last weekend in August

Wow, September.  Where did that come from?  A new month, and now just one month to go until the year's big trip.  I'm getting a little anxious as well as excited.  Plus, if you know me, then you know how important this is:  we are closer to Christmas, into a fall month.  I played some Christmas-adjacent music in the office today.  Shhhh.  Our secret.

With the new month ushered in, let's usher out the old one.  On with the weekend that was.

Can you predict these weekend recap blog entries by now?  Friday night:  Maestro.  Saturday morning:  Amara.  Same old, right?  Well, be prepared for a shocker.  Yes, we did go to Maestro on Friday, but no, we did NOT go to Amara on Saturday.  We went on Sunday.  What a twist!

But back to Maestro.  I asked for the Mezcal Negroni but with the Campari swapped out and Cynar used instead. 

I've had that variation before and liked it, so I thought it would be good again.  Conrad and I ate lightly, neither of us super hungry.  We shared oysters,

we had the grilled octopus dish. 

We came home and had a drink and some chocolate and listened to music rather than watch television.

Saturday morning I had a massage booked on the earlier side.  As a result, I didn't want to have a breakfast in my belly or a decaf latte making me have to pee.  Sorry for that detail, but that's what it was.  So we did a morning walk,

and then I headed to massage and grocery shopping.  We had invited Van for dinner, that evening, so at a certain point late in the afternoon, I got into the kitchen.  I made something of a creole sauce for us, based on recollections of what we used to make at the restaurant.  I cooked peeled shrimp in the sauce and served it up for each of us in a bowl with some basmati rice that was pretty much my best ever attempt at cooking rice.  Tasty dinner, not pretty for photography.  I tried a new cocktail that night (minus the fresh mint leaves I thought I had on hand but did not):  the Stone's Throw. 

A good one.  I'll be making that one again some time.  Anyway, after dinner it was an episode of Stanley for us, then Van took Olive home, and the night wound down a little on the late side.

Sunday morning started with a walk,

and then on to Amara. 

This time I ordered the breakfast burrito, taking home half of it because it's so substantial. 

A decaf latte for me as well. 

We came home from that and started in on some stuff for the big trip ahead, getting a few things done.  By the end of the afternoon, I was at Van's for a rare Sunday night television date night.  A good time:  we finished watching the series, Looking, as well as the wrap up movie that was made.  Really well done show despite some of our final frustrations with it.

The first two weekends this month will be out-of-town weekends, so the regular, predictable, at-home weekends will be missing for a few weeks from here.  They will be back.  In the mean time, may the new month be kind to us all. 

Topolobampo with Matt and Michael

Here we go, the first great meal of a handful of great meals during the recent visit to Chicago.  Dinner with Matt and Michael, a Thursday night meal at one of my all-time favourite restaurants in Chicago:  Topolobampo.

I have dined at Topolobampo and its sister, Frontera Grill, multiple times over the years.  When last I was there, it was November of 2021 (I think), and a celebration of both Chris and Rachel's 50th birthdays that month.  We had a very fine evening.  Last Thursday was no less fine.  Quite the contrary.  It was an extraordinary way to start off the conference trip.  An awesome meal at Rick Bayless' fine dining room, two terrific guys for company?  Yes, please!

I met Matt and Michael outside of the restaurant

on a fine, not yet too hot or humid Chicago evening.  The original plan for Thursday was to have Peter and his Matt join us for dinner that night - we would have had 3/4 of our guybrarian text thread there - but perhaps elsewhere.  When Peter let us know that he and Matt wouldn't be arriving in time for dinner, we pivoted a little and landed on Topolobampo.  Matt and Michael were very game, and so we made the reservation.  I was delighted to join them for their first time there.  What fun company for a good, leisurely meal.

We had cocktails to start, and - shockingly, I did not order their classic margarita as I so often have before.  I've been more spirit-forward in my cocktails lately, and opted for the Poleo Negroni, made with mezcal.  A good way to start. 

The wine shown was from my first course pairing, a Spanish sparkler, and I enjoyed more wine through the night.  Matt and Michael had a cocktail each as well, and then the two of them each opted for the agave pairing, enjoying that immensely.

Food!  Here we go...

A few amuses for us:  oysters with tuna ceviche and caviar

and a little trio that included a small cup of tortilla soup. 

I'm always in awe of how they can get such marvelous layered flavours in their sauces and broths.

Tostada de Atun. 

A tuna tostada that went very nicely with the Spanish wine.

Palmito en mole verde. 

Roasted and charred heart of palm in a green sauce for which we would have loved spoons.  I thought the entire meal was wonderful, but this course was my favourite.  Paired with a French Chardonnay.

A small intermezzo that I didn't quite catch but was essentially a meaty bite.  Yum!

Pulpo Zarandeado.  Grilled octopus. 

