Day Three in Chicago—walk, Architectural Boat Tour, lunch, Obama Presidential Center, the best meal of my life
The headline kind of says it all. I did my usual early-morning walkabout to take sunrise photos. I also used this walk to visit all the places we would go later in the day, like the Architectural Tour we would take at 9:00 am. Photos from this walk are directly below.
On my way back to the Airbnb, I stopped at Starbucks and grabbed breakfast for everyone. I can say with total conviction that the Starbucks at the corner of Lake Street and Michigan Avenue is the best Starbucks I have ever been in. Forget the food…that’s the same everywhere, but the employees were AMAZING. Pablo (at the register) greeted me by name on my second visit. He taught me how to stack a ton of food in a big bag to get it back home, and every time a regular came in, it was like Norm coming into Cheers. If you are anywhere near that Starbucks, it is worth a visit.
After breakfast, we were off to our boat ride Architectural Tour with Chicago Architecture Center aboard Chicago’s First Lady. This outfit is a nonprofit organization, and the person giving the tour is a volunteer docent who keeps an incredible number of facts in her head. I wish I could remember any of them, but three days later I can only come up with a few. But here are the pics and why I took them in the captions, which you can see by clicking on any photo.
After our architectural tour, we had a nice lunch right next door to our building at the Elephant and Castle British Tavern. The food was OK, but the waiter was great. He suggested that since we had already sampled two of Chicago’s iconic food and drink items, we should try a third…a shot of Malört. Malört is a bitter, wormwood-based herbal liqueur. Drinking a shot of Malört is widely considered a rite of passage for visitors and a badge of honor among Chicago locals. We tried it, and we passed. It wasn’t terrible. Kind of a cross between turpentine and shellac ?.
After lunch, we headed to one of the highlights of our trip: a visit to the newly opened Obama Presidential Center in South Chicago. It is an amazing place. If you go, get tickets well in advance. They are currently sold out through the end of the year. It is well worth the trip. The photos below will show you why, but suffice it to say, it proved what I have always believed. He may not have been our greatest president, but he was the greatest man ever to be president. No scandals, no affairs. He was never president just to benefit anyone but the people of the United States of America. Touring the center also made us sad to see how far the government of this country has sunk in less than 20 years. It is disgusting. If you can, visit here.
Our tickets were for 2:45, and we didn’t leave until almost 4:30. By the time we got back to the Airbnb, we had just enough time for a quick nap before heading out to dinner at a restaurant I found on Eater. If you are not familiar with Eater, check them out. There is one for just about every city or region in the world, with great recommendations that fit my taste exactly. Go there and type in where you live, and see if their picks match places you have been. I usually do well when following their advice. We found the Frontera Grille on that same list, where we ate the night before.
That night, we were eating at Rose Mary. It is a Croatian-Italian restaurant that serves food family-style. We were seated right next to the HUGE demonstration kitchen, which I loved. I could watch the chefs work and maybe pick up some techniques. Our server, Illyna, was superb, and her station was right next to where we were sitting, so we could talk to her and ask for recommendations. We ordered cocktails, and everyone liked theirs. I am not drinking much on this trip after my cardiac episode in June, so I stuck to the mocktails. They have one there with Luxardo syrup and Ginger Beer that I will be making at home…I promise.
The meal itself was amazing. Since it was served family-style and Illyna advised us to order six dishes for four, we each ordered one, and then each couple ordered one. Cathy decided on their Grilled Summer Squash. It was made with parmesan fonduta, beef fat, pickled summer squash and basil. I thought, “Well, I won’t want much of that.” When it came, I tried one bite and about passed out. It was that amazing. I have never tasted anything like it. It was the best thing I ate all night, and that is saying a WHOLE lot.
They served each plate separately, giving us time to digest and enjoy it. Second up was the risotto. Maybe the best risotto I have ever eaten. It featured veal breast, Parmigiano, chicken thigh, and tomato. This was followed by a pasta dish called Mafaldine with lamb ragu d'abruzzo, cacio and cavallo. Delish, but only a 9 out of 10.
We had a hard time picking our fourth dish until the two very nice women next to us had one arrive at their table that looked beyond belief. We asked them what it was and were told it was branzino. This worked out because we hadn’t ordered any fish yet. They make their branzino with a soppressata vinaigrette, artichokes, and grilled lemon. This one got a solid 10 as well.
Mike had started ordering the Pork Ribs Campanella. The ribs have Calabrian chile agrodolce, walnuts, and cabbage & yogurt relish on top. Another solid 10. I forgot to mention that early on (with the squash), we decided we had to have bread to sop up any leftover sauces, and I can guarantee you that no plate we sent back needed to be washed too well.
While we were finishing the third or fourth dish, I mentioned that they had octopus on the menu and that, since it’s my favorite food and every dish had been superb, I probably should try it. Cathy agreed to split it with me, and we ordered it. I almost wish we hadn’t. It’s as good—a solid 8—but not at the level of everything else that night.
No matter that, it was an amazing dining experience from start to finish. It was so good that I have to come up with another test that’s above the Steve Test. For those of you who are new here, my brother Steve came up with a test for a restaurant… if you had that restaurant at home, would you go there? If the answer is yes, it passes the Steve Test. Well, now comes the Jim Test. If the restaurant is so good that you would plan a trip back to that city just to eat there again? For Rose Mary, my answer would be yes. Or maybe I should also say that it means if you visited that city again, you HAVE to go there.
I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.  —Barack Obama
Not sure if you remember this, but we have a group of six people who travel every October. We call ourselves the October Bunch. We have traveled together every October since 2023, when we sailed on Oceania’s Vista from Montreal to Miami. Since then, we have done river cruises on both the Douro in Portugal and the Columbia River. And since it is almost October, we are off to sail again with the Bunch.
We are very excited about the cruise because, after all our years of cruising, this is an entirely new kind of ship we have never been on before. In fact, as cruise ships go, only two like it exist in the world: Octantis and her sister ship, Polaris. Octantis holds only 374 passengers in 187 staterooms, so it is much smaller than a Viking Ocean ship and larger than a Viking River boat.
Let’s start with the last day. After an early-morning shoot on Friday (see photos below in the gallery and the panorama above), we had a three-hour processing session, then turned in our best shots so the class could vote on them. With 14 photographers, each with a different level of expertise, it was a hard choice. We were all done by 1:00 pm, and Scott and Mimo took us to a final lunch. I had Moules Frites (which appears to be the Belgian national seafood dish, on the right). For the uninitiated, Moules frites is a classic Belgian and Northern French dish made with fresh, briny mussels steamed in a flavorful broth, served alongside crispy French fries and mayonnaise (but thankfully, you can get ketchup).
