you must...

go watch "Rod Blagojavich Super Star" at Second City this instant! My friend is a student at SC and scored two tickets to the pre-opener this past Tuesday. First of all, the musical aspect of the show was fabulous and the performance kept us laughing. I think Rod B (played by Joey Bland) was totally upstaged by his wife Patti B (played by Lori McClain). I mean, it wouldn't be Patti B without all the profanity and vulgarity - you can't make this stuff up! Everytime Sen. Burris came out Patti and Rod would exclaim, "It's Roland, Burriss..." in a James Earl Jones like theatrical seriousness. My words fail...I can't event explain the hilarity.

Please go watch it!

vodka fest!

I read about the $1 Vodka 101 class at Brasserie JO on Gapersblock the other day and signed up myself and a group of friends for the event. The woman on the phone asked me for a credit card number - just for formality, but hey! For five people I'll certainly foot the $5 bill. Who wouldn't?

The event room was set up with display tables at the far end of the room and some high tops for guests to place their drinks and appetizers on. At 7 o'clock on the dot a flat bread appetizer started making its way around. Then came a beet soup topped with creme fraiche and mini burgers For dessert they offered a really nice flourless chocolate cake - very rich but nothing that I couldn't finish in one bite!

As for the cocktails were made from DiVine Vodka from Round Barn Winery & Distillery - one of 4 vodkas in the world made from grapes. The vodka is very smooth and clean compared to its competitors. There were 4 different cocktails made including the classic french martini. My favorite was the Grand Slam -

1/2 oz DiVine Vodka
3/4 oz Free Run's Muscat Ottonel
Dash of Round Barn Heart of Apricot
Artesia Sauvage Sparkling Wine

Very light and refreshing. It was a great night - educational and filling!

chocolate makes chicago go round

On Saturday my friend and I popped into the Vosges on Michigan Avenue for some pick me ups after doing some shopping at Nordstrom. I love the warm purple packaging and designs on the store walls - so rich and luxurious just like their truffles! Our favorite Vosges guy that usually works at the Armitage store was there and asked us why we haven't been to an event in such a long time. True and sad. Sometime in 2007 Vosges launched a series of tasting events for their Chicago area patrons. My girlfriends and I attended the first ever tasting event which was a blast. The theme was chocolate and cheese which sounds like an odd pairing - but worked so well! The set up was amazing. For $35/person there were platters of truffles in every corner of the store. Passed hor' doeurves consisted of: while chocolate and mozzarella panini's, bacon wrapped dates stuffed with white chocolate, and ahi tuna on watermelon rind topped with while chocolate shavings. There was and endless flow of drinks at the coffee/ice cream bar at the back of the store - the highlight was the chocolate martini which was like a meal in itself! They also offered a beautiful red malbec which went great with the dark truffles. About half an hour into the evening after everyone had settled, Jen, the manager of the store had walked us through the proper way to eat a Vosges truffle. She had us close our eyes, smell the truffle, lick the top of it, then take a small bite...delicious! After having our fill of more than 5 or 6 truffles, two rounds of hor'doeurves, and three or four drinks we decided we were all chocolated out. On our way out of the store we were handed gift bags with a box of 4 of the featured truffles of the evening, some treats and coupons from local businesses, and recipes for the featured hor'doeurves. Well worth every penny!

After that event I also attended the Sushi and Chocolate event, Find your Dosha (partnered with TeaGschwendner) , Tapas and Chocolate to debut their Gaudi chocolate (partnered with Cafe Ba Ba Reeba), and the Belgium Beer and Chocolate (partnered with a representative from a national beer distributor). Since the beginning of this year, I haven't been able to so to an event, but Vosges guy made us regret the latest one we missed on Thursday - Sake and Chocolate! He said that they imported boxes of beautiful sakes and had an exceptional sake made of plums that is made in America and imported to Japan! He also said it was much more fun because it was an intimate group of about 25 guests - they had more than enough sake, sushi and truffles to go around! My friend and I wanted to slap ourselves in the face after hearing that. But we promised we'd go to the next one.

Here's what the Armitage store is planning for the next two months:

Oct 16 & Oct 23 – Zion Collection Launch Parties
Nov 13 – Single Malt Scotch + Exotic Caramel Tasting Soirée
Nov 20 – Cheese + Chocolate Collection Launch Party

Usually events cost from $35 - $50 (the scotch event is bound to be $50). The whole store is discounted 10% for all guests the evening of the event and you always leave with a gift bag of truffles and other goodies. You must attend at least one event - you won't know what you're missing out on if you don't!

starfruit sneak peak

I went to check out the Startfruit sneak peak this evening with a friend who is a loyal Pinkberry fan. After checking in with the Skirt PR ladies, we walked into the sleek white space and was confronted by the first first stop of the counter. I don't know how I feel about the layout, I wish the counter was pushed back a little more to give the customer a chance to take everything in before being asked what they'd like to have. It was jarring having a smiling girl behind the counter asking me what I wanted. I can see how this might be a ploy to force the line of people to start outside instead of having a crowd waiting inside the small shop with limited seating. I like the long curved bar that stretches to the back of the store which allows for 4 bar stool seats. The store's interior has a galactic feel which is the theme they seem to be going for on their website also.

