My first vegan experience (1) Aug 18, 2009
I'm not a vegan.  I'm not even a vegetarian.  I'm a beer-drinking, hamburger-eating American.  But I accidentally went to a vegan restaurant in Chicago on Friday.  And I have to admit, it was quite good. 

Before we went on our trip, Wendy looked for good places to eat, and since she's a hippie, she looked for places that had locally-grown and/or organic food.  She also tried to stick to moderately-priced restaurants, because she knows I'm a cheap bastard.  So she found a place called Karyn's Cooked, and it happened to be close to our hotel.  Only after we sat down at our table and started looking at the menu did Wendy notice a statement that said the restaurant was completely vegan and almost entirely organic.  But the menu wasn't full of salads and veggie burgers.  It had spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, steak, and a bunch of other meat-ish meals.  The waiter explained to us that instead of meat, they used a mixture of soy proteins and some other nonsense to give the appearance of meat.  Also, they use a lot of flavors and spices, a typical veganist tactic. 

[I had an accidental vegetarian experience one time when my friend made nachos with fake meat.  I ate it up, then was told the next day that I had eaten some sort of soy, with the rationale that I wouldn't have eaten it if I knew it wasn't meat.  And that's true:  I don't understand how non-meat can be made into meat.  Ignorance breeds contempt.]

So we got our vegan meals, ordered a couple organic beers, and it was awesome.  My spicy taco wrap was made of some sort of soy product, but the only clue that it wasn't meat was that it was a little watery.  Other than that, the chipotle, pico de gallo, and other ingredients made the meal feel quite normal.  And quite good. 

Also, the place was cheap.  Like under $10 a plate.  The beer was expensive, but it was organic, and its cost was offset by the price of the food.  All in all, this was a great experience, and I would gladly pretend to be a vegan so I could eat there again. #food
Chicago trip recap Aug 18, 2009
Wendy and I celebrated our five-year wedding anniversary by spending the weekend in Chicago.  We'd both been there before, but neither of us had really toured around much, and our anniversary seemed like a good time to do so.  We flew in on Friday and left on Sunday, and aside from a little rain on Sunday ($0.99 ponchos to the rescue!) we had an excellent weekend.  Here's a brief rundown of what we did: 

Friday - Flew in.  Got a train to the hotel.  Ate dinner at Karyn's Cooked (a vegan restaurant -- more on this later).  Walked around Navy Pier. 

Saturday - Walked around a bit.  Went to the top of the John Hancock Observatory.  Took an architectural boat tour.  Saw butterflies at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.  Got scared to death by the Chicago Air and Water Show.  Walked around the Lincoln Park Zoo.  Ate dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery.  Walked around Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. 

Sunday - Went to the Field Museum.  Walked around the Shedd Aquarium.  Checked out the Bean.  Strolled through the Art Institute of Chicago.  Went to the top of the Sears Tower.  Hopped a train to the airport.  Flew home. 

Pictures:

[gallery /img/2009/08/chi01.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi01-150x150.jpg:::Navy Pier ferris wheel at night.:::/img/2009/08/chi02.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi02-150x150.jpg:::American Gothic in front of the Chicago Tribune building.:::/img/2009/08/chi03.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi03-150x150.jpg:::Wendy gazes out at the skyline from the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi04.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi04-150x150.jpg:::Looking south from atop the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi05.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi05-150x150.jpg:::Rooftop garden from the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi06.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi06-150x150.jpg:::North Avenue Beach from the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi07.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi07-150x150.jpg:::A friendly midwesterner.:::/img/2009/08/chi08.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi08-150x150.jpg:::Not very bike-friendly.:::/img/2009/08/chi09.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi09-150x150.jpg:::The "corn cob towers" a.k.a. Marina City.:::/img/2009/08/chi10.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi10-150x150.jpg:::The bluest bird ever at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi11.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi11-150x150.jpg:::A butterfly at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi12.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi12-150x150.jpg:::A butterfly at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi13.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi13-150x150.jpg:::Someone made a new friend at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi14.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi14-150x150.jpg:::The Air Force Thunderbirds were in town for the Chicago Air and Water Show.:::/img/2009/08/chi15.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi15-150x150.jpg:::Da bear.  At the Lincoln Park Zoo.:::/img/2009/08/chi16.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi16-150x150.jpg:::Mrs. Lion at the Lincoln Park Zoo.:::/img/2009/08/chi17.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi17-150x150.jpg:::A wild rabbit in the gorilla cage at the Lincoln Park Zoo.:::/img/2009/08/chi18.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi18-150x150.jpg:::The Wrigley Building could be *this* much taller.:::/img/2009/08/chi19.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi19-150x150.jpg:::Buckingham Fountain at night.:::/img/2009/08/chi20.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi20-150x150.jpg:::From the Field Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi21.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi21-150x150.jpg:::The Field Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi22.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi22-150x150.jpg:::The Bean.:::/img/2009/08/chi23.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi23-150x150.jpg:::That's us on the Bean!:::]
#travel