carinvaleeee

Hi,

Just got back from Carnivale's 5th anniversary party...such a hungry hipster scene, might I add. Jamie was nice enough to invite me with her parents and we had ourselves a hipster chic time. Aside from the fact that this was indeed a Brazillian Bar Mitzvah, complete with photo booths, jugglers, fire eaters, and identical twins from the east bank club that Jamie's mom has taken a liking too, the food was really delicious. We got the double order of Kleiner's guac, which was refreshingly spicy and came with unconventional tortilla chips--ie they were not from the tostitos bag like at fridas. We followed that up with the fish tacos and the tasting of 5 ceviches. The tacos were good but the portion size was a bit meager, I guess that's understandable seeing that they were an appetizer. I wish there was some more slaw on top of the fish as opposed to just under it, but the hot sauce that they gave on the side kind of made up for it. The ceviches--tuna, salmon and grapefruit, whitefish, mixed seafood, and shrimp--were presented on ice and in cute little bowls. The tuna was obv my favorite because that's my jam, but I liked the hiramasa one, too. we had mojitos, which normally a hipster would never order in public but I had to because it was Carnivale and it seemed appropriate, and the first one I got was great, the second was a little sweeter and watered down. All in all though, I'm glad that Jamie was nice enough to invite me and I got that restaurant under my new Chicago belt.

Yesterday, I met up with my friend Marissa that I literally haven't seen in five years but who coincidentally lives down the block from me now. We went to Luxbar--another place that I've been dying to go to. We went for lunch...you could probably guess, but I got the seared tuna salad. It was pretty good--I liked that it had ginger on top and some other asian veg, but the waitress got a little sassy with me when I asked for the sesame dressing because the balsamis was actually just oil. Oh well...we're going back next week for Marissa's birthday so maybe dinner will be more exciting.

Something kind of cool---I've been frantically applying for jobs around Chi and I went to an interview for The Florentine, which is a restaurant that BLT is opening here. I didn't know it at the time, but Todd Stein--head chef of Cibo Matto that just left there to open this place--was the one interviewing all BOH positions so I was sitting like right next to him. He's kind of a big deal around here, which is pretty legit of this Hungry Hungry Hipster to be in his direct company. Hopefully I get the job and I'll be able to get on the inside of the operation. Although, it's not looking soooo good because they gave me this insane in the membrane written serving test about italian wines and their prime grape varietals. At Bensi I am able to suggest a bottle of Citra Pinot Grigio to the Marlboro japs, but I could never recite off which is the main grape in each bottle. yikes...there was a question about what food blogs you read daily, and let's be honest I got that question in the bag bitches.

hmmm, what else? I had my real training session on Monday after recovering as much as possible from the fat roll exam, and let's be honest it was difficult! The trainer had me doing circuits which didn't sound so hard, but after a few times through I was dripping in sweat. LIke, I am not kidding, I almost had an illness. THe poor trainer was probably embarrassed for me once he saw how much I lack stamina and endurance (in the gym and the gym only winkface) so he began to do the exercises with me as a basic personal trainer move to keep me going. THe best part though was at the end when he full blast stretched my legs over his shoulder and we got into some compromising positions and I was dying of laughter and he told me to relax. so standardddd. yoga's been going well...someone even asked me how long I've been doing it for because she wanted to be good like I am! (her words not mine...for realz)

About to watch top chef just desserts...let the gay cryingfest recommence. Until next time....

-hhh

contaminated bathrooms

Hi everyone,

A big eating and drinking weekend just occurred so let's get to it. Friday night I picked up RA--this time with a more appropriate outfit--and then we started to drink. And by drink I mean an entire bottle of high class $5 wine from whole foods...aren't I so hipster chic? It was mediocre and I was drunk so we went to Old Town Social which was really really fun. I wanted to stop at Butch McGuire's on the way, seeing that they were playing Blah Blah Blah by Ke$ha and it was sucking me in like a magnet, but Jamie quickly pulled me away and set us back on track. The Social was really well decorated with high ceilings and dark wood and I felt like I was right back at Angelic in Wisconsin--there were two floors, we were doing laps, everyone was staring at each other and per usual I was the only one dancing. I may or may not have thrown myself at an architect because I told him that it was hot when boys are carrying blueprints and he was definitely scared of me. I had two more drinks at the bar and then the lights came on. The second we got home I fell asleep in my tiny tiny dress on top of my bed and woke up at 7am to change.

