It really isn't easy to take care of 3 kids, stay healthy, and keep up with work. So much to juggle, hence it’s already July and I’m only my 2nd post of the year. 

F is already 9 months, and we celebrated with a long weekend trip to Salt Spring Island. 

I was excited to go back after all these years (read more about my 2017 trip at this link). Not much has changed, other than the addition of more food trucks (gentrification???).

Oh and the addition of my 3 kids, of course. 

Before the trip, I was a bit worried about what they would eat. It's always difficult to feed each of them, because they have their own preferences, likes and dislikes, which also depend on their level of fatigue. I only let myself think about it for a few minutes, because there weren’t enough neurons in my very full and tired brain to even remember to think about it (if that makes sense…). 

For dinner on the 1st day, we went to Cassette. Spoiler - we all loved it, 10/10 food and service for a group of 9 with a total of 5 kids. 

Entree for 2, with the salmon option, for me, baby F, and H: 

PERFECT fish, crispy skin, no bones. Comes with a salad that I only managed to get one bite of, because the rest of the family devoured it. Can you see the little golden edible flowers garnishing the salad? 

Fried chicken burger for S: 

Also perfectly cooked chicken!!! H is usually pretty picky with fish and chicken, but he was extremely quiet during this meal, too busy eating. 

Cassette smash burger for P: 

He left 3/4 of the burger, mostly because he didn’t nap despite waking up at 6AM to make it for the 8:50AM ferry. More of this delicious burger for me… 

Piles of fries, as you can see from the photos. None of the fried food was overly greasy. The staff remembered to keep salt levels low. I wish we had time to have dessert. Actually, I wish I had the foresight to use formula, so that I could have an alcoholic beverage at the breweries and the cider place that we visited back in 2017. 

For most of this trip, I was with the baby, either nursing or napping him, and not doing a whole lot. We did finally make it to the infamous Salt Spring Island Saturday farmers’ market and made a quick loop around before heading to the nearby playground. Honest opinion of the market is that it was a bit of a bust though, so crowded and overpriced, with a mediocre quality of goods. Who am I to judge though? Some people might like driftwood bird houses, still fresh with bird doo doo. :) 

While F napped, the other kids went for short hikes, beach time, blackberry picking, going to the goat cheese place, bakeries. Because I was mostly with the baby, I think P must have felt neglected. I forget sometimes that he’s not as independent as his older sister, who was having a blast with her cousins and making up games… Anyways, hoping the next trip will be better for him. At the end, he bonded with my cousin’s huge dog and we ended up leaving on a very high note. Guess we’ll come back again… 

Lack of sleep while traveling wasn't as dreadful as I thought it would be.  We stayed one night in a cabin on a campsite with H's scout group, and the rest of the nights in downtown Sechelt. Not to say it wasn't stressful at all, because there was that moment at 4AM that first night, when S kept rolling around, crawling all over my face, and I thought we should hop on the ferry to go back home immediately. 

At both locations that we stayed at, I slept with S, while H kept an eye on baby P in his bassinet that we brought from home.  Whenever baby P woke up for a feeding, H would come to get me. This was S's first time sleeping in a big bed, so she was naturally over excited to have the freedom to crawl out of bed whenever she desired, which was ALL NIGHT LONG. We skipped all of her naps, and she woke up at 4AM every morning. 

We slept so poorly over this entire week in Sechelt, it felt like we had about the same amount of sleep as the newborn days with S, but I still woke up more energized than sleeping at home. Must be that fresh coastal air. 

A few highlights:

•  S made friends with the other kids at the scout camp, while baby P enjoyed all of the attention that little babies get wherever they go. Her language seems to have exploded out of nowhere after camp, and she's stringing together 5 to 6 words now. 

• S figured out her own boredom while we stayed at the AirBNB. Because we didn't bring many toys for her to play with, she entertained herself with "working" and doing laundry. Once she got home, she was so excited to play with all of her toys and put together all of her puzzles. 

