic oven" and here is where Michelle Brown comes back into the story.  Michelle is the Regional Sales Manager for Rational USA, a German company that makes amazing ovens and she had installed one in the kitchen at Calihan.  This dinner was somewhat of the first run of prep for a larger group using this oven made by RATIONAL.  I would say my verdict on the oven was "SUCCESS!"

 Michelle Brown photo courtesy of Don Newcomb

John Calihan, Sharon Meyers and Nash Calihan (photo courtesy of Don Newcomb)

the service team (leader Amy is second from left) - Calihan has a summer intern program for foreign students (several of the service team were interns)

a BIG thanks to Michelle, Chef Molly, Nash and John (pictured here with Sharon Meyers one of the Chicago Gourmet event hosts (not pictured Don Newcomb)

Calihan does corporate events, weddings, special events and private parties from their 7000 square foot kitchen preparing high end meals with their creative culinary team- next time you have need for a caterer for 500 you will now know who to call!

All the work that founder Don Newcomb puts into these events -  let's find one with him in the picture as well....(far left- founder of Chicago Gourmets Club, Don Newcomb)

for further information on CG - www.ChicagoGourmets.org

for further information on Calihan - www.calihancatering.com

Thanks to all involved in making this a most memorable evening!



addicted!

LOL - sorry I have been posting so infrequently of late but I have become addicted to a new (to me) website called AFAR.  On the website, ordinary travelers like me post highlights of a trip taken with a short narrative and a photograph.  I have spent the last couple of weeks writing, culling through photographs from various trips and posting nearly 80 of my own highlights as well as reading other folks posts. 

So - while everyone who knows me well knows I have a travel jones- now I am also addicted to other traveler's tales on AFAR.  Check it out at:

http://www.afar.com/highlights/no-time-for-drinking

this was one of my highlights from Tunisia.  Meantime- my life has not stopped (I am just getting less sleep) and so we have had our usual whirlwind of social events and my next post will be about the BEST dinner yet with the Chicago Gourmets dining group.

more food

so after having such an amazing meal at goosefoot on Saturday night, I thought that the plans we had for Tuesday night with the Chicago Gourmets (CG) group might be a let down.  so I was grousing about having to drive an hour and a half in rush hour traffic to the suburbs and complaining to Phil about why we would go this far when we have amazing restaurants like goosefoot less than ten blocks from us... and who eats at 6:30 anyway - only ancient people- LOL - you get the drift.

and so-

boy was I so wrong- seriously wrong- and we had just a fabulous meal at Mecenat in Western Springs (we didn't know where it was until we went there - cute little old "on the commuter rail line" kind of town.)

so here is my report- this chef totally knows his stuff- had made the rounds of several high end places in the area and now has found his patron and opened his work of food art in downtown center - right across from the train station in Western Springs. His name is Jonathan Harootunian.  And the wine pairings were presented by the Jean-Jacques Fertal president of Eagle Eye brands and owners of various vineyards in France (from Alsace in the north to the Mediterranean in the south.)

We started with a crab and citrus salad served with wontons. This was paired with an Alsatian Pinot Blanc.

 above three photos courtesy of Don Newcomb

the next course was a really delicious summer salad with mesclun, strawberries, manchego and almonds in a light vinaigrette with these incredibly yummy strawberry caramel squares (could have eaten about a dozen more of those things!) here Jean- Jacques paired with a sparkling wine the Cremant d'Alsace

 courtesy Don Newcomb

the next course - a knock your socks off foie gras in a mushroom bacon ragout- this was to die for and I barely managed to keep from licking the plate! it was served with a GSM that I found really tasty (Phil liked the next course wine pairing better) Karantes Bergerie

the following course was duck breast served with a summer berry gastrique and smoked chocolate sauce - and was served with another higher end GSM blend but with different proportions Chateau de Karantes

OK- I forgot to take the picture because I was so anxious to taste the smoked chocolate sauce!

then we had another course- the dessert, that I could have had at least two servings and probably even then would have had to stop myself from ordering another.  it was a honey pound cake with roasted peaches and a spiced caramel sauce. It was paired with a dessert wine from the Bordeaux area Chateau Les Roques Cuvee Frantz.

I don't know who told the chef that I am a sucker for caramel but I am certainly glad they passed the info along- LOL 

Chastised by the meal - I admitted to Phil it was worth the 90 minute drive but still put in my two cents that had it been set for dinner at 8 PM we wouldn't have had issues with the traffic and could have been there in half the time (just as it only took us 45 minutes to get home - zipped over the Ike and up LSD)

so kudos to Don Newcomb for hosting the lovely event and also for several of the photos (his were better than my cell in some cases - and he is credited for them)

Next on our CG schedule is an event at Calihan early next week... watch for a review....