Top Chef!

The weather was perfect for going downtown yesterday.  It was already in the low 60s by the time I stepped on the train to go to Chicago at 7:45 in the morning.  I was meeting Carrie and her husband Rob at The Little Goat on Randolph Street.  If anyone lives in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area – her blog has tons and tons of recommendations on where to get good food, great beer and wine.  Rob is also a very picky burger lover – all of the components have to work to make it the perfect burger – seasoning/bun to burger ratio, etc.  Her husband is allergic to anything with feathers or fins – so he eats a lot of beef

They also got into a serious car accident in the beginning of March, and are lucky that even with the jaws of life needed to get Rob out of the car, neither of them was seriously injured.  If you have a Hyundai Elantra, you have a very safe car!  Rob just had a couple scars on his wrist which is amazing after you look at the photos from that link.

I knew I would be walking a lot and walked the mile from the train station to the restaurant.  As I got close, I pulled my phone out to see how close it was to 9:30 at the time we were going to meet, and I looked up and I saw Stephanie Izard – the first female Top Chef winner and chef/owner of The Little Goat – and another guy sitting at a table outside the restaurant.  As I walked by her, I thought to myself “oh, there’s Stephanie!” and then when it hit me it was actually her, I swung back around and asked to take a picture!

Her eyes are nearly closed, but I don’t care.  She’s pregnant so I didn’t want her to get up!  She was super sweet.   When I walked into the restaurant Carrie and Rob were already seated, and when I sat down I said “did you see Stephanie was sitting outside?!”  They did, but didn’t think to ask for a picture – turns out I don’t mind bothering a famous chef!

After hugs and sitting down (meeting a mutual blogger is like meeting an old friend even if it is the first in person meeting!) we checked out the menu.  You guys, not going to lie I contemplated ordering a cinnamon bun because they are known for them, and I’ve already deemed cinnamon buns insulin worthy!   I also heard good things about this dish:

THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO CHINA – sesame cheddar biscuit. sunny eggs. szechuan pork sausage. chili garlic chive sauce. blackberries

That’s what Carrie ended up getting, and that chili garlic chive sauce with a blackberry was an amazing sweet/savory combination.   I stuck to my guns and ordered a fruit cup (which every piece of fruit was perfectly ripe) two scrambled eggs and ate two pieces of bacon for 8 smart points.  Rob got the side of sausage and hash browns.  They already had Au Cheval as their next stop to try their burgers, so he was pacing himself.  Although I applauded his choice of hard apple cider for his breakfast beverage.

Rob declared his sausage and hash browns some of the best he’s ever had, and I know next time I’ll splurge on the smart points and get the dish Carrie got.

It was great meeting up with you guys and thanks for taking the time to meet with me on your anniversary weekend in Chicago!

After breakfast I had to go to the Cook County building to get a certified copy of my birth certificate to get a passport.  I’ve never had one – I’ve been to Canada but that was before passports were necessary to travel there – so basically a long time ago! 

I used to go there all the time when I worked at a law firm downtown doing real estate closings, but I haven’t been there in a long time.  It’s actually a very beautiful building.  The line wasn’t too long and I was in and out in 20 minutes.

I knew I wouldn’t be ready to eat lunch yet, but when I saw my sister on Sunday, she suggested that we walk together on her lunch hour instead of going out to eat.  We ended up walking around the river front and all the way around the lake front through Millennium and Maggie Daley Park, and walked for 55 minutes.  Even though I think Trump is a joke, I do think his building is pretty.

And then I used my PhotoToaster app on my phone to turn that photo above into a drawing.  Best $2.99 app I’ve ever bought

By the time we got back to her office, my blood sugar was in the low 70s and I was ready to eat.  I said goodbye to her and headed to Latinicity.  The last time I went I just had coffee, but the food smelled so good I knew I’d have to check that out.  As a total coincidence, just as I was leaving to head over there, I got tagged by Latinicity to ask if they could use the photo I posted the last time I was there:

That is one of my favorite pics and I can’t believe I took that with my iPhone.  Again, I was toying with the idea of splurging on my lunch since by the time I sat down to lunch I was close to 17k steps.  But I ended up getting peel and eat shrimp (9 ounces for 4 points) and a beef barbacoa taco (4) and ate 6 tortilla chips for (2) for a delicious, filling 10 point lunch.

It was a great day all the way around, and I made it home before the storms came through – we had some pretty big hail too!

Oh, and that window to the left of the deck is my new bedroom window!  I love being able to open my bedroom window again.  Note to self – clean the shit from underneath the deck!

Hannah had an exciting day too!  WGN’s Ana Beneval (Around Town) came to the coffee shop she works at and Hannah was on t.v.  I need to do a video clip, but for now, this was the best I could do.  She was showing Ana how to make their signature white chocolate blueberry muffins – so proud of her!

And in more exciting news, Gina from SkinnyTaste regrammed my steak salad where I used her cilantro buttercream dressing (um, she has nearly 400k followers on Instagram!) and within 30 minutes I already had 100 new followers, the most I’ve gotten in a day.  Thanks Gina!

So check out my steps!

Total Smart Points for the Day:  29 – and I didn’t eat anything after this delicious dinner – Hannah actually eats these mini Italian beef sammies because I get the meat from the deli shaved – this plate comes in at 11 points.

It’s much cooler today, but temps in the low 50s are my favorite.  I have red peppers and tomatoes that I bought of the $1 rack that need to be used up, so I am guessing roasted red pepper and tomato soup will be on my lunch menu today.  Make it a great day!