To: Chicago, IL via Madison, WI
Time: 7 hours
Distance: 410 miles
To break up the car trip we stopped in Madison, WI, to take a tour of the capitol building and to hear more of that wonderful mid-western accent. With a lake on either side of it, Madison was a beautiful little place, with a quaint suburban feel. The capitol building was gorgeous, full of red granite (the state stone), bronze statues of badgers (the state animal) whose noses one can rub for good luck, and a dome taller than the nation's capitol building. However, it was also the most confusing capitol building we'd ever seen. It is shaped like a cross (as in the Red Cross), so there is no definite front entrance, and it's easy to get disoriented. That's probably why they named each branch by its cardinal direction. Everyone there was very friendly - our tour guide was so friendly (can one be too friendly?) that she reminded us of a satirical cartoon character.
Five chapters of Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell later, we were in Chicago, losing our change to the toll roads. We checked into our hotel and went out to celebrate our 2nd anniversary at the restaurant of my dreams, Minnies (www.minnies.com), one we saw featured on "Tasty Travels" on the Food Network while we were in Minneapolis. Everything they serve mini-sized, and miniature versions of things are always irresistibly adorable (miniature dachshunds, Micro Machines). We ordered mini martinis and waited for our food, only to find out that we would never get it! The sprinklers in the kitchen had gone off, spraying flame-retardant chemicals all over the grills and kitchen in general. So our drinks and a dessert of mini chocolate mint cookies (no chemical-laden preparation necessary) were on the house!
Disappointed, but determined to celebrate, we went to Lou Malnatis (http://www.loumalnatis.com/), a famous pizzeria (now a chain of restaurants in Chicago) that Jace had suggested to us, and one that's listed on citysearch.com as places one has to eat when in Chicago, to try the Chicago deep-dish action. So we can compare it with New York and Boston, of course. ;)
We ordered our personal pizzas, and a few drinks to pass the time (30 mins. to get your pizza there). They were absolutely delicious!!! Not greasy or oily from an overabundance of cheese (they even have a low fat cheese option), and the deep dish wasn't thick and gooey - it served as a containing wall for the delectable sauce, vegetables, and pepperoni. It's meant to be eaten with a fork and knife. So good, and so gourmet as far as deep-dish goes.
I know, I know, I can't have dairy. So sue me!
Happy Anniversary to us!!! Our present to each other was a Nintendo Wii, packed up at my parents' house, waiting to be shipped to our new home in Boston.
Wii want to play. A lot! (Nick joke.)
3 comments:
Those pizzas look Deeelish! :D
Did you ever make it to Galena, Illinois where your grandpa Peterson was raised? Love, Mom Peterson
Unfortunately, no! We got into a time crunch and had to bypass it since it added four hours to our trip that day. I'm sure we'll go back sometime, though. :)
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