Category Archives: Date Night

Anniversary Recap

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So I finally figured out where Ian was taking me for our anniversary on our walk to the ‘l’ — Boka! After the Chobani dinner I had mentioned to Ian how amazing the food was and how much I wanted to go back and try some things off their menu, well I guess he took note and made us a reservation for last night. Ian also made sure to call ahead and tell them about my food allergies which was so nice of him and made the dinner a lot easier for me.

Of course we were running late so I forgot to grab my real camera but I do have some crappy iPhone pictures with flash (so dark in there) to show you!

After we arrived at Boka Ian pulled a fast one on me and decided we should order a bottle of wine. This like never happens because he is such a beer drinker. We spoke with out waitress and she helped us pick out a bottle of Villa Creek Granache Blanc. Ian really liked it so maybe I have a wine convert?

To start the waitstaff brought out focaccia for Ian and then the same flaxseed crackers I tried last time I was at the restaurant. They were just as good as last time and I still really want to recreate them!

Next, I had the field greens salad with white balsamic vinaigrette and raspberries.

This salad may not look like much but it was so fresh and the raspberries were really good. My guess is that it would be even better with the feta cheese that I omitted!

Instead of a salad Ian ordered their raw tasting.

Bottom right is an oyster with peach champagne soda; bottom left is hamachi with lime, avocado, and a tamarind chip; top left is tuna, miso, edamame wasabi puree, and a soy milk meringue; and then the top right is snapper carpaccio, soba noodles, papaya, and coconut mousse.

We also each had another oyster for good measure :) .

For my main, I ordered the last special of the night which was a pan-fried snapper with assorted veggies, soy gelee (tried to not eat), wild rice (I was given this as opposed to a grain with gluten), and a broth.

I loved this dish. The fish was cooked perfectly and the portions were perfect. I finished my plate and felt comfortably full not stuffed.

Ian ordered the short rib ravioli which came with roasted cauliflower, red wine braised cabbage, lobster mushroom, Bartlett pears, and braised beef tongue.

He also really enjoyed his dish!

We figured that we would probably not be back at Boka for a long time (if ever) so we both opted to order dessert.

I was disappointed to hear that the almond sorbet had dairy in it (what?) so I shared three little scoops of huckleberry sorbet with Ian.

Ian also had the corn panna cotta with pickled and fresh blueberries and maple crystals.

He loved it!

Overall Boka was a big hit with both of us, the food and presentation were both excellent and I loved that the chef was willing to work with my food allergies. Prices are a bit steep but it’s totally worth it for a special occasion.

When we got home Ian and I exchanged gifts. I gave Ian two framed prints from the LyricalArtworks etsy shop as well as a gift card for a Chicago Beer Tasting tour and Ian gave me a new purse (my old one broke).

I’d kind of figured out what Ian was going to get me but I was super impressed with the purse he picked out. I love the color and the size. He knows me so well ;) .

Sonic immediately claimed half of the box as his to play in.

This morning I woke up at 5 and decided to skip my morning workout. I have felt incredibly tired all week and today I decided I needed some extra rest. I can always workout after work too. I reset my alarm for over an hour later and happily passed back out. Even though I’m still really tired, I’m glad I cut myself a little slack and slept in.

Breakfast was my first batch of pumpkin oatmeal in a sunflower butter jar.

I cooked 1/2 cup oats in 1 1/2 cups water with 1 tsp chia seeds and then stirred in 1/3 sliced banana, 1/2 cup pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and maple sugar. I topped it all with pecans and a little cashew butter since the jar was pretty empty. It was delicious!

Now tell me- what are your plans this weekend?

GT Fish & Oyster {Date Night}

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Yesterday was my last day at my old job. It was sad but exciting at the same time. I’m eager to see what my new job is like. To celebrate the closing of one chapter and the opening of another, Ian offered to take me out to dinner and we decided on GT Fish & Oyster.

We actually went to this restaurant on my birthday with my dad and step-mom and loved everything about it. The service, food, and ambiance were all top quality. The restaurant had also presented me with a $20 gift card for my birthday and we’ve been itching to use it ever since.

