The Ravinia Goat Rodeo Picnic Contest and More

As many of you who've been following my blog or my facebook feeds know, we've spent a lot of time at the Ravinia Festival this summer.  I think when all's been said and done we went to 12 concerts this summer. Perhaps our busiest week was the last one when we had six of the twelve events.

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, we went to see Yo Yo Ma and the Goat Rodeo Sessions. That was the evening that we were selected as one of 50 entrants into the Ultimate Picnic Contest. This joint event was co-sponsored by Terlato Wines so part of the judging had to include some Terlato Wines.

The good news is that Terlato has a wide variety of different wines ranging from rally nice Napa Valley and California wines to those found in France and in Italy.  While I had not had one of their wines before, there was enough to choose from that I didn't think we'd have much of a problem.

As it turns out we didn't.  As you may know if you have followed this blog for some time our trip to Paris a couple of years ago was the launching point for this blog (the background photo is a cafe along the Rue Cler in the 7th arrondissement of Paris). It was during that trip that my partner in these adventures developed a love for the wines of the Cotes-du-Rhone.

As it turns out Terlato has a couple of wines from a well-regarded winemaker in the region Michel Chapoutier.  His Belleruche wines are imported by Terlato.  We found these to be very consistently good in our pre-picnic planning.  At the same time I wanted to do something that I thought would be unique -- turn one of the bottles into a candle.  (As it turned out, it wasn't so much of a unique concept.)

Our original plan was to feature a theme of East meets West with the clever use of some Bento boxes.  Unfortunately, Amazon let us down and didn't deliver the boxes in time.  That left us scrambling a bit.

I had ordered a cheese from IGourmet.com that was a selection of Goat Cheeses.  This concert is a unique mix of talents from across many musical genres as Yo Yo Ma has blurred the lines many times. The name of this album -- the Goat Rodeo Sessions -- refers to a situation where the chaotic cannot seemingly be controlled with each person having their personal agenda and direction.  This certainly reflects the nature of this effort.

A cross between bluegrass and classical, elements of jazz with each musician playing elements together in what could be called controlled chaos.

Perhaps that's what my selection of cheeses could be called -- controlled chaos.  I ordered Aracena, Beemster, Midnight Mood and Buenalba for the event.  The Aracena by Dona Manuela is a raw goat's milk cheese from the Andalusia region of Spain. It's a full-flavored cheese full of herb and citrus flavors. It reminds me a little of a nice stinky cheese from France.

The Beemster is a Gouda made entirely of goat's milk.  Apparently there are a number of farmers who keep goats for the locals' enjoyment and so they also produce a goat's milk gouda.  I found this cheese to be a clean, sweet flavored cheese that was very easy to eat.

The Midnight Moon is a relatively new cheese coming from Cypress Grove Chevre. This is a very different cheese both in texture as well as flavor.  It has a nuttiness to it that makes it great to eat on bread or all by itself.

We finished the cheese with a Buenalba with Pimenton.  This cheese is similar to the Spanish Ibores but different in that the Pimenton de la Vera is infused into the goat's milk before setting it in curds.  This is another raw milk cheese.

These cheeses added nicely to the rest of the spread which included an unbelievable fruit tray with champagne grapes, blueberries, strawberries and our new favorite fruit, figs.

There were also olives, chicken salad on baby romaine leaves (really great for picnics) and a rice salad with some of our homegrown tomatoes and a heavenly lemon vinaigrette.

While we didn't win, show or even place, it was a lot of fun.  We really had a lot of people commenting on the quality of the spread and how it was something that they could reproduce themselves pretty easily.

That, I thought, was one of the best parts. I forgot to mention that we also had saucisson, a French dry cured sausage.  It was intriguing enough that one of the judges -- who views himself as mostly vegan -- had to try a bit of it.

Not surprisingly he found it to be quite good!

Perhaps the most difficult part of the whole affair was that we had to wait until after the judging was completed in order to dig into the delicious picnic fair. We certainly learned a lot about this for next year so plans are already in the works.

