Blast from the Past: Chicago

In January 2012 I had the pleasure of a quick trip to Chicago. It was fun to try a new "hot" restaurant...in the event you find yourself downtown and looking for a fun, delicious night out, then based on my experience in January I can recommend Tavernita.

For a newly opened restaurant, the entire staff was running a beautiful show. This new space - much anticipated and highly promoted in Chicago press- delivered all it promised. The decor was modern but warm. The service was impeccable. The food was absolutely delicious. The restaurant really promoted their "kegged cocktails" and they were fun and interesting, certainly...but I preferred my traditional cocktail. I tried several of the kegged cocktails and, frankly, found them to be a bit weak. While tasty and unique, they lack "oomph". Also, while supposedly they are meant to be consistently equal due to the fact that they are kegged (think pouring a pre-made drink without the bias of a bartender involved) we did not find that to be so. My friend and I got the exact same drink and mine had a distinct heavy BLACK layer of pepper syrup in it, making it extremely zippy, while hers had barely any. A bit of a fail. We noted that there is a good wine selection available.

The service was some of the best I ever had - a knowledgable, fun and friendly staff, team-work on delivering the tapas style dishes, and making sure that the portions were right for our group dining experience (7 women on a night out). The only critique with the service is that I noticed that the staff was "hovering" significantly to make sure they whisked dishes away immediately. It at times made it feel like we were holding a big table too long by lingering over our drinks etc. But the intention, I think, was pure service.

As for dishes - each and every one was a success. We tried multiple ceviche options - all delicious. The escalivada, coca de seats, and bocadillas were all delicious. The brussel sprouts and also the corn pudding were delicious, as were the meatballs. Not one misstep. And please do yourself a favor and get the pan de chocolate for dessert. WOW.

Reservations are a MUST as this place becomes QUITE a "Scene" as the evening wears on. It did make us feel a tad rushed to give up our table at the end, to be honest. But overall a superb, fun, delicious, well served dining experience. I wonder how it will fare and how the experience will shift as the novelty of being the "it" place to go wears off. If they keep up with their food and service they should be just fine.

Note: oddly, there is a bar within the restaurant that is not really tied to the restaurant in that it has a different vibe, menu, even music. Really odd. For instance, we moved there after dinner from our luxe, wonderful, rich dining experience where we had been listening to wonderful modern music to match our dining into that strange enclosed bar to be met by blaring tunes by Credence Clearwater Revival. Now I don't mind some CCR, but it was like going from a club in Vegas to a bar in Texas. It was just STRANGE. On top of that, the contrast in service was SHOCKING. Rude waitress, inattentive bartender. We left immediately. Did not want to kill the warm feeling from our terrific time at Tavernita.

TIP: Reservations a must and go early to get a good start and watch the scene build around you as opposed to waiting in the throngs for a table.

Girls Night Out at Tavernita:

Blast from the Past: Paris

I thought I would get this going with some reviews of prior travel. In addition to general journaling, I hope to provide some insights into sites seen, hotels visited, and restaurants enjoyed (or not!)....here is a blast from the past, Hotel Cervantes in Paris, France. Located in the 8th arr., it was a terrific experience!

We stayed here for a week in the beginning of May 2011. It was a wonderful stay. The hotel is clean and modern with wonderful service. The front desk staff was excellent and very helpful with excellent English, though we tried to speak as much French as possible (they were very tolerant of our novice French). Wifi was perfect and FREE, plus there is a computer for your use in the trendy lobby. Breakfast every day was included in our rate and we could have it downstairs or in our room - we only had to call and they delivered it instantly! Cafe creme, croissants, and fruit in the morning with our balcony doors open in our room was LOVELY. Though they do have a large breakfast offering in the lovely, stone-walled breakfast room with eggs, sausages, yogurt etc. TERRIFIC money saver in Paris.

