Some friends came into town to celebrate birthdays and another pal recommended PERENNIAL VIRANT. I dropped a note about the celebration via Open Table and they couldn’t have been nicer about it– they wished us a happy birthday upon arrival and gave us a great table.

We started off by sharing the “bar snacks” (shown above) – deviled eggs, dill pickles, spicy corn nuts and a soft pretzel with smoked cheddar sauce. This was followed by the best mushroom soup I’ve ever had. And for entrees we ordered the pork cutlet with grilled mushrooms and garlic-mustard chimichuri; the Q7 dry-aged strip loin with mustard vinaigrette and the roasted chicken. All delicious.

Final thoughts: Tasty food + great service = fabulous experience

PERENNIAL VIRANT
1800 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614
312 981 7070

Love your eReader and classic literature? Then you’ll love these “Out of Print” Kindle covers by M-EDGE.

Shown above, from left to right:

The Hound of… Out of Print for Nook 1
$40

1984 Out of Print for Kindle 3
$30

Great Gatsby 1 Out of Print for Kindle 3
$30

I love my Sonicare toothbrush, but even with the travel case it’s not the most compact item to bring with you when you travel. I always end up throwing a regular toothbrush into my dopp kit. Then I saw these mini (6.5″ long) sonic toothbrushes from VIOLIGHT. Just one AAA battery and you’re set to go. And, the brush head can be sanitized in any of Violight’s UV toothbrush sanitizers.

VIOLIGHT Slim Sonic Toothbrush
$14.95

I love, love this minimalist iPhone alarm dock by Jonas Damon. Download the Areaware alarm app. Fits iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4. Note: the beech wood base is not a charger; you must pull your dock connector through the cut out (see image below).

Dimensions: 6 3/4″ L x 3 1/5″ H x 2 1/2″ D

AREAWARE iPhone Alarm Dock
$40 at Velocity Art & Design

24 hours in Chicago and I only had time for one great meal out. Good thing my dining companion recommended the THE PURPLE PIG! From the website: “Located on The Magnificent Mile, The Purple Pig is a collaboration of Chefs Scott Harris of Mia Francesca, Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia, Jimmy Bannos and Jimmy Bannos Jr. of Heaven on Seven. Featuring housemade charcuterie, cheeses and classic Mediterranean fare plus an extensive yet accessible wine list.” The bartender put together a great sampler of popular fare: we started with the Shaved Brussel Sprouts with Pecorino Noce and Parmigiano Reggiano and Charred Cauliflower with toasted breadcrumbs, Cornichons and parsley. This was quickly followed by a “JLT” with fried hen egg and lemon aioli (shown, above) and Octopus with green beans, Fingerling potatoes & salsa verde (shown, below).

Final thoughts: It’s no wonder why this place is so popular. Highly recommended.

THE PURPLE PIG
500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

If you know me at all, you know I’m a big fan of detective shows. I love (almost) all drama related to crime, forensics, etc. Anytime there’s a new show in this genre on the air, I’m in. Some (ahem, Charlie’s Angels) don’t quite make the cut but I’m usually willing to give ‘em all a try.  With so many shows in this genre, it’s tough to keep up with them all and occasionally a great one slips through the cracks.

Enter: HULU Recommendations! THE UNUSUALS popped up in my recommendations; with an empty queue and some time to kill I tuned in for the Pilot episode. The ensemble cast includes Jeremy Renner and Amber Tamlyn and originally aired on ABC in 2009. Here’s the Hulu description: “Like a modern-day M*A*S*H, The Unusuals explores both the serious drama and comic insanity of New York City police detectives.”

I love this show! The 10 episodes that were filmed before the show was canceled are available online. Highly recommended.

http://www.hulu.com/the-unusuals

These felt fish were inspired by a wall-hanging I bought in China. An auspicious symbol, they’re a great craft idea for the upcoming Chinese New Year. I hand drew my pattern and have yet to digitize it (coming soon!) so I don’t have anything available for download. You can always enlarge the photo above and trace the fish to make your own pattern.

For each fish, you’ll need:

2 plastic eyes, available at most craft stores
4 pieces of felt – I used different colors for the front, back, scales and band (area above scales)
Thread

Once you get all the pieces cut to the right size, the sewing goes pretty quickly. I recommend sewing all the pieces onto one side first and then sewing the two sides together. Done!

I first heard the JOHN CRUZ cover of the classic Hawaiian song “Hi’ilawe” at the end of Monday’s episode of Hawaii Five-O. After listening to samples of all the songs on Cruz’s “One of These Days” album, which includes “Hi’ilawe”, I am in love, love, love. As a fan of Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole, Cruz’s acoustic guitar and smooth island melody had instant appeal. Other favorite tracks from this album include “Hurricane”  and “Angel”. Preview/streaming is available via the John Cruz website.

One of These Days, 2007
$15 + $5.25 shipping (U.S.) @ John Cruz (Artist’s Website)

One of my longtime favorite spots on Larchmont is SAM’S BAGELS. I like to stop in after I visit the Farmer’s Market on Sundays and grab a few bagels and my favorite sandwich– chicken salad (shown above) with cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and onions.

Final thoughts: Highly recommended. Think fast: the line moves quickly and the guys behind the counter don’t have much patience.

SAM’S BAGELS
150 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 469-1249

As you may already know, I’m a wee obsessed with Trader Joe’s refrigerated pizza dough. Most of the time I keep it pretty basic– a little sauce, mushrooms and cheese. But, every once in a while I like to change it up and I’ve become a big fan of the shrimp and mushroom variety. For this version, I don’t use a tomato sauce. To try this version at home, you’ll need:

• Pizza Dough
• Shrimp
• Mushrooms
• Mozzarella or Provolone Cheese
• Fresh Parsley
• Fresh Garlic
• Butter

1. Prep your dough according to package instructions
2. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat and sauté mushrooms
3. After mushrooms are partially cooked down add shrimp and garlic
4. Cook until shrimp is just starting to turn pink (about 4 minutes)
5. Spread contents of pan over pizza dough and bake at 475 degrees for approx. 15-20 minutes

I add the parsley just before baking but depending on personal preference, you can either do the same or sprinkle on immediately after pulling the pizza from the oven.

Enjoy!