I’ve on the fence when it comes to Spanish Tapas as actual food. In Trinidad, this would be considered ‘finger food’ or “Cutters” as known in Trinidad, but in North America, it is a posh concept since the tiny appetizers are paired with good Spanish wine. That should be my new idea, pair Saheena or Pholourie with some Cabernet Sauvignon or a nice Pinot Grigio and instant success. I have little knowledge in the area of wine pairings, so pairing a strong bodied red wine with some “Trini cutters” would make certain people I know, actually wretch and dry heave.
Tonight, the dinner choice was Cafe Iberico (picked by the client). This is obviously one of the places to eat in Chicago as there are a number of reviews online and the food was quite good.
I had samples of five tapas in the time that I could stay, as well as two VERY excellent mojitos that came with extra mint. They really do know how to make a Mojito here; well muddled mint, good average white rum that didn’t overpower the mint or sugar. As for the tapas I had:
- Chorizo y Morcilla : Well done, crispy slices of Choriza sausage and blood sausage. Excellent!
- Patatas Bravas : Potatoes done in their spicy sauce. Tasted like Amir’s Garlic Potatoes from Montreal with a bit of hot sauce, so obviously three thumbs from me.
- Championes a la Plancha : Grilled Mushrooms with Olive Oil and Garlic : Meh! I could make this in my sleep.
- Raxo Adobado : Marinated pork loin with frites : Another Meh! Pork souvlaki with some over-done frites.. another pass
- Gambas al Ajillo : Shrimp in Olive Oil, wine, and garlic. Definitely a must have, well grilled shrimp with a great sauce.
From a tapas perspective, definitely a very good choice of place, unfortunately after an hour, the hockey game at the United Center was hailing me. So 13 minutes later and I was facing another Chicago tourist attraction : the Michael Jordan statue at the United Center.
As for the actual hockey game that took place there, well one could say that watching on TV was better. Seeing my Dutch friend Steven was the reason I went to the game.
The game itself lacked any drama as the ‘Hawks were listless and as such the crowd was quiet and out of the game.
Being the home of the Chicago Bulls, the banners from that ridiculous Michael Jordan dynasty still drift in the rafters.
The only moment of interest during the game came during a third period scrum, but other than that moment, I was more interested in the beer, conversation and finding new uses for my telephoto lens
Oh how I wish I could wax philosophically about the meaning of the lines in a Kandinsky or how the jagged lines in a Picasso painting represented his madness or passion. Art is just one of those things, that I just don’t get. I love photographing sepia old buildings , beautiful vistas supersaturated with blues and greens, cracking black and white gothic churches; the permanence of the shot and how I composed it. What I don’t get, is how complete nutbars get wealthy patrons to support them, while the produce “Art” that I could make in my sleep. Putting florescent string in dark room could be construed as “Art”, I thought it looked cool.
However, after reading the description of the piece, I’m surprised that my brain didn’t blow up with all the kinetic energy in the air. All I remember about Kinetic energy, was the definition from Form 3 physics – Kinetic energy is motion — of waves, molecules, objects, substances, and objects.
I am no artist, nor can I ever be one. I have no business criticizing “Art”, but shouldn’t art be accessible. Do I have go to school to appreciate it? Every Tuesday, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, has a free admission. It is definitely something to do while you’re here in Chicago – the free night. If I had paid to go in, I would have been a little annoyed, since I obviously do not understand “Art”.
I love structure and design, so entering the Museum was a bit of a treat as the circular staircase was definitely artistic.
I do love colour and the interplay of colour, but just randomly laying textures out, is that “Art”?
I even love colourful old people on canvas. I think this is artistic – I don’t know why, but I know that I could never paint this in 16 other lifetimes.
However, putting a bunch of junk in a room, suspending it, laying it flat on the floor, posting it on a wall, does not change the fact that one just put piles of crap in a room and called it “art”
I asked one of the curators to explain what the idea of the previous piece was, and she in her artistic knowledge, could not readily convey what this artist was trying to do. If an expert can’t convey to the meaning of a piece to me, then what chance do I have of understanding it? How about ass prints on chairs? Taking pictures of ass prints from chairs?
This I get though. A zebra on snow! Two things that run opposite to each other.
Art can be subjectively easy. For instance, could I use the two pictures I took at different lighting and ISO levels and call this art?
Hopefully, in time, I’ll start understanding “Art”.
When “Summerlicious” and “Winterlicious” started many years ago, I thought this was a great idea. There are many good aspects of the festival including:
- It made ridiculously high priced restaurants affordable and accessible to the masses.
- January is typically a slow month for the industry and the restaurants offer their fixe-prix menus during a slow time to lure new and old diners through their doors.
- It provided a great list of restaurants that one had never heard of with decent “prix-fixe” menus. It was for those who were afraid to risk their precious dollars on a new restaurant.
- It offers a low risk (meaning cheap) chance to visit a restaurant you might not otherwise afford.
- 150 restaurants are participating this year, offering up prix-fixe three-course meals.
That’s the good part.
