It's Not That She Didn't Rock My Casbah

This blog thing can be a deal to keep up with!

The title of this blog is a line from a Cowboy Mouth song called Joe Stummer, a song which ran through my head all night for obvious reasons you'll see below. "She had to go because she didn't know who Joe Strummer was."

TWO WEEKENDS AGO Peter and I ventured out on one of the first dark, cold nights of November. We searched for a restaurant not too far from Wrigleville called Rick's Cafe, yes, after the one in Casablanca. My good friends Ken and Natalia Jones recommended it. it's a small placed wedged between two other restaurants on Sheridan.

We had a time finding a parking place in this residential, permit only area, but once we did we were on our way with the bottle of wine Peter stuffed into his inner coat pocket. The place is byob.

We had a lovely time at Rick's. Getting there had seemed stressful, but within 10 minutes we settled into the cozy place. It's charming, about 10 tables, walls decorated with stills from the movie and a great mural of Bogie in his white dinner jacket. We liked the food, too. Very good. I had delicious mussels and salmon, and Peter had a wonderful, thick soup and then some ravioli for his main course. Our time at Rick's took the chill off the evening. I would definitely go back sometime. The only slight discomfort came from the overzealous waiter. His intentions were good though.


After dinner we drove over to one of the best places ever in Chicago, the Music Box movie theater on Southport. One of the top ten favorite things to do in Chicago for me is to see a film there. I love to be in that main theater with the Italianate murals and the pretend sky opening above me. We had come to see a documentary on Joe Strummer, the lead singer of the punk band The Clash. Peter felt I was skewing the evening toward his interests (which I was because I still can't plan a date night without thinking that way), but Stummer interests me. From bits of interviews I've seen with him, I find him very intriguing and somehow honest and attacking life. This documentary didn't disappoint. Even though it wasn't the best piece of filmmaking, to see Stummer shout to the audience from the stage to give him some anger because after all we are all living in this moment together gave me just what I was looking for in him. It's his connection with present time that captures my attention. I didn't know that he loved bonfires and the idea of people gathering around them and having an experience of being together in the moment. If you think about it, gathering around a bonfire would allow you to leave everything behind and concentrate on what's in front of you. Yes Strummer was odd, and as Peter says, he was probably an asshole, but he was trying to communicate something we all constantly miss, that life is happening right now in front of you.

So it was fun. We went home after that.

Now the following weekend we were in New Orleans with the kids for Thanksgiving. On Saturday night Peter and I went to the Rock and Bowl, one of my top favorite places to go in New Orleans and it should be yours, too, to see Tab Benoit play. The jury is still out as to whether or not it counts as an official date night because first, it wasn't intended as one, and second, it was Peter's weekend but my idea to see Tab (who is just wonderful!) . We'll see what happens this weekend. Meanwhile, Peter is busy as usual flying to opposite ends of the United States for Ketchum. He'll be back Thursday night, and from my viewpoint, he's got a date night to plan!

Little Oak Park

That's what Peter used to call Oak Park. Last Saturday night we were back in business on a new Date Night. The weekend before, Peter and Claire were in New Orleans exploring haunted houses and attending VooDoo Fest. But this past weekend we were back together. We had a lovely, gentle evening that revolved around little Oak Park. Peter took us to one of our favorite local restaurants, Marion Street Grill, which is really a hidden treasure in our village. The food is delicious, and there is a calmness to the place that makes you feel very easy and safe. We like to go to the small bar in the back to eat dinner. We've had many great evenings of conversation together there.

We started with glasses of wine and some appetizers, shrimp bisque, marinated and grilled portobellos and crab cakes, all delicious and the perfect amount of food to take us through the next part of our evening. We walked over to our local theater, the Lake, and settled into a two and a half hour movie, American Gangster. Very interesting flick, but I found the lead characters a bit sketchy. I got the feeling the director couldn't put everything in he wanted to or the movie would have been a monster, but that's the way it goes I think when you are working with real life stories. I'm always delighted by Russel Crowe and his commitment to a character. Did we really think those bad haircuts in the 70s had any redeeming attractiveness?


After the movie we went back to the Marion Street Grill bar and had our second course, and a Kir Royale for me and wine for Peter. We both chose salads, mine with tenderloin and horseradish dressing, very yummy, and Peter's with seared tuna. It's always fun to just let the conversation flow. Towards the end we started talking to our exceptional bartender, Mike. We remembered that Mike is originally from Louisiana, and he always has stories to tell about growing up in the depths of the swamps. So he entertained us with some good ones.

One of my very favorite things to do in Oak Park is to walk at night. We walked home in the quiet under the trees holding hands. It doesn't get much better than that!