Identity Theft - Darrel

I HATE THIS COMMERCIAL.

Commercial Annoying Me Now

You know the one - it's got scenes of Audrey Hepburn from Funny Face combined with AC/DC's "Back in Black" and is used to sell The Gap's new line of black pants.

Damn it's annoying - and on so many levels.

Danny Miller from the Huffington Post agrees....

Apparently, you can go home again....

On Labor Day weekend we made our way back to Chicago - for the first time since we left to move to NYC.

Our initial re-introduction to the city was a little disorienting - not remembering where everything was, the quiet and cleanliness of the "El" compared to the NYC subway, the feeling of spaciousness and cleanliness in downtown Chicago.

After dropping off our bags at our friends' place, we immediately headed south to walk around our old neighborhood, Lakeview. The familiarity began to return and of course, we played the game of what restaurants/shops are still around? Which ones are gone? Was one of our local favorites Ecce Cafe closed? There was no "closed for remodeling" sign posted. Unbelievable! Then the shady sports video store was now replaced by an Argot Tea chain. And there was an American Apparel and a new mediterranean place in the neighborhood.

We kept walking south and ended up at My Pie for some deep dish pizza. Later on, we did some more browsing/shopping at the stores on Armitage and ended the evening with friends and dinner at Cafe Babareeba.

The next day, we had breakfast with friends at S&G and spent some time by the Lake (one of the things we miss the most). Then we made our way to the Ravenswood Tap for some drinks in the afternoon. We then visited some friends who just had twins and bought a home in Wicker Park. Wicker Park was once the "developing" neighborhood seemed so gentrified and yuppie compared to some of the hoods in NYC. We couldn't believe how much space our friends had! So much room in Chicago compared to the real estate in NYC. Later that night, it was time for more deep dish pizza - this time from The Art of Pizza and a couple friends over to watch the ND/Georgia Tech game.

The next day we met up with another couple who also just had a baby (is there a trend here?). Afterwards we hung out in Evanston and later that evening spent some time grilling with friends and competing in a game of Trivial Pursuit: Pop Culture edition.

After spending a few days in Chicago, it felt like we were living there again and there was a part of me that did not want to leave. In fact, it was weird being at Midway airport and realizing we were in Chicago but on our way home. Wasn't Chicago home?

But, after spending a couple days back in NYC, I realized I like living in NYC too. After all, you can't compare 7 months to 7 years. Both cities have their pros and cons but it's nice to know you can go home again.

Where We've Been

Last weekend we spent some time walking around SoHo - mostly the shops on B'way and checked out stores like Uniqlo and Pearl River Mart.

We eventually made our way down to Chinatown which I found to be surprisingly packed full of people - so packed it was difficult to make one's way down the sidewalk.

We ended up eating lunch at Shanghai Cuisine (on Bayard/Mulberry) - not the greatest of meals but not the worst. We had pork dumplings and chicken with cashews. Next time we'll have to pick a specific place to go to and see the best that Chinatown has to offer.

The week prior we met up with a friend at Metro Cafe and Wine Bar in Union Square to catch up with a friend and in the middle of that week we finally tried Hanabi on 7th Avenue in Park Slope. We tried the scallops wrapped in bacon and a selection of sushi rolls. It was good and the restaurant had good ambiance. It's definitely a place we will check out again.

In early September, I had a couple friends visiting from out of town. I hung out with one of them at a great place called Ditch Plains (Bedford/Downing) in West Village? where I had a tasty burger and fries. Later that week, a bunch of us hung out at The Boxcar Lounge for some drinks in the East Village.

That weekend, I had another friend in town and he and his girlfriend came over to watch the ND/Penn St. game. It was a good time. It's too bad ND lost last weekend to Michigan and all but dashed the championship dream. Let's hope they can rebound tonight against Michigan State.

Reality TV RoundUp

Some observations on the shows that have occupied my time recently:

1. Was there anything gay-er than Mike "Boogie" Malin crying in the confessional room after his buddy Dr. Will got voted out of Big Brother All-Stars?
2. Did anyone else think that Billy (the heavy metal Latin dude) was crazy when he told Survivor host Jeff Probst that he found love on the island (with a woman on the "white" team whom he barely had any contact with)?
3. Anyone else interested in seeing how well the "rednecks" do in Amazing Race 10?
4. Anyone else pissed that Project Runway ran re-runs this past week?

Now, I've got to make room for Lost, 24, and The Office on the DVR too.....

Anniversary Dinner

The blogging output has been reduced to a trickle as Fall descends upon me and the demands of work, school, life, and of course, the new Fall TV lineup occupy my time. However, we did get a chance to celebrate our three-year wedding anniversary the other day with dinner at Jean Georges (Columbus Circle/West 6oth).

We've been to other exceptional dining establishments like Georges at the Cove (La Jolla, CA) and Charlie Trotter's (Chicago, IL) and Jean Georges is right up there (if not better) in terms of service, quality, presentation and overall experience.

They did not give us a menu to take home but here's the rundown as best as we can recall - we opted for the classic seven-course "tasting menu":

• Opened with plate of sashimi in jalapeno puree, crab spring roll and potato soup
• Course #1 - Caviar lined around eggshell - with vodka infused partially scrambled egg inside the eggshell (I'm not doing it justice with this description but it was good)
• Course #2 - Scallops with braised cauliflower
• Course #3 - Garlic soup with frogs legs on the side (encouraged us to use fingers when eating frogs legs, then brought out a bowl for us to wash our hands)
• Course #4 - Fish in butter sauce
• Course #5 - Lobster on some type of crostini in tomato broth and sugar peas
• Course #6 - Squab with candied lemon, potato cake with foie gras, onion puree, and curry cinnamon sauce
• Course #7 - We chose from 4 "themed" desserts and selected "Fig" - 4 interpretations of fig including - 1)Fig Tart; 2)Open faced fig ravioli with cantaloupe; 3)Grilled figs with sangria sorbet; 4)Fig tempura
• Bonus Dessert for our Anniversary - Blueberry tart and fresh mint ice cream with chocolate cookie crumble - "Happy Anniversary" written on marzipan
• Even more bonus desserts - homemade marshallows (vanilla, grapefruit and coffee flavors), candied fruit, macaroons, and chocolate

All in all, one of the best meals we've had and we've got the credit card debt to prove it.

It's Been Too Long...

since I last posted. Things have been busy with work, school, and our recent trip to Chicago. I will have to do some catching up but in the meantime, we were watching the re-air of the 2006 MTV Awards tonight and besides the fact that I can't tell the difference between the following bands (AFI, Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, All American Rejects, etc.), my wife and I were wondering where the heck we were when Jared Leto transformed into a goth looking musical artist? Didn't this guy used to date Cameron Diaz?

In fact, I remember seeing a video on MTV and thinking to myself "Man, this dude looks like Jared Leto." I guess it was him after all. But that MTV Awards show is a train wreck with one bad musical performance after another whether its "alternative" bands who look like they just had a shopping spree at Hot Topic or rappers thanking God for blessing them with lyrical skills or humility (or as my wife commented, "Nothing says humble like having gold teeth"). They even give an award for Best Ringtone. Oh, youth of America....