• PKLS Burgers

It's hard to make a half eaten burger look good. I ordered the beyond meat burger, with added fried onions and cheese. Of course, gotta get a strawberry milkshake to cut the grease. If they can make a vegetarian burger taste this good, I can only imagine their burgers with real meat... 

Why did I get the vegetarian option? Because H doesn't eat beef and I didn't want chicken.

I came back to Vancouver ready to get back into our regular routine. S has been sleeping 12 hours at night and taking her usual afternoon nap. Being away gave me a new perspective to our reliable routines, and being home with the kids didn't seem so mundane anymore. 

I'm currently craving a burger from The Hive Eatery. Food from hole in the wall places tend to be the most delicious... 

The Hive Eatery is just an order window on one side, and a pick up window around the corner, not more than 300 sq ft inside, so it definitely qualifies for hole in the wall status. Their menu is full of creative burgers, using fresh local ingredients. The Sweet and Sour Pork had a crunchy coleslaw that provided the texture to balance the pork patty, and sweet and sour sauce was just oozing out of the whole burger. The Cornflake Chicken burger was super crispy, just like cornflakes, and super juicy. No dry chicken here! Neither of them gave me that heavy feeling after eating a big greasy burger. 

Definitely pick up a few of these next time.  

Baby S has been sleeping a bit better these days, and her sleep cues are becoming more noticeable (or I'm just more familiar with them now?) She's never fallen asleep when she's around people or while she's playing on her play mat... How come other babies can fall asleep anywhere?!

The other night, as we were leaving the grandparents' home, she was getting fussy from being overtired and not getting her usual naps in. I was holding the car seat in one hand, and baby S in the other arm, because we wanted to reduce the amount of time she would be spending in the carseat, which she currently despises. H was busy packing away other things into the car. I'm trying to lift the heavy carseat into H's raised truck, while baby S is clinging to me, and Grandma tells me to "let the man do it". 

That's an old school thought I haven't heard in a while. Didn't bother me too much because Grandma is a cool progressive dog usually. I wonder what things I'll say to baby S that will make her ears perk up. 

Baby S has been going through a pretty bad sleep regression, and although I expected it around the four month mark, I still was not prepared for it. It is harder than usual to soothe her to bed. The only solution that allows both of us to sleep was for me to lie next to her while nursing her to sleep. However, sometimes, I wouldn't fall asleep that easily, and just as I'm dozing off, baby S is ready for another session of milk.  

Wouldn't it be amazing if there was something for adults where they could be soothed back to sleep by sucking on a pacifier? 

K suggested that I ask my husband to soothe me back to sleep, but I think I'll stick with coffee in the mornings. 

Good thing I am in close proximity to Hey Happy. On the days that baby S gets up bright and early despite waking up every two hours throughout the night, their delicious coconut milk iced latte keeps me alive: 

Sometimes, lumps will form from the coconut milk if I'm busy with the baby and leave it sitting for too long. When it's fresh though, it is the smoothest coffee beverage I have ever consumed. They add in just the right amount of cane sugar to mask any bitterness from the coffee (not that I mind the bitterness because I usually have black coffee; it's a nice change). Wish I could figure out their almond milk to coconut milk ratio too, so I can recreate it at home. 

They used to sell 500mL bottles of these, at $16 per bottle. It's pricey, but if I can buy a bottle of happiness for $16, WHY NOT? Sadly, they're listed as "out of stock" on the website now, so I emailed the Hey Happy team. Turns out that they're currently working on a way to make the packaging more sustainable. Well, good for them and the Earth. 

When I'm there, I will usually pick up one of their chocolate chip cookie too. It's got large chunks of chocolate, and they're topped with a sprinkle of salt, just the way I usually make my cookies. I'll save it for a snack in the afternoon, to go with my orange juice and iron pill. 