I'll leave you with some pictures of some of the other entries in the picnic contest. While there were a lot that were amazing entries, very few seemed like they were something to replicate.

I was astounded by the sound of Yo Yo Ma and the other musicians.  While at times it seemed as though they were all headed for a train wreck somewhere through the music, they ended up pulling every piece together. All in all a very enjoyable evening.

Picnics are always fun. What was your favorite picnic this summer?

When Disappointment turns to Enchantment

Saturday night was a special night for a couple of reasons. First, we were headed to the city to see Harry Connick, Jr. in Chicago and second we were going with some good friends. There's nothing like having a great evening with friends.

Unfortunately, my first choice for dinner wasn't available.  I've been to the Gage in Chicago several times. It's just down the street from the Symphony Hall (home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Because the Jazz series at the CSO is on Friday nights we don't get to city early enough to enjoy the Gage.

(Photo from Midwestern Masticatory Musings)

The Gage is a great restaurant with a wide ranging American menu. My good friend, Charlie, introduced me to the restaurant the first time. I've been back a couple of times since. But with the concert starting at 7:30 a 5 pm reservation was too early and a 8:15 reservation was a bit late.  So, although I had never been there, I made reservations at Henri, a restaurant from the creators of the Gage.

(photo from Hogshead Wine)

Apparently every route into the city was conspiring against us with traffic and construction which made us about 15 minutes late. We called and the hostess was very kind. After parking I joined the rest of the party and took a look through the extensive wine list.  A great majority of the wines on the list were French.

I was a little disappointed that there weren't many California Rhone-style wines. (I did suggest that they consider some of the great Rhone-style wines from Frick Winery and Pine Ridge.)  In the end, I selected a Cote du Rhone Villages from Domaine Gramenon Les Laurentides.

This wine was reasonably priced and an old vine blend of Grenache and Syrah. The staff decanted the wine for us -- and probably for good reason.  In doing a little research, several reviewers suggested that the wine was much better after several hours of decanting. We didn't have that kind of time but found the wine to be quite good.

Doing a little research on the wine itself, I found that the winery was founded by Philippe and Michele Laurent in 1978 on 12 hectares of vines. The wine is sourced from mostly 50 year old Grenache vines located in the La Bicarelle plot near Vinsobres.

The soils here are mostly clay limestone with rounded pebbles. The grapes were partially destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for 8 months in oak barrels.  (I wonder if they imported American Oak barrels for this or if they went with the French Oak?)

 

Lamb Rack

Roasted Duck Breast

Truffled Chicken

We found the wine to be a great match across several offerings. We started with the Oysters Mignonette. The mignonette was just the right note on the oysters with shallots and a red wine vinegar. That was followed by the fresh vegetable soup.

Dinner included a lamb rack, truffled chicken and roasted duck breast.

Everything was delicious. Frankly, they surpassed my expectations. What I didn't expect was how perfect the service was. We were never hurried nor did the staff smother us. Even though we arrived late, it never felt as though they were trying to turn the tables. General Manager Tim Sandow has done a great job with his staff. The ambiance is relaxed but not casual.

What started as a bit of disappointment that we didn't get into the Gage for dinner ended with a bit of a disappointment, too. Only this time the disappointment was that we had to rush out to get to the concert and we didn't have time for dessert.

Heading down the street to Symphony Hall for the concert we arrived just as bells were ringing to take your seat. Harry's show was one of the best I've seen. For nearly 2 and 1/2 hours he entertained the audience with a selection that crossed several genres. Loved the music enough that I came home and purchased his latest two albums.

And I'm not alone.  The usually curmudgeonly Jazz Critic, Howard Reich, writes: 

New Orleans has produced more than its share of great showmen, entertainers for whom almost any stage is too small and any evening too brief. 

