multitude mondays

So much to be thankful for...

• working remotely this week
• living in a city as beautiful as this
• my newly purchased Jawbone by Jambox wireless speaker
• discovering great new music via Spotify
• making new friends; reconnecting with old friends
• being in a position where I can speak my mind - whether people like it or not!
• losing weight!! (slowly but surely)

cityscapes

The main reason I picked my apartment is because of the views you're about to see below (please excuse the poor quality; they were taken on my iPhone). I don't think that this could ever get old! This city is just SO beautiful...I'm completely smitten :)

Chicago at dawn, as seen from my living room

Chicago at sunset, as seen from my living room

Chicago at night, as seen from my bedroom

The Wrigley Building from my bedroom

restaurant reviews

One of the things I want to do with this blog is write about my dining adventures in Chicago. There are SO many fabulous (and some not-so-fabulous) restaurants in Chicago, especially around where I live in River North, and being the self-proclaimed foodie that I am, I want to try out all of them! I have a long list of restaurants I want to check out, but these are some of the ones I've been to recently:

• Avec (West Loop, $$, No reservations) - Soooo, so good! Even though the place gets crazy packed, my friend Alli and I were able to get seated right away at the bar. Everything we ordered was delicious - bacon wrapped chorizo-stuffed dates; warm burrata with braised artichokes, pomegranates, basil and smoked sea salt; kale salad with fennel, red onion, crimini mushrooms, hard-boiled egg and shaved parmesan; and of course, a delicious bottle of vino! Loved everything and can't wait to go back.
• The Purple Pig (River North, $$, No reservations) - For the adventurous eater. This highly touted restaurant had been on my list for a long time, and I attempted to go there twice before finally being able to get in on my third try with an old coworker who was in town for the week. People LOVE this restaurant, so we were super excited to check it out. Unfortunately, we were completely underwhelmed by everything we ordered (which were the most popular items on the menu - salt-roasted beets w/whipped goat cheese; milk braised pork shoulder; and pig's ear w/crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and fried egg). Every dish we tried was ridiculously salty to the point where you couldn't taste much else. Maybe they were having an off night? Either way, very disappointing. 
• Nellcote (West Loop, $$, No reservations) - I went here for brunch after reading a Chicago blogger's review on it. I loved the decor - elegant yet fun with chandeliers everywhere. The brunch menu is prix fixe: $18 for your entree along with a platter of cheese, charcuterie, figs, homemade concord grape jelly, lemon curd, and mini pastries. For my entree, I ordered the lobster hash which I wasn't too crazy about but others seem to really like it. I also ordered a bellini, which of course I enjoyed. This would probably be a fun place for cocktails with girlfriends, but I wouldn't rush back to dine there.
• Le Colonial (Gold Coast, $$$, Reservations recommended) - I grew up on Vietnamese food so my standards are obviously high when it comes to Vietnamese restaurants. I was a little wary about going here, but what a wonderful surprise it turned out to be! Le Colonial is a beautifully decorated, upscale French-Vietnamese restaurant that's perfect for a romantic date night or for a fun girls night! I started off with their appetizer portion of pho (a "hearty oxtail soup with rice noodles, beef tenderloin slices and aromatic herbs"). I was expecting a watered down, Americanized version of it, so I was very pleasantly surprised by its wonderfully rich and authentic flavor. For my entree, I ordered the Vit Quay (ginger-marinated roasted duck). It was excellent, although I would have liked to have had some greens on the plate. For cocktails, I had the Mekong Sunset, which was good although a bit watered down. I would love to come back during the summer and dine on the upstairs terrace which apparently is also really lovely. [By the way, I read a fellow Yelper's review that said "My complaint is that it was definitely more on the Asian side, which is fine, but $250 for Chinese food doesn't make much sense to me" - Listen up you uncultured, ignorant fool, it's VIETNAMESE food, NOT Chinese food. There's a difference, asswipe. Just go back to your Applebee's and PF Chang's - great food should not be wasted on such undeserving tastebuds]
• Las Tablas (Lakeview, $$, Reservations recommended) - Really good Colombian steakhouse with a cozy yet festive ambiance! My entrana strip steak topped with chimichurri was tender, juicy and cooked to perfection, and my sangria [pitcher - don't judge] was fantastic! The empanadas appetizer, on the other hand, was just okay. Unless you're starving, I'd skip on the appetizers as the entrees are pretty generously portioned. 
• San Soo Gab San (Lincoln Square, $$, Reservations recommended) - I was craving Korean BBQ and had read rave review about this place, so I made the trek from River North to Lincoln Square one Friday night to check it out. There are some really amazing Korean restaurants in Atlanta, so maybe my bar was set a little too high, but I was kind of let down by the experience. The food was decent but completely lacking in the richness and depth of flavor that I'm used to in the Korean dishes that I love (particularly, the yukgaejang - a spicy beef stew). The meal came with a ridiculous amount of small dishes ("banchan" - see below), so just a heads up that you might want to skip the appetizers altogether if you're planning on some big orders! Also, service is completely lacking - we weren't greeted so we stood at the door for five minutes before finally walking over to the register to ask for a table (there were three servers standing behind the counter, not doing anything), our waters didn't get refilled unless asked, etc. There have got to be better Korean restaurants in the city; I will not be going back to this one.

