The Foodie Post

So, I say all the time that my husband spoils me with his cooking, so that I don't like to eat out as much, because it's usually not as good as he can make for me! So I thought I'd check out the famous Chef Gordon Ramsey's Burger restaurant.  The menu is brief. The decor is plain, nothing fancy at all and the giant photo of the chef lurking over the dining room is ....a little much. 

They have a monthly special, so I ordered that, it's called the 24 hour burger. And I ordered fries-they aren't included......and the special treat this month is the strawberry cream shake, so I'm in!

Here's the burger and fries-I already cut it apart-I wanted to see inside and it's a pretty tall pile of stuff. There's little greens-kinda reminds me up alfalfa sprouts- with a vinaigrette,  a beef patty topped with bacon strips-I picked them off-I don't really like bacon, but forgot to ask to have it left off, then a slice of cheese and a little glob of BBQ beef. And I do mean a little glob, because it was a tablespoon of shredded meat plopped on top of the stack. They say it has BBQ sauce on it, but I sure didn't see or taste any. The beef patty was cooked through, the way I like it, but all I could taste was salty. No meat flavor, no BBQ flavor nothing but salt. Plus the bottom bun was soaked through with the vinaigrette, I couldn't pick up the bottom bread at all! Did not eat it all-too salty and messy......FAIL! The french fries were exactly like Wendy's.  No kidding, exactly the same in my opinion. They came with ketchup and spicy ketchup, nice, but just OK. I like Wendy's fries, but I kind of expected more from Gordon Ramsey's brand.

The strawberry Cream shake was good. It was very pretty, served in a tall slender glass with whipped cream and dehydrated strawberry sprinkles on top. Honestly I'd rather have a Steak and Shake strawberry shake, the taste is the same-minus the sprinkles, but really the same. It was a nice treat. 

And here's the total! $42.47 WOW! Well, that's the most money I spent for a meal and the least tasty meal. I say-don't bother going to Gordon Ramsey Burger. 

Now on to something great!  At my hotel there is a restaurant called The Albert. Really nice decor and beautiful service. I've eaten here before and it was really good, so this time I ordered the garganelli pasta and the focaccia bread. 

MMMMM,  so good, served hot and fresh, it has a creamy sauce on the bottom and the red sauce on top with bits of asparagus. So good! The focaccia bread was soft and hot and delicious! Crispy on the edges and soft in the middle, perfection! I forgot to note the total price but the garganelli pasta was $27 and the focaccia was only $4. Such a delicious meal!

Did I mention how nice the silverware is at The Albert? It's heavy and shiny and is a joy to eat with, yes, I like smooth, heavy, shiny silverware and I notice it.

I had a nice breakfast at a restaurant called Beatrix at the Northwestern University Galter Pavilion. These are lemon pancakes with blackberries. But they aren't really black berries, they're mulberries. See, they have a little stem and no seed, blackberries have seeds. Anyway, the pancakes were good. I didn't taste a lot of lemon flavor but they were served hot with a lemon syrup, which again didn't have a lot of flavor, but was good with the pancakes-better than maple syrup would be. 

I was seated right in front of the kitchen so I snapped a picture of the nice looking kitchen. 

I bet the cooks have to watch what they yell about in here!

See on the bill, I had milk with my pancakes so the total was $20.08, but notice this one little thing.....

This. I have heard about some restaurants doing this, and here it is IRL. 

It was only .52 added to my little ticket, and I think if that's what they want to do, then OK. 

While in Chicago, I had to try the Deep Dish Pizza. I googled who has the best deep dish in Chicago and it said Giordanos. SO I ordered delivery to my room while I was watching Caitlyn Clark become the #1 draft pick in the WNBA. 

 Yes very deep dish!

Well look at this! It was delicious!

I ordered sausage and mushroom, it came to me hot and delicious. The crust while big, wasn't doughy or icky at all, in fact it was crumbly, almost like a thick cracker, and really tasty. 

$33.87 included delivery and I didn't eat the whole thing-if I'd been at home I would have had some for breakfast!

And the last meal I have to tell you about was absolutely the best!

My last day at the hotel so I choose breakfast at The Albert. 

This is the  Upside Down Apple Pancake...I don't know how I managed to have pancakes twice but boy am I glad I did!! This is a thick pancake maybe an inch and a half tall, and inside it's fluffy like angel food cake fluffy, and the outside is caramelized and crispy. There's a layer of fresh apples baked in the center and it's perfect, so delicious! I didn't even use the maple syrup they have, it was such a treat-fluffy and sweet. The crispy outside-wow, I loved it. I didn't even take a picture of the price for this....but it was $16. The side of berries was $8. So for me The Albert was the winner in the food category for me!

SO that's all my food that I took pics of. In Chicago there are an overwhelming number of options and I probably didn't choose the very best, but over all it was a great trip!

Busy Saturday

 So I got the new battery installed in Hubby's motorcycle.

It started right up with the new battery!

This rubber hold down strap though!!! I tried every which way to get it hooked back in place and finally gave up and Ben got it hooked for me! Such a hassle!

While I was out there, I got the dog water dish set up for the summer. I love this automatic water dish, I never have to worry about the dogs having enough water, with the float valve on it, it fills the just right amount.

And I put the battery back in the lawn mower, it's easier than the motorcycle, that's for sure! I guess we're all ready for summer chores now.

It's Spring!

 If the violets and dandelions are here it must be time!

The Blooming Bunch Quilt & Yard Day

 

Here it is all done!

I just love this quilt!

Now look at that beautiful quilting design! My longarmer did a really beautiful job! Debbie Heckert at Happiness by Design is just a wonder!

Here's the back, you can see the green thread pretty well. 

Anyways, this one is done now and I've got another one in the works....

My kids and their kids all worked hard over at Grandma & Grampa's 

Julie, the BOSS-she worked us hard! 

We cut down trees, picked up sticks and the big kids got to use the chain saw.

Look at her go!

And Dilly had a dirty good time!

My knees are still recovering from all the yard tromping, but it's enough for now.

Quilt Progress.

 I took this quilt over to my long armer.

I just love this fabric line, I can't wait to see how it comes out!

I'm pretty sure one of these two will be the binding!

Snow and Fun

 So, I thought the snow was done, but we got about 3 inches on Friday-funny thing, as soon as it stopped coming down it started melting. I didn't even need to get the snowblower out!

On Tuesday, it was a really noce day and the big music concert for the big mask kids over in Washington.

Hailey is over there on the right-I don't think I got a good view of her.....

But there's Hayden right front and center, where he didn't appear to sing one single note!

Anyways the choirs all did a fine job. 

On Saturday I had to babysit at 1, but that gave me enough time to go to the Annual Shelter House Book Sale!

Look at the line to get in!

There was a good crowd and I got a bag full of books for kids mostly as well as a few video games and puzzles.

And like I said, I had to baby sit for Dylan, look at this cute series......

Ben came over at the same time Dannie was picking up Dylan, so I wanted a picture.....

But Dylan was just waaay to interested in Uncle Ben to look my way!