Underwhelmed.

My May date with KS was at bistronomic last night. I had heard good things about the new French spot, but KS and I were pretty underwhelmed. I guess it was only a matter of time until we picked a restaurant we didn't like - we've had so much success with our choices thus far!

I won't get into details, but the service was horrible and the food was just mehh. The appetizer pasta special that we shared - linguine with mushrooms, parmesan and truffle - saved this dinner from being a total bust. (Besides having KS as my dinner date, of course!)

Fingers crossed our June date makes up for this!!

peaceloveandgchat.

R

Did it.

Joe's Hotdog Burger @ DMK / P's dinner.

All the Chicago fixin's! Y.U.M.

peaceloveandgchat.

R

Keeps getting better.

DMK tweeted this today:

@DMK BurgerBar Joe's Hot Dog burger is grass-fed beef patty, grilled hot dog, cheddar cheese spread and the traditional Chicago dog toppings!

Stop it right now.

Looks like I'll be heading to DMK in the near future. . .

peaceloveandburgerdog.

R

JUNE10COUNTDOWN.

As C mentioned, she, C-Mac and HLR will be gracing this city with their presence on June 10.

I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT !

I have planned a fun-filled weekend for us. . .

Friday night dins at Sunda.

Saturday morning boat cruise. . .followed by some shopping perhaps? (Who am I kidding. . .I'll be with C and HLR and we are HORRIBLE influences on each other. . .most definitely shopping will be on the agenda.)

And then we'll start the evening at Big Star (on the patio, hopefully!). . .who knows where we'll end up.

Sunday is saved for lounging at the pool and nursing our hangovers at brunch. Not too shabby.

peaceloveandrowdyweekends.

R

If Gwyneth says so. . .

H-Ster forwarded me Gwyn's GOOP newsletter today.

Featured today were her fav spots in CHICAGO !

Let's see. . .

The Publican - check!

RL - check!

Barney's - check!

Sable - check!

Girl & the Goat - check!

Q - check!

Still have a few more from her list to check off. . .

peaceloveandchicago.

R

Choriqueso. . .yes please.

BQMcC and I grabbed a bite to eat at XOCO before Chelsea last night. It's been on both of our lists for quite some time, and I'm glad we got to check it off together before she heads down to TX! (Sad.)

For dinner, we split the Choriqueso Torta (homemade chorizo sausage, roasted poblano, artisan jack cheese, tomatillo salsa) and for dessert, churros dipped in frozen yogurt!

We both agreed that if this place were in Lincoln Park, we'd frequent it often and therefore would be quite large and in charge. Good thing it's in River North!

Tonight, we're headed to Maude's Liquor Bar with our P's. I can already taste the french onion fondue. . .

peaceloveanddinners.

R

"Are you pregnant? I hope so."

Front row at Chelsea Handler last night with BQMcC.

No. Big. Deal.

For complete coverage of the night, head over to BQMcC's blog. Right now.

peaceloveandchelsea.

R

Date spot in LP.

P and I went to the cutest, coziest place in Lincoln Park on Friday night!

Tarantino's.

We had a reservation, but when we walked in, the bar just looked so inviting, we decided to grab a seat there.

Polenta with sausage, and mushroom risotto for me and fried oysters and lobster ravioli for P; it was the perfect date night spot!

Definitely coming back here soon.

peaceloveandgchat.

R

Is this really end of April / beginning of May weather?!

Ugh.

peaceloveandsunplease.

R

Of course we pick a spot with brussel sprouts and bacon. . .

For our April dinner this month, KS and I headed to Gilt Bar last night. We were both a little nerv that the atmosphere would be more memorable than the food because it just had that "feel" ya know. . .

Fortunately we were proved wrong.

We started with Sweet Balsamic and Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil on Toast, immediately followed by Roasted Pork Meatballs with Grits, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Blackened Cauliflower with Pickled Red Onion, Capers and Chili. YUM!