The bad part of this farce, is that it has now become two times of the year where I strategically plan to not eat out anymore, well at least, not at any participating restaurant. I’m not averse to a great deal but I find it hard to stomach the giant list of crap and mediocrity offered up as prix-fixe.Unless the restaurant owners can truly commit to giving all their best during the festival instead of the banquet-style tripe that is usually offered to the masses, everyone loses out. Bad trends that infected the festival include:
- Small portions – I mean, it’s not that I’m expecting some Texan sized gluttony, but seriously a Butter Chicken entree that contained 4 pieces of nugget sized chicken?
- Banquet food – the food is usually insipid and uninspired because of the high turnover mentality that accompanies the festival
- Stressed service – service is poor (sometimes due to the high volume… sometimes not)
- No repeat business - this McDonald mentality is not a situation that will bring people back after the prices bounce back up and it certainly doesn’t show the restaurant at its best.
On Saturday, as part of a get together, some friends and I braved the masses and had dinner at Kamasutra on Bayview. The scene was predictable and the fixe-prix was of course mediocre and banal. Ordering off the regular menu was a treat, but with the stressed out service, it was tough to get our dinner to us in a timely fashion. Our waiter, Alex, was very good given the circumstances and was very patient with our party of 8. I highly recommend going back with Winterlicious is over. The food was decent Indian fare, in typical dressed up surroundings. The fixe-prix menu looked exactly like what one would expect for $25 at nice restaurant … not much.
I don’t want to be a complete pessimist on the affair. I do enjoy the fact that these events will create an awareness of restaurants that one normally would never know about or visit. It does get those who wouldn’t normally venture out, up and out of the house, but my time, effort and patience are worth more to me than suffering through any Toronto-licious affair. I would much rather visit these places at another time when I can have a better chance to enjoy my meal.
Notes:
Kamasutra Indian Restaurant & Wine Bar
1522 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, ON M4G 3B4, Canada
(416) 489-4899
After following Trinidad for the 2010 World Cup campaign and seeing us fall to last place in the hexagonal final round was just depressing. The seeds for our demise were sown right after the qualification for the 2006 World Cup. There was such euphoria after we qualified. I can remember almost crying when we beat Bahrain, the hope that I had after drawing with Sweden, the honor in our play against England and then finally the defeat to Paraguay.
I remember reading the newspaper updates on the Jack Warner scandal and how he didn’t want to pay the players, even though they had done such service for the country and after he had made a GAZILLION dollars with “his” ticket and hotel scam. I knew then and there, Trinidad qualifying for the World Cup was a once in my lifetime event. Trinidadian football is like Trinidadian politics, they both have potential for great things, but the greed and selfishness of the people involved, will never allow it transcend the small mindedness of those involved.
I saw an ad on TV for the World Cup in June, and I sighed. Trinidad could have qualified for South Africa … we really could have. Maybe we’ll qualify for Rio in 2014, since we have a talented team that should mature by that time. For now, I will just have to look at videos and pictures in my archives and wonder what could have been.
That match against England was so close, I can still remember the “Trinis” singing “London Bridge is falling down” and the utter silence of the English crowd.
Our glorious draw with Sweden. Who says that there is no honor in a tie? When a rank underdog team, plays a world powerhouse in football, blessed with quality strikers and manages to come away with a draw, there is much honor in that. The Swedes were so gracious in their “defeat”, since everyone concerned considered a defeat for a powerful Swedish side. They were so confident that their team would run rampant over the little island side.
In the end, there was only euphoria from one team and utter shock and awe from the other
Then after the draw with Sweden, there was the impromptu parade and fete in the middle of Dortmund. Where else can you find that, except for the World Cup??
Ah how I will miss Germany 2006 and what could have been for South Africa 2010 … maybe Trinidad will make 2014!
For the third night in a row, it was despicably cold and windy here. Of course, ensuring that I renew my Starwood status for 2010 meant that I have to switch hotels every night for the next month and half to rack up the night and points to keep my platinum status. Tonight’s hotel was the Four Points by Sheration and walking into the hotel at night, I didn’t feel too great about this move, as the outside air smelled of urine and the lobby of the hotel was a stark contrast to the Chicago Towers but then again, I knew why I was moving hotels, so I put the surroundings out of mind. The advantage of this location is that one can head down State St and be in the theatre district after a 20 minute walk.
After my last visit to Chicago, I made a goal of giving “Chicago Deep Dish” pizza another pass, since my last two times didn’t impress me greatly. So the next place on the list will be Pizzeria Due, same recipe, different branch but I think if I don’t take a liking to the biscuity crust and long wait then I have to accept that Chicago pizza just isn’t for me.
Along the walk across the bridge on State St, you get a great panorama shot (there are many in Chicago).
Then you head into the Chicago theatre district. For some reason, I associate black and white pictures with the theatre rather than colour, it seemed more romantic and mysterious, today the glamour seems to have leached out of the theatre experience.
Another thing about walking through the freezing cold in Chicago, no one else is stupid enough to take pictures, walk or drive around when it’s -8C and windy outside, and if this were Toronto, I would be relaxing home – however it’s not home and that’s enough to try and escape a lonely hotel room.
View Rishi’s Chicago Map in a larger map
