So sporting blue jeans, my blue Jeremy Lin t-shirt, and my classic New York Knicks leather jacket, I left home around 1:15 pm and went the ATM, where I took out $80.00 cash. Michelle was working, I made sure to say hi to her, she's really sweet and cute. The came the drive to the Cumberland blue line station, and I arrived around 2:00, which was great timing. But even better timing, was I didn't even have to wait 15 seconds for thew train to arrive. So I jumped on a car, sat down, and started rummaging through my drawstring bag.
All of a sudden I hear this husky, female voice. "Hi Adam." I looked up and it was Stacey Kolder, one of my co-workers along with her husband and extended family. The last time I had seen her husband, Charlie, was during a CEC football game where he broke both bones in his lower leg. I found out he was out of work for four months while he was recovering. Thankfully, he is now walking around without any problems.
I got off at the Damen stop in Wicker Park, which is much earlier than I normally would. But I had a particular destination in mind: Big Star Tacos. I had see this joint profiled on a Yahoo list of Top 10 taco joints in America. I had to try it out. I walked through a sea of undecorated Christmas trees and opened the flimsy door that looked like it came off someone's back porch. The centerpiece of this place is the rectangular shaped 4-sided bar. At 2:30 on a Saturday, I would guess of the 40 or so seats there, 38 were taken. And I would say all 15 or so tables were occupied as well. That is always a good sign. I grabbed a stool and ordered a limeade to drink. Pretty solid refreshing drink, though I would have liked it a little colder.
I ordered three tacos. The first was the standard pescado with beer battered tilapia, chipotle mayo, cabbage, cilantro, and lime. The fish came out very crispy and moist. The mayo added some kick as well. Very solid fish taco. Then I sank my teeth into the al pastor, which is marinated, spit roasted pork shoulder, grilled pineapple, grilled onion, and cilantro. Now I've eaten al pastor a couple of times before. Never has it been this good. The pork was so tender and had a little bit of a smokiness to it. There was just the right amount or pineapple and cilantro to round it out really well. Finally, I had the taco de panza which is crispy, braised pork belly, tomato guajillo sauce, queso fresco, onion, cilantro. This one was a little saucier than the others. The guajillo added a late kick of spice, not hot, but just a little extra kick. The crumbled queso on top really helped to round this one out.
I still wasn't full so I asked the girl at the bar about the Sonoran hot dog, which was a hot dog I had heard about and seen on TV, but never tried for myself. She warned me it was pretty big and that I better be hungry. She also said it was around the size of a small football. I said bring it on. Within five minutes, it came out. A crispy, bacon wrapped, all beef hot dog topped with chopped tomatoes, pinto beans, lime mayo, mustard, onions, and hot sauce on a bolillo roll. I ate it with a fork and had next to no trouble wiping it out. Total bill: $19, before tip. Excellent and definitely worth a return. Oh, I did chat with a blonde girl, who sat down next to me while I was working on my hot dog. She was an artist back who was just returning to town for the weekend and we struck up a short conversation. I didn't ask her name, but I didn't really need to either. It was nice for a few minutes.
After refusing a guy's request outside to let him borrow my cell phone, I took the blue line south. Once again, I could hear the whistle blowing as I was climbing the stairs. The train was just waiting for me and I got on. I went about five stops before getting off at Monroe and walking east to Michigan Ave. I went over to Millennium Park where I watched folks ice skating as the traffic whizzed by past them. I took a few photos of Cloud Gate, otherwise known as The Bean. Then I headed farther north. I made a stop in the Blackhawks store, where I purchased a pair of Original Six pucks, one for me and one for Catherine.
From there, I kept walking north all the way to Chicago Ave. On my way, I noticed a few things. The line for Garrett's popcorn were the longest lines anywhere in the city. They were 50-60 people deep out the door, never mind the people waiting inside the store. To my left, I also saw seven guys in tuxedos walking right down the middle of Michigan Ave. I had no idea what that was all about, until I heard some car horns honking. I looked to my left again, and I saw seven ladies in fancy dresses, including one in white. Pretty good time of year to have a wedding in Chicago. I also got a few photos of the Chicago River and the tree in front of WGN radio and the NBC building.
