Right next to the Trader Joe’s, in Glenview, is a tiny little Thai restaurant. We’ve peeked at it as we walked from the parking lot into TJ’s but neither of us has ever suggested we try it.

The last couple of times we’ve gone to TJ’s, I’ve noticed there were actual people inside. Eating. All of the other times I’ve glanced in, there was nobody there - possibly because we usually go to TJ’s early in the morning? Heh.

So yesterday, as we went into TJ’s, I said “Someday we’re going to try that place.” And on the way out of TJ’s, TW ran in and got a menu.

Tonight, we ordered takeout from Your Choice.

First, I don’t think I’d call this “cheap” as some of the reviewers on Yelp did. But maybe it is cheap for Chicagoland standards? I don’t know, we haven’t eaten any Thai since we’ve been here. It’s not cheap for Gainesville standards - just average priced.

Next, it was fast. When I ordered, she said “15 minutes” - sure enough, it was ready when we arrived twenty minutes after I ordered it.

All of the food was good. The pineapple fried rice, spicy veggie fried rice, the Phad Thai, the thai iced tea and most important - the Beef Salad.

I’ve been looking for a Thai Beef Salad since I left the Philippines. Actually, I’ve been looking for a Thai Beef Salad like the one I used to eat at The Thai House in Angeles City, Philippines. Until tonight, I’ve never found one that even comes close. This one was THAT salad, or would have been if it had been a wee bit spicier. That’s ok, next time I order, I’ll tell her hot - not medium hot.

After Chess Records, we headed down Michigan Ave toward our next destinations and we realized we were all hungry. It was freezing (there were threats of snow that weekend) so we parked in a garage and I dragged TW and Michelle towards the Water Tower Place mall. I knew there was food in there and I knew it would be warm.

We rode up and down the escalator and finally landed in Mity Nice and except for the lack of wifi and ATT service for our iPhones, it was mighty nice.

The cheese popovers they bring to the table were so good that we devoured them and TW begged for more. We ordered the ginger chicken potstickers as an appetizer, not realizing the cheese popovers would keep coming… They were good. Michelle ordered the sliders and they came covered in onion rings. (you can see them in the header photo if you click the link.) I ordered the mac & cheese and OMG it was amazing. TW ordered the grilled cheese and I thought it was pretty darn good, TW was a little blah about it.

Great restaurant, I just wish my iPhone worked while I was in there - it was worth tweeting about.

Tiffany’s is one of those restaurants that we’ve passed a million times and only briefly considered stopping to try. On the way home from the airport on Thursday, Michelle was starving so we stopped.

When we walked in it smelled like old fashioned food - turkey dinners, roast beef, you know the smell I’m talking about. (We have begun calling that smell the Seven Brothers smell because that’s what Seven Brothers smells like.) It was also very, very empty. Just a couple of tables seated with older groups of people. We weren’t sure we were going to have a good food experience.

The menu was extensive - and sure enough, the turkey dinner was on the menu. We ordered - all of us chose some sort of croissant sandwich meal and we ordered a ham dinner to go, to bring home for TW’s mom.

The food came quickly and it was good. Not great, but solid. Well worth stopping for and significantly better than the Seven Brothers.

When TW said she wanted to go to the Valley Lodge in Glenview for her birthday dinner, I was a little confused.

It’s just down the street from us and it looks like a bar/steakhouse combo. It’s often crowded, from the looks of the parking lot, and it just didn’t seem like her thing.

Apparently it was her thing primarily because it is celebrating it’s 40th birthday this year, too.

So, TW and the kids and I went to the Valley Lodge shortly before 7pm on the 29th. When we arrived we discovered it is not wheelchair accessible (good thing TW’s mom decided not to go with us) and that it was jam packed with people. And also loud. The children would also say that it was full of old people, which is relatively true.

The server said 20 minute wait, so we stood on the stairs and waited. And waited. And waited. And even when a table for five opened, still we waited because maybe that one was reserved? Or something. We waited for more than a half hour, closer to 40 minutes. By the time we were seated, we were starving and also a little grouchy.

The bread they brought to the table was fabulous, which went a long way toward making us not grouchy. (The dark bread in particular I highly recommend.)

We ordered two flaming cheeses and those also went a long way toward making us not grouchy.

The real food arrived just as we had finished the flaming cheeses and I believe we all agreed that the food was pretty darn good. Everything from Liz’s mac & cheese to my sloppy joe to RJ’s gyro sub. Excellent.

It was a pricey meal but we were stuffed and happy by the time we left. All in all, excellent birthday choice - except for that whole 40 minute wait thing.

We’ve visited a lot of Farmers Markets since moving to Chicagoland and our favorite is still the Skokie Farmers Market.

It isn’t as big as Evanston’s. And it’s not as good for people watching as Deerfield’s. It isn’t as close as Glenview’s or even Northbrook’s. It’s not as ‘interesting’ as Wilmette’s French Market.

