The Cuteness!

Stuart has the cutest smile, but can I get it on camera? Nooooooo. I came close a few times, but no big smile. Still, some darling pictures resulted, so we won't complain.

Chicago Chop House

On Friday we dumped Stuart off with his grandparents (don't worry, said grandparents were looking forward to it all day) and headed out to the Chicago Chop House to enjoy a fine steak. The Chicago Chop House has a classic, historical feel to it complete with pictures of famous diners and slaughterhouse pioneers. Ok, that's a little on the tacky side but what can you do?

Janna started her meal off with a beefsteak tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad. The beefsteak tomatoes were perfectly seasoned and who can resist the creamy texture of buffalo mozzarella? It was a great salad, perfectly prepared and presented. I started off with a soft shelled crab which was lightly fried and absolutely wonderful and sweet. You have no idea how excited I was about this soft shelled crab, I can't find them at any of the grocery stores in town and none of the restaurants serves them. For me, this was a rare treat indeed.

But of course, we're at the Chicago Chop House for steak not salads and crabs. Janna and I decided to split the 64oz porterhouse, cooked medium rare. Here's where our evening started going downhill. The meat was perfectly succulent and clearly of the highest quality, so there's no doubt in our minds that the Chicago Chop House can serve a good steak. The problem is that they served us a steak that was medium to medium well, not medium rare. You know, it's one thing for a backyard barbeque cook to screw up a steak, it's another thing when your entire establishment is centered around cooking steaks. To mess up a steak like this is completely and totally unacceptable, especially so when you're allegedly the best steakhouse in the city of Chicago. The over cooking of this steak sucked the life out of it and destroyed its wonderful flavor. Instead of being a robust red, full of flavor, our steak was a sad grey with a touch of pink. The Filet portion of the steak was actually cooked better than the strip portion, how they pulled that off is beyond me. In any event, neither one of them were cooked a proper medium rare.

I do not recommend the Chicago Chop House because of their complete and utter failure to properly cook a steak. The salad was good, the soft shelled crab was terrific, Russ' American Fries were great with the steak. But when you're a steakhouse, when your business is steak, it is unacceptable to overcook it. Out of 5 possible stars, the Chicago Chop House gets only two stars. It's unfortunate because the quality of the steak is good enough to earn 5 stars, the incompetence of the kitchen staff costs them three stars and our endorsement.

Tru

On Thursday night, we left a sleeping baby Stuart to the care of his grandfather and set forth with Judy to enjoy dessert at Tru. Tru is owned by the very talented pastry chef Gale Gand along with Chef Rick Tramonto, whose dinner menu looks amazing (it should be, at those prices!). Chef Gand used to host a program on the Food Network, has published several cookbooks, and is world famous for her desserts. We came expecting to enjoy some very delicious food, and our expectations were far exceeded.

Firstly, I have to comment on the decor. The dining room is very sleek and modern with soft lighting; black and white without being stark. The effect is a very calm, urban atmosphere. Also, a comment on the service, which was impeccable, managing to be very formal yet relaxed. So far, so good.

We looked over the menu and, after much agonizing, ordered. Both Judy and I got the Cocoa Nib Macaroon, and Steve got the Chocolate Immersion. While we were waiting for the plates to arrive, our waiter brought a tray with three small glasses. These, we were told, were refreshers, meant to cleanse our palates. The glasses were filled with a Granny Smith apple soup, topped with a rosemary foam and some candied ginger. Both Steve and I hate apple juice, and so were cautious about the soup. It was fantastic. The rosemary foam is something I could eat a large bowlful of, though I freely confess I have no earthly idea of how it was made.

We were still talking about how good the apple soup was when our desserts arrived. My plate had a sandwich of macaroon cookies in the center, and, oh my, was it good. The cookie was a perfect meringue, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The cocoa nibs were crunchy and bitter, and the perfect compliment to the sour cream milk chocolate ganache that held the two cookies together. Said ganache was tangy and sweet. To the side of the cookie sandwich were three cubes of white chocolate chiboust. The texture of this was very similar to a mousse, and the taste was very subtle. Also on the plate was a lovely pool of milk chocolate sauce (very good), and my favorite part of the dish, the dark chocolate ice cream. A small portion of the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had, bar none, served on a bed of chocolate strusel. I was very happy with my dessert, and I do believe that Judy enjoyed hers as well.

Steve's plate looked incredibly tempting. He had a dish of chocolate creme brulee, rich chocolate and perfectly bruleed. On top of the dish was a small portion of chocolate sorbet, which I am informed was creamy with a potent flavor that played perfectly with the custard of the creme brulee. There was also a portion of chocolate anise ganache, wonderfully light and highlighting the anise flavor. Separating the sorbet and ganache were milk chocolate crisps, which were paper thin and gorgeous. On the plate was a smear of chocolate cardamom sauce, which I tried and it was delicious. We all agreed that our dishes were amazing, with a perfect attention to contrasting textures and to depth of flavor. We definitely felt we had got our money's worth ($15 each, a bargain for a world class pastry chef, and not that much more than you'd pay for a piece of so-so cake at any restaurant in Chicago. And it turns out, for what we got, it was an even better bargain!).

