Eating the Alphabet - "G" is for Green Street Smoked Meats

For the letter "G" in the "Eating the Alphabet" series, we went to Green Street Smoked Meats. My boyfriend Timmy and I each ordered a pulled pork sandwich, and we got a side of spicy pickles to split. Timmy also ordered a hot link. I got a can of Dr. Pepper, and Timmy got a can of PBR. I had heard raves about Green Street from several sources, so, I had high hopes for it. That said, Green Street had two marks against it before I even tried any of their food.

The first negative for me was their side choices. They offer eight sides ($4 each): sweet pickles, spicy pickles, macaroni salad, broccoli salad, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and pickled vegetables. What is wrong with the side choices? Half the side choices have mayonnaise, which my boyfriend and I (and quite a few other people we know) are not a fan of. Second, it is disappointing that they do not offer any warm sides. No macaroni and cheese at a BBQ place, whatttt?

The second mark against them was when the cashier read the total; when she said that the total was $43, I nearly choked. I really should not have been caught off guard since it was $11 each for just the pulled pork sandwiches. I'll admit, I am kind of cheap (okay, maybe really cheap). That said, I think the total was about $10 more than I would have been content paying. I think for $11, the sandwiches should come with a small side.

Now, for the good news... The pulled pork on the sandwich was the best I have EVER tasted. It was freaking amazing. When I asked Timmy if he thought it was better than the pulled pork he makes (which is really, really good), he said that his pride prevented him from answering the question (so, in other words, yes). I didn't realize ahead of time that the pulled pork sandwiches came with slaw on top, so, I was relieved that the slaw did not have mayonnaise in it; the slaw was actually a nice addition because it provided the sandwich with a crunch.

We only ate a couple of the spicy pickles, and tossed the rest. It is not that they were not good, it just wasn't our kind of thing; the only reason we ordered them is because we did not have much to choose from since we do not like mayonnaise. Timmy said that the hot link was good, but he "wasn't sure if it was $6 good."

I am torn as to whether I am interested in going back to Green Street. On the one hand, the pulled pork is ah-maz-ing; on the other hand, it does not really feel like a meal without a side, and $11 seems costly for just a sandwich (as delicious as it was).



Pulled pork sandwiches with slaw



Spicy pickles


Hot link


I took a photo of the menu since the menu was a bit difficult for me to find on-line.



>>>Click here to see all the posts in the "Eating the Alphabet" series<<<

Eating the Alphabet - "F" is for FliP Crêpes

For the letter "F" in the "Eating the Alphabet" series, we went to FliP Crêpes. FliP Crêpes is at the Chicago French Market. We had never been to the Chicago French Market, so, that was a fun experience itself; it is like an indoor combination of food trucks and farmer's market stalls.

Timmy ordered the Croq Madame sandwich ("ham or turkey, Swiss, Béchamel sauce gratinde, & sunny-side egg atop"). I ordered the Chicken Provençale crepe ("Grilled chicken, Swiss, tomatoes, spinach, and herbed honey Dijon"). Then we ordered an Apple Crumble crepe ("milky caramel, home roasted apples & buttery crumbles") to split.

Timmy got ham on his Croq Madame and he said the sandwich was "f***ing tasty." I am not a fan of half cooked eggs, so, I didn't try it. I am also not a fan of raw spinach, so, I removed that from my crepe (I was expecting chopped cooked spinach); additionally, I substituted the Dijon for pesto (what can I say, I'm a picky eater). The pesto was so, so good. The Apple Crumble crepe was by far the star of the show for me though. It was ah-maz-ing. I could eat a pan of them. Next time I am going to try it without the caramel sauce, because it was a bit too sweet. The gentleman working the counter was very friendly and helpful, which a definite bonus.









>>>Click here to see all the posts in the "Eating the Alphabet" series<<<

"Why are you not married yet???"

Timmy and I have been in a relationship for seven and a half years. Upon hearing this, many people ask us why we are not married yet. Because of gender biases, I imagine that many people assume that the reason we are not married yet is because Timmy has not asked me to marry him. Truth be told though, we are not married because neither of us are enchanted with the idea of marriage. Many people also assume that when someone is not interested in marriage, that this is because their parents are divorced. Timmy's parents have been married for forty years and mine for almost forty years.

When people ask me why we are not married yet, it is a difficult question to answer. First, because there are so many reasons. Second, because it is difficult for me to express all the reasons I am disinterested in a wedding and marriage without offending those who adhere to traditions. Many girls grew up dreaming of their wedding day, however, that was never me. Instead when I think of engagements and weddings, I think of all the misogyny that encompasses the traditions.

While some girls grew up doodling their first name with the last name of their crushes, I pondered the (un)fairness of being expected to give up my last name when I got married. Names are a huge part of identity, and last names play a significant part in family identity. Over the years, I have pondered several possible solutions to this; everything from using a hyphenated last name, to using our last names to create a new last name. The latter solution seems best to me, however, I still do not like the idea of giving up my family name.