Anyone who doubted that Harry Connick, Jr. belongs to this tradition and extends it into the 21st century surely was not out Saturday night at Symphony Center, where Connick offered an intermissionless show that stretched well past two hours and yet seemed to pass too quickly. Aside from the sheer stamina of this performance, Connick addressed so many musical styles so persuasively, while also unveiling several striking new songs, that one had to reassess earlier impressions of him.

All in all, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday evening. Great friends. Great wine. Great food. And great entertainment. And as I drove home I couldn't help but hear the words and music of "Some Enchanted Evening" playing in my head.

Three things I know for sure.  I'll be looking for some Domaine Gramenon Les Laurentides, I'll be back again to Henri, and I won't miss the next Harry Connick, Jr. show in the Chicago area.

Chamisal Vineyard Revisited

I was back in Santa Barbara again this past weekend and took the time for a friend and I to head back up to Chamisal Vineyard.

It's still mid-march and many of the vines are still sleeping but I won't say the same thing about the wines that we got to taste. We got a bit of a later start than I had anticipated because we met some friends for breakfast.  We met at Joe's Cafe in Santa Barbara.

Joe's Cafe is a Santa Barbara classic.  Joe's is the oldest restaurant in Santa Barbara and it's a favorite of both locals and visitors alike.  And with good reason.  It's at a great location on State Street -- the main drag in Santa Barbara.

This morning I just went with Joe's Omelet. It's a basic omelet with Italian Sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and cheese. Your basic delicious omelet.

Only this morning I stepped beyond the basic and added the grits instead of the potatoes. It's been a long time since I've had good grits.  And these were good.  They were even kind enough to add some cheddar cheese to the mix.

After filling up on breakfast and getting a helpful hint on heading up to San Luis Obispo, we were off.  The last time I made this trek I took the 101 all the way up.  Perhaps not the most scenic approach.

My friends suggested we head up 154 through the Santa Barbara wine country. Besides, they said, the wildflowers are ablaze in the mountains.

We we couldn't resist the prompting and took the road less traveled. At least I think it was less traveled though there were a lot of cars on the road. The poppies and lupine were beautiful and the views were tremendous. We made the decision to travel straight up to SLO and then take our time heading back.

It was about 12:30 by the time we made it to Chamisal Vineyards -- about an hour behind my schedule but it was well worth the drive. The tasting room was full when we arrived but we found our way to the counter.  They had a lot of really nice selections on tap for the tasting.

Up until last year I never really thought about Rose wines. Frankly I had relegated them to the same pool as white zinfandel. And while my first wines were in large jugs over at my Aunt's house, I never succumbed to the really fruity wines.

I have now realized the error of my ways.

The first couple of wines we tasted would be perfect for Ravinia.  As a member I'm currently reviewing the lineup for early purchase in the next week.  I have 13 concerts I'd like to plan on. This means I have a lot of crisp, clean wines to select.

And among those is the Chamisal Vineyards Rose of Pinot Noir.  This amazing wine consists primarily of Pinot Noir with a little bit of Grenache added in for rounding out the wine.  This wine was crafted from a couple of Burgundian clones (clones 828 and 667 along with some Calerafor your grape growers!) It's a lot more information than I need.

But I discovered something else on this visit to Chamisal. I discovered my palate. For those of you who read my blog know that I generally taste wines and find those that I like and those that I don't like.  All the aromas, the various tastes (cigar box is my favorite . . . who has ever purposely tasted a cigar box?) are lost on me.

As I was tasting various wines this weekend I was picking up on both the aromas and the flavors.  I was intrigued by the various flavor profiles of wines produced from grapes within yards of each other still tasting significantly different.

One of the special pleasures in tasting this weekend was the Vintner's Quest 8-N from Chamisal.  This is a special wine crafted from grapes not on the estate.  These grapes come from a vineyard 8 kilometers north of the vineyard. If you visit the homepage of Chamisal Vineyards, you'll find a brief video outlining this particular wine.