We were finishing our desserts when a waiter arrived at our table with a dish filled with tiny cinnamon madeleines, compliments of the chef. This was exciting, and an unexpected treat. They were delicious, and no sooner were they gone than another waiter came with three teeny tiny root beer floats! Chef Gand, it appears, makes her own root beer and ice cream. I don't even like root beer and I liked this! We were amazed by the extras that we had been given and were talking about it when all of a sudden an old fashioned candy counter pulled up to our table. No. Seriously. A waiter had pushed a cart over to us with homemade truffles, caramels, lollipops, and hard candies. And here's the best part - we could have whatever we wanted! I tried the chocolate truffle (out of this world!), Judy a caramel (she loved it), and Steve a passionfruit candy (he declared it perfect). At this point, I'd decided I was moving to Tru and never leaving. THEN(!) a waiter came around with a tray of chocolates - white chocolate filled with passionfruit, milk chocolate filled with peanut butter, and dark chocolate filled with rose. None of us could resist the dark chocolate. It was really good, with a soft, subtle, floral taste contrasting with the dark chocolate. Steve also tried the milk chocolate/P.B. combo and said it was very good.

Finally, the waiters stopped coming with food and brought the bill, and we paid and made our way to the door. But wait! the host stopped us on our way out and handed us each a small lemon cake, "for breakfast tomorrow", he said. Wow!

All said, we had an amazing experience at Tru. A great atmosphere, with a whimsical, well-executed dessert menu. We can't wait to go back (and maybe order something off the very tempting looking cheese cart that was wheeled around the dining room while we were there!). If you're ever in Chicago and want a great dessert, you really can't go wrong at Tru!

Our Trip To Chicago

We just got back from a weekend in beautiful Chicago. We had a lot of fun with Stuart and my folks. Stuart was very well behaved the entire time, barely raising a fuss at all.
We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Ave. The hotel used to be an athletic club, it was built in the late 20's. It has a pool on the 14th floor, which at the time was an engineering accomplishment.
There are a bunch of restored meeting rooms and ballrooms in the hotel, including the King Arthur room. Janna is seen here with one of the armed men protecting the King Arthur room from peasants such as herself.
Friday we went to see the Cubs play the San Diego Padres. As I'm sure many of you know, the Cubs are my National League team. I try to make it out to Wrigley Field at least once a year, Friday marked both Janna and Stuart's first Cubs game.
Speaking of Stuart, this was not only his first Cubs game but it was his first baseball game. We couldn't take his stroller out to Wrigleyville so Janna bought a sling to wear and carry Stuart around in for the game. For the purposes of the game, it made sense but I can't imagine wearing children like this on a regular basis. First of all, Stuart didn't like being forced up against Janna when he was awake, we would rather be free to move around. Second, I can't imagine these things are good for the back and while this product claimed it was ok for the back, Janna will attest to something different.
And so the game began. Stuart really enjoyed himself and was a perfect little baby, barely making any noise at all. He spent some time watching the game with his grandparents, as well as his father. I tried to teach him the finer points of the game.
Above we see a statue of Harry Carry, the late broadcaster for the Cubs. He sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the 7th inning stretch when he was alive, he was quite a character. In any event, the tradition continues and on Friday John Mahoney sang.
Janna actually had a good time at the game. I knew she would. For those who haven't been to Wrigley Field, it's like stepping back into 1920. The neighborhood is unique and a lot of fun. In any event, Janna and Stuart both enjoyed their first Cubs game.
Now, for those of you wondering where my food reviews are I promise I'll post them soon. We have reviews of several places, including a review of Tru written by Janna. All I'll say is that Tru was fabulous. You'll have to keep checking back for further updates.

Bath Time For Stuart

Stuart is full of amusement. We have discovered in the last month that he really enjoys bath time. From what I can gather, most babies are total brats when it comes to taking a bath. Not our Stuart, he looks forward to it every time. His little face perks up when he hears the water being drawn.
Ok, let's admit it, Stuart is a weirdo. I mean come on, what little boy looks forward to a bath? I figure Janna better enjoy his no fuss bath time while it lasts, it's a matter of time before he decides that baths are evil and won't want anything to do with them.

On another note, last week we had to get our air conditioner fixed. We used a company called Grapids Heating and Cooling. (616-453-1137) They came out and fixed the AC the day after we called, arrived at 5:30 and stayed until it was fixed around 7:30. These guys could have easily called and refused to come that late at night but they didn't and they should be given some credit for staying so late. In any event, if you need your AC or heat fixed let me recommend Grapids Heating and Cooling, they do a good job at a fair price.

