Driving Inertia- A Texas Break
- Well, at least the Crawfish were good.
- When It All Goes Wrong
- It’s a Shotgun Marriage in New Orleans
- Avoiding Death and STDs on Bourbon Street
- The Best Beer in New Orleans
- Doing the Tourist Thing: Cafe du Monde in New Orleans
- The Battle of the Po’ Boy
- A Quick Tour of New Orleans
- Lisa’s Been to All 50 States!
The Plaza at Park Grill | Millennium Park, Chicago
Summer comes and Millennium Park trades its ice rink for al fresco drinking (or dining). Which means there’s a handrail around this place inhibiting entrance. For some reason, it also means the cups are plastic. And perhaps the bartenders are skating instructors and that’s why cocktails are so difficult.
Come here for two reason. One, you like large beers (32 oz.) and cheap wine (potentially from box). Two, you want to get a drink in Millennium Park. The setting is great — plentiful tables, colorful umbrellas, great view of Michigan Ave, etc. The martinis … are off.
Mark orders two dirty martinis —one gin, one vodka. Bartender leaves to make them (the actual bar is quite long), comes back and asks, “You want these on the rock?” “Sure,” Mark says, playing along. “Olives?” asks the bartender. “Definitely.” The bartender leaves in search of olives.
The olives arrive skewered, wrapped in a napkin. The cocktails are pure booze, crystal clear, nothing dirty about them at all. We retreat to our beautiful table. “This is not a cocktail place,” concludes Mark.