• Bar Umbriago (River North, $$) - I went here for dinner one night during Restaurant Week since it's right around the corner from my place. For appetizers, we ordered the pork belly porcetta (served with arugula, shaved parmesan and a kumquat marmalade) and the pickled cauliflower; both were excellent. For my entree, I had the Tagliatelle di Grano (homemade wheat tagliatelle with mushroom ragu and truffle oil) which I thought was also really good, although I make a very similar dish at home so I probably should have tried something else. They had live jazz the night I went, which was fun. Overall, a good dining experience and convenient to where I live so I'll probably be back. 

There are a few other restaurants I've been to and need to review, but I'll get to those next time. Tonight, I'm going to The Drawing Room and tomorrow night, I'm hitting up RPM Italian for the second time (the last time I was there, back in October, I got to meet and take pictures with G&B!! Oh happy day). For it being a celebrity-owned restaurant (and a celebrity-that-I-love owned restaurant, at that), it's really good!! 

F.I.L.A.

Now that I'm finally settled in to my new home in Chicago, I thought I'd share some thoughts and observations (I'm sure my NY friends will be able to commiserate with many of these):

• When it's 2 degrees and snowing like crazy, you quickly stop caring about looking cute and you just do whatever you can to stay warm. Everday before I leave my condo, I zip myself up in the puffiest, most unflattering arctic parka known to man but darn it if that thing isn't ridiculously warm. I don't even have to bother putting any thought into what I wear underneath anymore because no one will ever see it. I did finally find a great, form-fitting puffer but it cost me way more than I care to ever admit, so let's just consider it an investment and never speak of it again.

Me in my significantly cheaper, non-investment North Face parka

• Plumbing in this city is terrible. I actually called maintenance my very first day thinking there was something wrong with my toilet but nope, it's just supposed to flush very, very slowly. In Atlanta, that's a sign of cloggage. In Chicago, that's just life - why the hell are you complaining.
• In-sink garbage disposals are a luxury. None of the places I looked at had one. Atlantans, I know what you're thinking: huh?! What do you do with your leftover scraps? This is somewhat of a novel idea, but you just throw it all away in the trash! Crazy, I know ;)
• The subway here is really old and dirty (as in any other major metropolitan city - sorry, Atlanta, you don't count; you're too small and shiny and new). I've taken it twice now, and I never thought I'd say this, but I miss you, MARTA.
• Public laundry facilities blow. And they're pricey. I have to pay $1.50 each time I want to use the washer or dryer. That's at least $3 a trip. Fortunately, since no one sees what I wear anyway, I can just recycle my outfits and save a little money that way :-D
• Living in the middle of everything automatically makes you more active. If you want to go anywhere in Atlanta, it's always a bigger effort because the city is not conducive to walking; you have to drive everywhere, so it's easy to get lazy and just stay in. In Chicago, I don't WANT to stay in - not when there are so many things to see and do within walking distance. Plus this city is so much more beautiful than Atlanta; you're more inclined to get out just to admire the beauty of all the architecture surrounding you.

All in all, I absolutely love it here. I haven't even minded the cold and the snow and not having a car or garbage disposal or an in-unit W/D (haha). I always knew I wanted to live in a bigger city, and I'm glad I finally did it. I miss everyone in Atlanta a lot, but I don't regret leaving the city itself. To me, Atlanta is like that old pair of jeans that you loved but outgrew, and you held on to them for a long time until finally, you came to terms with the fact that you'd probably never be that skinny again damnit. So, on to bigger and better things. No matter where I'm going, though, I'll never forget where I came from. As the rapper Lil' Scrappy would say, F.I.L.A. - Forever I Love Atlanta.

(Who knew I was such a hoodrat that I'd be quoting someone named Lil' Scrappy?! haha)

faith

It's 1am and I can't sleep. In just a couple of days, I will be packing a UHaul with all of my belongings and heading to Chicago, my new home for the next couple/few(?)  years.

This is by far the scariest thing I've ever done (which just goes to show what a wuss I am, haha). Leaving Atlanta and my friends and my family and everything I've ever known to go off and have this new adventure in a huge city where I barely know anyone - it's exciting, yes, but mostly terrifying to me! I've had more moments of doubt than I can count, but there's no backing out now. This is something that I know I need to do. There's a reason why I am where I am. It will be hard, it will be painful, it will be scary and lonely...but I will be challenged, and I will grow - personally and professionally - in ways I never would have if I'd stayed in my comfort zone: Atlanta.

Still, I'm scared sh*tless. I made the decision rather impulsively at a time when I was feeling restless and discontent. I didn't feel like my life was what I wanted it to be, and I needed a change. I just didn't know how. Enter a sudden flurry of messages everyday from relentless recruiters, and suddenly, I found myself in a very lucky position where I could negotiate for myself a pretty sweet deal, one that included relocating to another city. Call it kismet, call it fate, call it coincidence...whatever it was, I just knew it was time.

There's a quote that keeps popping up in my head. It spoke to me years ago, and has never left the back of my mind. I find it so fitting for what I'm going through right now.

"Faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse."

Sometimes, the only thing you have to lean on is faith. And so, choosing to listen to that tiny little voice inside of me that kept telling me to make this jump - I'm doing it. Without any idea what my life will look like, only faith that it'll all work out in the end, I'm doing it.