We didn’t make a reservation and arrived a little on the late side. We were told there was a 30 minute wait for seating but we could enjoy a drink and our meals at the bar if we would like to. I have no problem eating at a bar but given the shorter wait, we opted to put our name in and then have a drink at the bar. I enjoyed a glass of chardonnay and Ian had a Robert the Bruce (Three Floyds beer) and after about 45 minutes we let someone else take our seats and went over to the hostess to ask about our table. I mean it couldn’t be that much longer right?

Well turns out the hostess now didn’t foresee a table opening up any time soon and we had lost our seats at the bar. I was frustrated and ready to leave, why couldn’t she just tell us that the wait was an hour and a half? But Ian asked that we stay. One of the managers must have sensed we were upset and he came over to talk with us. In about 5 minutes he had us sitting at the communal table. I’m not sure why we weren’t offered that in the first place.

I’m not trying to complain because I love the restaurant but if last night had been my first time there, I’m not sure I’d go back. Lesson learned –> make a reservation if you want a table!

When we were seated we were offered both the regular menu and the oyster menu. We wasted no time in ordering 6 oysters: 2 Kumamoto, 2 Blackberry Point, and 2 Pemaquid.

The Blackberry Point was by far my favorite. The description was perfect, it was both sweet and salty!

Rather than share a bunch of plates, Ian and I opted to keep things simple and each order one main. I had the seared tuna salad without egg. It had red potato, nicoise olives, and green beans and was served with a cider vinaigrette.

I loved it.

Ian ordered the fish and chips which was beer battered cod served with steak fries, malt vinegar, and a dill pickle roumelade.

He also really like his dish. We both agreed that our fish tasted very fresh and everything went well together.

We both were still hungry after finishing out dinners, so we decided to order more oysters. When in Rome right?

We tried two Saltworks Seaside and two Stingray and couldn’t help but order two more Blackberry Point. They were definitely our favorite!

We were almost in the area so after dinner we caught the bus over to Black Dog Gelato. If you’re in Chicago and love gelato or sorbet you absolutely must try Black Dog. The flavor combinations are incredibly creative and tasty. It can’t be beat.

I had a small with cantaloupe and pineapple basil sorbets. I really liked it but it was hard not to order my all time favorite flavor, goat cheese cashew caramel. Stupid food allergies.

Ian ordered a large and tried the blueberry french toast (I was sooo jealous), malt vanilla, and coconut thyme (his favorite).  We were both happy campers!

This Morning
I got up early to fit in a brick workout. I was actually hungry when I woke up (where were my carbs last night?) so I had a larger than usual pre-workout snack.

Dried, smashed banana topped with almond butter and KIND granola (I also had my usual protein shake). I didn’t love the dried banana at first but I’m learned to like it. It just needs it’s fair share of nut butter ;) .

I biked the usual 17 miles and then ran 3. My legs were sore this morning so both my run and bike paces were slower than usual. It happens and I DEFINITELY enjoyed being out in the cooler temps.

Breakfast was chia pudding topped with granola, sunflower seeds, and maple syrup. I am hoping this will hold me over for a long time because I have a busy day ahead of me!

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Date Night {Mista & Scooters}

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1. My lovely date for the night. Not only was it warm out last night but there was also barely a breeze. It was a perfect night to eat on Mista‘s outdoor patio.

2. House salad. Even though we split this, I pretty much dominated it. Whoops.

3. Gluten-free, vegan heart smart pizza. The crust was made with brown rice flour, the “cheese” was daiya, and the toppings included sauce, roasted vegetables (zucchini, eggplant), baby spinach, sea salt, and EVOO. It was awesome. I could have eaten the entire thing but I wanted leftovers so I ate half and saved the rest. I can’t wait for dinner tonight!

4. Ian’s prosciutto pizza. It was topped with sauce, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, organic argula, roasted plum tomatoes, roasted organic garlic, and EVOO. He loved it.

