1000 Waves - Place 22

We took some time out of the hustle and bustle of the city last weekend to visit 1000 Waves Spa for the first time. Located just a few blocks from our home, this fabulous place is an oasis for women who need a bit of peace and quiet to rejuvenate them. The Spa features hot tubs, a eucalyptus steam bath, and a dry sauna. Afterwards, one can hang out in their kimono in the relaxation room, which includes a wide variety of magazines, newspapers, tea, and other beverage options. There are also little cubbies for napping in case one gets so relaxed that they need to succumb to sleep. For $20 you can spend up to 3 hours here. The spa also offers massage and aroma wraps for an additional charge.

1000 waves also has a great stress management program for cancer survivors. They offer 5 free sessions at the spa and 5 free massages to any woman who has been diagnosed with cancer. The owner of the spa is a cancer survivor herself and has lost a partner to cancer. This program is a great way to acknowledge the difficulties associated with cancer and to offer survivors a new way to deal with some of the stress. Two thumbs up on 1000 waves, way up! What a great place to have right here in the neighborhood!

We were soooo relaxed and mellow upon leaving. It was a little startling when we immediately jolted back into city life! Maybe 1000 waves should qualify as an experience rather than a place -- in any case, we can't wait to visit again!

Restaurant #17 - Tomboy

After trying to go to two rib joints which both turned out to be closed
(one temporarily for kitchen renovations and the other, sadly, in a more permanent way), we end up at Tomboy, a woman-owned place
in Andersonville that we'd been meaning to try for awhile.

It didn't start off well. Despite arriving after 6pm on a Thursday night, we were the only customers (never a good sign). We were given an excellant table right by the window, but soon noticed several
flies buzzing about on the pane before us (also not a good sign). However, things began to look up when the dyke host approached us brandishing a white hand towel and asked if we minded if she dispatched our uninvited dinner guests. Surprised but intrigued, we agreed and watched in amazement as she proceeded to snap the towel repeatedly and to excellant effect - after 5 or 6 blows, only 1 fly remained. Seeing her boss watching her with disapproval (can't imagine why) our Galahad departed at this point, leaving us (and the remaining fly) staring after her in wonder.

The food turned out to be very good (Kate had a spicey shrimp and spinach coconut curry, Susan had salmon with asparagus and mashed potatoes and a baked goat cheese appetizer was shared). Towards the end of our meal, a terrific live duo replaced the erratic soundtrack (moody European tracks alternating with 80's flashbacks like "Valleygirl") and Susan successfully captured the last fly in her beer glass. All in all, a fabulous meal!

Susan takes another Chicago poker title - Experience 17

Susan is now two for two in tournament poker in Chicago. She recently won the challenging HELO-5 tournament in the open division of the Chicago Poker Grand Championship. In HELO-5 you alternate between Texas Hold 'Em, Lowball (lowest hand wins), Omaha, and 5 card stud. It's pretty challenging (and also a lot of fun) moving from game to game as they each have their own rules and strategies. Although she was already qualified for the Chicago Poker Hall of Fame with her last win, this victory really seals the deal! We just hope her World Series of Poker backers in Athens are taking note!

Worst first sentence ever- Fun Fact 7

Tonight, in the cold glare of the lights in the Borders on Diversey, Clark and Broadway, we may very well have come across the worst first sentence in all of human history (of course a signal of bad writing is bad atmospherics and exagerration, so this seems a fitting opener for this entry.) Susan thought she had it, with the opening sentences of A Woman in Berlin: "It's true, the war is rolling toward Berlin. What was yesterday a distant rumble has now become a constant roar. We breathe the din." I mean really, can one breathe din? But then Kate came up with one even better than that in Why They Kill: "The James River flows through Richmond Virginia like human time." Ok, maybe we haven't read all the first sentences in human history, but how much worse could it get than that?

The Bourne Ultimatum - Movie 6; The Grind - Place 21; Fun Fact 6

Today we went to see The Bourne Ultimatum which was a perfect choice for a slow Labor Day Monday. If you've seen any of the other Bournes then you know the pace and plot of this one two, but knowing that doesn't take anything away from this enjoyable movie. Afterwards, we met our friend Ellen for smoothies, etc. across the street at a little spot called The Grind. After we noted that there are no more Ludlum's for the Bourne franchise to exploit, Ellen said she heard an interview with Matt Damon in which he said that if there had been another one the next film in the series would have been called The Bourne Redundancy. Great fun fact. It'll be interesting to see whether they really are able to stop at the triology given the continued success of these movies.

APSA Comes to Town; Nacionale 27: Restaurant 16

Last week, the American Political Science Association came to Chicago for its annual meeting, which was held downtown at the Sheraton and the Hyatt on the River. It's a big meeting of about

7 - 8,000 political scientists. This year's theme was interdisciplinarity, hence the theme, Political Science and Beyond. It reminded me of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story who often said "to infinity and beyond."

It was great to see several friends from Athens, as well as a number of other parts of the country. Julie and Annie came up to our place and visited for a while, and then we came down to have dinner with them at Gino's East, a pizza place close to their hotel. Annie has grown alot in the few months that we've been gone!

It was also great to see Vince and Mariel who joined us for dinner a great new restaurant we discovered called Nacionale 27 down on West Superior Street. This venue features food from a variety of (all 27)Latin American countries and may well be our favorite restaurant so far in Chicago. We started out with a few appetizers that were gratis from the restaurant and they were out of this world -- a spicy / bbq scallop combination and a smoky mussel combo that were both fantastic. We added a few of our own that featured goat cheese and pumpkin that were also very good. We each had various fish entrees which were also good, but the appetizers were the real star of this show, along with great flan for dessert. The prices were moderate for this quality of food. We'll definitely return here sometime soon!

Recipe #3 - Jamaican Rice

I had my doubts the whole time I was making this, but it turned out to be fabulous. Well worth the effort!

Jamaican Rice (from Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons)

1 small (2 pound) sugar or pie pumpkin or 1 small butternut squash
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 TBSP minced fresh ginger
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 TBSP curry powder
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 cups thinly sliced collard greens, mustard greens, or beet greens
1 can black beans
salt and black pepper to taste
2 ripe plantains or bananas (optional)
1 tomato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the pumpkin or squash in half, remove seeds, and bake on a cookie sheet face down (the recipe says for an hour, but mine was overdone at 50 minutes, so just pull it out when it's easily pierced with a sharp knife). Remove from pan and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add rice and salt and return to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. (Here, the recipe says to steam rice for 20 minutes, but I used brown rice and steamed for 30 minutes - worked fine.)

While rice cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet (I used my trusty wok). Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown. Add the ginger, garlic, allspice, curry powder, and jalapeno. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes more and then remove from heat.

When cool enough to handle, scoop pumpkin out of the skin and chop into large pieces (mine was too mushy to really chop, but it tasted good)

When the rice is done, reheat the onion spice mix over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the greens, toss well, and cook five minutes more. Add the pumpkin and beans, toss, and heat enough to warm. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you want to garnish with plaintain or banana, cut in half lengthwise and pan-fry over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side. Spoon rice onto plate and top with a generous handful of tomatoes. Serve the plaintain / banana on the side. Serves 4 - 6.