From between September to January, and hopefully February, Kelly and I have a second family. That family comes together weekly, either on Sunday or Monday, at Will's Northwoods Inn (http://www.willsnorthwoodsinn.com). We congregate, some would say religiously, to watch and cheer on our beloved Green Bay Packers. The beauty of it is that its become a ritual. We sit near each other, play games, eat good food and have fun. And like family, win or lose, we come together no matter how our team is doing.
As part of our what I like to call 'Goodbye Chicago Tour' we met up with some of our friends at of course Will's and had a good old fashioned friday fish fry, drank beer and hung out. We reminisced about epic Packer games, how we came to find Will's and our progression to the tables we're at now, and all the other good times we've had because of bar. Not only will we miss the people and the games, but we'll also miss the bartenders who we've become friends and the atmosphere. I've been a Packer fan all my life, but until I started going to Will's regularly, I don't think I appreciated it as much.
Will's has become an oasis, a home away from home in enemy territory, and I will miss it, the people, the ritual, and the experience every sunday and/or monday from September to February.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Goodbye Chicago: Part 1
Now that I've more or less come to grips with leaving and knowing that its a mere 2 weeks away, I've become re-energized in trying to see and do as much as possible in this short time I have left here. Just this past weekend, was one such event, a mini tour of Andersonville.
Some of us guys (Aaron, Tydell, Chapman, Meyer, Inkmann, and myself) went to tour the Koval Distillery, http://www.kovaldistillery.com. The tour was $10 and was pretty decent. The location is actually right next door to Metropolitan Brewery which I've also toured. The facility isn't that large so we didn't walk around that much, but it was interesting. The tour guide gave us a brief history of the company, showed us the equipment used, and told us about the products they distill and sell. We were given a shot glass to taste some of their beverages and tried small samples of 9 of their 27 or so products. 3 of them were 'white whiskeys' which I've never tried before. Basically its clear and isn't aged at all. It just passes through the barrel so that it can be called whiskey. The next 3 were 3 aged whiskeys. They age their whiskeys 2 years and use a variety of grains, some which are unique and solely used by Koval, and 2 different barrels for lighter/darker aging. The final 3 we tried were their liqueurs, chrysanthemum honey, rose hip and and ginger. A few fun facts about the place that we learned on the tour were that they opened in 2009, the distillery is certified organic and kosher, and its the first distillery in the city of Chicago since prohibition.
After the tour, we went to Hamburger Mary's, http://www.hamburgermarys.com . Skip, Matt K, Kel, Courtney Chapman, and Melissa joined us. I love burgers and this place has a great selection of them. They also brew a few beers of which I tried 'superstition' and 'gangster', but didn't love either of them. The 'fiesta burger' that I had though was highly satisfying. One nice thing I found when checking out their website was that their is a branch in Milwaukee.
Hopleaf (http://www.hopleaf.com) was our next destination. Tom and Courtney Carroll met us there. I've wanted to come here for years for the beer selection and it didn't disappoint. I had a couple local beers, 3 Floyd's Pride and Joy (which I thought was just ok) and Goose Island's Matilda (which is one of my fav's). Also tried mead, yes your head me correctly, for the first time. This was from Poland and very syrupy and sweet, a little tough to drink to be honest. I've heard that the food is good here also so check it out if you ever get a chance. I'd love to go again.
Finally we ended the night at Farragut's on Clark, a divey kind of bar for a final drink. I had a great time and was happy to see so many friends out. Hope to have a few more before we leave!
