When my Mom asked my sister and I back in November if we’d like to see the new Riverdance show in Chicago for our birthday, we both immediately said yes! What I didn’t think of at the time was that I would be headed down to Chicago for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Luckily I got down there after the parade, but I have a feeling some people started drinking a tad early that day. I saw a group of girls, some that didn’t even look old enough to drink, stumbling back to the train station – and it was only 1:30 in the afternoon!
Heartbeat of Home was amazing. The dancing was amazing, the musicians were fantastic. I was so impressed with how many different instruments these musicians played. It went by in a flash even though it was over two hours long.
It’s still cold here – luckily it was in the 30s on Saturday because I walked from the train station to the theater. We had plans to go to Eataly afterwards. I’ve been dying to go to that place ever since I heard it open. Um, turns out the place is a tiny bit popular!
Oh my gosh. So much to see in that place! Artisan cheese makers, a butcher shop, groceries, and several restaurants. A few we took off the list because they were too expensive. The others? Um, let’s say an hour and a half wait for a table! I was already taking the 6:30 train home, so that wasn’t going to work out. So we ended up going to California Pizza Kitchen and had green beer and pizza.
I realized that I’ll have to come back and spend several hours there, and on a weekday not a weekend. I love the concept though! Oh, and that picture above of “Miley?” My daughter-in-law saw her on Saturday night in San Antonio and thought it was an awesome concert. The breakfast tacos were made by Tony for my breakfast/lunch yesterday – so good! Thanks Mom for the show and dinner – and Jenn, it was great to see you!
As I walked back to the train station, I saw people puking in garbage cans, stumbling – people sleeping at the train station. This one young couple? The guy was eating a handful of Dunkin Donut Munchkins while his girlfriend puked in the box – nice! Note to self – stay away from Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day weekend! But that wasn’t all. Right before my stop, a kid jumped from the top of the train to jump on some kid, and in the process hit his head on the luggage rack – girls crying everywhere trying to get security – so nuts!
On Saturday since Tony was home, he filled up my car and decided to pick up something for lunch. I was going to meet him at a bar right across the train station when I got home from Chicago. Here is his story:
I don’t get it!
Can somebody explain the Chick-fil-a restaurant?
Some time ago one of these opened near us. Many years ago I was in Atlanta on a business trip, and on the way home I stopped off at an old timey looking Chick-fil-a. I sat at the counter and ordered from the server (Lets call her Flo) their signature chicken sandwich. It was a fried breaded filet with two pickles on it. Not flavorful or memorable, just a boring chicken sandwich.
When the restaurant opened near us you couldn’t get near the place it was packed. Several months ago Biz brought some home…guess what same thing BORING.
So it’s Saturday and I went to fill Biz’s car with gas. I was hungry and saw the Portillo’s sign. For those of you that are unfamiliar they offer something that is a Chicago specialty. “The Italian Beef”. I am not a particularly religious man, but I do feel as though divine intervention played a role in making this sandwich.
OK, another Tony thing. I hate lines!
As I take a look at Portillo’s I see a very long line to get to the drive in. (In the summer they employ and ingenious way with several people outside to make the line move faster than any other drive through. As it is winter they are not doing that). I panicked and went to Chick-fil-a.
It was horrible! I ordered chicken strips. They tasted like very old oil and onion rings…yuck. To add insult to injury three strips, fries and a small diet coke, $7.21. What the what?
Please can anyone who reads this explain why this place stays in business? While I have not tasted dirty toes that are disease ridden I think I have an idea how they may taste.
Portillo’s, Daddy is coming home!
Yesterday I was just dog tired. From working a late double on Friday and all the walking on Saturday – it felt good just to take it easy and hang out with Tony. We went grocery shopping, I did a bit of cooking. I could use another day off, but what are you going to do?!
Alright, off to put my stuff together – I have broccoli and potato cheddar soup for lunch – recipe tomorrow. I am not kidding that I think it tastes better than Panera’s soup! Make it a great day!
I hope you are not offended. I won’t be either if you say everyone in the Netherlands smokes pot in coffee shops 🙂 I know that’s how most countries look to us: legally smoke pot and a lot of sex industry (both true but not on every corner 🙂 )
OMG Fran, it would take a lot to offend either me or Tony – no worries!
What a lovely afternoon you had with your Mom and sister Biz.