5. Dessert came a la Scooter’s. I had the strawberry lemonade Italian ice. I’m so glad my favorite custard place can still accomodate me :)

6. Ian’s Boston Shake. It’s basically a shake (he had vanilla malt) with a scoop of vanilla custard on top, with hot fudge and whipped cream. It’s what Scooter’s is best known for ;) .

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Girl & the Goat

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Ian and I have been wanting to try Girl & the Goat for a long time. I’ve always been interested because I’m a huge Top Chef fan and Stephanie Izard is an amazing chef. Ian has always been drawn to the creative menu and interesting brews. Let’s just say we were pretty excited when his sister started working for the restaurant a few months ago ;) .

We finally made it over to Girl & the Goat last night and all I can say is wow, why did it take us so long?

I decided to wear my new BCBG dress that I bought at Nordstrom Rack for $175 less than its original price. Love it.

We arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before our reservation slot of 7:30 and were asked to step aside and wait. The restaurant was incredibly busy, they were even telling people with reservations that they would have to wait another 45 minutes to an hour. We ended up skipping the wait because we were “friends of the goat” but I can’t imagine coming to a restaurant with a reservation and then waiting a long time. Lesson learned, plan ahead!

I had requested a vegan menu to avoid any problems with dairy or egg and was given one upon seating. I had decided before dinner that I would do my best to avoid corn and soy but I wasn’t going to worry about cross contamination or demand they skip the oil on a dish. How often do you get to eat in a Top Chef’s restaurant? Instead, I focused on avoiding my main allergens.

P.S. I loved how they had compiled a vegan menu. They had vegetarian and gluten free menus as well.

The Girl & the Goat is small plates style and they suggest about 2-3 plates per person. As this was our first trip to the restaurant, we decided to try a lot of different things.

We started with one of the oysters of the day. I forget exactly what it was called, but the oysters were marinated in a vinegar sauce and topped with chopped herbs. They were really really tasty!

We also split the warm marinated olives. They were good as well (the bright green ones were my favorites) but the serving was big for two people. We still managed to eat the majority of the portion though ;) .

Next, I had the kohlrabi salad with the dressing on the side. The salad was good but could have used a few more blueberries. It was another large portion and I was thankful that Ian helped me out!

Ian also ordered a broccoli dish that came with a blue cheese sauce (not pictured). He loved it and even brought some of the leftovers home!

For my “main”, I ordered the eggplant caponata. It was a mix of eggplant, onion, and other veggies, fried masa, and a green chimichurri sauce that was to die for. I seriously wanted to lick the bowl.

I did try to avoid the fried masa but failed on a few occasions. Oh well, I wasn’t too upset about it :P

Ian ordered the grilled pork ribs and they came with a tomatillo-mushroom slaw. He raved about how good they were. The meat was literally falling off the bone.

The food was good but not incredibly heavy (maybe because we didn’t order a bread or anything fried?) so we decided to indulge in dessert. Ian ordered the quatro leches and I had the blackberry sorbet (vegan).

The sorbet is from Black Dog Gelato and seriously changed my life. I have been to Black Dog before but the sorbet has always been overshadowed by the gelato. Not anymore. I want to eat their sorbet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… it was that good!

I really liked our experience at Girl & the Goat. The food was excellent, the wait staff was friendly, and our meal was perfectly paced. I hate feeling rushed! It’s a must-try in the Chicago area, particularly if you’re a Top Chef fan!

This morning I woke up at 5:00 and saw this:

I immediately nixed the idea of running outside. I debated running on the treadmill but I wasn’t feeling it. I’m not training for anything long distance right now so I didn’t want to force myself to run on the dreadmill and decided to go for a longer swim instead

I hopped in the pool with the intention of doing an interval workout but I fell into a rhythm during my warm-up and decided to swim for distance. I completed 2,400 meters which a a new PDR for me, yay!

All I wanted for breakfast was big bowl of cereal so that is exactly what I had!

