one day i ate my way from white sox park to chinatown to logan square

every summer, my department organizes a company outing to a white sox game on the southside. probably because we can find a group of $20 tickets; that wouldn't be an option for a cubs game, no matter how bad the team is doing.

the good thing is we get to leave work around 11:30am, head to the patio for all you can eat and drink, watch the game and then head home. different this year was that the weather on june 4th was supposedly 70 degrees, but we all donned our jeans and jackets. no shorts and flip-flops for these chicagoans. and though i did not partake in the adult beverages, i was still craving an afternoon nap once the food settled. and i did; napped from inning 5 through 7. i woke up to watch the sox lose 7-0. oh well, an afternoon out of the office.

now that i was free earlier than normal, i didn't want to waste it. so i convinced a co-worker of mine who is chinese to stop in chinatown before heading back to the loop. i have been thinking about getting milk tea since i had some at the chinese new year parade. the best place i've found (thanks to my co-worker) is saint's alp - a hong kong based teahouse chain. i tried the peanut flavored black milk tea... mmmm. you know it's a good place too because everyone else beside me was chinese.

after that, we walked over to the chinatown square ("new chinatown") to visit stores selling everything from candy to goji berries to ginseng (upwards of $600 per gram!); shark fins to sea cucumbers to hasma (frog fallopian tubes - a delicacy, dessert, and good for your skin?). we also stopped into the saint anna bakery, which smelled so good but was cash only so i didn't get to buy anything. apparently finely ground pork is used in a lot of the cookies and desserts. i'll be back to try!

next we wanted to visit an art gallery in old chinatown that supposedly housed prints from the artist who created sponge bob square pants. we didn't get to verify because the gallery was closed for '30 minutes'. longest 30 minutes ever! but we did browse other tea shops, grocery stores (bought fresh lychee fruit), jewelry and fake purse shops. it was definitely a better experience because my co-worker was there.

she stayed for dinner with another friend, but i headed back to the loop to meet a friend and her husband. we headed northwest through wicker park and bucktown toward logan square. our destination: fuego mexican grill & margarita bar. we sampled fresh lime juice margaritas (a little too sweet for my taste, definitely get by-the-glass instead of pitcher), table-side guacamole and a variety of funky salsas. i ordered the ensalda azteca for a meal and took half of it home. it was a delicious mix of black beans, corn, pico de gallo, queso enchilado, and a cilanto lime dressing. i have realized the last few times i've ordered a meal was more likely due to the garnish (in this case, the cilantro - my favorite). i had the rest of my salad for lunch and it was just as delicious.

so ended my long day, eating everything from ball-park dogs to chinatown lychee fruit to logan square guacamole. a good day in my book.