For the fall season and Canadian Thanksgiving, they also have a mini pumpkin pie as one of their pastries, which I decided to buy purely because I thought it'd look cute in a photo. Turns out that the pumpkin is perfect. The pumpkin filling is super creamy, and has a good blend of spices and sweetness. Wish I got two so that I didn't have to share with H, and will definitely return for more.  

As I finish up this post, I'm typing as fast as I can, because baby S could wake up from her nap anytime. According to the Wonder Weeks app, she has another 10 days remaining for this mental leap of Events. It's this leap that is contributing to her poor sleep. Guess that means 10 more trips to Hey Happy. 

I'm so sleep deprived right now, because baby S has decided she doesn't like to sleep at night. Maybe it's become a habit now to wake up every 2 hours for milk? Maybe it's part of her Events leap, which is estimated to end in 14 days? I was actually afraid to travel this past weekend with her during this long leap, because it would be so exhausting. For a 2 night trip, we would have to transport more of her things (change pad, bathtub, extra diapers) than the last time, when we did a day trip to Sooke. Everything was booked already, so we just had to grit our teeth and do it. 

Day 1 was spent entirely in the car, racing against the clock to arrive at Tofino before it got too dark. We checked into the hotel, and went to bed right away.

Our actual first day in Tofino started with a visit to Rhino Coffee House, for donuts and coffee (of course. you know me by now, donuts and coffee are the reason I get out of bed at all).

 

We had their maple bacon donut (above) and their bronut sandwich (below), which is an egg and ham/sausage/bacon sandwich. I chose the sausage option:  

It doesn't look that good, and it didn't taste that good. It was all just so-so. 

I also had an oat milk latte, which was again, so-so. 

The line up to order and the wait for the food was also quite long. All the staff wore masks, so I couldn't tell if the person taking my order was actually as unenthusiastic about working there as her eyes and tone of voice suggested. It seems there are line ups for food everywhere in Tofino. I'm not a fan.   

We visited the Caravan Beach Shop and loved their collection of books, stickers, clothes:  

We went for a short hike to Tonquin Beach: 

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Tried to take Starla for a walk on her stroller at Tonquin Beach but came across stairs. Good thing we had our @ergobaby! Made it to the beach and had burgers from @shedtofino for lunch. . . #walkswithstarla

A post shared by louisa (@luwesa) on Oct 3, 2020 at 3:34pm PDT

We visited Chesterman beach as well. Sand got into my shoes, and it was too cloudy to catch a nice sunset. 

Dinner was takeout from the Wildside Grill, because we had to try their gumbo. The food was great, the wait was not. We must've waited for at least 30 minutes, and baby S was throwing a fit by the time we returned to the hotel, because we were out way past her bedtime. H and I were tuckered out too.  

But surprise, surprise! I ended up sleeping better at the MAQ hotel than at home! Their bed and all their linens and towels are so soft, their peppermint hand soap smells so refreshing, and all the art placed around their lounge created a very interesting space to hang out.

I suppose being out all day, traipsing around the little town and beach hopping, contributed to filling up our tired tanks as well.  Baby S still woke up every couple of hours, but we both slept more soundly than usual.

Overall, it was an average trip with a grumpy baby, and parents who don't actually enjoy the beach life. I think H and I were so determined to get the most out of this trip and see as much as possible that we just forced ourselves to go. We just won't let small things like sleep deprivation and the gritty feeling of sand in our shoes get in the way, because we are the grit! 

Who goes to a beach vacation town in October anyways? 

DISCLAIMER - this has nothing to do with the well loved anime about pocket monsters. 

Recently, I came across an article that reminded me of the benefits of omega 3 for baby's brain development, and that I should be including more fish in my diet. H doesn't like cooked fish, so I went in search of good raw fish nearby. Googling "poke near me" gave two results - Island Poke and Poke Fresh. 

The first contestant, Island Poke!

