Chicago Chilling

I've been back in town a week and have been enjoying the Chicago summer. Had some good company when I got back into town, giving me the chance to play tourist for a bit. Checked out the Art Institute for the first time. Monstrous collection of art. I'm not really an art buff, but I figure I should make at least one visit to the Institute. I'm pretty sure they frown on talking in the galleries, but it's funner to make up stories for each painting.

Did the obligatory Mag Mile stroll and ended up hanging out at the Signature Lounge on top of the Hancock. Depending on how many drinks you get, it's about the same price as the observatory decks in town, but you get a drink with the view. Also got to check out some improv sketch comedy courtesy of Second City. Hilarious show that's very current and witty. The group's produced a lot of big names: Bill Murray, John Belushi, Eugene Levy, Andy Dick, Dan Castellaneta, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert, and Tina Fey to name a few. So it's kinda cool that I may have seen someone on their way up...probably won't remember them, but still.

Stumbled upon a pretty good eatery: Flat Top Grill. It's a stir fry place with totally customized dishes: pick your own noodles/rice, veggies, sauces, spices, meat. Give the bowl over to the grill, they cook it, and you get it back a few minutes later all cooked and delicious. $9 is a little expensive, but you get unlimited bowls for lunch at that price. There's apparently one in Champaign now, for the UI crowd.

Had some Asian tapas at Shochu. Being an appetizer place, I wasn't expecting to leave bursting at the seams. But the serving sizes were ridiculously small, especially for the amount of money being charged. That said, the food was pretty good. I only really remember the quail legs, bacon wrapped quail breast, and wings. First two were pretty good, but the wings were a bit hot for my liking. Guess it's good that we could only have two wings a piece.

Checked out Hopleaf, a Belgian bar. Haven't had that many Belgian brews before this, but I'd recommend trying out a few. Some of them are pretty unique and are a nice change from light beer. The glassware is actually pretty unique too, adding to some of the fun - seeing what glassware gets paired with each beer. One beer came attached to a wood block, serving as a goblet holder and handle. (Yes, they use goblets.) They offer some pretty good food too - the pork belly, sausage, and mussels are all I can attest to though. I'm pretty sure the pork belly is mostly fat and I'm okay with that. It was delicious fat.