The Joy of the Windy City
I love Chicago, I really do. The people, the look, the feel, and everything is so big. Chicago always gives me a sense of living that I haven't found anywhere else. When I'm in Chicago, I feel that I can quite literally do anything. My husband and I went to Chicago this weekend to tour the Food Show. I'll explain.
When I lived in Savannah I worked for a catering company. The owners, J and A, operated the business out of their home. They have since grown and now have their own building, but back then it was common to clean up the mess, grab a drink from the kitchen, and jump in the heated pool before heading home. J and A became very good friends of ours. When we left Savannah and came to St. Louis, we kept in contact. J and A are the kind of people you rarely find in a lifetime. The kind of people that make you feel comfortable, the kind that make you laugh non-stop and enjoy being alive. People like this you hold on to with everything you have. They came to Chicago for the NRA show, that's the National Restaurant Association's Convention and Trade show. The Food Show.
Food show indeed. All we did was eat. We started off with breakfast at the Four Seasons hotel. How to describe this mastery of buffets.... There was so much good food just lying around begging to be eaten that it should have been illegal. We sat seven stories up with a wonderful view of Lake Michigan gorging ourselves on lobster bisque and veal Marcela. We drank an endless supply of mimosas. The dessert table was almost too beautiful to touch. Almost. It's just so good. We rolled out of the hotel and headed towards McCormick Center.
Before us stood rows and rows of tables and booths, every vendor of every kind hawking their wares and giving out free samples. Wine, champagne, hot dogs, desserts, bacon, caviar, gelato, and fried chicken just to name a few. Free pens, free bags, free coupons, and brochures were tossed at us like we were Cesar returning from war. Ben & Jerry's gave us a free scoop. Coke gave us free samples of their vodka key lime lemonade (we went back a few more times just to make sure it was good). The ice carving competition was a bit disappointing, they were always just starting when we went down to the show room. Big blocks of ice are not impressive. We saw silver serving trays and glassware that defied imagination. Cooking demonstrations caused bottle necks, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were there. The fifth Beetle was there signing autographs. (I didn't know he existed, either).
Dinner that night at The Saloon was magnificent. It was a wonder any of us could eat, but we all managed it. The next day we woke up and did the same thing all over again. For dinner that night we went to Mike Ditka's restaurant. Ladies, if you are single and looking, go to Ditka's. You'll walk in alone but leave married, maybe pregnant. The caliber of men there is *kiss* magnifique. And there are so many of them. Warning, the testosterone levels in that place could cause you boobs to shrink, so keep it short.
With heavy hearts (and sore feet) hubby and I said farewell to our friends and rolled back to the hotel to put on the fat pants. Those two days flew by all too quickly. Every moment is a good memory. Martinis at the Inter-Continental. Watching the clouds swirl around the John Hancock building. Seeing Millennium Park for the first time. Sigh...
Back to the real world now where we're treated like commoners.
When I lived in Savannah I worked for a catering company. The owners, J and A, operated the business out of their home. They have since grown and now have their own building, but back then it was common to clean up the mess, grab a drink from the kitchen, and jump in the heated pool before heading home. J and A became very good friends of ours. When we left Savannah and came to St. Louis, we kept in contact. J and A are the kind of people you rarely find in a lifetime. The kind of people that make you feel comfortable, the kind that make you laugh non-stop and enjoy being alive. People like this you hold on to with everything you have. They came to Chicago for the NRA show, that's the National Restaurant Association's Convention and Trade show. The Food Show.
Food show indeed. All we did was eat. We started off with breakfast at the Four Seasons hotel. How to describe this mastery of buffets.... There was so much good food just lying around begging to be eaten that it should have been illegal. We sat seven stories up with a wonderful view of Lake Michigan gorging ourselves on lobster bisque and veal Marcela. We drank an endless supply of mimosas. The dessert table was almost too beautiful to touch. Almost. It's just so good. We rolled out of the hotel and headed towards McCormick Center.
Before us stood rows and rows of tables and booths, every vendor of every kind hawking their wares and giving out free samples. Wine, champagne, hot dogs, desserts, bacon, caviar, gelato, and fried chicken just to name a few. Free pens, free bags, free coupons, and brochures were tossed at us like we were Cesar returning from war. Ben & Jerry's gave us a free scoop. Coke gave us free samples of their vodka key lime lemonade (we went back a few more times just to make sure it was good). The ice carving competition was a bit disappointing, they were always just starting when we went down to the show room. Big blocks of ice are not impressive. We saw silver serving trays and glassware that defied imagination. Cooking demonstrations caused bottle necks, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were there. The fifth Beetle was there signing autographs. (I didn't know he existed, either).
Dinner that night at The Saloon was magnificent. It was a wonder any of us could eat, but we all managed it. The next day we woke up and did the same thing all over again. For dinner that night we went to Mike Ditka's restaurant. Ladies, if you are single and looking, go to Ditka's. You'll walk in alone but leave married, maybe pregnant. The caliber of men there is *kiss* magnifique. And there are so many of them. Warning, the testosterone levels in that place could cause you boobs to shrink, so keep it short.
With heavy hearts (and sore feet) hubby and I said farewell to our friends and rolled back to the hotel to put on the fat pants. Those two days flew by all too quickly. Every moment is a good memory. Martinis at the Inter-Continental. Watching the clouds swirl around the John Hancock building. Seeing Millennium Park for the first time. Sigh...
Back to the real world now where we're treated like commoners.
posted by Barbarian02003 | Wednesday, May 25, 2005
1 Comments:
I have never been so happy to be a whore!
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