Saturday, September 7, 2013
Ian, Eric, Kevin & Julie
My cousin Ian and his friend Greg were in town from Madison for a conference to help them prep for the Boards, and they decided to blow off the afternoon and go to the Cubs game. (The conference ran from 7 AM – 6 PM Thursday –through Saturday and 7 AM – Noon on Sunday. Yikes! Those doctors don’t have it easy…)
They were staying downtown and took the red line up to meet us at Bernie’s. It’s always funny to hear “tourists” to the city talk about things we just take for granted and don’t even think about. Like how to figure out how to pay for the El. Funny. Quick beer at Bernie’s and into the game for the Battle for the Basement. Ian is originally from St. Louis area and so Cards fan. His friend Eric is Brewers (and Packers) fan.
Game was pretty crowded, but we found seats on the aisle in row 9/10, so not too bad. In the 2nd inning, Luis/Louis Valbuena hit a homer into the basket right below us. This was followed by a text from Ian’s wife Jenny saying we were on TV. We weren’t buying that since we were way up in row 9 and the homer barely made the basket. But she accurately described what Ian was wearing and eventually sent a picture she took on the tv. Ha ha!
Bogusevic also hit a homer to give the Cubs 95 homers at Wrigley, most in the NL. Homer or bust – the more things change, the more they stay the same…
A pitcher named Lim came in during the game (wearing Soriano’s #12, sniff, sniff – I miss him), and a few funny things about him:
- He’s 37 years old making his major league debut!!
- He became the 54th player the Cubs used this season, which is a Cubs record. The previous record was 53. Set last year.
- He gave up a single to his former teammate from Japan, Aoki.
After the game, we went to Bernie’s where Eric had an Old Fashioned. Ha ha. Ian said he had a super sweet tooth when it came to drinks. (He doesn’t drink beer so had a Mai Tai at the game )
We went to the Jewel to grab some wine and then headed over to Melao at 3941 N. Lincoln, a BYO Colombian restaurant where Wigs met us. We had gone here with JO and Cindy a few months back (pre-blog), and it was yummy. We started with empanadas – 2 of each, spinach, chicken, beef. For dinner:
Ian & Kevin shared the Picada, “a tremendous combination of meats: pork belly, top sirloin, pork ribs, sausage, fried green plantains, yucca, white cheese corn cake and tomatoes. It serves 3, and the two of them couldn’t finish it. The only downside was some of the meats on the “tremendous” platter had bones in them, so they had to be careful. And the platter itself didn’t look that appetizing, but that’s just my thoughts. I’m sure the boys were fine w/it.
Wigs & Eric both ordered the Bandeja Paisa, “our traditional mountain platter; grilled top sirloin, pork belly, white rice, pinto beans, white cheese corn cake, fried egg, colombian sausage, sweet plantains and avocado”
I ordered the Tilapia filets.
There was a ton of food, and even Wigs couldn’t finish his, and was able to take home the leftovers. I think everyone enjoyed their meals.
Recap:
Cubs Lose 5-3
My season record: Visitors 28, Cubs 16
Parking update: No update today
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