1/2 cup brown rice cereal, 1/2 cup puffed millet, few sprinkles of walnuts & pepita, blueberries, strawberries, banana, dollop of almond butter in the middle, and a drizzle of honey. Delicious!

I love it when cereal looks fancy ;)

This week has me all confused but I believe it’s time for work. Have a great day!

Chinatown & An Early 9 Miler

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Happy Saturday! I am so glad last week is over with!

To celebrate the start of the weekend, Ian and I went to Chinatown last night. I really should have taken some pictures for you (Chinatown in Chi-town is pretty cool) but I was too distracted by everything to take any serious pictures. I did snap this one though.

Do people still like pokemon?

Anyway you’re lucky and I’ve blogged about Chinatown before, so you can check out that post for some pictures of new-Chinatown.

Our first stop was the Chinatown market for some lychees. They had a lot (score!) so we got two bags as well as some seaweed snacks for me :) . Lychees are a lot more expensive in Chinatown than Whole Foods which surprised me but the quality is sooo much better. I don’t think they’ll be making a regular appearance but they are a nice treat!

Next up was dinner. After yelping numerous restaurants we came across Lao Hunan, a restaurant in old-Chinatown that was supposed to be sensitive to food allergies. It’s also owned by Chef Tony, the owner of Lao Sze Chuan-one of our faves, so we figured it was worth a try.

Upon arriving we were greeted by waitstaff in costumes uniforms. Interesting right?

I was pretty discrete in taking this picture with my phone but I did kind of feel like I was breaking the law.

The menu was very long and had an entire page dedicated to food allergies. It listed foods that contained certain common allergens as well as all of the ingredients that don’t contain gluten. Unfortunately, I overheard a waitress tell someone at another table that they use cornstarch and soy in a lot of dishes and rather than really complicate matters, I ordered steamed veggies and steamed rice.

I also ended up asking for salt and pepper so that my vegetables tasted like something. I’m pretty sure the salt and pepper shakers hadn’t been used in years. I mean, who asks for seasonings at a Chinese restaurant?

I managed to eat all of the above dish (minus the baby corn). It was a big mistake and I definitely had a fiber baby all night, even though I wasn’t completely full.

This morning I woke up at 5 a.m. to knock out this week’s long run. It looked like rain and I almost climbed back in bed but after checking the weather on my phone I realized that I had just missed the storms. My run was on.

My legs were stiff and tired and my stomach was still a little uncomfortable but I managed to push through it. I looped through the medical district and then headed down to the water. I ran along lakeshore for a stretch (buggy/full of CARA runners) and then headed back into the city and home. On my way back I ran past the Old Navy on State Street. I’m guessing today is $1 flipflops day because at 6:45 a.m. the line to get into Old Navy was all the way down the block. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that many people in an Old Navy. Crazy!

I ran 9 miles in total in 1:11. My Garmin lost signal as I headed back into the city (story of my life) so I logged a few slow miles and then quite a few fast ones (sub-5′s and when I stopped my watch said I was running a 3 min/mile). My guess is that this was compensation for the slow miles and that I probably ran about a 7:45 the entire time. I also probably ran farther than 9 miles. Oh well, my Garmin hates Chicago.

When I got home I chugged water and made breakfast that included something I haven’t had in a long time, peanut butter!

I spread half of a slice of brown rice bread with peanut butter (TJs roasted w/ sea salt) and the other half with sunflower butter. I topped the toast with strawberries, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds and had cherries on the side.

I also ended up going back for another half a slice of bread and some lychees. I was trying to keep my breakfast carby and lightish given last nights fiber belly, but I was still hungry.

I thought I was going to be so happy to have peanut butter and it was going to be love at first bite all over again, but I’m surprised to say it tasted just okay. I liked it but I think TJs creamy almond butter with sea salt has won over my heart. It’s taste is richer than peanut butter and I actually prefer it now. Crazy how taste buds can change right?

I’m off to a busy Saturday. Ian and I are meeting my mom to pick up my new bike, visiting family friends, and then maybe stopping by Ian’s brother’s lake house.

Have a wonderful day!