Some of us guys (Aaron, Tydell, Chapman, Meyer, Inkmann, and myself) went to tour the Koval Distillery, http://www.kovaldistillery.com. The tour was $10 and was pretty decent. The location is actually right next door to Metropolitan Brewery which I've also toured. The facility isn't that large so we didn't walk around that much, but it was interesting. The tour guide gave us a brief history of the company, showed us the equipment used, and told us about the products they distill and sell. We were given a shot glass to taste some of their beverages and tried small samples of 9 of their 27 or so products. 3 of them were 'white whiskeys' which I've never tried before. Basically its clear and isn't aged at all. It just passes through the barrel so that it can be called whiskey. The next 3 were 3 aged whiskeys. They age their whiskeys 2 years and use a variety of grains, some which are unique and solely used by Koval, and 2 different barrels for lighter/darker aging. The final 3 we tried were their liqueurs, chrysanthemum honey, rose hip and and ginger. A few fun facts about the place that we learned on the tour were that they opened in 2009, the distillery is certified organic and kosher, and its the first distillery in the city of Chicago since prohibition.
After the tour, we went to Hamburger Mary's, http://www.hamburgermarys.com . Skip, Matt K, Kel, Courtney Chapman, and Melissa joined us. I love burgers and this place has a great selection of them. They also brew a few beers of which I tried 'superstition' and 'gangster', but didn't love either of them. The 'fiesta burger' that I had though was highly satisfying. One nice thing I found when checking out their website was that their is a branch in Milwaukee.
Hopleaf (http://www.hopleaf.com) was our next destination. Tom and Courtney Carroll met us there. I've wanted to come here for years for the beer selection and it didn't disappoint. I had a couple local beers, 3 Floyd's Pride and Joy (which I thought was just ok) and Goose Island's Matilda (which is one of my fav's). Also tried mead, yes your head me correctly, for the first time. This was from Poland and very syrupy and sweet, a little tough to drink to be honest. I've heard that the food is good here also so check it out if you ever get a chance. I'd love to go again.
Finally we ended the night at Farragut's on Clark, a divey kind of bar for a final drink. I had a great time and was happy to see so many friends out. Hope to have a few more before we leave!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
A bittersweet goodbye...
Well, its official, Kelly and I are moving back to Milwaukee. Home (bitter)sweet home! Now don't get me wrong, I am really excited to move home. Our families are there. Friends and new opportunities will offer themselves. I'll be able to watch more Wisconsin sports.
On the other hand, I've lived in Chicago for over 6 years now and have had great experiences and made many lifelong friends, gotten into some shenigans and have made great memories. We have had countless experiences, and amazing memories, and in our last 2-3 weeks left, hope to make a couple more.
Some of our highlights include the South Side Irish Parade, eating so much great food, brewery tours, BBQ's on friends' decks, and so much more. I'm not sure how much we can do/accomplish in the next few weeks, but I know that were gonna try out best to make the most of it. I'm gonna start this saturday by going to tour the Koval Distillery.
On the other hand, I've lived in Chicago for over 6 years now and have had great experiences and made many lifelong friends, gotten into some shenigans and have made great memories. We have had countless experiences, and amazing memories, and in our last 2-3 weeks left, hope to make a couple more.
Some of our highlights include the South Side Irish Parade, eating so much great food, brewery tours, BBQ's on friends' decks, and so much more. I'm not sure how much we can do/accomplish in the next few weeks, but I know that were gonna try out best to make the most of it. I'm gonna start this saturday by going to tour the Koval Distillery.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Lent
The Lenten season is upon us again. Last year I gave up drinking all alcohol. It was fairly difficult in the beginning, but the longer I abstained, the easier it became. The more people that I hung out w/that knew about it, the easier it became as they accepted it more and more.
This year, I'm attempting to not really sacrifice, but to do more. Meaning, I intent to work out more often instead of giving up alcohol or sweets or something along those lines. In a way, I guess I'm sacrificing some lazyness for my health benefit. I've always wanted to run a race although I now have come to realize that a marathon or even a half marathon is probably not in the cards. However, hopefully this can be the catalyst towards a 5k in the spring.
I still may try to give up meat on fridays since I can still never remember each year.