Of course, after just half a day, my camera battery was already completely drained. So around 4:00, I stopped into a Starbucks and sat down to charge my camera and phone. I listened to a little Steve Somers on my phone. Then it was time for the game. I headed west on Chicago to the red line. Once again, I got downstairs just as the train was approaching. I have no idea how this kept happening to me. I never had that kind of luck with the subways in New York. Anyway, I traveled south three stops to Monroe and then I walked north one block to Madison St. Across the street and over a block, I could see the 20 bus waiting to go. But just as I started running to get the bus to take me to the United Center, it pulled away. So I had to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus to come. But as I stood under the bus stop, two people approached me. They appeared to be in their 40's or early 50's and they were both sporting Knicks merchandise. Their names were Danny and Monica and live in Missouri. I found out they were in town celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. I found out this was part of his present. I explained a little about my life and I also helped explain their best transportation to the arena and then back to their hotel.
So we took a 20 minute ride and I got off a little early at Ashland where Q was enjoying a burger. He gave me my ticket and we walked over to the arena, entering around 5:45. We checked out the team store, I put my hand in the hand molds of the different NBA players, etc. The game started and it was pretty ugly to watch. Very competitive, but not pretty, much more of a defense-oriented game. And without Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks just had too much trouble getting open shots, especially 3-point attempts. Although the game was close throughout, the Bulls pulled away in the end, taking the game 93-85. I had never heard of Marco Bellinelli before this game, but after he dropped 22 points, I'm not gonna forget him anytime soon.
A few other things about the game. I was amazed when Taj Gibson got a double technical foul for supposedly mouthing off to the referees about a foul call. I really thought that was going to give the Knicks a huge lift. Raymond Felton is a good point guard, but he had no right taking 30 shots in this game. By comparison, nobody else on the Knicks took nine shots. Once Tyson Chandler picked up his fifth foul with about six minutes left in the game, the team's aggressiveness went way down and that's exactly when the Bulls took over. Disappointing loss, but at least they rallied to beat Denver tonight in the Garden when Melo returned to the lineup.
Then Q and I headed over to Fifty/50 for some late night grub. I got a table for three downstairs while Q as well as Adam the Jew searched for what seemed like 20 minutes trying to find parking spaces. Meanwhile, I studies the menu as the club music thumped and thumped through my brain. Once they got there, I took plenty of ribbing about the game as I knew I would. I drank two cans of Old Style light. I didn't want a light tasting beer or a wheat beer, I wanted something with some edge and pain. So that's why I picked that one. Then I got the Division burger which is a Triple Secret burger stuffed with Gouda cheese, caramelized onions, and sauteed mushrooms. Then, they top it with bacon, Swiss cheese, and BBQ sauce and serve it on a pretzel roll. One of the best burgers I have in a long long time. It has a very intense beef flavor, and it was so juicy too.
Around 11:45, I decided I'd had enough, so I had Q drive me to the blue line. Once again, I ran up the stairs at Western and the train was sitting there! During the ride, I chatted with a cute brunette (she initiated the conversation) while her boyfriend, I assume, chatted with some drunk. I guess they still had a 45 minute drive back to Rockford, which was actually going to be pretty comparable to my 45-minute ride back to St. Charles. Nine stops on the train and I was back at Cumberland, and I arrived home around 1 a.m. I just wish Julie's phone had been on during that drive; I could have used a late night chat with her.
Money spent
$20.00 CTA card
$23.00 Big Star
$15.00 Hockey pucks
$60.00 Game ticket
$10.00 UC Concessions
$10.00 Gas
$23.00 Fifty/50
$5.00 Subway parking
$166.00 Total
No comments:
Post a Comment