While quite different from the flavor profiles of the Chamisal Estate Pinot Noirs, it was quite delicious. There was less of the spice profile that's found in the Chamisal wines and the fruit was more pronounced.  All in all it's a wine that's being added to my cellar.

And that's a problem. I've already taken four shelves out of my wine cabinet to make room for my current wines. Alas. I will have to remove a few more.  All that means is look ahead to an upcoming Mondays @ Mark's where I unleash some of my new favorite wines on my unsuspecting friends.

Though I suspect no one will be complaining.

Later this week, look to my next post about some really delicious wineries in the area. I found some things that I liked and some things that I didn't like.

I'm Thankful for My Friends -- Old and New

Last Thanksgiving was a bit crazy.  Not only was I getting ready to celebrate my 50th birthday (and my twin brother's) we found out on the Monday of Thanksgiving our Thanksgiving Day restaurant reservations had fallen through.

That meant that I ended up hosting two pretty big celebrations in three days.  I won't go into details here (you can read about it in my post The Unexpected Party. This Thanksgiving was a lot more low key.

This Thanksgiving I spent celebrating with family. There were just five of us.  Ok seven if you count the little dog and the 20 lb turkey! Pretty small considering the crowd that was there for last Thanksgiving but it was no less rewarding.

It was nice because it gave me an opportunity to reflect on a year of friends both old and new.  This past August (as you can note from my series on my trip to Sonoma, I had the real privilege to meet and work alongside three BBQ masters, Chris Lilly (from Big Bob Gibson's BBQ), Dr. BBQ (a mainstay on the professional BBQ circuit) and Pete Seghesio.

Not only did I learn a lot about the BBQ, I really had a chance to get to know more folks in the wine business.  Here's what I'm discovering -- I really like these folks.  The Seghesio team are incredible people.  From Pete and Cathy to Dave Meserli, Brandye Alexander, Dana Macaulay, Tony in the tasting room and so many others.

I'm really honored to call them friends not just acquaintances.

This fall I had the unexpected opportunity to not only meet some new friends but visit the great folks at Seghesio's sister vineyard in San Luis Obispo, Chamisal Vineyards.  You can read about the visit in my post A Special Day at Chamisal Vineyards. They're part of the reason for my reflections on my friends.  Our Thanksgiving meal featured the Chamisal's Morrito Pinot Noir.

This incredible wine was the perfect pairing for our turkey dinner.  Because of Michael's gracious tour, I can still see the view to the ocean from this little morro.  The particular terroir of this particular part of the vineyard is distinct.

It's more volcanic type rock than other parts of the vineyard and the hill is steeper.  This produced a wine that begins with a hint of strawberries and then ends with full on cranberry and the Chamisal spice. But more than the perfect pairing, it reminded me again of that special day with my new friends Michael, Alyssa and Andrea (who came in special even though she was recovering from an early fall cold).

So as we enter the holiday season, I just want to say thanks to my old friends and my new friends.  So to all those mentioned and to Bill Frick (Frick Winery), Nicole and Katey Bacigalupi (John Tyler Wines), Brooke at Chamisal and Nancy Santiago and Chistine Kyle from Pine Ridge Winery, a Giant Thank YOU.

You have made this a special year. Not only do you all make fabulous wines but you're some of the best people I know.

Seven Pretty Pinots all in a Row

Last night was a celebration . . . a special birthday celebration. You know the kind. It's for those important birthdays that no one really notices. The kind that end in a two or a four. Really any time is the perfect time for a celebration.

And that's what we did.  What made it special was that I decided to make this a Pinot Noir tasting of from some of the wineries I have had the pleasure of visiting. The line-up included wines from Michel-Schlumberger, Seghesio Family Vineyards, John Tyler Wines and Chamisal Vineyards.  Perhaps not an extensive list but a really nice line-up of seven different wines.

Now usually I'm killing myself with preparing the hors d'oeuvres and other preparations but Saturday was filled with a cooking class (look for an upcoming post!) so it was enough trying to get the house clean and organized.