This year, I'm attempting to not really sacrifice, but to do more. Meaning, I intent to work out more often instead of giving up alcohol or sweets or something along those lines. In a way, I guess I'm sacrificing some lazyness for my health benefit. I've always wanted to run a race although I now have come to realize that a marathon or even a half marathon is probably not in the cards. However, hopefully this can be the catalyst towards a 5k in the spring.
I still may try to give up meat on fridays since I can still never remember each year.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
New blog
I've decided to embark on a new venture. I've just started another blog. This one's asian inspired and will hopefully be a little less random. I intend for it to be more structured, well thought, but yet still lighthearted. Hope you enjoy!
http://firstgenerasian.blogspot.com
http://firstgenerasian.blogspot.com
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Magical wonton skins
I've never used wonton skins before. Lately, I've been trying to expand my asian cooking repertoire and happened to see wonton skins at the grocery store and decided to buy a package. Turns out you can do a lot with them. Using them was easier than expected, it just happened to be more labor intensive is all. The skill required was surpringly not difficult.
I ended up making wontons/dumplings as well as crab rangoon. Making the mixture for the insides relatively easy and didn't require too many ingredients. The main ingredient/base for wontons is ground meat and the base for crab rangoons is cream cheese.
Wontons have a few basic cooking methods. Boiling, steaming, and pan frying. I personally like to boil or steam for just a few minutes and then pan fry them to crisp them up a little bit. If you boil them too long, they get a little too soggy and can fall apart. Crab rangoon is all about frying. If you don't have a deep fryer, which I do not, you can just heat oil in a pan. I used a small sauce pan which allowed me to use less oil, but only allowed me to cook a few. I ended up having to do a few batches, but it turned out just fine. They cooked in just a minutes or two and turned our very nice. Now on to more experimental fillings for both my dumplings and my crab rangoons.
I ended up making wontons/dumplings as well as crab rangoon. Making the mixture for the insides relatively easy and didn't require too many ingredients. The main ingredient/base for wontons is ground meat and the base for crab rangoons is cream cheese.
Wontons have a few basic cooking methods. Boiling, steaming, and pan frying. I personally like to boil or steam for just a few minutes and then pan fry them to crisp them up a little bit. If you boil them too long, they get a little too soggy and can fall apart. Crab rangoon is all about frying. If you don't have a deep fryer, which I do not, you can just heat oil in a pan. I used a small sauce pan which allowed me to use less oil, but only allowed me to cook a few. I ended up having to do a few batches, but it turned out just fine. They cooked in just a minutes or two and turned our very nice. Now on to more experimental fillings for both my dumplings and my crab rangoons.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Kindle
I've finally broken down and gotten it, well my mother-in-law bought it for me for xmas. I've resisted for so long that its a little bittersweet. On one hand, its small, lightweight, accessible to wi-fi and near instand downloads, can carry multiple books, has a good battery, and is ultra convenient. On the other hand, its black and white/grey, non-personal, and it doesn't look good on my bookshelf.
I'm ashamed to say that there may be no turning back from this. Since xmas, I've already read 2 books and am working my way through a third. The size, weight, and convenience is the best part about it. Its so slim that it just fits into a jacket pocket. Also, with the wi-fi, you can just download a book from the Kindle itself. You don't need to hook it up to a computer. Just a few button pushes and voila, a brand new book to read. Also, I'm pretty sure the books are cheaper than if you were to buy them at the bookstore.
Have no fear though, I'll still re-read the books on my bookshelf because I like it and possibly for nostalgia.
I'm ashamed to say that there may be no turning back from this. Since xmas, I've already read 2 books and am working my way through a third. The size, weight, and convenience is the best part about it. Its so slim that it just fits into a jacket pocket. Also, with the wi-fi, you can just download a book from the Kindle itself. You don't need to hook it up to a computer. Just a few button pushes and voila, a brand new book to read. Also, I'm pretty sure the books are cheaper than if you were to buy them at the bookstore.
Have no fear though, I'll still re-read the books on my bookshelf because I like it and possibly for nostalgia.
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