On the Road to Chicago

Well, we've made this trip 3 times in the past month and we've got it down to a science. Door to door from DC to Evanston is 732 miles and it takes us 12 hours and 40 minutes when we work at it. Some highlights and lowlights from the trips:

Highlight: Sunrise over the Allegheny mountains as you head west from DC

Lowlight: The Gateway Restaurant in Breezewood, PA -- why oh why have I 70 and I 76 not been connected with a highway connection?

Highlight: Listening to US history tapes from the Teaching Company

Lowlight: Ohio is very, very flat

Highlight: Finding a Panera Bread outlet in the highway rest stops in Ohio [Yes, not really that high, but the scale is a relative one!]

Lowlight: Gary, Indiana still smells

Really Lowlight: Arriving in Chicago on a Friday rush hour where the express lanes are closed with snow and being at a standstill, totally, for more than an hour

Highlight: Arriving at our own apartment, not a hotel, in Evanston

Real Highlight: Seeing our kids and grandchildren 3 times in the first week.

Rasika -- 3 1/2 Stars

Yesterday was Katy's birthday. We had dinner with her son, Mike and our daughter in law, Debbie at Rasika's in DC. Once again, the dinner was a home run. Rasika is an Indian restaurant that uses a more nouvelle fusion style for its food. You just couldn't have beaten it with a stick!

The appetizers were wonderful: Katy and Mike both had the Wild Mushroom Uttapam (a pancake) with coconut chutney. Debbie went for the Mango tandoori shrimp and Paul had the most unusual fig & lentil combination with marscapone cream. Each dish had the "zing" of India, but put together in a totally new way.

The entrees were even better. Debbie says that her Tandori lamb chops were "exquisite." Tender and succulent with just the right level of spice. Add some paneer cheese over the rice and she was in 7th heaven. Mike had the mixed grill and was especially pleased with the tandori salmon. Katy had a goa fish curry that made the steam come out of her ears -- to her great pleasure. And Paul had a lamb roganjosh that was just the right degree of spicy.

Of course we also had the traditional accompaniments of Naan and Roti breads, but this time with the homemade chutneys -- one tomato; one mango; and one eggplant. These are MUST try taste sensations.

We owe a special thanks to the sommellier. We asked for a good fruit-forward wine that would stand up to all the tastes and spices. He brought us a wonderful gewirtzendaner (I can never spell that right) from Germany that had just the right touch of orange and berry in it to make a statement but not overwhelm the spices of the tandori and curry. If you go, and don't know what you want, you can safely put yourself in his hands.

Dinner was followed with deserts that went to the next level. Katy had the chocolate samosa -- the chocoholic's delight. Mike and Deb both had the apple jalebi (essentially a begniet) with cardomon ice cream. And Paul had a Nougat Kulfi with brandy sauce that tasted like a cross between caramel ice cream and fine liqour.

We leave tomorrow for Chicago, where we hope to have similar gastronomic pleasure with our other kids. This was, however, a nice way to leave DC and we'll remember the meal fondly.

Kaz Sushi -- 3 1/2 Stars

We go to Kaz Sushi fairly often. Its an avant garde sushi place that tries to combine traditional tastes with new ones. And it just keeps getting better every time we go. This time around Katy had a yellowtail ceviche that was a uniquely Japanese take on the Spanish classic. Paul started with a traditional hijiki salad that was just perfect in texture.

As always the sushi selections ranged from the typical (California roll and eel) to the sublimely different. We had one of Kaz's signature dishes -- salmon with a dollop of mango on it -- that we always enjoy. But the surprises were in some of the other, equally wonderful novelties. We shared a seared scallop sushi covered in lemon salt that was just the right combination of salty and charred. Paul had the super-fatty tuna, that had more marbling than we've ever seen on a fish. And Katy had a side dish of shaved brussell sprouts, seared with onion and some kind of sauce we couldn't identify that was as good a veggie dish as we've had in a long time. To top it off, Katy had a wonderful New Zealand savignon blanc that was fresh on the tongue and a great match for the quiet tastes of the sushi.

Nora's -- 3 1/2 Stars

Last night we had a wonderful dinner out at Nora's. Nora's is self=titled the "first certified organic restaurant" in America. Whatever the truth of that claim, it is certainly true that Nora's does fantastic food. It's been roughly 2 years since last we went and our pleasure this time was enhanced by the fact that our daughter-in-law, Natalia, joined us. Natalia is in town for a couple of days on business and this seemed a good chance to share a great meal with her.

And it was great. For appetizers, Katy had a beet salad that was a wonderful medley of fresh tastes. Natalia had a Dungeness crab & avocado salad that looked scrumptious and Paul had a black trumpet mushroom and goat cheese tart that simply sang with sparkling on the tongue. We accompanied the meal with a Freeman Pinot Noir from Sonoma, that was very reasonably priced and had just the right level of fruit, without too much push to it. Delightful.

