Chicago Visit June 2011

Shortly after Henriët and Andrew graduated from DePaul, I got to go for a quick Father's Day visit to see them.  I arrived on Thursday evening and stayed until Sunday afternoon. Short but sweet.

Unfortunately I lost my little portable camera, so these are all from my iPhone. Oh well.

Here we are in front of the apartment

In the apartment; they are so happy.

When we drove around the city I liked to sit in the back and watch the two of them being all happy cooey.

After a little rest, we walked over to Lincoln Park which is very close to their place.

This is a great urban environment. A street festival was going on and the Polkaholics were playing. Ever heard a polka song done as classic rock? Or Led Zeppelin as polka? No? Check them out some time.

The weather was perfect. We stopped at a little place (Fork?) along the street and got to sit dine al fresco. We split a few meals. I recently joined the KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) where I had to pledge "to cook and eat as much barbecue as the law allows" so the smoked brisket platter was a must. We also created our own charcuterie plates where we got to hand pick some cheeses and meats. Yum!  

 Friday we had a couple of errands to run and walked down to the Chicago Eleven City Diner; a Jewish deli. Again we got to dine outside. We were the first people of the season to eat outside at this establishment.

I had a Steve Dahl sandwich which is pastrami and swiss on rye. I had to have it because of the name. Steve Dahl is an administrator at Whitford Middle School where Carla works; he was an elementary school teacher at Hazeldale when the boys went there. A fun guy. 

The sandwich, slaw and pickle were great. Andrew and I split some onion rings but they didn't sit very well. Henriët made a delicious South African dish for us for dinner and the two of us couldn't enjoy it as much as we'd have liked because of the after affects of lunch. 

City blocks are MUCH longer in Chicago than Portland. The walk to the deli was about 15 blocks or so. I was thinking that would be like walking from my office in downtown to the Pearl; um, it was about twice that long.

Anyway, we took the brown line train back to Andrew and Henriët's hood. Here they are scoping out places to meet a couple of friends for lunch Saturday morning. (It's all about the food!) 

Saturday afternoon we drove out to Fenwick High School where Andrew will be working next year. Unfortunately it was locked up; but we did get some pics from the outside

Driving back into downtown, the Willis building and the rest of the skyline started to appear on the horizon. The pictures don't do it justice. This enormous building was visible way before any of the other buildings. The snap doesn't give a good sense of perspective.

Saturday night we headed up to Highland Park to Real Urban BBQ. Here we are waiting in line.

Henriët and I had burnt ends; Andrew had straight up sliced brisket. We shared a bunch of sides; cooked apples, cornbread mac and cheese, green beans, and more

A long drive north to the place but it was worth it. Friendly place with good food.