A successful course, and very pretty.  This is where I lost track of which wines I had - it IS over a week later - and the menu listing doesn't actually help.  Ah well.  At some point here or after this I had my favourite wine of the night, a Beaujolais. I liked the wine so much, I had another glass after dinner.

Carne en su Jugo. 

Wagyu beef.  Good, but I though this one might have been a tad more generous in size.  Still, I liked it, and we had plenty of tortillas to mop it up with.  

Pitaya, Coco Tierno, Maiz. 

Lime-tamal pudding cake with a cactus fruit sorbet and young coconut.  If this had been the only dessert, I would have been thrilled.  I honestly can't recall the wine for this one, not because it was a bad pairing, I promise - all of the wines were successful pairings.

Sabores de Maguey Rostisado. 

Plantain blondie torte with sweet potato ice cream.  Oh, I liked this one a lot.  I think there may have been a port or other dessert wine with this, but I cannot recall that one either.

There were little treats that followed, and I had wine while Matt had coffee.  We weren't the last to arrive, but we were the second-to-last to leave.  A very fine night all around, and thank you to Matt and Michael for sharing it with me!  The Chicago dining was underway, and wow, were there some more excellent dishes and drinks to come!

ah... the best laid plans

It's the weekend that was post, but with a bit of  difference.  You see, I sit here at Van's place not having done much of anything since late yesterday morning.  Why, you ask?

That's why.  There are two steps down from Van's home's entrance to the living room.  And when I took that second step yesterday, I rolled my left ankle hard.  Cursing, crying, icing.  I've run the gamut.  And now I'll baby it for the week ahead so that it's (I hope!) at least a little ok by the time we head to Nashville on Friday.

Sigh.

What's frustrating is that I'd been ramping up the morning walks, going harder and faster and longer.  7+ miles on Friday morning,

with Conrad joining me about four miles in,

9 miles on Saturday

with Olive and Conrad joining me for the last 3/4 mile. 

Good step counts through the week.  Feeling good about it.  And now this.

Alright, enough moaning and gurning on about such things.  Let it heal, Peter, and tell your gentle readers how the rest of the weekend was.

There was that good walk on Friday morning.  Conrad and I eventually made our way to Amara Cafe for a little breakfast

before I had to get home for an online meeting (that, it turned out, I didn't need to attend, and so I didn't).  I worked from home the rest of the day while Conrad spent the day with Olive, then he and I met up back at the condo to head for a light, quick dinner at Maestro.

I love when Rigo and Marco try out new cocktails.  It's always fun to see what they've come up with.  We only had one cocktail each at the bar there, but it was a terrific new one, a clarified pineapple daiquiri with a whipped matcha topping. 

Sweet, not too sweet, a little fresh.  I could have had more easily. 

Instead, we kept ourselves to the one round along with some guacamole

and plantain chips as well as the grilled octopus with fideo and nopales. 

Then it was back to Van's to rescue Olive

and feed her.  We had an easy time of it the rest of the evening.

Conrad has been taking care of me since Saturday morning, and thank goodness.  His cooking is rudimentary at best, but it's care, and I appreciate it a lot.  It's mid-afternoon on Sunday as I write this, and I think I may soon go back to sitting on the bed with my ankle propped up.  I'll avoid going in to work the next couple of days so as not to have to aggravate things.  Van comes home tomorrow, and the three of us have some travel ahead.

Onward with Sunday! 

second weekend in July

Let's take a wee break in the NYC posting (only two more to go!) and catch up on modern times.  The weekend that was.  The past few days.  Ready?  Me, too!

On Friday Conrad and I went to Maestro for the first time in far too long.  Travel and such - we always try to reassure them that we still love them.  They have a new seasonal drink, a pina colada/daiquiri concoction that went down a treat. 

Conrad and I shared a few usuals:  guacamole, octopus, chicken mole. 

We made an early night of it and came home to wind down, reading.

Saturday morning I was out the door early and on a good, long walk. 

Conrad joined me for the last mile,

and we made our way to Amara for breakfast and a welcome decaf latte. 

It's always a delight to be back there, and I am already looking ahead to this weekend and a morning meal again.  I had a massage scheduled for later that morning, and Conrad had some errands outside of the condo as well as packing to do (he's in San Antonio for work right now).  I did get some other things done at home myself, but by dinner time, we had headed down to Van's.  That fine gentleman mixed us up some margaritas,

we sat outside sipping them,

and then he cooked us up some very tasty pork steaks. 

We watched an episode of the latest season of Stanley Tucci's Italy show, and then turned in.

Sunday morning I did a short walk early on,

wanting to be back before Conrad left for the airport.  I got him out the door and got Olive for a walk. 

After Van got up, he and I went down to Julienne for a nice little brunch.  That may have been the highlight of the day.  Back at the condo, I finished off my weekend project:  ironing napkins. 

Yep, that's my exciting life.  A dinner by myself of leftovers, some television and reading on my iPad, and like that, the weekend was done.  I miss it already....