Thank goodness that I can just close the back bedroom door!

In order to take full advantage of the time tasting and pouring, I made a trip to Costco and walked through the freezer section and picked out some really nice (and easy) appetizers to bake in the oven before the guests arrived.

I had already made a trip to the Cocoa Bean in Geneva for some macaroons and for the cake. If you're in the Chicago area and looking for a great place fabulous french bakedry goods, the Cocoa Bean is the place.  Not only is their food wonderful, but they are a friendly bunch!

For the evening, I began by serving the Michel-Schlumberger 2009 Pinot Noir (Le Fou).  This was a great starting point. Michel-Schlumberger is located in Dry Creek Valley and features both hillside and benchland terroir. This unique terroir produces an elegant wine full-boidied but not overpowering.

This was followed by two excellent offerings from Seghesio. Those who have read my blogs know that I have a special affinity for the wines and people of Seghesio.  I love the way that Winemaker Ted Seghesio is able to get the most from every blend or varietal.  In this case we were tasting the 2006 Costiera and the 2008 Peter's Vineyard Pinot Noirs.

One of the first comments from this tasting was how much you could smell the fruit on this wine. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the aging or that these grapes came from the coastal region of Sonoma County (hence the name Costiera).

While Seghesio has moved toward becoming an estate winery, there are times they purchase grapes from growers equally committed to the high quality they've come to be known for.

I have to say that while there wasn't a bad Pinot in the bunch one of my top  wines was from the 2008 Peter's Vineyard Pinot. It continues to amaze me how different a wine from the same varietal can be depending on the winemaker, the terroir of the land it's grown on and the difference in location and temperatures.

The Peter's Vineyard is a single vineyard production that really touches on the quality and care put into creating a subperb bottle of wine.Thsee grapes com from ggrape grower Randy Peters.  According to my friends at Seghesio, Randy is one of those rare growers that match their commitment to quality. 

His Pinot Noir vineyard is located in the western Russian River Valley and was planted in 1973 to Pommard clones.  The Goldridge soil and benchland vineyard contribute to keeping the yields low.  This wine is a prime example of what has become a signature of Seghesio Family Vineyards and winemaker Ted -- to create excellent wines that represent the best of the vineyard and the grapes from a unique location.

I also think it's fun to see how an Italian winemaker approaches a French clone.

And that's exactly what the next Pinot Noir was as well.  Well sort of. From the Bacigalupi family and one of my favorite new finds on my recent trip to Sonoma (you can read about the trip in the previous posts from the end of July and August) and winemaker Tyler Heck (a fourth-generation winemaker with a heritage from Alsace) this Pinot Noir was a real treat.

We first found this wine when we did a tasting at the new John Tyler tasting room with Nicole. 

While talking the benefits and drawbacks of being twins (Nicole has a twin sister Katey, I am a twin  and my partner has a pair of 24 year-old sons), I got to taste some truly delicious wines. But more than that, we got to learn about one of the historic grape growing families of Sonoma County.

The 2008 Pinot Noir is no exception. Rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast magazine this was a real treat for the evening.  My wine cellar was already full when I noted in a recent tweet that I would like to buy some of this (and their 2008 Zinfandel) but I didn't have room.  Nicole reminded me that the holidays were coming up and I couldn't have too much wine on hand.

I'm not sure that that's true or not because if Hurricane Sandy hits Chicago I'll be able to go a couple of months without having to restock my wine supply.

But I was glad to have this wine in the Pinot line-up.  A delicious wine that shows how different clones create differeent aromas and flavors.  Winemaker Tyler Heck does a fabulous job with this wine and its 92 rating is well deserved.

The last three wines for  this tasting came from my recent visit to Chamisal Vineyards.  With special assistance from Andrea, Michael and Alyssa, I came home with three unique expressions of their Pinot Noirs.

