Sunday Evening Brings the Ice Cream
Ross and I decided to spend the afternoon in Lincoln Park today; we’ve been wanting to go to the Bourgeois Pig for a while now. I persuaded him to come with me to the Lincoln Park Zoo while we were at it, because it’s free, and I thought it would be odd and interesting to see a zoo in the dead of winter. I also, truth be told, wondered if it would offer any photo opportunities — I had a vague feeling that it might be a little desolate perhaps, a little dark.
It was.
I’m sure the good people who work there do excellent work, I’m sure the zoo saves a lot of lives, and I’m sure it inspires a fair number of Chicago-area children and adults to devote more of their time/money/mental space towards the cause of conservation. It’s also, at least in the January cold and snow, unutterably sad. I’m incredibly ambivalent towards even the best of zoos; this wasn’t one of them. I have more to say on this subject, but I’m having such a lovely evening* otherwise that I think I’ll save it for another day. Also, note that we only spent half an hour or so in the Lincoln Park Zoo, mostly because we were feeling too unsettled by the sight of the flamingos in the snow and the leopard pacing behind bars to go much further; it’s entirely possible that other parts of it were more heartening. We visited the Garfield Park Conservatory immediately afterwards and it was lovely to walk amongst ferns and cycads and palms and epiphytes and see tropical fruit hanging in the steamy air; of course, I couldn’t help musing a little about how much energy it must take to warm the place in winter. I can be such a wet blanket. :-)
*Yesterday we bought an All-Clad stainless steel skillet to replace our Calphalon nonstick pan (whose nonstickiness was starting to crumble after less than three years—shame on you, Calphalon!), and we have since caramelized onions, fried eggs, and, tonight, made chicken biryani in it while Billie Holiday played in the background. It is wonderful. Also, as I mentioned up there, there is the ice-cream waiting, and a glass of pinot grigio, and so the evening goes.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Billy Holiday, chicken biryani and to round off the cold, cold winter night with ice-cream at Bourgeois Pig,
I envy you.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am
The Bourgeois Pig did not offer us ice cream; Ben and Jerry’s did; along with Billie (whose name I realized I’d spelled wrongly as I was falling asleep) and biryani, it was a very alliterative night.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Zoos are fraught with conflicting feelings. I love your wet blanked comment; I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks along those lines.
Sorry to go all Julia Child on you:
I have to step in and say that three years is pretty standard for a nonstick pan that sees regular use–even a fancy Calphalon one. I want to forgo nonsticks altogether (throwing away a pan after a few years sucks, plus Teflon is not part of a healthy diet), but they are so wonderful for omelettes and other sticky cookery jobs.
Seasoned cast-iron can be practically nonstick, but I keep living in houses with stupid ceramic stovetops. I love the Farberware Millennium 12″ Nonstick Skillet I bought last year–$40 and it does a fantastic job.
I bow down to your All-Claddedness! I’ve not joined the cult, but I did splurge on a Le Creuset. I swore I’d never be that person but, alas, it was just meant to be.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Zoos are fraught with conflicting feelings. I love your wet blanked comment; I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks along those lines.
Sorry to go all Julia Child on you:
I have to step in and say that three years is pretty standard for a nonstick pan that sees regular use–even a fancy Calphalon one. I want to forgo nonsticks altogether (throwing away a pan after a few years sucks, plus Teflon is not part of a healthy diet), but they are so wonderful for omelettes and other sticky cookery jobs.
Seasoned cast-iron can be practically nonstick, but I keep living in houses with stupid ceramic stovetops. I love the Farberware Millennium 12″ Nonstick Skillet I bought last year–$40 and it does a fantastic job.
I bow down to your All-Claddedness! I’ve not joined the cult, but I did splurge on a Le Creuset. I swore I’d never be that person but, alas, it was just meant to be.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Oops.
I swear it didn’t take. Sorry for the ditto.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Really? If we’d known that, I don’t think we’d have bought the Calphalon. We thought the anodized surface wasn’t supposed to flake, but alas, it does.
The stainless steel skillet is a joy, honestly. Food really doesn’t stick if you heat it up properly first and add oil to the hot pan (and make sure your eggs are at room temperature ;-)). Also, it is a breeze to clean. A breeze. I highly recommend the one we bought when your Farberware gives up the ghost. It is in All-Clad’s “MC2″ line and a mere (hah) $115 online.
We will think more seriously about cast iron when we buy a house and no longer have to move. I am much against owning anything heavy now. I have been very tempted by a dutch oven, though. Hm.