Our ill friends bagged out, so we held 4 tickets to the Chicago Blues Reunion concert at Park West last Saturday eve. The lineup included Corky Siegel, we stayed for 8 songs (since we were standing, no seats available), including Corky's I want you / hate you and a few others shown on the link. There was a young woman singer who filled in who was great, she sang a song for Koko Taylor who was in the crowd. Overall a great concert for blues fans, though I really don't like the venue since most of the seats are either reserved or you must get there by opening time (1 1/2 hours before the start). Go if you must for a great concert, but I prefer other locations.
As for dinner beforehand, we enjoyed a true cafe environment at the Red Rooster Wine Bar and Cafe, overall a B experience. The food was yummy, mussels very tasty, chicken crepes for the wife well enjoyed, and pork au poivre (pork loin encrusted with pepper and a great milky savory sauce). We each had a glass of passable red wine because the beer list sucked - I think the waiter mentioned 4 macro beers, Miller, Heineken, etc. so I passed. A C- for beer. But the food makes it a nice stop.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Boys were Back in Town
Wow, what a time we had. It happened to be St. Patrick's Day, and a bit chillier than we wanted, but the old guys can still have some fun. I just turned 50 as you may know, and my dad was in town for funeral purposes :(. Before he went back we had a day to revisit his old town, (not Toronto, but Chicago), and we were joined by slightly younger (ha by two days!) Uncle Tom, both close to 75 now.
We parked under Grant Park, now pricey at $24 over 4 hours or more, but very convenient, and met Tom at the Chicago Cultural Center, formerly the Chicago Public Library, and quite an architectural gem. A great place to start on a walking tour around the Loop. We grabbed a cup of coffee in the nice little cafe there, then walked through a great exhibition of photos entitled, "Chicago Landmarks Before The Lens", detailed black and white pictures of Chicago landmarks from Sullivan et al.
As we headed out toward Millennium Park, we were handed a brochure on a Classical Mondays Concert starting upstairs in 3 minutes! We strode up to see a Chicago Opera Theatre Young Artists Recital including Stauss, Saint-Saens, and Debussy very well done by the young singers.
By now famished, we headed down Michigan Avenue to a location I knew was there, but had not tried yet. The Gage. A newish gastropub restaurant since early 2007, I was looking forward to seeing the menu and beer list. It is a great addition to the location here, but could use some improvement.
No problem with the food or the space, quite large but comfortable. Since it was St. Pat's Day, the special was corned beef, which we all had, and it was fine. Sliced very thin, with a milky sauce on toast. After I had the last bite I realized that the sauce was a horseradish sauce. Hmm, very little of it I guess, not spicy at all. Otherwise, a solid dish, and those around us seemed happy, and very busy it was.
The draft beer list, shown in the booklet Libations menu, is quite weak, especially in comparison to other liquors. Plenty of wines, including bubblies, well selected whiskeys, even a port or two. Because of St. Pat's the beer taps had extra Guinness taps, but even the regular list needs an upgrade. Witness that within a selection of 10 different taps, they include Miller Light, Blue Moon (a Miller dog), and Fat Tire (OK), the Irish trinity of Guinness, Smithwicks, and Harp (all below average Macros), Heineken (meh), Paulaner Weiss (decent but for winter?), and Affligem and Stella from Belgium. Stella is a Belgian wannabe, a pale lager rated a C+ on Beer Advocate, while Affligem, a strong blonde Pale Ale, maybe the best of the bunch.
The bottle list is much better, with 12 true Belgians, 5 from Unibroue, a couple of Ayingers, and a half dozen good American craft beers. The prices are quite high, with Guinness on tap at $7, and most bottles a dollar or two higher than elsewhere, must be the cost of doing business at 24 S. Michigan, and the immediate scarcity of competition.
We each had a Black and Tan with Harp on the bottom (no Bass around), whatever that's called, well done and warming. Then it was off to our tour of Millennium Park. Amongst Cloud Gate and the funky band shell, we saw the special exhibition by Mark Di Suvero of 5 large sculptures with involvement. Very raw and symbolic. Then back to the Cultural Center for warming before my uncle separated and we headed in the car to the airport.
Would love to do it again boys, hopefully soon.
We parked under Grant Park, now pricey at $24 over 4 hours or more, but very convenient, and met Tom at the Chicago Cultural Center, formerly the Chicago Public Library, and quite an architectural gem. A great place to start on a walking tour around the Loop. We grabbed a cup of coffee in the nice little cafe there, then walked through a great exhibition of photos entitled, "Chicago Landmarks Before The Lens", detailed black and white pictures of Chicago landmarks from Sullivan et al.
As we headed out toward Millennium Park, we were handed a brochure on a Classical Mondays Concert starting upstairs in 3 minutes! We strode up to see a Chicago Opera Theatre Young Artists Recital including Stauss, Saint-Saens, and Debussy very well done by the young singers.
By now famished, we headed down Michigan Avenue to a location I knew was there, but had not tried yet. The Gage. A newish gastropub restaurant since early 2007, I was looking forward to seeing the menu and beer list. It is a great addition to the location here, but could use some improvement.
No problem with the food or the space, quite large but comfortable. Since it was St. Pat's Day, the special was corned beef, which we all had, and it was fine. Sliced very thin, with a milky sauce on toast. After I had the last bite I realized that the sauce was a horseradish sauce. Hmm, very little of it I guess, not spicy at all. Otherwise, a solid dish, and those around us seemed happy, and very busy it was.
The draft beer list, shown in the booklet Libations menu, is quite weak, especially in comparison to other liquors. Plenty of wines, including bubblies, well selected whiskeys, even a port or two. Because of St. Pat's the beer taps had extra Guinness taps, but even the regular list needs an upgrade. Witness that within a selection of 10 different taps, they include Miller Light, Blue Moon (a Miller dog), and Fat Tire (OK), the Irish trinity of Guinness, Smithwicks, and Harp (all below average Macros), Heineken (meh), Paulaner Weiss (decent but for winter?), and Affligem and Stella from Belgium. Stella is a Belgian wannabe, a pale lager rated a C+ on Beer Advocate, while Affligem, a strong blonde Pale Ale, maybe the best of the bunch.
The bottle list is much better, with 12 true Belgians, 5 from Unibroue, a couple of Ayingers, and a half dozen good American craft beers. The prices are quite high, with Guinness on tap at $7, and most bottles a dollar or two higher than elsewhere, must be the cost of doing business at 24 S. Michigan, and the immediate scarcity of competition.
We each had a Black and Tan with Harp on the bottom (no Bass around), whatever that's called, well done and warming. Then it was off to our tour of Millennium Park. Amongst Cloud Gate and the funky band shell, we saw the special exhibition by Mark Di Suvero of 5 large sculptures with involvement. Very raw and symbolic. Then back to the Cultural Center for warming before my uncle separated and we headed in the car to the airport.
Would love to do it again boys, hopefully soon.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Quoted by the Session Host
I recently reviewed the New Glarus Organic Revolution for the March version of "The Session", a monthly cooperative blog compilation on a certain type of beer, and the host quotes me here (scroll down). There are many other interesting blogs to read cited as well. Enjoy.
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