First up was the 2010 Edna Valley Pinot Noir. This wine is made from all ten of the clones found on the estate. When leaving the vineyard I picked up a couple of shirts that reflect the winemaking at Chamisal (My Pinot is bigger than your Pinot). I'm not sure what this is a play on but . . .  this is a big wine.

One of the unique characteristics of all Chamisal wines is the distinct spice that seems to find its way into everyone of their wines. 

I could tell you what the wine label says about the flavors but this is truly wone of my new favorite wines. Ok along with the John Tyler, the Seghesio and the other wines tasted.  It was a little bit of a transition from the John Tyler approach to Pinot Noir. Delightful none the less. 

Next up was the 2009 Califa Pinot Noir.  The Califa blend of the top three clones from a particular vintage give it a unique profile year after year.  This comes from the Chamisal website:

Every year the final blend of our Califa Pinot varies based on whichever clones have performed best that vintage. For 2009, it was a blend of 3 core clones: 114, 667 and 777. Clone 114 is full of lovely dark berry fruit. 667 has spice, power and structure, a great all-around performer. 777 provides powerful, ripe black and red fruit characters.

When I served this the other week to some friends at the office, I believe one of them used the phrase "This wine changed my life."   But as delicious as this wine was, the winner for the night was the 2010 Monologue.

The 2010 Monologue features the Clone 777. I'm not sure but I think that this wine changed my life. It's a big, big offering. While I couldn't tell you the fruit flavors, the fruit is very distinct in this offering.  This is a wine I can imagine pairing with everything.

I wish I could say that I thought things through on the food more but fankly I didn't. And, I don't think it matters as much as I used to think.  At the end of theday, everyone went home with a little more appreciation of the uniqueness of each offering showcasing the best  of the winemaker's skill and the unique terroir of the respective vineyards.

Now if you've had these wines yourself, I'd love to hear your perspective.  Just leave me a note below. And to my friends Nick and Annie, well, you left too early!

A special note to Nicole at John Tyler Wines, Brandye at Seghesio or Brooke and Michael at Chamisal, feel free to leave a note about each of your fabulous wines that describes them perhaps better than I can. Thanks for all you do in making and promoting some of my very favorite wines! 

 

Leaving Wine Country for San Francisco

Sadly our time in Wine Country had come to an end over a leisurly breakfast at the hotel. The Dry Creek Inn had exceeded all my expectations and so had the various wineries we visited. While I didn't buy wine from all that we visited, I wasn't disappointed in a single vineyard.

Now over breakfast, we decided that rather than try to visit one more winery on the way to dropping my brother and sister-in-law off at the San Francisco airport we would head there straight away. As it turns out, the decision was probably a good one.

While I had rented a full sized car, trying to get all of the luggage into the trunk was a little bit of a puzzle what with four suitcases and various bags with wine and other purchases in them. Not to single my brother and sister-in-law out but their suitcases were bigger -- clearly not intended to be carried on.

Taking the 101 south into the city, we encountered more traffic than I envisioned for mid-morning. As a result it made the best sense to drop my brother and sister-in-law off and then decide how to spend the rest of the day.

After dropping them off for their flight home (and hoping they don't have one cancelled again), we headed into the city to find a cup of coffee and some free Wi-Fi. Turns out we found Peet's but the free Wi-Fi was perhaps unable to handle the volume of use in the coffee shop as my connection was dropped repeatedly.

Our first task of the day was to figure out where we were going to stay so a quick stop to Hotels.com and various other sites to identify a  potential winner.  We were intrigued by the Hotel Kabuki in Japantown. We had stayed somewhere close to this area the last time but ended up at a different boutique hotel.

Having made reservations, we were free to wander our way over there.  Now I've been pretty impressed by my phone (a recent addition) even if it is a little bigger than most (it's a Samsung Galaxy Note). But the challenge with using it as a GPS device is it drains the battery -- even if it's charging! So having used it to find the Peet's and the Hotel, I was concerned I would run out of "juice" before getting to our first destination for the day . . . Chinatown.

