https://www.angelfire.com/empire/cavegirl/index.html
rabarrington@hotmail.com
Brant and I LOVE this Vespa. We want one. But down here where peeps cut you off for kicks I would die. (Check out the cool guy clothes! The shoes I wore that day are right in the window...for boys!)
Okay this one is Brant's. I give. In the foreground is a bench that looks like a dolphin. And the best part, which doesn't show that well here, is the glowing headless women in the store windows. He wins.
We went over to the King of Clubs again. It wasn't open. My friend Z who is a BIG BIG BIG fan of White Castle sliders would love this neighborhood...6 dives, sliders, and a flop.
On Saturday night Brant, his wife, and I went back over to the West Bank. The 400 bar was holding "The 15th and Final Bob Dylan Sound-alike Contest." (BD's b-day and mine are right together)The place was packed and the musicians, and I say that lightly) You know how I sound when I sing, well, they were worse. No kidding. Most of them were duos. There was one guy that looked like BD did back in the 70s. We stayed about 20 minutes. Right up the block we heard some terrific blues so we slid into The Viking. Love this place. Root City was playing. I have an autographed CD, but they are much better in person. They do lots of originals. I hate cover bands.
Brant showed off on Sunday morning. This is aebleskiver, a Danish treat that you eat with marmalade or apple butter and a snifter of cognac. He found this special pan, and then went to the trouble of having it enameled so he could perfect the aebleskiver. Even in Denmark this delicacy is rarely made now.
Saturday lunch was grilled chicken breast topped with guacamole with red beans and rice. Brant placed this bottle of mezcal at my place setting. He had adorned it with a parasol and a straw. Good God! Yeah, right, I'll slug that down. We opened it. I only stuck my pinkie in the liquid...nasty shit. It tastes like dirtwater with worm guts whirled together. Gag! It's called dos gosanos which must mean two worms in Mexican Spanish.
I took it back to the Memorial Day/birthday party at my McHenry friends picnic on Monday. No one took more than a tiny sip. There is less than an inch out of the bottle. I left the bottle there. I suspect the mezcal is going to turn into the proverbial fruitcake. If it ends up in your town DON'T DRINK IT! Pass it along...
Oh, I forgot to tell you about Moscow on the Hill. It's a wonderful little Russian restaurant up on Cathedral Hill. Here's Brant's invitation. It says it all:
Do you like Russian food?...I'm trying to think of someplace fun to go on Saturday night, something not quite so chain-like. Moscow On The Hill has lots of rich gravy beef dishes, creamy noodles, a great vodka bar, and the smoking section is pretty much the whole restaurant. (We come home and burn our clothes!) A great place for lovers of burnt flesh, boisterous talk, strong booze, thick coffee, beautiful waitresses with thick accents ("You are glad?" - Yes, I'm VERY glad!), and the occasional strolling guitar. Samovar city. A tad pricey, but not anything you'll soon forget.
Ruminate on your drive up.
I had Dolma, lamb-stuffed grape leaves, YUMMMMMM just like Greek dolmathes! I tried everyone else's food too. Double YUMMMMMMMMMM. Now I've upgraded, I'm hooked on Stoli Gold.
I hope all of you had a marvelous Memorial Day weekend too! Kiss. Send me emails. Tell me about it. Sharing is good.
