Chicago loose ends

Wherein I share photos of folks who are not strictly ALA folks and I share photos of meals outside of the major meals I wanted to spotlight.

Loose ends.  Oh, Peter.  I have a general practice of just writing what I write and not worrying about whether the prose is all that good.  I have no illusions of this blog being optioned for publishing deal or a film or television series.  Can you even imagine?  So I write what I write and look back and cringe and laugh.  But it does remain true to at least part of me, so I keep it all.  The loose ends it is.  That will teach me to write placeholder titles days in advance!

Friday morning in Chicago, and it was breakfast with Matt and Kim at a place we could all walk to, a Chicago Waffles location.  So much on the menu to choose from, but I opted for an omelet, something I rather like but seldom have.  Broccoli and cheddar in this one, and it was enjoyable. 

I liked the potatoes on the side as well.  That was a filling start to the day.

Friday evening, and we met up with Courtney and Robert along with Courtney's sister, Chelsea; Chelsea's husband, Andy; and their two daughters.  The family had driven down from the Madison area, and we were supposed to be joined by Courtney and Chelsea's parents as well.  They couldn't make it up from Indiana, alas, so it was just the eight of us at Eataly in downtown Chicago.  A fun time!  I hadn't seen Chelsea and Andy in at least a dozen years or more, and I had never met the girls.  Conrad had never even met Andy!  We shared some light bites and pizza, pasta, and wine.  Conrad and I also enjoyed their version of Last Words. 

After dinner, we headed over to the Langham Hotel with Courtney

and Robert

and shared a bottle of wine at Tavelle, looking out at the river and catching up.

Saturday lunch was with ALA folks whom I like very much.  Five of us had a leisurely (very very leisurely) lunch at Southern, not far from the convention center.  Great company.  Maybe a little pokey there, but the food was terrific.  I had a Hugo Spritz to start

and settled on two appetizers for lunch:  deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes. 

Oh, and we all shared a cornbread that Kathy, the southerner at the table, refused to accept was proper cornbread. 

Whatever it was, she liked it.  We all did.

Sunday lunch was with Robert (not the same Robert as above) at Apolonia.  Conrad was there for that one.  I thought my blue crab eggs Benedict were nicely done - I always appreciate it when the yolks are still runny, and these ones were. 

We shared pastries that looked lovely but were honestly kind of dry.  Ah well.  I really did like my eggs a lot.

I have no photos of my sandwich from Danke in Sterling Food Hall from my lunch with Michael on the Monday.  It was a good sandwich, and the food court was pretty cool (and pretty busy).  Just so great seeing Michael, though. 

It's been far too long.  We met years ago through our work at each of our libraries in Chicago on digital collections and hit it off - he became someone I would go for occasional happy hour drinks with.  Good guy.

That brings us to Tuesday lunch and a reunion with Rachel and David. 

We met up not far from Rachel's work, dining at The Gage.  It's such a reliable restaurant, especially since it's in such a touristy spot on Michigan Avenue.  There's something of a classic bistro feel to it.  I've enjoyed cocktails and food there several times, and this one was no less good.  A gin and tonic on a hot and humid day was sweet relief, indeed. 

I opted for a cold sandwich as well, a lobster roll. 

No, not a typical thing for Chicago, but it sounded so good.  It was tasty, a little wet.  I devoured it happily.  Rachel and David were such excellent company, too.  It's always a treat to see the online happy hour folks in person, and I will see all of them in person this calendar year!

Conrad and I also had a very nice dinner at The Publican with his colleague, Nate, and Nate's wife, Allison.  I didn't take photos of that meal, but we did enjoy it.

That, friends, wraps up Chicago.  I hope it does.  It was quite the ten days away, and although there was a lot about the time away that just sort of off, there were great friends and wonderful meals throughout.  I'm glad we had those. 

hanging out in Vancouver with Van and with the drinks gang

Let's wrap up the Vancouver trip.  No travel for me for two weeks, and it feels right to get this most recent bit of travel put to bed, so to speak.

Conrad, as I mentioned, didn't come with us on the trip, so it was just me and Van

grabbing a few quick minutes in the United Club

at LAX before boarding for Vancouver.  An upgrade for me, but not for Van, alas.  Ah well.  We made it there at the same time anyway!  

It was early/mid-afternoon when we got to our hotel, not a lot of time to unpack and freshen up before heading on down to catch the Aquabus

over to Granville Island to meet Marie,

Rachel,

Allison, and Catriona for dinner at Dockside Restaurant.  We sat outside and enjoyed a fine early evening, catching up.  Fish and chips for me and a few others. 

Then we wandered across the island to The Improv Centre for a show. 

That was fun.  It wasn't too mature for Catriona, and the troupe did a great job of it.  A nice night for us all to get together before the big wedding day the next day.  Van and I caught the Aquabus back across False Creek and headed back to the hotel on what was a truly lovely night out in the big city.

Friday morning, after my walk and our coffees, Van and I moseyed down to the club to meet Allison and Catriona for lunch on the patio.  No urgency to our time there - a leisurely lunch (soba noodles and shrimp for me)

with a glass of wine and a fine view.  After that, though, it was time to get ready for and then head to the wedding.  And that was Friday in the city.

