#1 Italian Beef…Chicago–

KABOOMY!  Here it is…the famous “Johnnie’s” Italian Beef joint located on the western edge of Chicago…specifically North Avenue…let’s check this out and see what’s what.

Italian Beefs are a Chicago specialty…slow-cooked roast beef, thinly sliced, piled into a nice piece of Italian bread, pumped up with sweet and/or hot peppers, and finally doused in beef juice for extra mouthwatering goodness…wrapped in deli paper and presented to you hot and freshly made. . .mmmm, aaaah!

They also do charbroiled sausages and make sandwiches with those…you can even get a combo of beef and sausage with peppers doused in beef juice. . .man, give us one of each and every one of these–jaaaa!!

So, how are these things?  FABULOUS!  After waiting in line for our ‘beef-hot-wet’ and our ‘combo-wet, no peppers’ we cannot wait to eat them…we sit down right in front of “Johnnie’s” in the hot sun and suck these babies down in no time at all.  They are delicious…the beef is tender and flavorful…the sausages are charred and spicy…the peppers pop…and the bread holds it all together–even after being dipped in juice–long enough for us to eat every morsel.  Really tasty.

Anthony Bourdain used to say that he always stopped at Johnnie’s on the way into Chicago and on the way out. . .now we see why.  The North Avenue location makes it easy to do this…drive right by to-and-from O’Hare, very easy.  That dude knew what and where to eat…we gobble these sandwiches in his honor–what a dummy for ending it all so prematurely when he just could have gobbled more of these and made everything better. . .ah well, more for us.

Find Johnnie’s the next time you are in Chicago…gobble some Italian beefs WET ‘n’ HOT…these are as good as slices in New York City or cheesesteaks in Philadelphia.  Eat only the good stuff, be contented, and keep moving upward and onward.

It’s lovely out there.

Frank Lloyd Wright…Iowa–

YES!  We love Frank Lloyd Wright houses whenever we can see them and visit them…here is another good one in Quasqueton, Iowa called ‘Cedar Rock’ or simply, ‘The Walter House.’  Let’c check it out and see what’s what.

Quasqueton is located about 60 miles west of Dubuque…just jump on U.S. 20 heading west and BOOM you are here in an hour when driving from Dubuque.

Cedar Rock was designed and built in 1950 by Frank Lloyd Wright for a dude called Lowell Walter and his wife.  Lowell was a prominent road builder and land owner in this part of Iowa so he had plenty of cash to hire FLW to build this beautiful abode.

The house sits on a hill overlooking a river…there are about 450 acres of land all around the house making it quite secluded and serene.

The Walters lived here for 30 years…they had no children…Lowell willed the house to the state of Iowa upon his death…Cedar Rock is now an Iowa State Park open throughout the spring, summer and fall for folks to pop in, tour the house, read about the history of the property and tour the grounds at their leisure. . .really nice out here.

There is no charge for entry…just leave a donation in the donation box, and you can hang out all day if you like.

This place is totally worthy of your attention if you are a fan of FLW, a fan of architecture, or just driving by on Highway 20 looking for something to do.  Check it out…you will love it here–I gar-ron-taaayy!

It’s lovely out there.

Parlor Pizza and The Publican–

BAM!  It’s your wife’s birthday, and she wants pizza and tasty grub at a spectacular dining joint while in Chicago. . .so we hit places called Parlor Pizza and then The Publican for din-din…let’s check ’em out.

Parlor Pizza is located on Greene Street in the Fulton Market district of Chicago…just a block away from Randolph Street and right across the street from Soho House Chicago–one of our favorite hotels in town.

During the summer Parlor has all of its windows and doors open to let warm breezes blow through the place–feels real good and makes this an extremely popular joint.

During our gobble session we devour an eggs benedict pizza–really good…and a margherita pizza with sausage and pepperoni–also totally delectable.  This is not a silly deep-dish joint…these pizzas are thin and well-charred. . .really really good with a couple of mimosas and cold brew coffees to wash everything down.  We highly recommend Parlor Pizza for your pizza needs while in Chi-town.

And The Publican is a famous place here…on all of the top 50 restaurant lists for Chicago…and for good reason: they serve extremely tasty food in a casual setting that folks love.

During our din-din at The Publican we gobble barbecued carrots, heirloom tomatoes, a small charcuterie board, a halibut, rigatoni with beef tongue ragu, and their version of porchetta. . .EVERYTHING IS SUPER DELICIOUS–these folks know how to cook.  We wash everything down with a nice chablis, and we are good-to-go–jaaaa!

Please do your best to eat here during one of your visits to Chicago…the staff are wonderful, professional and welcoming, the atmosphere is totally chill, the grub is great, and the vibes will have you feeling good for many hours, days, and weeks afterward.  Perfect spot to help a dear loved one celebrate a birthday or whatever.

To be continued…

It’s lovely out there.

Always good to be back…NYC–

YUMMY!  We love returning to our favorite “diner” in New York City…Morandi–jaaaa!

Yes, we know, Morandi is not a diner in the traditional sense…we just call it our diner because it is one of our favorite go-to joints for lively vibrations, super staff and service, somewhat tasty food, and good plentiful drink.  Thank you, Keith McNally, Morandi still makes us happy-as-heck!

Today we are gobbling mozzarella and tomatoes, Frito misto, linguine vongole, and roasted chicken. . .all of it washed down with a Sicilian white–mmm, aaaah!

This is an old spot at this point, but still one of the best on a beautiful corner just off Seventh Avenue in the West Village.  We can eat here again and again and again, and we will do so until such time as we are unable to drag our butts over here.