Two Weekend Events

Daddy's little tax deduction has had a busy two weeks. On Memorial Day we went for a walk in downtown Grand Rapids and last weekend we visited my folks beach house.
Memorial Day was a beautiful day here in GR and downtown looked especially nice.
Stuart unfortunately wasn't very interested in the alleged skyline of the city, apparently he's not interested in small potatoes such as GR. Perhaps he'll pay more attention when we're in Chicago next week.
And here we have Janna who looks thrilled that her picture is being taken.
And here we are at my folks beach house and as you can see once again the weather isn't looking so good.
The clouds aren't looking very good are they, I thought we were supposed to have nice weather last weekend.
Seamus is looking very nervous out at the water, the weather has him very worried.
Here comes the nasty weather. The fog came out of no where, within a minute we went from being able to see the horizon in the distance to not being able to see it at all.
Janna and Stuart seem unconcerned about the bad weather.
And as soon as the bad weather came it went away. Thankfully it didn't get nasty and we were able to spend some quality time at the beach. Stuart was unfortunately unable to join us but on Friday Janna and I got to go for a walk on the beach and on Saturday Seamus and I went for a swim.
Spring in Ludington is very beautiful and we can see some of the lovely greens that God has given us.
There are wild flowers galore on my folks property, here is a nice example.
Seamus got to visit his sister Zoe and there was much wildness. The two of them are completely wild together.
Finally we get to see an adequate sunset up in Ludington.
And unfortunately Stuart slept through the entire weekend. Oh well, at some point this kid is going to enjoy going to my folks beach house. Maybe next time we go we'll take him for a swim in the lake.

The Wee Bonnie Lad

Isn't he cute? (bad pictures though...)

On Crying Children And First Anniversaries

It's been an interesting few days at the Birn compound. Stuart has learned how to manipulate his mother in the evenings. Janna feeds him, makes sure he has a clean diaper and puts him to bed. Within a couple of minutes Stuart is screaming for attention, refusing to sleep without mom holding him. This has gotten worse in the past few days, as he's been screaming for Janna almost immediately. We've both had just about enough of it and last night we let him cry himself to sleep. Needless to say, Stuart was furious at this turn of events but after 10 minutes of livid crying he calmed himself down and went to sleep for five hours.
As we can see above, Stuart is getting his first taste of discipline. It had to happen though, we can't have a baby manipulating his mother all night long. The fact of the matter is that he wasn't hungry, his diaper wasn't dirty, he wasn't sick and there wasn't a giant spider crawling on him so he had no need to have his mother around. He was demanding attention and we won't stand for that when it's time to go to sleep. God has given us Stuart in order that we might raise him to be a good Christian adult and in order for us to raise up a good Christian adult we have to teach him self control and self discipline. It begins when their babies, even at 15 days old. If he learns how to control his anger when he's a baby, he'll have a much better time controlling it when he's older. He's manipulative, all babies are. He knows exactly what he's doing and we won't stand for this.
It will take awhile for us to teach Stuart how to control himself, but it begins by not responding to his sinful, manipulative behavior today. Not only was he attempting to manipulate his mother, he displayed uncontrolled anger and we have to work to stamp these sins out now. It's our duty as Christian parents to do this and while it was tough for Janna to listen to Stuart cry, it was for the best. Really it was best for both of them, not only is it teaching Stuart how to control himself, it's teaching Janna that he is able to do it. God has entrusted us with this little one, we can't sin against the Lord by allowing our son to grow up thinking his demands must be met at all times. I won't stand for a self centered little brat and we can stamp this sort of stuff out now. In the end, we are doing what's best for Stuart and we are doing what God expects us to do for him. We love our son to much not to teach him these lessons.
Getting to more fun events, today is our anniversary. We had celebrated at Tre Cugini on Friday but we decided to make a nice dinner tonight to. It helps that D&W had two for one ribeyes on Saturday. So with those two for one ribeyes, we made Steak au Poivre and matchstick potatoes. It was simply wonderful. Ribeyes have a robust steak flavor, someone different from a NY Strip, perhaps, dare I say more robust. Our au Poivre sauce was rich and delicious. It was a wonderful meal prepared for a wonderful wife.
And here we have a happy picture of our son. Don't mistake things, Stuart is a good boy most of the time and he's usually in a happy mood as he is here. He has his moments though and it is our Christian duty to teach him how to not have those moments. It is a life long process of course but in disciplining him now, we hope to not have to discipline him more when he's a little older. He really is a good little boy though and he's been a great blessing in our lives. Just think, a year ago we were just getting married, now we have a two and a half week old boy. God has blessed us greatly.