Saturday morning I was up early and out for a walk on my own before meeting my friend, Bryan, for more of a walk. 

We headed to the West End to a coffee shop and grabbed a light breakfast.  A lot of gab, more walking back.  It was great to see a non-wedding friend on a weekend devoted to that event.  Van eventually got himself going,

and we headed to meet up with Chris and Allister and others at a bar-ish place set up in the Plaza of Nations.  It was nice enough, but there was a Brazilian Fest set up all around our venue, and the constant live music was hard to have conversation over.  Van and I stayed an hour, by which point other friends and family were arriving.  We ceded our table space, headed into Chinatown to a store that specializes in barware, then walked back to the hotel.

Saturday dinner was an early one - it was the only reservation I could get for what was supposed to be three of us - at Nightingale.  I've enjoyed the food there in the past and was happy to go back.  We walked over and were promptly seated upstairs. 

I ordered their special martini,

Van had his own cocktail, and we shared some plates.

Roasted cauliflower with turmeric vinaigrette.

Buttermilk fried chicken.

Japanese sweet potato with mushroom XO and chive creme fraiche. 

A pasta with peas and mint.

Meatballs.

Carrot cake.

I think I like the cauliflower the most, but all of it was quite good.  Van wanted dessert wine as a nice treat with the cake, so we ordered the 375mL bottle and enjoyed that together.  After that, it was back to the hotel and a relatively early night.

Sunday morning I did a nice walk, first stopping at the Starbucks across the street. 

Our flight was at noon, and before we knew it, we were packed, checked out, on the Canada Line to YVR, through customs and such, arguing with the lounge people about access (I was right, they were wrong, they let Van in in the end), and then upgraded and boarded. 

A comfortable flight home for us at the end of a very pleasant trip north. 

A wedding! A wedding!

Hooray for a wedding!

I'm at that time of life when I don't get invited to weddings much anymore.  The people my age tend to be married already or unlikely to get married by now, and if they do get married, the weddings are low-key, small affairs.  We don't have children, so no weddings that way, including weddings of their friends.  I am trying to recall the last time I attended a wedding, and I am struggling.  Maybe Justin and Troy in about 2021?  And before that?  I'm blanking.

Two friends did get married last week, however.  Chris and Allister, a lovely couple for several years, are now husbands.  Congratulations to them!  I'm so delighted.

Chris,

you may recall, is one of our online happy hour members.  I've known him since we met on the gay swim team in Montreal in 1998.  Half a lifetime ago.  Chris invited the whole happy hour gang, and all of us showed up (except for Conrad who couldn't come at the last minute under doctor's orders).  There were other folks I knew there as well:  Bruno (who was the wedding planner) and Doug,

Giuseppe and Brian.

As you can tell from our outfits, we were asked to be the flowers at their celebration. 

I think we did a great job, as did the other guests.  A lot of bold colours and prints and fantastic outfits on them.  Outdo us - that was another directive Chris gave us, and we tried.  But come on:  look at that straight-from-the-runway ensemble Chris was wearing at the reception that followed. 

No outdoing that!  Allister is not similarly inclined to fashion, happily letting Chris shine while looking handsome in an open-weave shirt.

The wedding took place on a late summer Friday afternoon on the lawn at Hart House at Deer Lake in Burnaby.  Cocktails followed, and then we made our way to our tables, named for movies that had significance to the couple.  Van, Marie, and I were at Damaged Lives, which made us chuckle. 

Chris and Allister had left a handwritten card for each of us at our setting, which was touching. 

The drinks flowed, my steelhead was tasty,

and we finished the meal, contented, and ready for the dancing.  I didn't dance much - we were enjoying conversations - but I did get out on the floor for a little bit.  By 10:30, though, Van and I were ready to head back into the city to our hotel.

Congratulations again to the happy couple!  When we're through Vancouver later this fall with Conrad, the three of us will take them out so that Conrad can celebrate their marriage as well. 

Chicago round-up

A last post from last weekend in Chicago.  It's time to put those sunny days of meetings and meals behind me.  But let me recognize friends and colleagues as I do.

Like Rachel.  We calculated that we've known each other for approximately 21 years now.  She and I had an early dinner at The Gage last Wednesday, sitting at the bar. 

A nice meal, and very good to catch up.  And then, later that evening, I met up with Peter at the hotel bar to connect before our four days of meetings began.

I confess, a lot of time with friends/colleagues was in the hotel bar, and not always later in the evening, right, Sara?😉🍷 

But she wasn't the only one there.  Ana Elisa, Peter, Christina, Emily, and Lessa one night,

and others were there on other nights, too.  There were also the group meals, this one at Remington's Chicago. 

No, not flattering shots of everyone, but this was the whole gang (I shan't name everyone, sorry - I'm lazy!) of us in the meetings all day.  And the lunches at the meeting place, including Sunday, which was an opportunity for a last shot of Kathy (with Sam)

as well as another Two Peters shot.

And then it was waiting for rides to the airport. 

And then it was time in the lounge with Lessa, Peter, Ray, Sam, and Sara. 

A long time in the lounge, but the smiles and drinks were real.

Next time in Chicago will be a few weeks away and different colleagues, and then back in August and October.  I enjoy the work, but the time with these folks is invaluable.