Saturday morning, Marly came in from the burbs and we went to State in Lincoln Park to watch the Wisconsin game. Basically we won 70-3 and I was not feeling my best, so I consumed an entire order of delicious cheese curds to ease the pain. We then got tuna tartar which was delicious and a nice big portion. We got home and MArly and I slept for a while, then we went to dinner at Feast in the gold coast. It was pretty good, nothing amazing. We then went home, pregamed while talking about toothpaste, and then we went to Hub for the North Shore High School reunion party, or so Marly and Jessie said. It was so weird to be in a place that everyone knows everyone but I knew no one. I kind of liked it like that. I was getting a hub punch which was sweet and solid when the manager of Hub walked past me and I almost died from how sexy he is. Something about his position of power, the earpiece in his ear, and the fact that he was in MArly's math class make him so sexy. As RZ says, I die. So we get home at 230 am, I made some kick ass TOTINOS and apparently fell asleep on the couch because this morning I woke up with the couch pillow under my face in my own bed. Marly then informed me that she had been throwing up all night. This gross fact compounds the amount of grime in my bathroom thanks to the sex that was had in the shower by my roommate...and now I always wear shoes in there. GREAT.

This morning ginger and I went to Orange for brunch. We had to wait half an hour so we went to the Austrian Bakery to pass the time. Orange was pretty solid--very Sunroom-esque and alternative. My favorite part was definitely the homosexual latin host that strut up and down the restaurant, his scarf flailing in the wind behind him. So Marly got the pancake flight, which has three silver dollars of four different kinds, including carrot and raisin, apple, and sweet potato. Yum. I got a scrambler with mushroom, tomato, and leeks. The restaurant uses all natural ingredients and plays Pandora over the loudspeakers. So hipster, I felt cool. I'm falling asleep right now and I have to go to the follow up to my fat test tomorrow/aka my free personal training session.

Talk to you then,

hungry h hipster

fitness testing

Hi,

I accidentally skipped a day whoops. But something so demeaning happened to me today that I think this might make up for it. So I joined Equinox on Michigan where the immersive yoga is occurring and when you sign up they give you a free fitness assessment and then an hour personal training session...great! not so much....because today I went for the assessment and the trainer was very nice but in order to fully assess how out of shape I am--technically a body fat composition--he used a primitive tool that you only see in horror movies in which a pinching mechanism is protracted and then retracted around your fat. Yes...I guess I volunteered myself to have my fat professionally pinched by this poor trainer who was trying not to be awkward and I was dying of laughter and it was sooo funny I'm loling thinking about it. So after all was said and done...you know, my shirt was lifted for a pinch of my stomach, which I'm not going to lie I think it's kind of tight because of a strict regimen of yoga, core crunch, and sour patch kids (imagine if they pinched me during passport era!) And then the Jewish girl's nightmare...my arm fat! oy Jewish arms bedamned this tool should be outlawed I seriously cannot believe that such an elitist gym--"the owner of 900 North Michigan is a member here!"--has this in their arsenal.

Okay, so for the hungry hipster part of this, lets go through the past two days and figure out exactly where those "fair range" skinfold test results came from...yesterday after immersive yoga taught by a man with braces way too concerened with moola bunda aka pubic bone clenching core work, I ate the rest of my cranberry tuna from whole foods--how hipster? I'm so organic! Then for dinner, Abby Jamie and I went to Penny's Noodles in Bucktown so hipster chic love that area...I wasn't properly decked out with my glasses and acid wash, but when Jamie and I return to Big Star I will have ample alternative accessories. Penny's brought me back to my college days seeing that it is very reminiscent of Rising Sons in Madison--cheap prices, big portions, thai-ish food. yum. I got a vegetable pho soup with rice noodles and raw veg on the side that you drop into the soup. There was a lot of cilantro, but I pushed through it, added some chili oil, and got down to bizness. For lunch today, Jamie and I took her infant child to FreshChoice on Wells St. It was nice and cute in there. We both got tuna, but I got a wrap which proved to be a mistake seeing that Jamie's sandwich was at least TWICE the size of mine and I was jealous. Food envy I have such a problem.

I put together the rest of my furniture and it looks great!! THe lime green desk was an amazing decision and by the time I put that together I was a seasoned pro at Target furniture assemblage. Right now I'm watching Thintervention with Jackie Warner and her stomach is so cut wow. She definitely doesn't need her fat pinched.

