highlights of the past month

i've been all across the world, more or less, since june 24th and here's my much abbreviated report and still no digital camera. i've got to get on that! i now have too many suitable options. gotta just go with one and stop thinking about it!

Chicago

• Taste of Heaven
  
• Hopleaf dinner: The Hopleaf Tavern in chicago has expanded from a cozy little bar into a sprawling restaurant. a bunch of librarians, my parents and i dined on their hearty german fare, as well as many pints of bell's beer. hopleaf is the un-vegetarian restaurant, that's for sure, but it was pretty tasty. i can't remember what i got, only that the plate was piled about a foot high with chicken, potatoes and veggies. i do remember my delicious bell's oberon, the world's best beer.
  
• pizza delivered from Lou Malnatis. specifically deepdish with tomatoes and mushrooms. so simple, so classic and so good. i suspect that maltnati's puts cornmeal in their crust in order to achieve the delightful crunchiness. we usually get sausage, but i've been on this anti-beef thing ever since i saw The Corporation. a sausage pizza comes with a giant slab of sausage, pounded thin and placed on top of the cheese, topped with a bit of sauce. last year when the low carb trend was at it's peak, malnati's introduced a "low carb pizza" substituting the usual crunchy crust with a slab of sausage. meaning you could get a low carb sausage pizza which was essentially a pile of melty cheese and tomatoes (plus toppings) sandwiched by sausage. intriguing.
  
• fruity drinks at the Intercontinental or Hilton followed by loads of bourbon at chris and dmitra's. all consumed on an empty stomach. oops. no wonder i can't remember where i was.
  
• burgers (presumably organic, free range, bgh-free) at jen's apartment
  

Cambridge

• fantastic indian food at maharaja on huntington road...much better, i'm thinking, than the conference dinner we skipped out on. since good indian food doesn't exist in eugene, we had to prioritize.
  
• those cute little tomato and cheese baguettes that you can get anywhere. i wish we had sandwich shops in the states...so much better than a big mac.
  
• the fantastic home cooking of our hosts featuring vegetables from their backyard kitchen garden and "fool," a yogurt and fruit dish.
  
• brunch at The Orchard, in Grantchester, a small town outside of cambridge. this fabulously charming tea room has tables scattered about an orchard of apple and pear trees. i sat in the orchard, reading my book and dining on a tasty cheese scone with artichokes, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese and tea. as i ate, three little british kids ran around the orchard playing tag. quite scenic the whole thing.
  
• nasty greasy fish 'n chips in Ely, after a long bike ride. my hosts turned their noses in disgust when i told them what i'd eaten but, hey, it's a novelty for me, even if it's gross. kind of like clotted cream. which reminds me...
  
• lunch at Royal Teas in Greenwich, on the return trip. my friend becky turned me on to this place and it's absolutely worth the trip to greenwich. i had cream tea which included crustless salmon and cream cheese finger sandwiches, a currant scone, a piece of banana bread and tea. i could barely roll myself out of there by the time i was finished.
  
• more indian food in london with jeremy and carolyn. piles of indian food. sigh. i miss it so!
  
• assorted pints
  

Eugene

• we got our first flat of strawberries from our CSA and are currently up to our noses in berries. berries for breakfast, berries for lunch, berries for dinner. i couldn't be happier. especially since the strawberries came with a pint of blueberries.
  
• green curry with rice noodles, full of delicious assorted CSA veggies