those white people must be lost or crazy.

boy was he right, and what a chicago-soaked weekend that was had.

after a train ride with some ex-convicts into the city and a cab ride to "pint", my saturday night was spent in a small bar with many people where whether or not it's uncomfortably hot or well-lit, the bar doesn't seem to care. it was a birthday celebration with a bit of bar-hopping spent with my girl and some friends and it was a bit of alright - minus the previously listed downsides on top of breaking the bank on buying liquor at the bars. sweet home chicago.

the following day we tackled the taste. neither of us having gone before we didn't know what we were getting into, but being in chicago we knew it'd be expensive. understatement of the year, and here's why...

so making the foul mistake of trusting the internet, i assumed when typing "taste of chicago" into google maps it would give me the address of the taste of chicago festival. after catching two buses and a red-line, it was apparent we were not in kansas - or downtown - anymore. being the only white people on the bus, turned the lightbulb above our heads on. jen asked a passerby where the taste was, and what was his reply? "the restaurant?" we looked across the street to see a barred up restaurant called "taste of chicago." slamdunk.

i took a dip into a sea of embarassment for a few minutes, dried off, asked a fellow red-liner where to go and he politely directed us. after telling him of our travel fouls, he had a few hearty laughs and replied: "all the black people on the bus must've thought those white people must be lost or crazy" - and why can't it be both? we caught the same bus and train to get us back to jackson st and WALKING towards the festival known as the taste of chicago (note: yes, walking...so all we had to do was take the first bus and we were within walking distance of our destination. i give you king of the idiots: me). but before we arrived there, we took a moment to really soak in the previous hours leading up to this. i cursed the chicago skyline with my fists raised high, and we crossed the street to stuff our faces.

we started our taste experience with a cajun meatball each, the first of many tasty snacks to come. although not as "cajun-y" as i had hoped, it was still delectable. we then found ourselves at the sweet baby ray's stand where a delicious barbecue-sauce-covered riblet on white bread was demolished. i will go on record as saying i will eat most anything as long as sweet baby ray's bbq sauce is involved. after the riblet, we perused our other options for a bit and came to a noodle sample from a stand i can't recall at this point - meh but filling. i was determined to try something i had not before, and it was then we came across a greek food stand. being half-greek, i told jen she must try some greek food and broaden her horizons. we indulged in loukaniko, a sweet kind of sausage on a pita - delicious. after a sit on the grass and some digestion, we hit an indian food stand. we read the descripition for something called "belh" and thought it to be only delicious - and boy were we wrong. a cold, yet spicy dish on corn puffs with some interesting paste and smells. end result? bleh. we still had time to salvage the day and after seeing a new orleans food stand, i thought i could spit some knowledge at my girl. she had not known a beignet. she now knows a beignet. although to truly know one, you have to go to cafe du monde in new orleans and get the real deal. the sample we had was more of a glorified funnel cake, but it put her in the ballpark of what it was. one day i'll take her to have the real deal, and she'll forget the poor excuse for a carnival treat she tasted at the taste of chicago in 2009.

it was still only 2:30, so the two of us took a stroll around millenium park, dipped our feet into the foot stream, saw the bean, and waltzed back to ogilvie where our chicago weekend had started. we still had just under two hours until the next train home, so we had a seat and a bit more food - because an hour's worth of samples at a food fest was not enough for us slobs. we finished our authentic panda chinese meal, and took a seat outside on this beautiful sunday. now i've never seen two lesbians fight in person before, but sometimes you just find yourself in the right place at the right time - just after the gay pride parade in front of ogilvie station. it lasted all of a few swings and hair-pulls, and lasted more in overall bickering. you could smell the estrogen in the air. after the fit of menstruation subsided, the ms. and i headed back in for the mass pileup of people waiting to get on the perspective train just having arrived from the cubs/sox game, gay pride parade, or taste of chicago.

another weekend for the books for me and mine. on the menu for tonight? public enemies. respek.