Chicago has a vibrant Chinatown -- one that I remember my grandfather taking us to at least annually when I was a child -- but it's certainly not San Francisco's Chinatown. So far this trip had all the earmarks of my style of travel.  Find a destination and then figure out what to do.  Chinatown was no exception. 

Having found a city garage to park in, Roxanne went across the street to check out any information in the hotel lobby while I found a seat in Portsmouth Square to people watch. As usual I am not disappointed.  This park is filled with women playing Mah Jong, card games and spirited debates. None of which I could understand because they weren't in my native language -- American English.

We decided to head down Grant Avenue (apparently we were doing Chinatown backwards!) to see about finding a place for lunch. As a bit of a foodie and sometime amateur chef, I love sticking my head into the local groceries -- especially the ones with produce on the street to lead you into the market.  I also tend to visit the gadget stores as well. 

Having picked our restaurant, we were quickly seated (probably had missed the lunch crowd because it was now close to 2pm. We sat down and ordered some hot tea and one of the special meals and watched the fish in the fish tank and as the servers and cooking staff ate their lunch as well.

Proceeding down Grant Street, we poked our heads into a few shops along the way before turning around and heading back to the car. Our goal was to try and get some good pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. The challenge is that everytime we tried to get a picture on previous trips there was some fog that made it almost invisible.

This time, armed with a little knowledge, we made our way to Crissy Field.  This former military airfield has been restored to a beautiful park with running paths and some of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Winding our way past Fisherman's Wharf, we found ourselves in the Crissy Field National Park. Headturning views of the bridge -- that is if you used your imagination for a bit because it was covered in fog.

After a nice walk around, the fog burned off and we prepared for a sunset photo of the bridge.  Seeing as we had a couple of hours before sunset, we went back to Fisherman's Wharf to grab a bit of something to eat that we could take back as a picnic dinner.

But first, no trip is complete without a trip to Tiernan's Irish Pub for an Irish Coffee. This place is historic. Not only do they make the best Irish Coffee's, but it's a warm, inviting pub. Just what you're looking for in a neighborhood institution. We were a bit early for the crowd, but I was here a number of years ago on a Friday night and you couldn't even move.

The Irish certainly have a way with their coffee. I am a huge fan of coffee and, as it so happens, of Irish Whiskey, too.  I'm particularly fond of Bushmill's. (And I don't even need the whipped cream but it's a nice touch!). 

So after a wee bit of coffee we made our way down to Fisherman's Wharf to pick up a crab roll and a few other fixin's to take back to Crissy Field for a picnic dinner. Trying to get the perfect photo turned out to be a bit of extra work. Ok, perhaps not work but time.

After the sun set, we headed back to the hotel.  This clearly Japanese hotel is not only beautiful, it's peaceful. The decor and the rooms are designed for comfort. Pushing back the Japanese screens and then the glass doors and stepping out on the tiny balcony, the views are nice but not spectacular. Unlike other parts of the city, the streets aren't terribly busy.

I do like that there's a pot to boil water for tea and a tea pot to steep it in. It's a nice change as I turn in for the night. In the morning, I ordered the traditional Japanese breakfast (or should I say brunch). It's a Bento Box filled with smoked salmon, a scrambled egg, fruit and some pickled vegetables along with a bowl of rice and some miso soup.

After a morning stroll around Japantown and picking up some noodles we made one last stop at Crissy Field to each lunch watching the bay and enjoying the beautiful sunshine. After a quick stop again at Humphrey-Slocombe for one last taste (and to purchase their recipe book and a couple of mugs!) we were off to the airport and on our way home.

Just as I found heading home from Paris after a week, it's easy to see why it would take a lifetime to see and experience all of the sights and opportunities in this great part of the country. Not only that, we've made some new friends and renewed relationships with some old friends along the way.

These are the memories that will keep us warm through the long, often too cold winters of Chicago! Thanks for going along with me on this trip of a lifetime . . . one that I hope gets repeated over and over again.