Sunday, December 12, 2010

Firepot Grill...or the Splice Kitchen...

A few weeks ago, Ryan and Ziena (coworker of mine and his wife) were out of town, so we offered to take care of Georgia the cat. We both have an appreciation for Flat Top Grill, and they wanted to take us out to dinner in thanks. We both subscribe to Time Out Chicago and had seen something for Firepot Grill, a sort-of close restaurant that was in the style of Flat Top, and we finally found time to do it - so we went for an early dinner on Saturday night. It was...interesting, to say the least. We got there and the name had changed from Firepot Grill to Splice Kitchen and...a lot of other things were different, as well.

Yes, it is in the style of Flat Top Grill as in you can customize your own stir-fry. However, it's not as "custom" as any of us were expecting. We did get to draw on the menu's with Dry-Erase markers. While we waited for our food we got to sit there with a young boy watching Cartoon Network and playing on a laptop, or watch the food channel's discussion on edible ornaments.

The food came out and was, again, not quite what we were expecting. Brandon and I did the customizable stir-fry with noodles bowls, and the noodles were very very tiny. I got about 6 pounds of noodles (I'm still working on finishing my leftovers today.) Ryan had a rice bowl and Ziena opted for the customizable taco's.

Ziena also got a desert that was described as ice cream with the texture of a Marshmallow. Again, not quite what we had expected...This is sort of what it looked like:
Overall, it was an interesting meal. Not sure if Brandon and I would go back, but it was a nice night out with some great friends!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

It's beginning to look a LOT like Christmas!

As I had mentioned, we have been pretty busy and have not had the opportunity to do as much around Chicago as we had hoped. We are pretty sure we made up for that today. We hit ALL the major spots of the holidays for Chicago, showed a LOT of self-restraint, and were in awe at the beauty that is this wonderful city that we live.

We woke up, at 6 a.m., to the most beautiful site imaginable. I love the snow and have been waiting so long for it to show up in Chicago! We didn't let the snow ruin our plans. We did amend our brunch plans (more to come!), and headed straight to our first destination. The CTA didn't help us get there very fast, but eventually we made it (after a detour to my favorite place, The Disney Store)...
To Daley Plaza! We walked around the Christkindl Market, showing MUCH restraint, since we saw many magnificent items and did not purchase anything. In the future, however, I think these pillows may need to come into my possession...
We then headed back to State Street and did even more window shopping, stopping in at Macy's long enough to see the beautiful holiday decorations. 
We went from State Street shopping to walking the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave. shopping!) and we still ended up not spending any money...at least not on gifts. We stopped into the Hershey store, against our better judgement, and got amazing Mint Hot Chocolate. It allowed us a few minutes of peace as we sipped our delicious hot beverage, enjoyed the lights, and were able to look at MORE decorations!
We concluded our trip to "shopping" by getting lost and taking our first adventure on a BUS. It was a fine adventure, and got us to...
Zoo lights. By far the greatest Zoo Lights I have ever been to, and so worth the long day. We got some hot spiced wine and enjoyed the following:
We loved our visit to the Zoo, and encourage EVERYONE to go. A free zoo is a great idea, and it's even BETTER when there are lights!
Overall, we have had a spectacular weekend and cannot wait to use yet ANOTHER GROUPON tomorrow morning for Brunch!!

Relaxation

Work definitely has been keeping me busy. Brandon and I haven't had a chance to do much. We did participate in a few recent Groupon!'s. We bought our Christmas cards, thanks to one, and will see this week how they turned out!

I also bought a few yoga lessons ata local yoga studio, Imagine! and will soon get to try that out. I've kept up on the reading, but I now have a co-worker who rides the red line almost as long as I do, keeping me entertained at LEAST on the ride home. Our office is fully staffed (missing our co-worker Tanya, but knowing that her move to DePaul University was a great choice for her) and I'm getting ready for vacation.

Luckily, Brandon and I both had our Friday evening off, so we spent a little time together...

...played ridiculous games, admiring our beautiful Christmas tree...

...and allowed Ellie to be cute, as always, and spoiled by laying on the couch while we sat on the floor.

Overall, we had a great Friday night, which lead to a spectacular Saturday, and what we know will be a great Sunday! Pictures to come of EVERYTHING!

Firepot Grill...or the Splice Kitchen...

