Saturday, April 13, 2013 vs. San Francisco Giants. Jeff Samardzija vs. Madison Bumgarner. I always thought it was Baumgartner. Huh. Heather, Wigs, Kevin, Julie at the game. Another gray, chilly day in Chicago – box score said 38 degrees and wind at 16 mph. This has been an awful April. At least today I wore my winter coat. Maybe the schedulers will realize it’s a dumb idea to schedule 12 home games in April in Chicago. Heather & I had this discussion yesterday: we are amazed at how poorly people dress for these games. Some people in just hoodies or fleece jackets. They have to be freezing. Today, I brought these reusable handwarmers that Santa got me for Christmas.
Kind of weird – you “pop” this metal thing in the warmer (lower left corner of photo), and then it fills up with white foam. If you put it in your glove or pocket, it gets really hot! And then to re-use it, you have to put it in water, bring to boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Which Kevin felt the need to do at 10:30 PM that night when we got home.
Samardzija wasn’t as sharp as he had been, but only gave up 2 runs and struck out 5. And we learned today that Jerry Hairston, oops, I mean Scott Hairston doesn’t know how to hit the cutoff man when throwing in from right field. And that Hairston and Sappelt (the “D” team when lefties are pitching) are not fan-friendly and did not throw ANY balls to the fans after warming up between innings. There is some serious competition for MHC (Most Hated Cub) this year.
Bright spot in the game: for the 2nd day in a row, Dioner Navarro hit a pinch hit home run. The organist was playing The Beatles “Yesterday” when he came to bat.
Cubs lose 3-2, after Steve Clevenger struck out while clutching his back and falling to the ground at home plate. Yikes – he was clearly in pain and had to be helped off the field. I like him, so I hope it’s a minor injury.
Other funny game happenings:
· The giveaway was the Darwin Barney Gold Glove, and we saw 2 people buying them from people in the bleachers. The one guy looked homeless and said he bought his ticket for $15, so that’s what he would sell the glove for. They negotiated down to $12.
· The couple in front of us were inhaling hot dogs with mustard, and it was all over her face and his hands. He was literally licking the palms of his hand to get the mustard off. Gross dude!!! Get a napkin! And seriously, when was your last meal?!
After the game, we went to Bernie’s (where else), where the back garden was closed again. Based on cold and crowds, they really didn’t need to be open, but it still seemed weird.
The inevitable question: where to go for dinner? After way too much time trying to figure it out (and again, part of the reason for this blog…), we decided upon El Maya over on Montrose, just east of Ashland. It’s a BYO Mexican place. We walked there with a stop at our house to feed the mongrels. Liquor store right next door to restaurant where Kevin /Wigs picked up some beer and red wine. Our friend JO joined us (after collecting his parking fees and letting the cars out of hock, er garage).
This was a cute, colorful place with good service and really good food. Spinach seemed to be in almost every dish. For appetizers, we had Guacamole, Pulpo and Abondigas (meatballs!). From the menu description: Mexican mini meatballs made with chorizo, boiled eggs and epazote. Topped with an arbol salsa and mojo de ajo. Served with toasted garlic bread.
My description: YUM!!
For dinner, we had a good variety of choices. Everyone thought it was great, and most of us had leftovers.
Heather & JO – Piramide
From the menu description: Three layers of shredded stewed chicken with melted Chihuahua cheese and three layers of golden corn tortillas. Served over a mole poblano sauce accompanied by arroz verde and spinach.
Heather’s Description: Like a mexican lasagna or an enchilada in the shape of a pie.
Wigs – Molcajete
From the menu description: Your choice of grilled chicken breast, skirt steak, or Atlantic shrimp with melted Chihuahua cheese, grilled cactus and scallion onions, diced cilantro and white onions. Topped with a colcajete salsa. Served with corn tortillas and black beans.
JO’s Description: a big bowl of meat (and he was jealous of Wigs’ choice)
Julie – Pechuga de Puebla
From the menu description: Pan seared chicken breast filled with spinach over a creamy poblano salsa. Served with garlic potatoe puree, wilted spinach and sauteed mushrooms.
Kevin – Pollo Oaxaqueño
From the menu description: Pan seared chicken breast stuffed with sauteed mushrooms and Mexican squash, topped with roasted tomato honey chipotle salsa and melted chihuhua cheese. Served with cilantro potatoes and wilted spinach.
Kristen & Trish joined us towards the end of dinner and then they and JO headed over to Shelly & Joe’s for post-dinner drinks. Joe was pushing some new Caribbean rum and apparently the details are fuzzy after that. I think they stayed way too late and Uber’d a car home. Ha ha. We went home and Kevin boiled his handwarmers.
Recap:
Cubs lost 3-2.
Weather was cold but no rain.
Trish & John sold parking for $25 per spot.
Dinner at El Maya.
My season record: Visitors 2, Cubs 2
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