Knit & Nosh

The past two Fridays have found me at the same couple of places. Mainly because I love them so much. It's hard to become a regular at any one place in Chicago. Eating out in this city has many variables. Price, cuisine, neighborhood, laziness of diner and of course the new factor. So many new eateries and bars open that it's difficult to be true. Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and say they were the first. I was not the first to discover how delicious Pleasant House Bakery's pies are. I was not the first to drink at Maria's Packaged Goods. I am not the first to blog about it either. But I may be the first to play with Legos at Maria's while eating Pleasant House pie. 

The best symbiotic relationship in the city

Friday before last found me devouring the Friday night fish and chips that Pleasant House offers. A big thick piece of cod with meyer lemon tartar sauce. YUM! Paired with a prickly pear saison and a good book, I was in foodie heaven. 

Prickly Pear Saison brewed by New Belgium

Ravenous when I arrived I ended up snarfing down my food and beer before my friends arrived. By then I had time for another beer and some knitting on my superhero raccoon's body.

Finished the body while drinking Kujo Coffee Stout

He was finished later in the week during a cooking escapade that involved roasted butternut squash pizza and crispy fried sage. I am still happily munching leftovers.

The Raccoon keeps the world safe from dangerous monster chunks

Last Friday was a busy day of nothing but food food food and not too much knitting. Even the busiest of hands need a break. I power lunched at The Gage with my sister-in-law, took a tour of new aqua building and Radisson Blu Hotel. Then a quick visit to the water tower Lego store and the pick a brick wall. Afterwards I made my way down to Farmhouse. I still have not had their burger much to my chagrin as the gentleman next to me at the bar had one and it smelled delicious! Still full from lunch and close enough to dinner I settled for my book and one of the best gin and tonics to date. They had Barrel aged Bols Genever and no guns for them, tonic is served from a bottle. (Q tonic to be exact.) And of course I couldn't just sit and drink, I had to have dessert. A spiced fig and toffee bread pudding was a good complement to spice and juniper of my drink. I liked Farmhouse before but now they have been cemented in my brain as one of my regular places. After finishing I hopped a bus down to Bridgeport where chicken balti pie with coriander chutney awaited. My friends and I dumped out the Legos I brought and built towers and flying contraptions. Too bad the light was a little low to capture the creations properly. I've you with a Lego-ised mosaic of that evening.