You should eat here, too. . .check it out the next time you are wandering around in the West Village of Manhattan in beautiful New York Citaaaaaayy. . .you will love it, I promise.

It’s lovely out there.

Striving for dining magic…Athens–

BAM!  Here we are dining away at a spot called Cookoovaya in the heart of Athens just a few blocks from the Parliament building. . .let’s check out what’s what.

‘Cookoovaya’ is the Greek word for ‘owl’…hence the ‘wise cuisine’ motto of the joint.  Five “star” chefs of Greece started this place and are trying to make an elevated splash in the food scene here. . .we would say they have caused a few ripples but not quite splashed in a big way just yet.

The space is open-air and lovely on one end…we like it in here.  But the room deep inside is really big…there must be about a hundred tables–that’s a lot for some guys who wanna serve great food for folks who are interested in great food.

We pop in, we have a reservation, and are shown to a table immediately…the place is about twenty percent full–mostly gringos as far as we can tell…blaaaah!

We feel pretty good, but the staff are not welcoming or vibrant or chill…they all seem a bit stiff and uneasy–hmmmm, this makes us a bit stiff and uneasy…never a good sign.

We order our grub, and it is all quite good: sea bass ceviche, lamb crostata, and two grilled fishes served in interesting ways–beet remoulade of some sort underneath one and lots of good Greek olive oil on another. . .we like this food, we like this restaurant, but the vibe is not for us–trying to be bigtime in some ways that seem unnecessary…ah well.

So, eat here once when you are in Athens…definitely check it out, but then be ready to move on with your life after an interesting meal in a so-so environment.

Yamas!

It’s lovely out there.

Fun fried fish…Athens–

KAPOWY!  While strolling around Athens lookin’ at this ‘n’ that we work up a bit of an appetite, and a great place for a snack right in the heart of town is Zisis–Fish In A Cone…check it out.

Zisis serves up tasty little smelts and anchovies and shrimps and sardines…they are deep fried and totally delicious.  If you get them to-go, they give them to you in a paper cone so you can carry your fried fish around and pop them into your mouth on an as-needed basis. . .lots of fun and DELECTABLE.

We decide to do a sit-down in the joint with a carafe of cold white wine–so much more civilized. . .wow, we are feelin’ good now and ready for more strolling and lollygagging around.

Please pop into Zisis the next time you are hangin’ out in Athens. . .you will love it, I gar-ron-taaaayy!

It’s lovely out there.

Greek freak–

The Greek island of Santorini in the middle of the Aegean Sea is making us go, “goo-goo, gah-gah”…really quite lovely.

The clouds float by in many shapes and sizes and colors…the breezes are warm and soothing…the people are welcoming…and the waters keep us floating high and high and higher. . .mmm, aaaah!

Kooky human existence continues, but out here things feel slightly less kooky…in fact, they feel non-kooky cuz we can shut it all out–all of the debating and competing and bamboozling. . .out here no one cares about much except taking it easy while eating good food and drink.  This is a program that we can get our heads around with no problem at all.

I send you super-chill vibes from Santorini. . .feel them. . .they will help you sleep really well tonight.

It’s lovely out there.

Sun ‘n’ sea…good ‘n’ good–

MMM!  Everybody loves the sunshine…people get brown in the sunshine…birds fly around in the sunshine…etc. and so on.  Shout out to Roy Ayers for these magical lyrics…they capture exactly how folks feel here on the island of Santorini or in any place where the sun is prominent.

Without the sun we are not here…an average shining orb–a giant helium factory actually–sending out rays of warmth so that we can live. . .thank you, sun…thank you, sun. . .or ‘efheristo, ilios’ as the Greeks might say.

Such an honor to have the opportunity to hang in this place right here, right now. . .please consider a visit to Santorini some time before you pass on. . .the sun and the people and the good vibes will make you go, “mmmm, aaaaahh!”

If you can’t make it here, then just go outside, look up at the sun and say, ‘thanks.’

It’s lovely out there.

Fish ‘n’ wine by the sea–

YES!  We love the Sunset Ammoudi Restaurant here in Oia, Santorini.

Lunch is the best time to eat here…you can walk down a steep path from town or take a taxi down to Ammoudi Bay…once you are here the Aegean Sea embraces you with warm breezes and sparkling water…you grab a table in the Ammoudi Restaurant–ideally a spot right at the edge of the water–order you seafood delights: we like giant prawns, langoustines, sea urchin salad, fried red mullet, sun-dried octopus, grilled squid and whole grilled scorpion fish.  Sip on carafes of house white wine as the food arrives and you gobble the day away. . .mmm, aaaah!

I would eat here every day for the rest of my life if I could…low-fat Mediterranean seafood diet will help you live a long long time.

Please come to Ammoudi the next time you pop out to Santorini. . .you will love it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!

It’s lovely out there.

Snacks by the pool–

Hangin’ at the pool…belly starts a’rumblin’…order up some snacks…enjoy.

Katikies Hotel here in Santorini serves up a wonderful Greek salad that features the delicious Santorini cherry tomatoes–just magical…a wonderful grilled octopus served in a hummus-like mixture drizzled with tasty Greek olive oil…and amazing fried potatoes that are crispy on the outside and, you guessed it, creamy on the inside…fresh warm pita slices…and crisp assytiko white wine. . .WOW!

Views of the volcanic caldera and the soothing Aegean Sea make digesting all of this as easy as spinach pie…yamas!

Please consider Santorini and possibly the Katikies Hotel for your next getaway. . .this place will help you get your mind right.

It’s lovely out there.