Marina City & House of Blues Chicago
Originally uploaded by Vicr of Flickr.
Once upon a time, there was an Aussie living in Chicago who desperately needed two things. She needed to catch up with a good friend over dinner, and she needed a good steak. And on a chilly night in March 2007 (aka tonight), both ventures were achieved.
What you see in the photo are the residential towers known as Marina City (or the Corn Cobs) in Downtown Chicago, that sit right on the Chicago river. The blue lights at the base are the lights of Smith & Wollensky, one of the fancy steakhouses here. And I have been dying to go here ever since I found out about the restaurant. Seeing the interior in the film, "The Break Up" didn't help matters.
So tonight Courts and me took off for an after-work cocktail called a "Pom Peche". For the benefit of my Aussie readers, that cocktail is what would happen if Fanta married Passiona. Pure magic, trust me. After that we headed to Union Station for a huge nightclub party, but the line-up for registration was out the door and we couldn't justify staying there - so we headed to dinner early.
Smith & Wollenskys was everything I'd hoped it would be. I ordered a tequila sunrise (which was strong enough to power a lawnmower), and I chose a crab cake for appetiser. Main course was a delicious filet pepper steak, cooked medium rare (my fave) and drizzled in the most decadent pepper sauce. Our shared side dish was truffled mac & cheese - soooo good. Of course, then I only had room for a strong coffee and then we were out of there.
But of course nights out with me cannot run smoothly. And so it was that I was sashaying to the ladies rooms and I nearly skidded. My left foot came out from under me, and I realised that I'd snapped the heel of my knee-high boot. Bummer. What ensued was a try-hard Marilyn Monroe wiggle for the rest of the night, desperate as I was not to put too much weight on my left foot. I have a sneaking suspicion that I looked less Hollywood starlet and more Hollywood Boulevard.
But I got my steak. And winners are grinners.
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