Birthday Trip to Chicago

We packed our bags and headed to Chicago for the weekend.  My parents were in Chicago for a visit with my sister and since this was the year for a major birthday for both parents (it was the big 8-0 this year) we had planned a birthday dinner in Chicago.  So after a Saturday morning run and a few errands, we hopped on Amtrak for the quick train ride down and a fairly short visit.  But before that we spent Friday night nestled at home to catch up on a few of our recorded shows and to enjoy some of the Papa Del's pizza that we had brought back from the University of Illinois (still the best pizza on the planet).

After dropping our luggage at the hotel, we headed over to my sister's apartment by Navy Pier and enjoyed a light lunch (didn't want to fill up and spoil dinner!).  We then spent the afternoon catching up on all the family gossip, solving all the world's problems (that means, the world, the US, Illinois', New Mexico's, the city of Chicago's, and Wisconsin's - so it was a busy afternoon), and debating the pros/cons/ins/outs of the recent campaigning both for president but the local elections as well.  Then it was time to get all gussied up for our birthday dinner. 

Dinner was at Tru, which is close to where my sister lives, and to summarize in a few words was excellent.  The service was impeccable and the food was both wonderfully presented and delicious.  We started with a champagne toast to the birthday folks, which was Andre Clouet Brut Grand Reserve that I managed to pick from a wine list spanning 20-30 pages, that was light tasting with tiny bubbles and was hit with everyone.  We then all selected the three course meal, the highlight of the appetizer course had to be Mom's consomme that was prepared at the table in what could best be described as a soxhlet extractor (well best described that way if you happen to be a chemist).  It was fun to sit back and watch it slowly extract the flavors from the upper compartment.  The main course held its own against the showmanship of the appetizer with great presentation on the plate and very tasty food.  I had the short ribs that were incredibly tender and would recommend them to anyone heading to Tru. 

Between dinner and dessert, they served fruit sheets that came looking like clothing on a clothes line.  The grass is wheatgrass and the sheets are dried fruit (think fruit roll-ups) with spices.  Who thinks of something like that to serve at a restaurant (I also wonder how they keep the wheatgrass mowed and green).  We then finished up with dessert, special birthday plates for Mom and Dad and then after dinner chocolates (can't have too many desserts in my book).  To top it all off, they offered us a tour of the kitchen which eagerly all agreed to - amazing how much activity goes on in a professional kitchen.  It was a great evening and a nice way to celebrate hitting 80 for our parents.

Sunday after brunch at a local diner nearby, we gathered up Mom and Dad and all headed back to Milwaukee.  My parents visited us for a couple of days, mostly to enjoy the gray skies and cool damp weather of Milwaukee in the winter especially since my Mom loves being cold and damp.  During their visit we toured the Harley Davidson museum which does an excellent job of telling the story of the company.  We also squeezed in a visit to the Kenwood House exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum.  Once again the curators did a great job with the explanations and the exhibit - it is well worth a visit.   Then it was back to Chicago for my parents on the train Tuesday.  Nothing too exciting to report for the work week portion of last week.

Jo and I are ready to stay home for a bit.  As you can tell from looking back over the last few weeks, we have been on the road for 6 out of the last 7 weekends.  We really need some time home to relax and catch our breath.  So we are planning a relatively low key upcoming weekend.