Tomorrow night we're going to the HAnggee Uppppeee! Can't wait to shake my shit like Jones and then we're having many a houe guest. Brothel part 2? you'll just have to wait...but I'd prob bet on it winkface..happy birthday brooke!

xx,

hhh

Hi,

I know the suspense was killing all one reader of this blog, but I did not meet Rick Bayless today. Nor did I go to Frontera. I'm going to try and get a res for my bday mark it down Oct 13, but apparently I've got no shot.

Anyway, the gingerfoodie and I went to Sunda....http://www.sundachicago.com/ on Illinois and Clark for some happy hour after work and furniture assembly specials which were very good. Trendy yet corporate atmosphere, solid sushi--we each got a golden child roll- white tuna, mango, avocado, tempura flake, and mango creme-and then marls got a spicy tuna and i got the spicy "tail of two tunas" which believe it or not were very different.

Today I immersed myself in yoga taught by a man with braces and lululemon pants on which I can't seem to escape. I looked around while holding dancer for what seemed like forever only to notice that every single member of my gym wears lulu. I must go buy some even though I am in no position to be buying 100 $$ workout pants seeing that I am jobless.

After my so called immersion practices, I returned to my roots and ate fake hot dogs in a sandwich thin which tastes a little less bad than it sounds. I bought this insane Deli mustard which should have read: DELI MUSTARD ON CRACK on the label because it has so much horseradish in it I almost choked. After the cracked out lunch special I made myself, I watched about two hours of Arrested and then my new queen size arrived--lets thank Pamela for reminding me that I will need a queen in order to have "ample room" (her words not mine). I then proceeded to assemble a nightstand from target while listening to Kesha radio on pandora, which took me about 2 and a half hours give or take. I then went to meet gingerfoodie at Sunda, which is where I began this tale. Time for some funfetti to drown my sorrows, which I baked on Sunday night when I got the news about school in order to really really drown my sorrows. Tomorrow, it's on to assembling the dresser. Wish me luck bitches!

-HHH

It was the best of times...it was the worst of times

So, it's about time this actually started. I'm almost all settled (minus furniture) into my new apartment in Chi-town (can I say that if I'm not Kanye?) and I'm half asleep on my "couch" (standard) trying to figure out how to use Twitter. You're probably saying to yourself: enough with the parentheticals! I definitely agree with you there. So anyway, from now on this HungryHungryHipster, officially recovered from being very hungry hungry hipster on Yom Kippur, will write all about her Chicago food discoveries and corresponding feelings.

I never thought I would have so much time on my hands, seeing that I was supposed to start grad school today, but that didn't exactly go according to plan; hence the title of this self loathing blog post. But, when life gives you lemons...look at that food metaphor!...we're going to turn it into an online forum dedicated to my gluttonous ways. To offset the hours upon hours that I will have to wander the Chicago streets looking for good tuna all by myself, I will be engaged in what I want to call an immersive yoga program, ie the only thing I have to do, which will most likely turn into an immersive Forever 21/Arrested Development reruns/yoga when hulu cuts me off plan. Hipster, right?

To include some quick notes about food, the most important part of this website and of my life, let's go through what I've eaten in Chi...want to call it Chitown again but I won't...cago. Last night when I got the news that school wasn't happening, I did the most obvious thing I could and baked a 13x9 inch pan of funfetti with frosting. soliddd. I've also humiliated myself at RA Sushi on state st. by ordering take out and going to pick it up post immersive yoga, unaware that you pick food up from the bar so instead of a chic martini glass I was holding a yoga mat looking like a homeless person. It was delicious though. My first night in town we went to Quartino which was Italian tapas and pretty decent until the zeppoles came out which made it a whole lot better. Our waiter was wearing some sexy standard A pocket sevens, but even his nice taste in denim couldn't distract me from the tiny tiny (I like repetitive adjectives) penne vodka. At Bensi of Old Bridge, my former place of employment complete with the most mediocre food, that paltry plate of pasta is smaller than a side dish. If you're going to eat penne vodka, then you want it to be hearty. hmm...I went to whole foods today on Huron, which I have to say was not very hipster at all. I think I'll try the one in Boystown on Halsted next time.

Tomorrow night, I'm going for dinner and drinks with the gingerfoodie herself. Will I finally get to meet Rick Bayless at Frontera? Or will I be kicked to the curb at the end of a three hour wait list like last time? Stay tuned........