Gift Guide.. better late than never

Christmas is next week and I've been done with my shopping for at least a month but there are a few things that are out of my price range but I just can't get off my mind. The number one non-necessity, fabulous find is the limited edition Dom Perignon Andy Warhol tribute bottles. It comes in three colors with the most beautiful boxes. I'm not sure if I want all three or just a print of these amazing boxes. My entire condo is full of bright pop art so naturally I'm obsessed.

Check out more gorgeous photos and awesome videos at NotCot.com. 

trick or treat.

Happy early Halloween everyone! What are you going to be this weekend? I'm between a few options but my days of buying expensive pre-made costumes are over. My plan is to have two nights of costumes ready to go for under $10. Here is a sneak peek of what I have in mind... 

 Good luck with your costumes and have a great weekend!

Eat at Eatt

Last night after a concert at House of Blues, Steph and I stumbled upon Eatt on Hubbard & State. With an adventurous spirit we decided to try it even though the giant "Come here for Dinner" poster outside wasn't a good sign. Never a good sign when a restaurant is telling you it's open. Inside the decor is fit for a steak house with dim lighting, bow-tied waiters, etc. but the host was friendly (and not noticeably disgusted at our jeans) so we sat down. And we're glad we did. The food was fancier diner food and was very reasonable. Fresh baked pretzel rolls to start were delicious, but our main courses were what really solidified the fact we'd be coming back. I got an ahi tuna sandwich that was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Steph won however... here is a [crappy blackberry] picture of the house specialty - bacon wrapped meatloaf.

Bread topped with mashed potatoes, topped with meatloaf, topped with mushrooms, topped with crispy onions.... it's a lot. It even had a barbecue flavor that was really yummy so clearly we can see why this dish is a hit. Steph will probably be eating it for another two days so I'll report back on microwavability.



Eatt has a bit of an identity crisis which I suspect might be the reason they are hurting for customers. The fancy staff and interior didn't exactly blend well with the diner food and 80's greatest hits playing on the speakers. Once they work out those kinks, I think they will be fine, but the food alone (and the decent prices) make this a great option for good quality food north of the loop. 

Well hello again.

Hi everyone - I'm back!

It's been a crazy five months and I just haven't found the time to write. This summer has been filled with work, trips, 11 weddings, and my favorite of all... I bought a condo! Yep, I'm officially a homeowner and it still feels strange to say that. It was a huge decision but I'm so glad I did it. It's been a wonderful couple months, but I'm officially back in the blogging world. Many posts on my adventures to come, but here are a few photos from my summer vacations...

Visiting my best friends in Austin - and attending my first head-to-toe neon party. (I highly recommend it)

Visiting NYC before a trip north for a gorgeous wedding in Cold Spring

I will never forget the amazing weekends in Des Moines

Two trips to St. Louis to see two of my favorite girls tie the knot!

And finally... I was thrilled to accept a position on the board of Chicago Nautical. Afternoons on Lake Michigan contributed greatly to my amazing summer.

MillerCoors new brew Batch 19 Launches in Chicago

So I've been a horrible blogger the past couple of months.... I have a post-it of places I've been meaning to write about and once the post-it was full, I realized it was time to get back in gear. First things first, I thought I'd share the reason I have been very busy lately:

MillerCoors has launched a new pre-prohibition style lager called Batch 19. After a flood in Coors Brewery in Golden, a log book with recipes dating back to pre-prohibition was found and after a few trial runs, Batch 19 was born. The lager will have a limited release May 3rd in Chicago, San Francisco, San Jose, D.C. and Milwaukee. You can find out more about the beer and where to find it here.

Below are a few pictures from the Batch 19 Launch Party in Chicago. It was held at the Chicago History Museum and was a great party, especially since the beer was so well received! Batch 19 is also on Twitter and Facebook if you'd like to follow the brand.

 

Restaurant Week 2010!