Besides the fact that we had the STRANGEST waiter (who literally straddled KS's chair at one point. . .), overall great dinner! Definitely a good spot to come on a double date, girls night, or to bring the parents to when they are visiting!

peaceloveandgilt.

R

Rollin.

I like this.

peaceloveandchicago.

R

B&B

P and I are always looking for what we call "in-between" dinner spots for weeknight dates. We don't want to go somewhere uber fancy on a Thursday night, but we also don't want to chow on bar food during the week. This is why we tend to find ourselves at DMK more often than not. It really is THE perfect in-between spot. P is headed on a golf trip today, so we made plans to grab dinner together last night. My coworker recommended a new spot up in Lakeview / Wrigley area and P and I decided it's definitely going into our in-between rotation.

Blokes & Birds.

We started out with the baked mac & cheese (YUM) and then I went for the special stew for the evening - pulled pork and hatched green chile. P tried the Bloke's Burger (cheddar, drambuie onions, malt vinegar aioli and lettuce) with a side of truffle fries. Sooo good.

peaceloveandblokes.

R

Foodies.

KS is my foodie buddy. We don't like to call ourselves foodies, but let's be honest, when we get together for dinner, we are. Girl & the Goat, Lillie's Q, Big Star, Sunda, The Publican. . .and adding to the list tonight Maude's Liquor Bar. . .yep, let's face it. We love good food.

Maude's was awesome tonight. Loved the vibe - dark, French-ish, with a definite trendy feel, but not overly so. Plus, they played 2 or 3 Arcade Fire songs while we were there. . .so I was sold.

We started out with the French Onion Fondue - basically the soup - without the broth and with crusty gooey gruyere cheese on top.

Yum. Next up was the Pomme Frites with garlic aioli, the sausage, and the blackened brussel sprouts. I loved everything (and we devoured it all), but I bet you can guess what was my fav!

Ding ding ding! BRUSSEL SPROUTS !

Definitely making the trip back to this West Loop joint.

peaceloveandgchat.

R

TayTay in Chi-Citay

Taylor Swift is coming to Chicago in August. Must.Get.Tickets.

Def going on the birthday wish list. . .

peaceloveandtaylor.

R

New Wellies

Chicago's snow is turning brown and slushy (gross), so I completely ruined my Uggs this week. Sad.

Makes me want to update my rain boots, because it looks like I'll be wearing those for the next few months. . .

Currently coveting Hunter Gloss Tall Boot.

With cable-knit liners, please.

peaceloveandwellies.

R

Aftermath.

On Tuesday after work, I wasn't able to pull into my parking spot due to the ice and the beginning of BLIZZARD 2011. Therefore, my car has been snowed in on a side street for two days. I juuust dug it out this morning, but look at my parking spot! There is no way I am getting my car in there in the near future. . .

Eeek!

peaceloveandsnow.

R

Bears vs. Packers. . .On a Whole New Level

Bears vs. Packers game tomorrow.

If you're a huge Bears or Packers fan, and are in the market for a wedding dress (ha), maybe consider a Bears or Packers wedding gown!!!

So glam!

(T-R-A-S-H.)

peaceloveandgchat.

R

Wowsa!

Look at this snow / ice / craziness in Chicago!


It's coooooold.

peaceloveandwinter.

R

woof.

We're still not sure how this happened, but HLR, C-Mac and I all woke up yesterday with bruises on our bodies. Could it have been a direct correlation with the bourb? Quite possibly.

Here's the damage on C-Mac:

Swollen? Yikess. Might want to get that checked out. . .

peaceloveandunexplainablebruising.

R

Incognito

In preparation for the weekend's activities (and C-Mac and HLR's arrival! ! !), I am getting a mani / pedi tomorrow. Ha. And, in the spirit of the holiday season, I have decided to go with green.

Essie's Going Incognito.

peaceloveandgchat.

R