Their set menu didn't look very appealing to me, because we wanted salmon only. H doesn't like tuna (he doesn't like a lot of things okay!?), and I didn't want to risk the chance of ingesting mercury because I'm still breastfeeding. Luckily, creating our own bowls was not too difficult, and with a few simple clicks, we could do it all from their website.

Pros include large chunks of fresh fish, and a good balance of sauce to toppings ratio. 

My only criticism is that the large portion is not quite enough, and our bowls left us with a craving for more poke. Wish there could be an XXXL size, because it was just so good. 

After that great experience, we were excited to dig into the bowls from Fresh Poke:

The portions here were much larger, and they actually use compostable paper bowls, while their competition uses full plastic bowls. However, they're $3 more expensive than Island Poke. The website for ordering was also unfriendly for creating our own bowls, although they did have more appealing set menu options.

Too bad the fish wasn't fresh and tasted like it was recently defrosted. The rice was not flavorful, and the insufficient amount of sauces couldn't save it.  Definitely do not choose the brown rice option, because it was undercooked and seasoned strangely. 

Clearly, Island Poke is the winner in this poke battle. I'm not sure how Poke Fresh even has a 4.4/5 rating on Google, and why Island Poke only has 4.6/5. We're going to go back to Island Poke tonight, so that we can get the mushy texture of the fish from Poke Fresh out of our mouths. 

Not much else has been happening. We're still enjoying the hotel life. 

Travel pace has really slowed down with a 2.5 month old baby in tow. Before, we might wake up at sunrise and go go go, returning only after sunset. Now, we'll try to time it so that we're ready to go as soon as baby S has her mid morning milk, right after her first nap. Then, we'll try to time the arrival to our first destination, so that we're feeding her again before departing for the next. Bedtime is around 7:30PM, which means we have to be home by 6PM in order to properly feed her and get her ready to sleep. 

There's also extra equipment to lug around - car seat, stroller, carrier for rougher terrain that the stroller can't go over, diapers, change of clothes in case of accidents...  

Is all the effort in planning even worth it? 

We decided to see for ourselves by taking baby S out to explore the Southwestern region of Vancouver Island. From the moment we got into the car, baby S started screaming because we made the mistake of leaving her alone for 10 seconds in her car seat while folding up her stroller.  She stopped the moment the car started moving, but both H and I were drained from trying to calm her down. 

In search of caffeine and sugar to recover from this episode, we made our first stop at The Stick in the Mud.

This seems to be a popular spot, as there were a few others in line to order. A group of road bikers were just parking their bikes, and were loudly declaring that they needed sugar and caffeine. This reminded me of my good old days of road biking... 

I was already over my caffeine quota for the day (1 very large cup of black coffee for breakfast), as I'm still breastfeeding, so I had an iced London fog.  I do not regret this choice as it was a very tasty beverage. They use bamboo straws, which were a bit flimsy and made it slightly more difficult to drink out of, but these are strange times. Usually, I would've brought my own container. I do wish I could've tried their coffee, or had unlimited budget to buy coffee beans, because they roast in house and a small bag of their beans was $20. Guess I'll have to return to this cozy cafe one day!

Baby S does not look amused in the photo, because it was hot and windy in the little town, so we escaped to the forested trails leading to China Beach and the Sooke potholes. This was actually the day before all the smoke from the US blew over to us, so looking back now, I feel grateful for the chance to have this mini daytrip before being trapped indoors.

Was it worth it? I'd say yes, because baby S looked so amazed and awe struck by majestic trees along the hike. I'd like to give her more of these types of experiences. 

Since day 1 of this trip on Vancouver Island, we've been on a mission to find food that would keep our cravings at bay. In other words, we wanted Asian food of the same quality or better than what we can find in Vancouver! 

 

I wouldn't say Victoria BBQ House and Bakery is quite the same quality as some of the best Chinese bakeries back on the Mainland, but they had pineapple buns and BBQ pork buns, fresh out of the oven when we stopped by the other day, before the smoke (BTS? ha.). 

