#1 hotel…Chicago, Illinois–

MMM!  This is now our new number one hotel in Chicago: the Chicago Athletic Association located on Michigan Avenue right across from Millennium Park…jaaaa!!

The Chicago Athletic Association is an old athletic club that has been totally refurbished and turned into a wonderful hotel full of bars and restaurants and fireplaces and lots of fabulous staff to take care of your every need and desire while hanging out and relaxing in the heart of this great town.  (Phew, what a clunky run-on sentence–great hotels make me go on and on and…).

As you can see above, my wife is high-kickin’-happy with staying here because we can see the shiny giant peanut sculpture and the Frank Gehry-designed proscenium for the outdoor performance space in Millennium Park from our room. . .mmm, aaaahh!  Plus, there is a slick and inviting roof-top bar called ‘Cindy’s’ here that provides even more spectacular views as we sit and sip the days and nights away.  Great hotels help make the passage of time more enjoyable than it otherwise would be. . .we offer a big THANK YOU to all of the folks who made this place possible, and we wish you much success over the coming years.

Please consider staying at the Chicago Athletic Association the next time you hit Chi-town. . .you will love it here. . .I gar-ron-taaaayy!

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It’s lovely out there.

Tasty hotel grub…Chicago–

BAM!  We roll into Chicago, check into our room at the Chicago Athletic Association, and head downstairs for some grub in the Cherry Circle Restaurant…mmmm, aaaahh!…this place is GREAT!!

The Chicago Athletic Association is an old building on Michigan Avenue that has been totally refurbished and turned into a fabulous hotel. . .lots of original wood paneling and rails and decorative detail EVERYWHERE…lots of wonderful staff…lots of cozy vibes…and lots of good food in the main hotel restaurant–a place called the Cherry Circle Restaurant.

The Cherry Circle features a menu full of delicious-looking stuff by a James Beard Award-winning chef. . .so we settle in at the bar, sip tasty cocktails, and make our dining decisions.  We go with a raw tuna thing, grilled octopus, roasted leg of lamb for two, super-buttery and creamy mashed pototoes, and creamed kale. . .and lo-and-behold all of these items are delicious, cooked skillfully, and super-gobble-worthy–jaaaa!  We choose a simple red from the overly complex and much-too-large wine list to wash everything down with, and we are quite satisfied.  What an honor to eat here as we ring in the Lunar New Year…Gong Hai Fat Choi!

So, the next time you find yerself hangin’ out in Chicago, I strongly recommend that you consider having a meal at the Cherry Circle Restaurant inside the Chicago Athletic Association hotel. . .even better, book a room here and make a weekend of it. . .you will love everything about this place–I gar-ron-taaaayy!!

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It’s lovely out there.

Lunar New Year…Chicago-style–

POW!  Here we are ringing in the Lunar New Year, aka, Chinese New Year and Tet, in one of America’s great cities: Chicago, Illinois…Gong Hai Fat Choi!!  Chuc Mung Nam Moi!!

We have a great view of the skyline from the roof deck of our hotel…a place called the Chicago Athletic Association.  This hotel has been open nearly two years now, and it is most wonderful.  Some really cool dudes who used to work for Hyatt bought this building–the old Chicago Athletic Association structure on Michigan Avenue right across the street from Millennium Park–and totally refurbished it into a super-chill and wonderfully cozy hotel with lots of great bar spaces and a couple of really good restaurants inside.  This is a fabulous spot to ring in the new year or do just about anything else here in Chicago. . .please consider staying here the next time you visit this great town. . .you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!

As you can see above, the odometer in our car hit ‘double-double happiness’ during our drive here. . .this means that we can expect nothing but good things throughout the Year of the Rooster, and we wish nothing but good things for you, too…jaaaa!!

I send you uplifting vibes from the edge of Millennium Park here in Chicago. . .feel them. . .they will help you smile real-big-like for the rest of the year.

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It’s lovely out there.

Fondue time!

BAM!  Here we are sucking down a pot of tasty cheese fondue in one of our favorite small towns in the great midwest of the U.S. of A.: New Glarus, Wisconsin…”America’s Little Switzerland”–jaaaa!

We love gooey melted cheese…we love delicious locally produced beer…and we love the cozy vibe of this little town. . .mmm, aaahh!  We also realize that we are gonna need a lot of cardio to counter the effects of all of this goodness on our bellies. . .whooaaa nelly!!

New Glarus is about 25 miles south of Madison. . .if you ever find yourself hangin’ out in the capital of Wisconsin and you wanna do a fun day trip, then we strongly recommend that you consider heading down to these parts.  You can eat extremely good Swiss/German grub, and you can tour the New Glarus Brewery where they make what some consider to be the tastiest craft beer in the entire state. . .nothin’ like a pint of Spotted Cow and a buttery potato rosti to help you enjoy the passage of time during a January thaw.

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It’s lovely out there.

Fish Friday, everyday–

MMM, AAAHH!  It doesn’t matter who the president is when you have delectable fish in your mouth–jaaa!!

Sending out love and joy and magic from a restaurant called Shuko here in glorious New York City to everyone on this day of transition in the United States. . .keep enjoying the ride no matter what side you are on. . .everything is kooky, mysterious, uplifting, frustrating, and invigorating–same as it ever was.  This, too, shall pass.

So, go out to dinner tonight with some tolerable folks. . .eat something good…drink something soothing…there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and more good fish where this stuff came from.

To see more stupendous images from around our silly teeny tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .so much to see and sooooo little time.

It’s still lovely out there.

 

Great grub…NYC–

MMM!  Here we are gobbling tons of goodness at Shuko over on West 12th Street on the edge of Greenwich Village in New York Citaaaaay. . .mmmm, aaaaahh–this place ROCKS!!