And Tony: why they are still in business? Well probably because people still buy the crappy food. I’m not judging or anything and since I know a couple of US citizens through my blog and know better: the rest of the world thinks people in the US eat poorly. Some even think all you eat is burgers and drink beer. Let’s not forget: you (i.e. the US) brought McDonalds, KFC and Burger King to Europe. A colleague of mine who’s wife is a professor at Penn State (you love football so I guess you heard of it) just got back and my other colleagues asked if he ate burgers every night … just saying 🙂
LOL at the post and the comments! St. Patrick’s Day festivities sure do bring out the drunk in people. The ER was very busy this weekend at work. What a fun afternoon with you mom and sister though. I have never seen A Riverdance show, but would love to.
Chik Fil A just arrived to my area and people are so psyched about it. As a vegetarian I don’t care, but is it totally different from KFC? Yuck either way!
It’s essentially the same thing as KFC I think. Fried chicken is fried chicken!
I avoid three main areas in Omaha on SPD. There is one bar in particular that has 3 locations. They have a party bus that you can ride from one location to another across the city. Green puke everywhere; no thank you!
And OMG Tony! I read your statement about Chik Fil A as “dirty HOES that are disease ridden…” – apparently my mind is in the gutter tonight! I don’t particularly like Chik Fil A but now I will never be able to eat there without wondering if their regular chicken sandwich is what a dirty hoe tastes like. TOES! TOES! TOES!
Dirty Hoes, Yikes this is a family blog. Yikes
Ha – love it Erin!
Sounds like a fun time!
I miss Portillo’s so much. We ate there a lot 😀
We wont eat at Chick Fil A for obvious reasons. We do like McDonald’s southern style chicken sandwich, its pretty much the same as Chick Fil A, but cheaper. We get it with extra pickles.
Yep, I knew you wouldn’t step foot in a Chik Fil A! I haven’t been to McDonald’s in a while – but I did like their chicken snack wraps. And everything is better with extra pickles!
We live in a small town so we don’t have big events that would draw the ‘drunk’ crowd. Which, from your recent experience, isn’t a bad thing! lol
Oh my goodness do I love me some Chick-Fil-A!! Our local restaurant is very clean and neat and they have the most pleasant servers! The food is always hot & fresh. I get the deluxe which comes with lettuce, tomato & pickles and the sandwiches don’t come with condiments added but I add mayo & ketchup and dig in! And I love their waffle fries! Dang, now I’m hungry! 😀
I guess just like any fast food restaurant – some are better than others! Our KFC? Never had any chicken ready – they’d ask you to wait 20 minutes – and not shockingly, they just went out of business.
Ew. The drunk stories, just…..ew.
Love the photographs in this post!!!
And YES I have made brisket before. Many times, actually, as I grew up eating it 🙂 The key is low and slow…….I’m sure it will turn out lovely!
It turned out good – not awesome. I think the second half will taste better on the grill!
Dang my kid LOVES chik fil a. He just loves the chicken. I think the spicy chicken sandwich is good, the regular is meh. I like the fries.
I’m conflicted though, because their owner is very religious and went off on gay marriage awhile back, so I really don’t want to support that.
I really like Chick-Fil-A’s egg biscuits in the morning. Their biscuits are delicious.
They are open for breakfast??!! I loves me a good biscuit!
Never been to a Chick-fil-a, (Sorry Tony….stick to Chicago style Italian roast beef) and I have never been to Chicago on St. Patricks Day……..oh but I would love to go to the Eataly, that sounds like fun.
And….Yuk….people throwing up, who wants to see that!!!! Gosh, am I missing life in the BIG CITY?
Well, you didn’t miss much over this particular weekend, but I do LOVE going to Chicago. Tony’s not a fan at all – he enjoys living in the “sticks.” 😀
This statement cracks me up “luckily it was in the 30s on Saturday “…gah! Ohmygosh…I’m clearly not used to those kinds of temps because I can barely leave the house if it gets to 30 ;). Glad you had fun! oh drunk people! Tony nooo! I love chick-fil-a. Although its fast food, it always tastes a bit on the lighter side to me. And their fries are delicious
Yep, you would be in snow pants at those temperatures E!
Our Portillos has people taking order at the drive through all winter too. Haven’t been through there during the bitter cold so I hope they give those kids a break on those days. I guess good things are worth waiting for! I, too, had always wanted to try a chick-fil-a and finally we have one about 20 minutes away. It was disappointing, and expensive.
Have you had the chopped salads at Portillo’s? So good!
Oh gross. I don’t want to see anyone puking!!