It’s just a basic, small, Farmers Market. Open on Sundays (which might be part of why we like it…)

Last Sunday, it was a little disconcerting though. Some of the vendors were set up in the “wrong” spots! That totally threw us off. Vendors should set up in the same place every time, darn it.

We’ve been looking at the Sugar Bowl, in Des Plaines for ages. Wishing it was open, wishing we had been able to visit it back in its hey day. And then, it happened. We saw signs appear in the window indicating it was going to re-open. And it did.

We went to the Sugar Bowl today, for a brunch.

I ordered a California Omelet that was HUGE. It came with home fries and pancakes. Home fries were fine, not bad - not good, just fine. The rest of the meal was excellent. (And the waitress kept refilling our coffee, which I appreciated.

TW’s mom ordered the mixed berry french toast. Huge serving and she said it was good. It looked good.

TW ordered the Reuben Club and again, talk about serving size. Monster. I nicked a fry and it wasn’t bad, wasn’t bad at all. With a little more salt and pepper it might have been excellent. TW says the Reuben club was fabulous. And it looked good. I am tempted to order a Reuben on my next trip (not the club because I don’t do bacon.)

Loved the Sugar Bowl. Enjoyed every second of our visit. We’ll go back, definitely.

I’ve never met a Botanical Garden I really loved. I’ve visited quite a few and while they were nice to visit, I never felt compelled to go back. That all changed with a visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden and boy was that a shock.

Who would have guessed the arctic north would have such a wonderul place. Just a few miles from my house? And, as our fabulous tour guide said (over and over again) it’s all FREE! And we definitely intend to take advantage of the FREE! Pst, she really was fabulous. Great fun. The right type of attitude and personality for a tour guide. (More Videos of Chicago Botanic Garden, including a bunch of train shots.)

OK it’s only free if you don’t need to park a car. If you do need to park a car, it’s $20 a shot. Or if you don’t want to take one of the trams that carries you around the gardens. But, with a membership, the parking is FREE! And the trams come at a discounted price.

We did in fact buy a membership and we’re looking forward to many more visits this year - maybe even in the winter, when it’s snowy and icy.

The day we took my mom, we were there for hours and hours and we didn’t even make a dent in seeing everything - and we were exhausted. I think TW and I are going to make a spreadsheet and pick one piece of the garden to visit on each trip. That’s the only way to see everything. There’s just so much and it’s such a lovely place to visit.

The cafeteria isn’t great (but it has Wifi.) The library looks interesting but by the time we got there, we just wanted to sit in the air conditioning and rest for a bit. We were there during an orchid show and that was pretty interesting too.

We went back today, just me and TW, for the Farmer’s Market and that was nice. Small, only about 8-10 booths, including the Youth Garden kids who work at the Botanic Garden and sell the stuff they grow. I think we’ll probably sign up for a CSA box this fall… now that will be interesting.

(More photos from the Chicago Botanic Garden.)

The other bakery on Central St, in Evanston… the one we thought we’d buy stuff for the meet up… is Tag’s Bakery. They definitely had good stuff but nothing that screamed “meet up”. If I wasn’t already aware that Jamie was bringing cupcakes, I probably would have grabbed some but who needs 500 cupcakes at a BlogHer meet up of 15 people?

We did buy stuff just for us to eat. The lemon bars were excellent and the kids really enjoyed the eclairs. Some of my crew sampled their Florentine cookies and said they were fabulous.

Last month, we went in search of some sort of treat to take to the Pre-BlogHer meet up in Chicago and found ourselves on Central St, in Evanston. There are two bakeries on that street (not counting Foodstuff which has baked goods but is not just a bakery) and Great Harvest Bread Co was the one we did not think we’d buy anything from.

We were wrong. I think we spent $50 there!

We grabbed huge sticky buns and toffee chip brownies to take to the meet up and there were plenty for us to eat before and after. These things are HUGE so I cut them into quarters and a quarter was still huge. And they’re amazingly good.

We also grabbed a loaf of Apple Crunch bread, based on the recommendation of Prince J and RJ. They were right, it was awesomely delicious and I could eat the entire loaf (but didn’t.)

It’s a good thing this little bakery is not in the most convenient location for us (parking stinks) or I’d probably be there every week.

I don’t seem to blog very often about places we don’t like, possibly because there are very few places we don’t like. The Dixie Kitchen is a place we did not like. Some of us liked it less than others. None of us have even the first clue why President Obama enjoys eating here. (Did he get a kickback?)

It’s not bad food, but it isn’t great food. I’ve never seen Fried Green Tomatoes the way they made these. The Plantains were excellent but is that really southern cooking? Not anywhere north of Florida, really.

I enjoyed my taco scramble a good bit, very spicy. I think I am the only one who didn’t walk out of there with mean things to say about my meal. But, that’s because what I ordered isn’t in any way shape or form traditional.

TW’s fried green tomatoes and her mom’s oyster po’ boy were disappointments because they expected “real” fried green tomatoes and oyster po’ boys. They didn’t get what they were expecting.