We've been to Chicago a couple times for the Taste of Chicago. The most recent time we went was July 6-8, 2007, with Mike and Alec.

We got in on Friday and headed straight to Alinea where we had reservations for 9:30. We got there a little early and found out they didn't have a bar there. Luckily there was a bar next door where Alec ordered an apple martini with olives. The waitress asked, "With blue cheese?" We all looked confused until she explained she was refering to the olives, which come in either regular flavor or with blue cheese.

Alec didn't feel adventurous enough to get it with blue cheese so we still have no idea what that would have been like. Eventually someone from Alinea came and let us know our table was available. We had originally signed up for the tasting menu, which was 13 courses. We decided in the end to go all the way and get the touring menu (24 courses) since we would almost certainly never be back, and it was something to experience.

Alec and I got the wine pairing, which we were told was about 4 glasses of wine worth of alcohol... it sure seemed a lot more than that.

We finished our 24 courses around 2:00 and headed to Mike's mom's house in Evanston. Her house was nice but mostly uneventful.

The next day we met some online friends and went into town. Our only agenda item was to go to Taste of Chicago, but because of the heat we decided to go in the evening.

After walking around for what seemed like an hour downtown, we ended up at Portillos which was good.

After that we wandered around the The Museuim of Science and Industry. We watched some chicks in the middle of hatching, looked through the U-505 Submarine Exhibit, and did CSI: The Experience, and interactive exhibit that featured visitors as new CSI investigators trying to solve a mystery.

By then it was around dinner so we went to Taste of Chicago. We got there just at the right time, about 4:45. The lunch crowd had already left, and the dinner crowd had not yet arrived, and the temperature was starting to cool down. I had a ton of stuff which I don't really remember.

Afterwards we went to a nearby restaurant/bar for drinks and to chill out until it was time to sleep.

The next day we went searching for a miniature golf course which no longer existed. After getting that out of our system we headed back downtown and ended up at Gino's East, which specialized in deep dish pizza.

Afterwards we went to The Field Museum where we visited Sue, the dinasour, checked out the gem exhibit, and the Underground Adventure, where we were shrunk down to mere millimeters and explored the underground. I especially liked this exhibit because it gave a new appreciation for those D&D adventures where you run around the Underdark.

After all that it was time to fly back. Tip for Midway: when going through the security line, stay towards the right. The line moves much faster on that side.

- Ed