Last night, Ben and I were planning on having dinner at Mercat a la Planxa on South Michigan Ave. However, we found out that they were doing a fancy New Year’s Eve celebration with DJ, dance floor and a $125 per person minimum (not including drinks) but included “party favors” and decided we’d go there another time. Instead, we had dinner at Province again. It was kind of hectic and our server was inattentive (he forgot to bring Ben’s dessert wine even though he charged us for it). But it was still a nice excuse to get dressed up and go out. We even saw the chef (Randy Zweiban) talking with some other customers.
In 2009, we plan to go check out this some restaurants in Chicago such as
Mado (we’ve been here but we love it and can’t wait to go back!)
Today Ben and I walked to Michigan Ave., shopped in the mall (bought some cards at Papyrus) and watched a movie at the AMC (Quantum of Solace). We both enjoyed it and had low expectations because several friends had given it bad reviews compared to the previous James Bond movie (Casino Royale). However, we decided it wasn’t bad at all. Very similar in quality to the previous JB movie and I enjoyed it more because it was shorter (I have a very short attention span). It was kinda cold walking the mile to and from Michigan Ave. but I felt very lucky to live so close to downtown.
I’m also planning on cooking some broccoli this weekend. I have a nice recipe for Broccoli Cheese Soup. Elaine left me a head of the vitamin-rich vegetable and I bought 5 pounds of frozen organic broccoli at Costco in Middleton on our way home from La Crosse (after Christmas). In addition, we had a nice under $10 Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Rita, Medalla Real 2005) with our dinner (chili made in a crock pot). This is one of my favorite chili recipes. It’s very easy to make and full of spices and flavor!