One of my favorite times of year to live in Chicago is Restaurant Week. There are over 160 amazing restaurants participating this year. I came across a helpful article in the Chicago Tribune today that includes some tips for Restaurant Week. Might be good for any first timers:

1. It's not a week. This year's Restaurant Week, the third annual, runs from Friday through Feb. 28, a full 10 days of discount dining.

2. More than 160 restaurants are participating, a nice increase from last year (144) and a big jump from the inaugural Chicago Restaurant Week in 2008, when 35 restaurants signed up.

3. Restaurants are offering three-course lunches for $22 and three-course dinners for $32. That's less than the cost of a single entree at some of these restaurants, such as Il Mulino, NoMI and The Lobby (in the Peninsula Hotel). Those four-course, $43 fondue dinners at Geja's Café are only $32 during Restaurant Week.

4. Participating restaurants served more than 225,000 customers last year.

5. It's so popular that many places sell out. Yes, they do. A colleague of mine is still smarting from last year, when she got shut out of Naha's lunch. You snooze, you lose. And you eat at your desk.

6. Most participants are in Chicago, but there are a few suburban players, including Atwater's in Geneva, Jack Binion's Steakhouse in Hammond and Mon Ami Gabi in Oak Brook.

7. A lot of high-end cuisine is being offered, but I count 22 steakhouses in the mix, and I probably missed a couple. Carmichael's, Ditka's, Harry Caray's, Kinzie Chophouse, Morton's, N9ne, O'Brien's, The Palm, Rosebud Prime, Ruth's Chris, Smith & Wollensky and Wildfire are just some of the names you'll find.

8. Though the site contains the occasional glitch (Brasserie Jo is at 59 W. Hubbard St., not 50), eatitupchicago.com lists all the participating restaurants, lets you view their menus and lets you make instant online reservations.

9. Last year's Restaurant Week ran eight days, but it was such a success that most restaurants agreed to extend the deals for another week. Fingers crossed.

Give the gift of Chicago food!

For Christmas, I received a wonderful gift idea and wanted to share it with everyone. A la card Chicago is a deck of 52 cards each highlighting a restaurant where you will receive $10 off your meal. You can purchase the decks online here or at participating stores and truly the only restriction is that they are only valid in 2010. The best part of all is that this little gem retails for only $30! ($1 per deck is donated to Common Threads) That’s $520 worth of coupons and essentially you only need to go out to eat at least three times this year to make it worthwhile. Not to mention there are so many great restaurants on the list that I’ve wanted to try. This is a perfect gift for anyone - especially for me since this goes perfectly with my NYE resolution to try a new Chicago establishment (bar/restaurant/shop/anything) each week. 52 restaurants in 52 weeks - I think I'm up for the challenge.

Here are the restaurants included in a la card:

2010 RESTAURANTS

BIG JONES
BIRCHWOOD KITCHEN
BISTRO CAMPAGNE
BLUE 13
BONSOIRÉE
THE BRISTOL
CAFE MATOU
CEMITAS PUEBLA
CERES' TABLE
DAVID BURKE'S PRIMEHOUSE
DE CERO
DELEECE
EVE
FIANCO
FLORIOLE
THE GAGE
GEMINI BISTRO
HB HOME BISTRO
HONKY TONK BBQ
HOT CHOCOLATE
HOT DOUG'S
INOVASI
JUICY WINE CO
KARYN'S
KATSU
KIKI'S BISTRO
LE COLONIAL
LULA CAFE
MADO
MANA FOOD BAR
MANNY'S DELI
MEXIQUE
MK
NAHA
NIGHTWOOD
OTOM
PICCOLO SOGNO
RUSTICO GRILL
SALPICÓN
SMOQUE
SOCCA
SOLA
SPACCA NAPOLI
SUSHI WABI
TABLE
TAKASHI
TAXIM
TINY LOUNGE
TIZI MELLOUL
UNCOMMON GROUND
VEERASWAY
VIE