We’re spending a [slightly shifted] weekend in Chicago, Saturday to Tuesday. Like last year, we’ve got a visiting student on tow.
This time, our excuse for visiting is to see Patti Smith at the Vic tonight. (last year it was spring break)
We arrived on Saturday, doing the half car, half train thing on Metra from Harvard. We went and did a little grocery shopping, then we met John at Carmine’s on Rush for dinner. I had seafood linguine, but I liked John’s cavatelli with spicy sauce – with fresh jalapeños and dried red pepper flakes, in a kind of creamy tomato sauce – better. Mark thought everything was good, but the canoli was the best. We thought we were full, but four people pretty much demolished two fat canolis. John’s here to hang out with friends and just generally explore, since he’ll be moving to Chicago for grad school in August.
real strawberries & banana along with fake fruit at airbnb
Seafood linguini at Carmine’s
After dinner we went to see Ironman 3, in 3D. And came back to our airbnb apartment to discover there’s no soundproofing whatsoever between it and the place next door. Where there was not a wild party, but simply 3-4 people talking – drunkenly, but still just talking – on the couch, until 6:30 a.m. Sunday night was a little quieter. Mark went over and asked them to keep it down. Monday he went and complained to the doorman. Tuesday morning we concluded that they’re running an after hours club in that apartment. Monday night, all was quiet when we got back from Patti Smith, but the talking started up around 2:00 AM – when the bars closed.
Sunday we had a little trouble getting the kid moving; she slept until almost 12:30. We got bagels and coffee, and then went and sat in the Lincoln bowl while she got dressed. Then we went to the Art Institute. We mostly saw Picasso, and Irving Penn’s photos of the junk on Manhattan sidewalks. I wanted to see this one, Robert Taub’s collection – but we just didn’t get there. I had a little trouble with the Picasso – felt like the AIC was just taking the opportunity to haul out any Picasso’s they had, no matter how minor (like the set of 4 mistakes, shown with 2 good prints) but things got interesting when I got to the room of books. There was a flat case of unbound prints, Picasso’s illustrations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and, the more interesting collaboration, Picasso’s prints for Le Chef d’oeuvre inconnu (The Unknown Masterpiece), 1931, printed by Vollard. We visited the museum store and I got my tote bag for re-upping my membership, and a pair of earrings.
We had an early dinner at Bistrot Margot – the restaurant owned by the sister and brother-in-law of one of my Chicago Historical Society (now the Chicago History Museum) Prints & Photographs cronies, Eileen. Her sis was there, and I think her niece, Margot, who the restaurant is named after, was hosting. I wanted to say that I used to work with her Aunt Eileen, but didn’t have the nerve. Nice meal, though – Mark had steak frites, Kanari got chicken and frites, and I had a Brie tart. The Brie was melted onto puff paste, with honey and balsamic vinegar drizzled over, toasted walnuts, and a few skinny asparaguses. Mark and I both had the house salad – with bacon and a soft egg – biggest bacon lardons ever seen, Mark said.
Went back to the apartment, dressed for the theater, and went to see Book of Mormon.
Monday morning we did a really quick trip up the Sears/Willis Tower.
Deb hiding behind Kanari at Sears Tower
Then lunch with a bunch of my Chicago archivist, librarian, and architectural historian friends, at a place called Grahamwich. In Tree Studios so a fun building. I got the pressed Cubano – good but the prosciutto (probably really good prosciutto) was too gamey for me – I liked Mark’s Rueben better. Probably should’ve had the grilled cheese. After lunch, we walked to Navy Pier and went on the Ferris wheel. Then wandered back up to Old Town. I’m going to tell you about the rest of the day, and Patti Smith, in a separate post.
Chicago skyline from up in the Ferris wheel
Deb on the Ferris Wheel