We devoured them right in front of their shop, on the street, so that they would still be warm and fluffy. The BBQ pork bun (on the left) was really stuffed with meat. Please ignore the angle of the photo, which makes it look smaller than the pineapple bun. I'd come back more often if they had a hybrid pineapple BBQ pork bun and served HK milk tea. 

Side note - if you look closely at the photo above, you'll see a sliver of baby S's stroller, where we abandoned her she was napping. 

"You know it's like, I dunno you... you float out... float out at sea then one day you find a port, say, 'I'm gonna stay here a few days'. A few days becomes a few years. Then you forgot where you were going in the first place. Then you realize you don't really give a shit about where you was going, cause you like where you at." - George "Noodles" Stone (Dave Chapelle), A Star is Born

Still watching a lot of HGTV these days, and they talk about "forever homes" a lot. This hotel sure isn't a forever home, but I would have to say it's been a pretty comfortable port for the past few days.  

It's been smokey around the West coast lately, because of all the forest fires in the Northwestern region of the US (really not a good year for our neighbors down South...). Makes it a bit difficult to get outside, but we're good at finding those gaps of fresh air and seizing the moment when the wind blows in the right direction. 

Also, I would starve if I could not get out of the hotel and pick up food.

One of my favourite ways to discover new restaurants to try is from the foodies on Instagram, because sometimes, it's easy to miss a suggestion from Google or Yelp. While browsing through my feed the other day, Foodgressing's pastry post really caught my attention. She was in Victoria recently, and had picked up some delicious looking baked goods from a cafe called Fol Epi. I packed up Baby S in her stroller immediately for a walk to the closest location.   

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Another walk with Starla! This time we visited @fol.epi on Yates. I was glad the smokey air had cleared up so we could enjoy the sunshine with her new shades from @babiators, and I could get my pastry fix. . . #walkswithstarla #babyfashion #baby #momlife #3months #cartersbaby #babyclothes #pegperego #instababy #instababygirl #foodielife #babiators #canadiangirl #tourismvictoria @tourismvictoriabc

A post shared by louisa (@luwesa) on Sep 10, 2020 at 5:33pm PDT

We had to wait in line for a few minutes before ordering, but it was worth it to stand around in the sun! I picked up a nectarine danish, a blueberry danish, and a pain au chocolat, and the total came to just under $16. A tad expensive, but no regrets, because the blueberry danish was delicious. Crispy and buttery, with just enough tartness in the berry jam to cut through the sugar. Will go back for sure to get more berry danishes.

Nectarines were too sour. Pain au chocolat was not flaky. 

Smokey air, smokey future. Will we really be happier when we own more property? Will the solution to our problems be a more costly renovation? Or would we enjoy each other's company more while on the road, exploring new paths? I'm trying to not let the smoke dictate how much I enjoy this trip, because we're only here for a few more days, but please, help me be patient during this Mars retrograde.  

We're still in Victoria, and after the first coffee adventure to Habit and too many days staying indoors watching television, I've ventured outside of my bubble to try to find more interesting coffee joints.  The coffee scene is actually flourishing here in Victoria!  

Discovery Coffee, one of the local coffee chains, appears to be more popular than Starbucks. The one close to our hotel has had line ups every single time that we walk past. Is this because they are that popular, or their service has slowed down due to extra COVID-19 precautions? 

I've had the oat milk latte three times now. The first time, I did not like the burnt taste of their espresso. I also felt that their oat milk was missing something (not enough oats? how is oat milk made anyways?)   

The second time, it still tasted burnt, and the oat milk was still not flavorful.

The third time... Well, they're consistent if nothing else. 

Why do I keep going back? It's just so convenient for a short walk, and the quality is not horrendous. It's just not the same as the more flavorful oat milks and coffees in Vancouver... 

