Supping Away: BOKA Restaurant - Chicago
BOKA Restaurant and Bar.
1929 N. Halsted Street,
Chicago
Ph: 312-337-6070
Day 3 in Chicago- July 2009 was the only free evening I had to see a play. Fortunately we were able to get two tickets to Up at the Steppenwolf theatre. The show time was early - 7:30 - and my friend was driving in after work, so I would be dining alone. I decided to see if I could get a table at BOKA, across the street and a little up (no pun intended) from the theatre. After an excellent dinner the night before at Perennial, their sister restaurant I had checked out the BOKA web site and the menu of executive chef, Giuseppe Tentori, looked great.
Despite being alone, I was warmly greeted and offered a very nice table in the courtyard. As a frequent solo traveller, one of my criteria for classiness of a restaurant is how they treat the solo diner. All too often one gets stuck out of the way near the washrooms or the server stations. But not in this case.
The courtyard filled up quite quickly during the time I was there. The table settings were attractive, with black cloths and napkins and white china. Very soon I was sipping a glass of the 08 Babich Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, and admiring the extensive wine list.
Chicago Diary July 2009 - Visual Art, Culinary Art
Monday, July 20th - Day 2: Visual Art, Culinary ArtWe enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of yogurt, homemade granola and berries, with coffee brewed in a very impressive looking Miele Coffee maker, and set off early on our explorations. First stop was McCormick Place, the largest convention centre in North America. This was the main site of the conference, although meetings and events were also scheduled in several of the downtown hotels. I had pre-registered but wanted to pick up my registration materials and programs to check out times and places of the events I planned to attend.
This is probably my 5th time attending a meeting at McCormick Place and the third since 2001 and it seems larger and more impressive every time I come. Anyway I dashed in while my friend waited in the car. Luckily my last name starts with L because at that particular time, the G to L booth was the only one without a lineup. Within minutes the friendly people manning or perhaps one should say womanning the booth had got me my badge, conference bag and materials, and I was riding down the long steep escalators to the exit.
Chicago Diary July 2009
Sunday, July 19: Chicago, here I come.
Chicago is one of my favorite US cities to visit - a feast for the eyes, the heart and the mind. Stunning architecture and man-made green spaces complement the natural beauty that comes from its location on the south-west shore of Lake Michigan. As I wrote on my last visit to the city in 2006, Chicago has a theatre scene that rivals New York or London - (Why Chicago dominates American Theatre, Part I and Part II) - and it is also a paradise for foodies. Reluctant as I was to leave Vancouver at this glorious time of year, I was anticipating my five day trip to Chicago with excitement.
Dancing at Sea: The Party's Over
The Party's Over... it's time to call it a day:
Saturday May 16, 2009.
Sadly it's time to call it a day and go back to the reality of every day life on land where I can't dance for three hours every night. At least not unless I find an equally enthusiastic dance partner!
I was up very early to watch as the Sapphire Princess passed under the Lion's Gate bridge to enter the Cruise ship treminal at the port of Vancouver. I had elected the disembarkation option of walking off the ship carrying my luggage as that was listed as the first group of passengers to disembark. I was a little bt concerned that it would be awkward to drag my heavy suitcase off the ship and through the terminal but I figured if I could travel to Europe, Asia and South Africa with it I should be able to handle a gangway.
So we had to assemble in the Santa Fe dining room with our luggage by 7:20. 
Supping Away: The Sea Shack Seafood Restaurant, Oregon
Sea Shack Seafood Restaurant and Lounge,Wheeler,
Oregon, USA
Ph: 1- 503-368-7897
It is always great when you can get a recommendation for great food from a local resident. One of the ports of call on my recent West Coast Ballroom Dancing Cruise was Astoria, Oregon.
Rather than an organized tour, at this stop I chose to take a drive with some new friends down the South Oregon coast to Tillamook.
The recommendation for a seafood restaurant for lunch, was the Sea Shack in the tiny village of Wheeler. So that is where we decided to go. When we arrived, a little early, there was no one else there so we had our pick of tables and were seated at the window with a great view of the river and bird life. Shortly after we placed our order several groups arrived and the tables started filling up.I noticed there was an oyster chowder on the menu and decided to try it. One of my lunch companions from Charleston commented that he made a fantastic oyster chowder but the friendly server said that she guaranteed that the Sea Shack's soup was out of this world. What a challenge. I couldn't resist and decided to try a plate. Well she was right. I think that this was the best oyster soup I have ever tasted.
Dancing at Sea: A West Coast Ballroom Dancing Wine Tasting Cruise
Friday May 8 th, 2009It is six am on a bright California morning. Tomorrow my family will drive me up to the cruise ship terminal at San Pedro where I will embark on the Sapphire Princess for a seven night cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver. With shore excursions for winery tasting and a gourmet food and wine tour in San Francisco, this cruise promises to provide most of my favorite activities - fine supping, great sipping and a different travel experience. But here is the number one reason I decided to try it - Ballroom dancing.
As I previously described (see Dresses, Dances, Dreamy) when I planned my redeployment (also known as early retirement ) from medical academia into arts and entertainment the most frequent question I was asked was "what are you going to do with your time?" High on my top ten list of things to do, together with further developing theatre, food and travel writing, came ballroom dancing. Two and a half years later I am totally addicted to dance for fun and fitness and as also indicated in Coming soon at Review From The House, I will soon be adding a Dance section to the web site.
London & Cape Town: Index to Travelblogue
London & Cape Town: This time I'm starting early. You can also read the blogue in the correct sequence by clicking the London & Cape Town button, scrolling down to the bottom of the screen and clicking on the link that says last. That will bring up the first 8 postings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen to commence reading at the beginning.