Main courses also hit the mark: Katy had an Amish Veal Roast with fennel; Natalia had Divers Scallops with cauliflower puree; and Paul had a fillet mignon with carmelized onion mashed potatoes and some bone marrow. Yum. We finished the meal with Chocolate mousse cake; pear & cranberry crisp; and Katy's traditional sorbet.

Nora's never fails to make good on its promise of good food, in a cozy and friendly atmosphere. Our servers were pleasant and helpful. Perhaps best of all, they make their own sparkling water, so the water was free! Talk about great deals.

A Chicago Quickie

We went back and forth to Chicago by car over the weekend. 24 hours of driving in 65 hours! Ugh. But we made it there and back and took possession of our new temporary apartment in Evanston. We'll be living there for 6 months while Paul has a Fellowship at Northwestern. We took out the first load of stuff in the car and spent a mad day buying "junk" to make it home (bath mats and paper towel holders; etc.).

We head out for good on 27 February. Should be fun. And the best part is we get to spend the time with two granddaughters who live there!

Petit St. Vincent

We just got back from a vacation in Petit St. Vincent. PSV is one of our favorite spots -- this is the fourth time we've gone back there. It's a small private island down in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, just north of Grenada. You have to =really= want to get away to make the trip -- its 3 flights (DC to Miami to Barbados to Union Island) plus a boat ride (Union to PSV) and it takes 12+ hours door-to-door.

But boy do we think the trip is worth it! Talk about understated elegance and relaxation. There are only 22 cottages on the island and there are no phones or TVs or radios. To get the attention of the staff, you raise a little yellow flag. If you don't want to be disturbed put up the red flag and nobody will bother you.

Our typical day at PSV is nothing but easy. We wake with the sunrise at 6:30 AM to find a coffee jug and cups sitting outside the door to our cottage. After that, an early morning walk clears the cobwebs and is followed by breakfast in the cottage. [Paul tried the kippered fish this time around and wasn't pleased -- too fishy. He stuck with eggs, cereal or French toast for the rest of the trip].

After breakfast comes the tough part -- you need to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Options include: walk down to the beach and lie in the shade watching the waves go by; a little yoga; a massage; or just sitting at your cottage and reading. Along the way someone will bring you lunch and, if you want, afternoon tea. The biggest challenge is rousing yourself to shower, get dressed and go down to the pavilion for pre-dinner drinks and dinner under the stars.

This trip was special for us for a couple of reasons. First, we had the great fortune to overlap for one night with our (step)son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Debbie. It was their 20th anniversary and, having heard about the place from us so many times they had, independently, decided to go and see it for themselves. When we got there, it was their last night on the island and we had a chance to share our enjoyment of it with them.

To make the trip better (if that is possible) we had also planned to share the island with a few of our friends, Rodger and Ann. They, in turn, invited Trudy and Doug, who brought along Larry and Lydia. By the time we were done, there were 4 couples on the island who knew each other. That made for pleasant evenings -- we would gather for drinks to watch the sun go down before transitioning to dinner together. It was the right balance of isolation and privacy during the days, with good friends and conversation in the evening.

Of course, all was not perfect on the trip (how could it ever be). Katy banged up her foot and that made it harder for her to get around some. And, as usual, we just can't seem to ever find a flight on American Airlines that is not problematic. Of the 4 flights we had on AA, the results were (in order): overweight/overbooked; delayed; delayed (3+ hours); and canceled. Can't do much "better" than that.

Komi -- 4 Stars

Last night we had our annual dinner with our good friends Dev & Ellen. This year we went to Komi. Komi was rated #1 last year in all of Washington by Washingtonian Magazine and in the Top 10 by Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post.

The love is well deserved. Komi serves a tasting menu with a Greek/Italian influence. Each dish is just a bite or two but every last one of them is a taste sensation. Some are startling, some are subtle. And the kitchen is very accommodating -- they were more than happy to make substitutions for Katy to avoid cheeses and for Dev & Ellen, who aren't mad for raw fish. The only plates with more than a bite or two were the two entrees near the end. Here's a sampling of what we had (out of 15 separate courses):

Hamachi sashimi with a rock salt and a small onion slice
Lobster -- a small bite with garnish
Spanikopita inside out -- with a bread outside and a searing liquid inside
DC half-smoked sausage on a bun with home made mustard -- it tasted NOTHING like Ben's half-smokes.
Dates -- covered in a dash of rock salt
Casarelli -- a small pasta dish with eggplant
Boar and Duck -- the main entrees accompanied by home made tsadziki, eggplant puress and cabbage
Loukoumades -- baby Greek donuts

A special shout out to Kathryn the sommelier for helping with the wines. She didn't try to up sell us at all, but instead brought us two simply perfect bottles of wine: To start a 2008 Verdejo, Martinsancho Rueada from Spain that was perfect for the early lighter fish courses -- just the right level of fruit and sparkle on the tongue. For the entrees she brought a 2001 Merlot, Elena Walch, Alto Adige from Italy. We haven't had many Italian merlots but this one sure hit the mark -- just the right level of depth and tannin to complement the boar and duck without competing.

On the whole, a truly special (albeit pricey) place. If you have never been ... go.