The rooms were great and the size one would expect in Europe (pretty tiny) but had a nice little closet. We had a premium double room and the bed was larger than our queen in the US. We were on the 5th floor on the street side with a darling parisian balcony overlooking the rooftops of Paris, and it was perfectly quiet. The street and area is lovely. We walked to Opera, Printemps (10-15 min walk), and even the Louvre. We obtained a fabulous rate via hotels.com that included breakfast (I recommend trying to find breakfast included in the rate, it will save you money in the long run).

The ONLY thing that could be considered by some to be a downside is the area actually had quite a few homeless folks at night. It could be a bit offputting to be walking by a little homeless colony down the street sleeping/drinking. They did not bother or beg, and it did not bother us - who are we to be complaining about the unfortunate plight of homeless people while we are blessed enough to be traveling in Paris, for goodness sake! I have yet to go to New York, Chicago, or Boston in the US where I did not encounter that as well.

The area is very convenient, though, with metro stops Rome and Europe basically at either end of the street. We did not eat much in this area - mostly used it as a home base in the morning and evening before and after long days exploring the city. Would stay there again as the hotel itself could not have done a better job!

The Map

As mentioned in my previous post, those nifty virtual travel maps are pretty neat. I know that some people may look at the map and think I have been a lot of places. And I have, I know. However, not nearly as many places as many other people. And not a lot of terribly "off the beaten path" places. But it is not a comparative game for me. And it is NOT a competition(despite me saying that, I know some people that will immediately begin comparing). I have to admit, while each "dot" has great memories attached to it, the blank spaces scream to me. Not because I want to "add to the list", but because I want to add to my memory bank! I know that travel - no matter where it is - enriches me. I crave that kind of input.

(Side note: ever done Gallup's "Strengths Finder"? I have, and one of my strengths is input. It means I literally crave to learn more about things. That explains my approach to travel...)

Back to the purpose of the post. Without further delay, I reveal to you my present-version of my virtual travel map. It is somewhere on this blog. I have to figure that out still!

Why? Well, why not?

I have seen a number of "applications" or online tools where one can use a virtual map and place virtual pushpins into all the places they have been. I am lucky to have been to a lot of places. From Peoria, IL to the Philippines, from Minneapolis to Managua. I thought that I would give one of those maps a try online and I realized something....I was getting just as much joy out of finding the pin for Durango, CO as I was for Dublin, Ireland.  I had just as many fond memories from the time I visited Gloucester, MA as the time I was in Geneva, Switzerland.

So much of travel is focused on the well known "fabulous" destinations. Trust me, I understand why! They are fabulous for a reason! The thought of the banana et nutella crepe I had from a street vendor in Paris shines in my mind with romantic filtered light. The breezy sun-drenched slow days in Aruba, drinking champagne with my toes in the waves, have a toasty, golden, dream-like patina in my memories. But....if I am honest, the memory of the tangy margarita I chased with crispy tortilla chips in a dive in Santa Fe, or even the excellent customer service I received at an airport hotel in Dallas/Fort Worth are just as bright and appreciated in my mind.

Further, I realized as I was virtually push-pinning my way around the world, I have done a perfectly horrible job of keeping track of these experiences in a tangible way. Yes, I am lucky to have them fresh in my mind always. I have an ability to jump into my own head and be able to describe exactly what I experienced when it comes to travel in a way that I cannot possibly recreate with the day-to-day stuff. I don't remember what I had for breakfast today - but I can describe exactly what I had on Day Three of my last trip to Hong Kong in the year 2000. I still have to look up how to get to a local suburb that I have been to a dozen times, but after a week in Paris I could tell you how to get anywhere I went, years later.

It has occurred to me that, in the future, my mind may not always be able to recall travels so vividly. I have grown and matured thanks to travel. I am who I am because of travel. I continue to be open to how travel can shape me. I crave it. Whether it is a neighborhood antique fair a couple of towns away, or a bazaar in Istanbul - I am game. I have an open mind to what any experience brings. So let's go!

My aim is to journal my travels - sometimes to the burger joint down the street, or an airport hotel on a business trip. Sometimes something more adventurous or exotic. Who knows? And who cares? Well, I do...and that's good enough for me.  I aim to observe, document, ponder, and explore. Let's see what happens...