I do like that they've partnered with Yonni's Donuts, offering fresh baked goods that are large, dense, and photogenic (straight up my alley!). Their selection changes fairly frequently, so we won't be bored on our frequent visits. Baby S loved the blueberry twist that they had a few weeks ago: 

Today's apricot donut could have used more apricot flavor, because it basically tasted like a regular donut with a thick coat of frosting on top: 

Expect more posts about my Vancouver Island coffee experiences in the future, because we'll be here for a couple more weeks. After 3 weeks of island life, and no progress on the home front, I'm starting to feel the monotony of the same daily routine.  H has been more patient than I have been with all of this, especially as he also has to put up with my postpartum moods. I do appreciate when he brings home the bacon, cooks the bacon, and then washes away the bacon grease from the pan afterwards. 

We planned a very laid back "bachelorette" for TPL of outdoorsy activities in the Gibsons, Sechelt, and Halfmoon Bay area. My only regret was that there wasn't very much drinking on my part, because it was my car and I wasn't about to authorize any of the others to operate it (too much risk in case something did happen!). 

The trip started off with a long and tedious wait outside of Smitty's Oyster Bar. They don't take reservations, as we found out from their snarky voicemail message, and while we arrived at around 6 or 6:30PM, there were a few large parties who just would not leave, so we ended up sitting down at around 7:30 or 8PM. The real kicker was that the hostess told us that she'd text us if we wanted to wander, so we did... Except she never texted. I swear I saw other people who came by after us, go in before us. 

However, we were very determined to eat here, because TPL wanted to have raw oysters, and this place had some good reviews. Ended up just waiting, right in front of the restaurant. 

Was it worth the wait? 

While we did not receive prodigious amounts of food, what arrived on the plates looked presentable and appetizing. We ended up ordering the shrimp, salmon cakes, and scallop risotto, with raw oysters to share.

This was not enough for us, starving travellers, so we ended up adding the chicken trout (note: this is not chicken):

Not sure if I'd go back for the main dishes again, but if I had to, I'd order the chicken trout again, because it was so light and crispy. The risotto was still crunchy, but I'll give them props for trying. Risotto is hard to get right! The rest of it was decent, nothing too memorable about the shrimp or the cakes. The oysters were better than what I've had at other places, very sweet and fresh. This would be a nice spot to hang out by the docks, sipping on a beverage of your choice, and slurping up freshly shucked oysters, at $3.50 a pop. 

So, was it worth it? 

I mean, we ended up eating it all, every last crumb of crunchy risotto. Probably from hunger after waiting so long, in combination with the small portions. 

Sometimes, I'll judge people on their food choices, and I did question some of the food decisions we made collectively, on this trip. I mean, it's so hard to not be doubtful with strangers who are just becoming new friends. I'm sure I'm not the only person out there making flash judgments about strangers, friends, even family members. This guy is too old for her, he doesn't have a real job, she wears too much makeup, and they're so stingy with their money. He associates with him or her, so that makes them a bad person... Where do these judgments take us?

My lovely friends from high school took me to Kelowna and Big White for my bachelorette party and bridal shower (the wedding day is creeping up not too slowly). We walked past Parlour Ice Cream in downtown Kelowna, saw the huge ice cream cones that people were coming out with, and we knew we had to go in to try some. 

Everything is made in house, with ingredients sourced as locally as possible. While the waffle cones were not my favourite because they're meant to be soft, and I prefer the crispy texture, the ice cream itself ranks high on my list. They clearly put a lot of thought into each of the flavors, and I quite enjoyed their Birthday Cake: 

It tasted like real vanilla cake. I tried the Lavender, Cookies & Cream, and Salted Caramel as well, and those were pretty tasty too.