1
| Sunday, December 12, 2010
A few weeks ago, Ryan and Ziena (coworker of mine and his wife) were out of town, so we offered to take care of Georgia the cat. We both have an appreciation for Flat Top Grill, and they wanted to take us out to dinner in thanks. We both subscribe to Time Out Chicago and had seen something for Firepot Grill, a sort-of close restaurant that was in the style of Flat Top, and we finally found time to do it - so we went for an early dinner on Saturday night. It was...interesting, to say the least. We got there and the name had changed from Firepot Grill to Splice Kitchen and...a lot of other things were different, as well.

Yes, it is in the style of Flat Top Grill as in you can customize your own stir-fry. However, it's not as "custom" as any of us were expecting. We did get to draw on the menu's with Dry-Erase markers. While we waited for our food we got to sit there with a young boy watching Cartoon Network and playing on a laptop, or watch the food channel's discussion on edible ornaments.

The food came out and was, again, not quite what we were expecting. Brandon and I did the customizable stir-fry with noodles bowls, and the noodles were very very tiny. I got about 6 pounds of noodles (I'm still working on finishing my leftovers today.) Ryan had a rice bowl and Ziena opted for the customizable taco's.

Ziena also got a desert that was described as ice cream with the texture of a Marshmallow. Again, not quite what we had expected...This is sort of what it looked like:
Overall, it was an interesting meal. Not sure if Brandon and I would go back, but it was a nice night out with some great friends!

It's beginning to look a LOT like Christmas!

0
| Saturday, December 4, 2010
As I had mentioned, we have been pretty busy and have not had the opportunity to do as much around Chicago as we had hoped. We are pretty sure we made up for that today. We hit ALL the major spots of the holidays for Chicago, showed a LOT of self-restraint, and were in awe at the beauty that is this wonderful city that we live.

We woke up, at 6 a.m., to the most beautiful site imaginable. I love the snow and have been waiting so long for it to show up in Chicago! We didn't let the snow ruin our plans. We did amend our brunch plans (more to come!), and headed straight to our first destination. The CTA didn't help us get there very fast, but eventually we made it (after a detour to my favorite place, The Disney Store)...
To Daley Plaza! We walked around the Christkindl Market, showing MUCH restraint, since we saw many magnificent items and did not purchase anything. In the future, however, I think these pillows may need to come into my possession...
We then headed back to State Street and did even more window shopping, stopping in at Macy's long enough to see the beautiful holiday decorations. 
We went from State Street shopping to walking the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave. shopping!) and we still ended up not spending any money...at least not on gifts. We stopped into the Hershey store, against our better judgement, and got amazing Mint Hot Chocolate. It allowed us a few minutes of peace as we sipped our delicious hot beverage, enjoyed the lights, and were able to look at MORE decorations!
We concluded our trip to "shopping" by getting lost and taking our first adventure on a BUS. It was a fine adventure, and got us to...
Zoo lights. By far the greatest Zoo Lights I have ever been to, and so worth the long day. We got some hot spiced wine and enjoyed the following:
We loved our visit to the Zoo, and encourage EVERYONE to go. A free zoo is a great idea, and it's even BETTER when there are lights!
Overall, we have had a spectacular weekend and cannot wait to use yet ANOTHER GROUPON tomorrow morning for Brunch!!

Relaxation

0
|
Work definitely has been keeping me busy. Brandon and I haven't had a chance to do much. We did participate in a few recent Groupon!'s. We bought our Christmas cards, thanks to one, and will see this week how they turned out!

I also bought a few yoga lessons ata local yoga studio, Imagine! and will soon get to try that out. I've kept up on the reading, but I now have a co-worker who rides the red line almost as long as I do, keeping me entertained at LEAST on the ride home. Our office is fully staffed (missing our co-worker Tanya, but knowing that her move to DePaul University was a great choice for her) and I'm getting ready for vacation.

Luckily, Brandon and I both had our Friday evening off, so we spent a little time together...

...played ridiculous games, admiring our beautiful Christmas tree...

...and allowed Ellie to be cute, as always, and spoiled by laying on the couch while we sat on the floor.

Overall, we had a great Friday night, which lead to a spectacular Saturday, and what we know will be a great Sunday! Pictures to come of EVERYTHING!
 

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