Why I Oughta...

What was Wok 'N Fire just six months ago is now an empty restaurant as Bok Choy has announced their closing in the Elmhurst City Centre.  The sign thanks customers for 15 years of support and asks them to visit the Addison location.  We only visited Wok n' Fire once during our 10 years in town and didn't make it into Bok Choy, so this is hardly a loss for the dining scene for our family, but it is a shame to see another place go in the City Centre.  New places have come ( Red Arrow Tap Room ) and are on their way ( Beerheads ) but we'll just have to add this to the long list of "So Long..." posts here on the blog about vacancies in the Elmhurst City Centre. A few of the most recent: So Long, Theatre History Society of America So Long, Salseria in Elmhurst City Centre So Long, Cold Stone In The Elmhurst City Centre

Day three of showing off the various treasures from the Elkhart Antique Flea Market up in Wisconsin that we scooped up during our visit in May.  First there was the chandelier that Nat scored from these two sweet gentlemen .  Then there was the Schlitz beer glass pitcher .  And then yesterday was the vintage Santa and Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shaker sitting on a cute bench .  The last of the treasures is this Lionel Gateman accessory - item number 45N.  It is destined as a Father's Day gift for my Dad who is the original model train guy in our family.  He runs his early 1940's train set from his childhood and has a handful of vintage accessories. This one was cheap - the guy took my $5 offer - and because it doesn't come with the box is probably priced close to right.  The reason?  There just aren't that many guys who want to buy vintage trains these days, right?  They either have them or they're gone.  I think that is driving the prices down a bit on vin

At the Elkhart Antique Flea Market there were so many treasures that it was hard to focus.  It was colder than we thought and we weren't dressed for the wind and weather, so we were hustling around.  I posted about the Schlitz glass pitcher yesterday , but today comes a treasure that is closer to my sweetspot:  vintage Christmas stuff. Above you see Santa and Mrs. Claus on a little bench giving each other a smooch - and it is pretty cute.  They're salt and pepper shakers and this is what I *think* is the first matching pair of vintage Christmas ones we have.  I posted about this "Merry" (without Christmas) one  back in 2014.  And this spaghetti trim Salt shaker (no pepper) in 2015 . This new pair was in a booth that was close to the entrance and I picked them up and liked them right away.  But, it was like the 2nd booth we had visited, so I passed and moved on.  Just like the Schlitz pitcher, since it was on the way out, I stopped by and the vendor was packing

Last week, I posted about our experience at the Elkhart Antique and Flea Market up in Wisconsin and how we scored a few items including a chandelier for our #newoldfarmhouse .  One of the other items I picked up was this beauty of a glass pitcher from Schlitz.  It has "The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous" written in a cute script and was a steal at just $5.00.  We were walking out and I was carrying - gingerly - the light fixture that Nat had scored in a box and it was awkward.  So, about every 100 yards or so, I had to put it down and re-adjust my hands on it. One of those stops happened to be in front of a booth where the guy was packing up.  He had this pitcher on the table.  I picked it up, turned it around and looked at the price.  $15.  I set it back down and said.... "nice pitcher".  But it was too much for me.  The guy practically begged me to buy it.  He said it was a rough day for him and that he'd take anything for it.  I hemmed and hawed and fin

Ever since we first saw the little pineapple plants growing in the gardens at Epcot's Flower and Garden show back in Spring of 2016 , I've had the notion in my mind that it would be fun/interesting to try to give a pineapple plant a try.  But, where would we ever come across one?  The answer, surprisingly, was Menards.  Yeah...my favorite store.  Menards.  For some reason, they carried a handful of pineapple plants - Ananas Comosus - earlier this Spring.  I was wandering out to the garden center and passed by the tropical section and they had four or five of these things on the end cap.  $11.99?  Can't pass it up, right?   I planted it in a clay pot that seemed size appropriately.  Here's a close-up of the fruit that is on the plant currently: Once the weather moderated and we seem to be having no more cold spells, I transitioned it outside to the back patio where it is living amongst our upside tomato plant (well...not quite 'ours', but we'

I've been a Merkt's guy for a while.  Sharp Cheddar.  Sure, I'll eat the Pub Cheese from Trader Joe's.  Or if a tub of Kaukauna shows up for a party or get together...I'll slather healthy amounts of it on crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips or what-have-yous.  But it was always Merkt's that I came back to. Until now. I've found my new love and it is the King of Clubs Sharp Cheddar Cold Pack Cheese Food .  Yeah...Cheese food.  From the folks at the Mars Cheese Castle comes their house brand of cheese spread .  They offer it in one pound size but also in five pound size .  I probably need to stay away from the five pounder, because the one pound version barely lasted the weekend.  (the 18 ounce crock is cute, though.  Might become my go-to party-going bring-along?  Keep a few of them on hand?  I have to think that this stuff - being 'cheese food' - will last quite a while, right??) They serve the King of Clubs in their bar up at the Cheese Ca

A few days ago, I posted a photo of a cheesesteak that I (sadly) ate at the Philadelphia airport and bemoaned by lack of time/availability to do anything while I was in town for the brief trip.  But, while I didn't get to enjoy a pretzel or a proper cheesesteak @ Steve's, I did get a chance during the delay before boarding my flight home to enjoy one of these:  Walt Wit from Philadelphia Brewing Company.   BeerAdvocate lists it in the 'okay' range with a score of 79 , so don't go out of your way to pick one of these up, but I do like the bottle (cute label, right?) and maybe it was the sour taste in my mouth of having my flight be delayed, but I enjoyed this. Looks like, if you can find it, the Philadelphia Brewing Company beer to get is their Schwarzinger.   Scores a 86 @ BA .