This was a memorable weekend of non-stop activities that my lovely bridesmaids planned, including a surprise party with some of my oldest friends, who traveled and drove for hours to be there. It's so important to have people in your life who travel at the same pace, literally and figuratively. We've all grown up together, bought property around the same time, and we all sort of walk at around the same speed. This group has really influenced the way that I am now, and some of them continue to amaze me with what they're able to accomplish. Including how late they can stay up, playing Super Smash Bros, every single time they get together.

Credit to a Toyota billboard, seen along the highway to O'Hare airport, for today's post title, and because in real life, this filet mignon with shrimp from Chicago Cut Steakhouse was much tastier than I can make it look or sound on this blog:

Also, I almost forgot to take a photo of it, and it's already half gone...

This was by far the best steak I had while in Chicago this week. The server was very enthusiastic about how well the meat was aged, and I'm pretty sure they said 30 days... Or was it 28?



Regardless of how long the meat's been aged or treated, it was very juicy. They somehow trapped all of that juice in the meat, while cooking it to a perfect medium rare, the way I prefer it. I mean, look how dry that plate in the photo above looks.

My favourite part about this dish was that even though the menu said 8oz filet mignon with shrimp, the server agreed to get me a 6oz instead, seeing as I didn't want to waste any of it. Not that I would've been able to tell whether it'a 6 or 8, because if it was more than 6, I still would've eaten it all. It was all in the way the order was taken, and how the service made the meal a completely different experience.

We had a few sides to share, and they kindly plated it for us - brussel sprouts, mac and cheese,  and I think it was scalloped potatoes. I don't think I would've remembered to try the sides, if they did not put it on a side plate for me, because we were all busy chatting and catching up.

Finally, dessert to really make it difficult for us to fit into our trade show pants the next day. Key lime pie was on the menu again, and unlike the one from the night before at Joe's, this one was just the right firmness! You'll also catch a glimpse of the mint gelato in the background, which N ordered, and we all stole a bite. The server slipped us a piece of the carrot cake as well, because he really wanted us to try their house special carrot cake. No complaints.

Hands down, best steakhouse in my life so far. Don't be intimidated by the side entrance, which might be a bit secluded and difficult to get to right now; for whatever reason, they have some strange fences that surround the entry way.

Chicago Steakhouse Tour 2019:
1. Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab
2. Chicago Cut Steakhouse
3. Shula's

This week will probably be the longest of 2019. I'll try to remember only the happy moments, which on this trip in Chicago revolved around steakhouses. Starting with the first night at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab:

I had the 8z filet mignon, medium rare, as I usually like. For sides, we had the sauteed spinach, broccolini, and the Lyonnaise potatoes (seen above the steak in the photo to the top). For dessert, we had to order the key lime pie, in honor of D, who could not make it for his own legitimate reasons:

Everything was just good enough, but not spectacular. The server came by and was very good at introducing the menu, told us about how their beef is prepared, and I should note the number of days that the meat is aged next time, but if my memory is correct, I believe she mentioned that it was between 30 and 40 days.  My medium rare steak was closer to medium rare plus, which is a term that I was reminded of on this trip, referring to steak that is just slightly more cooked than medium rare, but just below medium (it's all in the temperature control). 

Not only that, it was a tad dry and chewy, but hey, I was still able to eat the whole chunk of meat.

The sides were fair. Being the first time that I tried Lyonnaise potatoes, I didn't really know what to expect, but basically, they were large pieces of hashbrown with onions and gravy on top. Not sure if I'd order this again for dinner, because hashbrowns are a breakfast food in my mind.

The key lime pie was not too impressive, based on the ones that I've had before. I prefer a firmer texture and this one was already melting on the plate.

Walking around the windy city reminded me of how fortunate I am to be here, living in a 1st world country and doing the job that I have. Although it was a difficult week, we're blessed with an abundance of food and drink, and I'm grateful for the opportunities around me. I hope to be able to hire a robot to do everything that I don't want to do, like putting together trade show demos.

Chicago Steakhouse Tour 2019:
1. Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab
2. Chicago Cut Steakhouse
3. Shula's