You are what you eat....most of the time

I've always found trying new and exotic foods really exciting. During college, I spent a summer studying abroad in Luxembourg. My roommate and I lived in a town house with an 80-something year old couple, Lily & Leopold, who spoke a mixture of German, French and Luxembourgish...there was a huge language barrier between us to say the least. Each morning we would all eat breakfast together and had to resort to communicating via body language. Through the many tried hand motions and attempts not to be rude, we each tried to eat what was served in front of us - from cheese to beef to rhubarb pie to pickled what-not to some foods that were wayyyy past their 'use by' date...we tried it all...and before 8am. It became the talk of our first class every morning - everyone reading our faces as we walked in the room 5 minutes late, asking what was served that day or laughing as I'd run to the bathroom sick about 20 minutes later. I know this sounds like an awful story, but I laugh about it now and had an incredible time living with this couple. It was a true experience into their culture and family; and that summer began my love for exploring international cuisine (minus my upset stomach of course).

I traveled to Australia three years later with this same open mind and now greater appreciation for food and culture. I tried anything from bizarre meat pies to lychees to kangaroo to eating a live 'pippy' out of the sand. All of those were amazing foods in different ways, except for the pippy (mussel), which was way too sandy for my taste. My point being, I think a great part of traveling and experiencing any new city is trying the cuisine...no matter how bizarre. And in my opinion - if you find a food item gross, then it will probably be a pretty good story anyway.

The past week has been crazy and exciting with birthday celebrations and a visit from my parents to Chicago. One of the restaurants I went to for my friend's birthday was Girl and The Goat in the West Loop. Top Chef winner of Season 4, Stephanie Izard, created this modern restaurant described to have a rustic-chic design, that has you waiting months for a reservation. It's honestly well worth the time and money spent! The atmosphere is lively, the bar is full and the food is mouth watering. The chickpea fritters were once described by my sister as 'explosions in her mouth', haha and I don't disagree. I also love the fact that the chef has created shared plates because you can try and spend as much as you are willing or able to do so. This time around my friends and I tried the 'oven-roasted pig face'... probably the most unappealing name choice I've ever ordered, but it was absolutely amazing! A piece of pork served with thinly sliced potatoes, savory sauces & a sunny-side up egg on top, meant to all mix together for a melt-in-your-mouth bite. This was one crazy food that I do NOT regret ordering.

The rest of the weekend was spent being touristy with my parents, ordering our favorite cocktails and exploring some of Chicago's ethnic cuisine. We tried Le Colonial one night, which has a French/Vietnemese fusion. The atmosphere was more intimate than lively, but my parent's and I had a great time trying some of the traditional Vietnamese dishes for our first time. And after a few drinks, we were probably having a bit more fun than was socially acceptable....haha, but when has that ever stopped me before?? All and all it was an amazing week filled with some unusual food, fun cocktails and great company that I was sad to see come to an end :)

Drink of the week: Espresso Martini

2 oz Absolute Vodka

1 oz Kahlua

1 oz chilled espresso shot

splash of simple syrup (optional)

garnish with coffee beans

served up, shaken not stirred

The Tamale Guy

There must be something about humid 90 degree weather in Chicago that makes the sound of an ice cold beer the most refreshing drink in the world. Maybe it's my Irish roots, but come a Friday afternoon in the summer I find myself on my way to a friend's house...past the bars and sounds of flowing drinks on Clark St...running faster than I did down the stairs as a child on Christmas morning. 

The other Friday as I was feeling this craze, I headed to my friend's place to catch up and soak up some late sun on her porch. The night started out like any other - talking away, laughing about college stories and eventually heading to our usual hangout bar across the street. We got a bit carried away in the excitement of the night and pours of beers and soon found ourselves at the Old Town Ale House. Now, if you want to go to a classic dive bar, this is it. Crowded hole in the wall building, cash only, standard cheep pitchers of beer, and funny cartoons & pictures depicting highlights of Chicago and it's celebs through the years. It's a fun time if you're in good company and don't mind sticky tables or a beer or two being splashed on you by the over served guy next to you. But what really made this night came around 1 am when we witnessed a short man standing on a stool with a red cooler yelling "tamales! TAMALES!". I looked on a bit confused as Lindsay turned ecstatic - little did I know, this guy had earned some fame in the Chicago area. "The Tamale Guy" travels bar to bar late night around Chicago and if you're lucky enough, you might just run into him. I tried the queso tamales and they were delicious! You get an entire bag of authentic tamales, wrapped in corn husks, for less than $5. The late night munchies and overexcitement that comes when one spots the short man sneaking into the bar may more than likely be the cause of this food's appeal...but even so I feel one step closer to becoming a true Chicagoan after my run in with The Tamale Man!

Here's a link to his Yelp page - I've read some amazing reviews, so next time you find yourself late night at a bar, craving some authentic Mexican, keep your eyes peeled for that red cooler.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-tamale-guy-chicago#query:the%20tamale%20man

*pattycakes* well one of these days...