Starfruit is housed under the same Lifeway umbrella that is the leading producer of kefir (kee-fir) products. So unlike other frozen yogurt shops like Red Mango, Pinkberry and Berry Chill, Starfruit frozen yogurts, parfaits and smoothies boast 10 live and active pro-biotic cultures that boost the immune system, fights fatique, and helps the digestive system (I can vouch for the digestive part because I drink a cup of kefir everyday). My friend and I started off with the parfaits. Basically, all this was was a half cup of flavored kefir (straight from the bottle) with all the toppings you want. I chose the pomegranate kefir with yogurt chips, rice crispy's and blueberries. Mixed together, it was tasty. But honestly, did I have to come all the way out to the Ukranian Village to have this? I could've bought a bottle of kefir at Dominick's and a few toppings and made 5 of these parfaits at home. My friend wasn't so impressed either.

So I went back for some frozen yogurt. I got the original flavor which is slightly sweetened according to one of the Lifeway reps. She said their taste testers didn't like the sour taste of the actual original kefir so they sweetened it, whatever that means. Honestly, the sweeteners are the last of their problems. I got strawberry, kiwi and corn flakes as toppings and my friend took one bite and set his spoon down. He then went off on how he wanted to fly to L.A. at that very moment and order 20 Pinkberries with various toppings, place them in an ice box and back to this store. The yogurt was so bland! There was no taste whatsoever. With all other competitors you get this sweet/sour/tart taste. With Starfruit, all you taste is frozen water and toppings. Another problem, the consistency of the yogurt was not smooth and soft like competitors. Sure the color of the product was white, but the consistancy was more like that of a melting snow cone.

The highlight I suppose is the slice of starfruit at the bottom of the cup - but those who have tried the fruit know that there's nothing especially tasty about those either. It's a shame, they have a great patio in the back with tons of seating. Location is key though, and they did pick a great spot. Weekend shoppers will probably pop in for an afternoon treat, but will they come because they actually like it or to just take part in all the fro-yo hype? Hmm...



Prices:

Frozen kefir: S $3, M $4, L $5
Parfaits and Smoothies: S $4, M $5, L $7

First topping $1
Each additional topping $.50

Check it out for the actual opening on Tuesday April 15th. It'll be free all day.

nothing in life is free

Last night my friends and I decided to check out Lumen to catch DJ Steve Aoki and Jeffrey Sebelia (winner of Project Runway 3) for a fashion show sponsored by Bonnie&Clyde's boutique. The e-flier I received about this event mentioned free entry with RSVP and open bar hosted by SnowQueen vodka until 10:30pm. We got to Lumen around 9:30 and waited in line for a quick ten minutes. When we got to the doorman, he said we weren't on the list, but that's okay, no cover until 10:30pm right? Wrong. Some guy came out and announced that they were filled to capacity so they would start charging $10 to everyone coming in, but it was only 9:40! We figured, the bar is open until 10:30 so we were okay with paying the cover. Much to our chagrin, the place was hardly packed at all! I felt like we were walking into an awkward homecoming dance with groups of people hovered in corners and near the punch bowl but definitely NOT filled to capacity. Annoyed.

We got our drinks, walked around to check out the scene, and went back up to the bar around 10:10 for our secound round. I asked the bartender for another vodka tonic and he shook his finger at me and said, "sorry honey, no more free shit tonight." First of all don't call me honey, and second of all, we still have another 20 minutes until the open bar is closed! He already made the drink and I didn't have any cash so I ordered a round for the friends and opened up a tab. I figured the night can't get any worse. Well, it did. Come 10:30 when the fashion show was to begin, someone announced that DJ Aoki was NOT in Chicago. In fact, he was stuck on a plane in Florida unable to fly out of the everglades....I'm sorry, but I've done my share of truth-stretching in life and that story couldn't be closer to lame. But not to fear, we have a great team of djs that I've never heard of before to play the background music to the fashion show. Shoot me now.

The fashion show was okay. Here's a peak:




The highlight of the evening:

How awesome is he? Red long johns and a Ronald McDonald scarf stylishly draped around the neck. PRICELESS. After the fashion show, the crowds dispersed and my annoyance turned into amusement. We went back for more drinks and decided to let loose and danced on the tables. At the end of the night when I went to close out my tab, the bartender that called me honey redeemed himself, he comped my first round. Rightly so! Lumen, get your act together! You can't change what you advertised on a whim. I don't plan on going back to Lumen any time soon.