Shuko is run by two dudes who used to work at Masa, New York’s extreme high-end Japanese joint.  These dudes left and opened this place…still high-end yet quite a bit more reasonable than Masa and oh-so-much-more relaxed and cozy.

The food here is as outstanding and high-quality as any place in the city, in the country, and quite possibly in the world.  We do the prix-fixe kaiseki menu that starts with a half-dozen or so cooked items like crab salad, charred octopus, grilled squab, oysters, etc….whatever is fresh and tasty, these guys will cook it up magically for us. . .then we move to the sushi items–all delectable–toro, yellow tail, salmon, bream, whitefish, uni, snapper, more uni, etc. and so on. . .all of this is magical and satisfying. . .we even do one of the sushi specials called “drop the mic” that includes toro, uni, and roe in a seaweed wrap topped with gold leaf–DAMN!…we definitely drop some mics while inhaling this tasty tidbit.  Then the dudes serve a couple of palate cleansers before ending the whole meal with a slice of apple pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream–perfect!

All of this grub is washed down with a clean, dry, and cold sake called “search for the truth” or something like that.  This sake certainly helps us move closer to some kind of truth. . .but our search for THE truth continues…as do all of our ongoing searches.

The main truth tonight is simple: Shuko still rocks. . .please consider eating here some time before you kick the bucket. . .you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!

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It’s lovely out there.

Artsy vistas…Whitney Museum–

WOW!  The views from the outside decks here at the new Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan are scintillating–jaaa!!  We can see north, east, south, and west. . .if only these rooftops could talk–oh the stories that they could tell. . .if only.

The big city dares us to dive in and participate in stuff. . .work, play, existence, improvement of the human condition, etc.. . .and we do our best with all of this–each and every one of us–with varying degrees of satisfaction and success.  Yet one thing is certain: we are lucky to be here–so we might as well make the best of it and enjoy each and every moment to its fullest. . .mmmm, aaaahh!!

I send you magical artsy vibes from the new Whitney Museum here in New York City. . .feel them. . .they will help you pop out of bed in the morning.

To see more wonderful images from around planet Earth simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .you deserve a virtual trip today.

It’s lovely out there.

The new Whitney ROCKS!

POW!  The new Whitney Museum over on Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan here in New York City is most wonderful. . .spacious, clean, simple, airy, and welcoming–we love it!

And right now they are showing a sampling of works by Carmen Herrera, a 102-year-old chick who has been knockin’ out geometric creations of color and pizzazz for quite a long time. . .finally, she is getting some due recognition.

These pieces are dynamic, lively, and fun. . .we are invigorated as we walk through this new space with artwork popping out at us here, there…EVERYWHERE–jaaaa!!

Come on over to the new Whitney, see some art, sip some coffee, breathe in the magnificent views from inside and outside of this museum, and feel good about simply being alive–right here, right now.

To see more crackling images from around our teeny tiny planet simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .so much to see and soooo little time.

It’s lovely out there.

Magical chicken in NYC–

JAAA!  Here we are gobbling away at a relatively new dining spot in town called Le Coq Rico, and this place is FABULOUS!

Le Coq Rico is run by a dude called Antoine Westermann who is serving up some of the best French-style roasted chickens in all of New York City. . .this place transports us to France…French dudes cooking, Moroccan-French dudes serving us, and African-French dudes manning the entrance–c’est magnifique!

Above you see the foie gras terrine that they serve here…this thing is kicking our butts–it is rich, dense, flavorful, and delectable–I can feel my arteries seizing up as we ingest it…so good and tres bien!

And you also see our bird…a particular bird from a particular farm somewhere here in the northeast. . .a real “barnyard bird.”  That is, these birds are raised with loving care, they roam around a lot, are fed lean diets, and this results in a leaner specimen–at least this is what we are told…not a typical chicken that has been artificially fattened with an oversized breast and no flavor.  Then our barnyard bird is cooked in a multi-step process that involves some brining, I think, then some time on a rotisserie, then some time in an oven, then some time to rest before he/she is cut up and served to us on a big platter with some potatoes and veggies on the side. . .mmm, aaaahh!

We gobble all of this in no time at all and take home the bones and remaining carcass for use in a soup at some later time at home…nothing is wasted here and everything is delectable–jaaaa!!

So, if you find yourself wandering around here in Manhattan lookin’ for somethin’ good and soothing to eat, then consider making your way over to Le Coq Rico on East 20th Street. . .settle in at the bar, sip a cocktail, and order up a barnyard bird of your own. . .you will love it here–I gar-ron-taaayy!

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It’s lovely and tasty out there.

NOLA par-taaaaayy!

BAM!  The Louisiana State troopers are on duty keeping us safe each and every night down here in New Orleans. . .and the partaaaays are goin’ strong in the bar at Arnaud’s and the bar at the Hotel Monteleone…so festive, so lively, and oh-so satisfying. . .mmmm, aaaahh!

You must come to New Orleans some time before you kick the bucket. . .it’s good during xmas, good during new year’s eve, good during Thanksgiving, good during Labor Day, good during JazzFest, good during the summer-spring-winter-and-fall. . .though I have never been here during Mardi Gras–we always make a point to avoid this time…not sure why, we just do.  Maybe we’ll have to do something about that some time soon.

In any case, New Orleans is here and alive and eager to help you keep the good times rollin’–jaaa!

Let the party never end, and may all good things continue to come your way wherever you are.

To see more magical images from around planet Earth simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .you can go just about anywhere that you like right here, right NOW.

It’s lovely out there.