Engagement traditions bother me too. The expectation that the male be the one to propose not only places unfair pressure and responsibility on the man, but simultaneously puts the female in a weak position of dependence. Onto engagement rings. Firstly, they could be interpreted as the relationship equivalent to a dog peeing on a fire hydrant (marking territory); as if a physical sign is needed to dissuade possible suitors because the spouse could not possibly do it on his/her own. Second, someone's love should not be evaluated by the amount of money they waste on a mineral.

One tradition I particularly despise is asking the female's father for permission before proposing. I would never marry anyone who thinks it is acceptable to ask my father for permission to marry me. While I love my dad and respect his opinion, I am an adult human being, and not my father's property; I am perfectly capable of making my life decisions without my father pre-screening them. On a related note, I also dislike the tradition of the father walking the bride down the aisle. I would appreciate the sentiment if the root of the tradition was about being there for support, however, again, the tradition is rooted in females being treated like property.

The above are only a few of my issues with the idea of marriage; this post would be endless if I were to get into them all.

Of course, if I mention any of my misgivings surrounding marriage, the typical response is that I can make my wedding my own (or skip the wedding and just get married). While that is true, it is also true that we do not have to get married simply because others expect it of us. I assume that Timmy and I will eventually get married, however, it won't be because of any romantic notions about the idea of marriage; instead it will be out of practicality because of two major legal benefits. First, in emergency situations, I want us to be able to see each other and be able to make medical decisions. Second, when I die, I want to be able to leave my possessions to Timmy without him being subject to a high tax rate. While, I know that either of those situations could happen to us while we are still young, I currently struggle with justifying marriage solely based on those reasons.

Eating the Alphabet - "E" is for Eduardo's Enoteca

My boyfriend Timmy and I visited Eduardo's Enoteca for the letter "E" in my "Eating the Alphabet" series.

The restaurant was much smaller than I had imagined before visiting it; though, it was nice because it lent to the intimacy of the space. There is also an outside patio area for warmer weather.

We ordered the Parma Crostini ("Prosciutto, bufala mozzarella, tomato, aceto balsamico, evoo") and the Sausage Peppers Onions Pizze ("Roma tomato sauce, parmigiano, mozzarella, spicy sausage, marinated sweet peppers, caramelized onion").



The Parma Crostini was delicious, though I wish they had come with three (rather than two) crostinis for the $6.



Pizza is like mac and cheese in that it is difficult to screw up. That said, when it comes to pizza, I feel there are a lot more qualities that can make a pizza stand out. The pizza at Eduardo's Enoteca certainly does not blend in with the average "good" pizza, and stands above the rest as excellent; the crust, sauce, and all the toppings were especially delicious. I also really appreciated that the sausage on the pizza was not the typical greasy balls of sausage that tend to leave my stomach full of regret.




Aside from the food, what really made the experience special for us was our amazing waitress. She was attentive but not too attentive, which can be a tough "sweet spot" to accomplish. Eduardo's Enoteca is one of our favorite places that we have visited on my "Eating the Alphabet" project, and we will definitely be back (albeit, maybe not until after the project is over since the project consumes so much time).



>>>Click here to see all the posts in the "Eating the Alphabet" series<<<

Photos of our C2E2 highlights

These photos were taken last weekend when my boyfriend Timmy and I attended the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) for the first time. There were a lot of people wearing awesome costumes, but I didn't take photos of those, because you can see those photos everywhere; instead, I focused on taking photos of our highlights of the day. You can see better photos of what I wore to C2E2 in this blog post I posted earlier today.


C2E2 badge


This photo was taken by our friend Marilyn a.k.a. Miss Chiff at the Broken Brush Entertainment booth that she was working at.


The Thrilling Adventure Hour booth was one of our highlights. Rider Strong and Marc Evan Jackson were doing free autographs and photos in the Thrilling Adventure Hour booth!



And yes, that is Timothy Omundson. He was also doing free photos and autographs; the line was so long that we probably would not have made it to the front before he was done signing, so, we didn't try it.


R2D2



I loved this poster by Anthony Hall.


Chondra Echert (Sanchez) and Claudio Sanchez also did free autographs and photographs at their comic book booth.


Timmy had them fill out some blank Cards Against Humanity cards.





Another highlight of the day was getting to see Mark Lancaster (also known as Saucy Jack of Vaudezilla) get made up as a vampire at the Kosart Atelier booth.



Timmy and I resting for a bit.

What I Wore - C2E2

My boyfriend Timmy and I went to C2E2 for the first time this year. C2E2 stands for Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. This is what I wore to the event. Since it is a comic book convention, a lot of people wear costumes, therefore, I figured I would wear an outfit that was a bit crazy. I purchased the skirt with an ASOS giftcode I won from the Musing of a Curvy Lady blog! I will post more photos from the event in a later post.



Honestly, these are the best outfit photos I was able to take at the event, haha.