So the word is out. I started blogging again! If you read my previous post, cheers to you! This is my first attempt, however, to stop journaling about my life adventures and focus more specifically on a favorite topic of mine....food! One reason for this, I don't think my woes and daily routines of Chicago life will nearly thrill any reader as much as my nomadic lifestyle back in Oz (though don't think I won't throw some updates in here). Second, I'm passionate about living a healthy lifestyle through food, fitness and the people you love. Lastly, it's almost embarrassing how much I love food. I was standing on a stool, kneading dough with my grandma by age five & following recipes in terms of "egg shell scoops" instead of measuring cups. My parent's kitchen has always been and will always be the most energetic room & favorite place to be in the entire house. Baking is meditation for me, cooking is a challenge and I aspire to be half as good as a cook as my mom one day. Taking pictures of food comes as second nature to me and I have the unfortunate curse of helplessly calculating the nutritional content of most meals even when I reallllyyy don't want to know!

My favorite thing to do when moving to a new area is taking an afternoon to explore. Back in April, during my move to my new studio (I feel so grown-up!), my boyfriend and I took a walk up and down the main strip near my building. Let's just say, within 2 blocks there are at least 20 cafes, bars, restaurants and take-out places of all various ethnic foods. I love the feeling of becoming a local - when you know where the hidden gem of a cafe is to enjoy a latte while catching up on emails or the excitement of knowing the perfect place to take the out-of-towners. Any day of the week I rather spend a pay check on trying a new restaurant than saving it for a much more practical use... hah I never said I was perfect :/ I have a continuous wish list on my phone of restaurants and trendy hot spots around Chicago that I've learned of through various social media and friends...and I am dying to try them all out! However, to balance the cost of food and my high intake of martinis, I've also taken on the challenge of learning how to become a better cook. I've gained some great survival skills through college and backpacking through Australia, but I'm finally ready to go beyond my frugal days of baked chicken and spaghetti bolognese!

I hope for this blog to be about sharing my life as a foodie, nutrition enthusiast and 20-something year old trying to make my way. So cheers to my tiny kitchen and exploring Chicago's finest to dingiest....with always of course a beverage in hand :)

The life of a Twenty-Something Year Old

Throughout Middle School, High School and College even, I always had a class at the end of the year in which I would have to answer that ever so mystifying question "where do you see yourself in 5 years? in 10?". My answers varied from ages 11 to 16 to 21 as I realized I probably shouldn't be a veterinarian just because I liked puppies or couldn't become a photographer for national geographic without an art school degree. However, when I looked at that far off age of 25 (come on, even at 21 it's impossible to think life existed past senior year of college) I always thought people had it figured out by then. HAH. Pretty sure I'm still foreign to the concepts of "steady career, "dental insurance" or "suburbia".....and really, until I'm 26, independent of my parent's lovely insurance & need a root canal (thanks Obama for that one!)....the unpredictable life of your 20s is pretty awesome.

When I returned Stateside from my year in Australia, I had an early onset case of a quarter-life crisis. I had to answer the burning question in the back of my mind, "WHAT now". Luckily my experience abroad gave me a fresh perspective to the way I wanted to lead my life....and one of them being that I wanted to take another leap of faith with my so called career. As a newly Registered Dietitian, I wasn't quite sold on working in the clinical setting & didn't want to get stuck in a path that wasn't going to make me happy. Also, sorry Columbus - but after falling in love with Melbourne, I was already itching for a big city! I decided to take the non-traditional route and go for a nutrition internship at a PR company in Chicago. I got the job and with a one week notice I moved to the Windy City last October! Again, this may be from Oz, but I have a habit of just thinking "ehh, things will work out".... and so far so good, mate. I had an amazing roomie (shout out, Andrea) that let me crash in her second bedroom for 6 months and it was the best situation I could have asked for. I once again found myself exploring a new city, making incredible friendships and dabbling in a whole new industry of public relations. My first winter in Chicago was a whirlwind of long work hours, well deserved happy hours, terrifying weather (Australia didn't really help to acclimate me to the cold), road trips and fun adventures to look back on. Chicago is a vibrant city like Melbourne - full of food lovers and people craving excitement & activity. I've now moved East by the lake in Lincoln Park to my own place and couldn't be happier with the constant rush of people around me. Despite the cold of winter, Chicagoans always seem to find a good time and now the summer brings a whole new energy with all the festivals, sunshine and bbqs coming up. 

So back to the whole concept of "having your life together at 25". As you can see, career-wise that's definitely not the case for me. I'm still searching for my next step to take as a dietitian....but no worries, I'm loving the journey it's taking me to get there. I couldn't be happier with where my decision to move to Chicago has led me so far & the people it's led me to.  I love talking to my best friends in LA or Atlanta or China and knowing that even though we seem to live worlds apart, we all relate in the fundamental fact that we're twenty-something-year olds trying to find our way through this crazy thing called life....and having a damn good time doing it :) 

"The best advice I can give my friends is lie, cheat, steal, and drink. But if you have to lie, lie to save a friend. If you have to cheat, cheat death. If you have to steal, steal the heart of the one you love. And if you have to drink....then drink with me." ~Irish Proverb