Glad you had a good time, Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day weekend sounds crazy though. I haven’t been to Chick Fil A in awhile since there isn’t one around here, but I basically only get one thing…grilled chicken sandwich with the honey roasted bbq sauce and a fruit cup…their salads are good too. My boyfriend also was not at all impressed though.
Wow, that honey roasted BBQ sounds delish! My vice is Long John Silvers – so glad the closest one is 30 miles away!
Ha, I’ll bet you did take in a show everywhere you looked!
Umm, that doesn’t sound like much fun. I can’t stand people that are that intoxicated.
Tony’s bit on Chik-fil-a is pretty funny. I’ve never had it and am pretty thankful for that after reading his story.
Well let’s see. Chick-Fil-A in the past few years around our area (Memphis TN) has just sort of exploded in popularity. I admit the chicken sandwiches are just ok, nothing great by any means. But I do remember reading not so long ago that they are going to be using anti-biotic free chicken. That is always a good thing, right? But here’s why I go to Chick-Fil-A once a week. Salads! And their drive-thru (at least at this one) is always super efficient. It’s a huge Chick Fil A by my office and they have a double-drive thru thing and it moves steadily even though the double lanes are usually filled all the way around the parking lot and out onto the street. I just haven’t found a drive-thru salad anywhere that compares for the quality of the ingredients and getting the order right. The girls working the drive thru always seem GENUINELY happy to be working and helping you with your order. That counts for a lot around here with me because the usual drive-thru staff are extremely ummm…lacking in common courtesy and don’t give a you know what if your order is right or not. That’s why I go back to Chick-Fil-A for a salad about once a week. =) And when I do have their fries – YUM.
I actually didn’t know they had salads there either Allyson! I may just hit the drive thru for the fries sometime!
I always think the same thing about McDonalds. In my 46 years on earth, I think I’ve had ONE friendly & competent customer service experience at McDonalds. Their food is mediocre at best and their service is abysmal, yet look at a McDonalds the next time you drive by one….it’s packed!! I just don’t understand it.
Well, if I haven’t gone to the bathroom in a while, I don’t need to take Metamucil, or anything like that. I just order a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and I am in the toilet within 30 minutes – ha!
I was in Chicago one St. Patrick’s Day back in the 1970’s and it was crazy. People were jumping into the very green river in the freezing cold. I’m pretty sure they were drunk and I hope they didn’t freeze to death.
I’m not sure why places like Chick-fil-a, Krispy Kreme and In and Out Burgers become such fads. None of them have excellent fare (in my humble opinion) but the crowds are fantastic.
When we were in Austin my brother and step-son took us to their favorite burger places – and Tony and I were completely underwhelmed but the places were packed!
I love chick-fil-a.I get their grilled chicken and I think their fries are the best.
I guess I didn’t know they had a grilled sandwich – I thought it was all breaded. Okay, now I really want to go back for their fries!
I love the fries at Chik-fil-a. I don’t eat their chicken though! Boring.
Well, considering you don’t eat much meat, that’s not surprising Maggie – can’t wait to see your baby!
I was in Chicago for SPD weekend two years ago. It was 80 degrees and swarming with people! We had a wonderful weekend being outside with no jackets – dining and drinking al fresco. I did see drunks with bad behavior, but no puking or fighting, thank God – I’m too old for that. It was like the sidewalks and streets were so jam-packed because of the weather – there was no room to rumble…or I just didn’t see it because there were times I was stuck in a crowd and feared I would be trampled or we would all just start moving en masse to the green river and fall in in one big group. Good times! Glad to hear you loved the show and Eataly – I definitely can’t wait to check out that place. Have a good day!
I wish it was 80 degrees this year – it was pretty chilly once I got down there – and I don’t know how I always forget how windy it is in the city. 😀
What an adventure! I have been dying to check out Eataly, may have to make it a date night soon. Happy Monday!
I have a feeling a week night would be better for a date night there – you could definitely spend HOURS there Jacky – so much to see!
I stay as far away from the city as possible on St. Patrick’s day!! I’m with Tony. When the Chick-fil-a opened near us, the parking lot was full of tents–people camping out all night!! It had been year’s since I’d had chicken there. When the lines dwindled, I swung in and brought one home. It was tasteless. The pickles, however, were good. Even though there is a Portillo’s near us, I’d never been until a few weeks ago. The Italian beef sandwich was delicious!! We got there a little after 1 p.m. and ate inside. I’ll go back.
Best,
Bonnie
I can’t believe you hadn’t been to Portillo’s before? So good!