Chicago, Day 4

At least we did something today in addition to eating. We visited the Art Institute of Chicago. Our guide book said Tuesdays were free days but we ended up paying $12 a piece. It was worth it. The Institute has a huge collection of paintings, some sculpture, furniture and a paperweight collection as well as other pieces. I don't have any education in art appreciation and some of what we looked at I couldn't figure out why it was in a museum. But some pieces just jumped right out at me. This is one of that I really liked by Henri Fantin-Latour. In the painting, the flowers in the foreground are reflected in the silver pot. It made for an enjoyable morning; we could have spent the entire day.

We left the Art Institute in search of a Chicago-style hot dog. The restaurant in the guide book was no longer there so we ate at Relish in a mall on Michigan Avenue. Frankly I wasn't impressed. I'm sure that it depends on what style hot dog you were raised on. I grew up eating southern-style dogs: mustard, onions, slaw and chili. These hot dogs had mustard, onions, dill pickle, tomatoes and hot peppers on a poppy seed bun and were sprinkled with celery salt. The celery salt was the part that made it especially distasteful. But I can mark that off my list: Chicago-style hot dog, check!

After a brief episode of wrong-parking-garage blues, we were able to find the car and head back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. I know it sounds like all we do is eat, but with afternoon traffic, the trip back was two hours. A quick change and we were off again back downtown, so that's another two hours. I guess the traffic is something you get used to but what a waste of time. We decided that next time we come we'll look for something a little closer in.

This dinner was the meal my boys had been looking most forward to this whole trip: Smith and Wollensky. Of course, large portions of beef are involved, so they'd love it by definition. But they had eaten there last time they came without me and had those wonderful, slightly enhanced memories of the perfect meal at the perfect restaurant. It was good, don't get me wrong. But I didn't think it was worth the prices we paid. Steak is seldom my first choice for an entrée, but mine had a streak of gristle running through it that I didn't think a $40/10 oz steak should have. We had creamed spinach and onion rings for our vegetables and neither impressed me as all that special. The waiter was indifferent and service was about the same as what we experienced at TGIFriday's the first night we arrived.

The wines were of course excellent, but at those prices they should have been. Our son treated us to a bottle of his all time favorite, one that he had previously received as a gift – we don't go around spending that kind of money on wine. It was good but exorbitantly expensive and the puritan in me kept thinking of all the things we should spend that money on. I wasn't really disappointed with the place. If we hadn't already gone to Cafe Spiaggia this would have been the best. I just wasn't all that impressed.