Los Angeles

I stayed at a Howard Johnson’s on Santa Monica Boulevard. This is in the heart of Boys Town. We had a plumbing issue & they were pretty slow coming up to fix it. The toilet was overflowing, water everywhere. Granted, it happened in the middle of the night. They had a hard time getting in touch with a plumber.

Sunset Boulevard is an interesting strip of mainly bars. It’s great people-watching. We went to Johnny Depp’s place, the Viper Room two nights in a row. The main bar was pretty loud but we managed to get into the VIP room, which was nice and very laid back. The Whiskey-A-Go-Go is an L.A. classic. We saw Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek (formerly of the Doors, if you don’t know) perform there with a Jim Morrison impersonator.

The Universal Studios tour is fantastic no matter how old you are. It’s a road trip from LA, but not that far. The shark from Jaws jumps out at you, the New York subway train cars rattle from an earthquake, it’s awesome.

Rivers

I love this place. It's in Chicago's West Loop. Appropriately, it is right on the Chicago River. This is a nice place to go for a drink after work or if you are killing time before a train leaving from Union Station or the Ogilvie Center.

The house soups are good - a roasted corn soup and a chunky tomato soup. I'm picky about my Caeser salads and Greek salads, both of which I have enjoyed at Rivers. The grilled salmon is good as well as the Chilean sea bass.

The wine list is comprehensive and take-out is available.

The best time to go here is in the summer. They have outdoor seating with live music at happy hour and nice views of the river.

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The Snuggery

I had no idea one of these still existed! This was a franchise chain of bars in the 1970s and 1980s. There is still one at Union Station in downtown Chicago. My husband had a beer & I had a glass of wine, which was pretty decent. No food, but a sports bar atmosphere. Good place to kill time if you are waiting for a Metra or Amtrak train.

O'Rourke's Office

This place used to be Mike's Western Pump, next door to Leona's on 111th & Western in Chicago. They have fixed it up cute, warm colors, plush seating, warm lighting. The martini menu is good, the wine list as well, and they have a good selection of beers, including some microbrews. This bar is around the corner and across the street from the Beverly Arts Center, so I recommend it for pre-and post- BAC events.

Rhapsody

Had lunch this week at Rhapsody in the Chicago Loop. This is a convenient location for dinner if you’re attending a performance at Orchestra Hall or the Auditorium Theatre.

Upon being seated, we were offered either Perrier or Fiji still water. Nice touch, very European.

The melted brie and apple on brioche was tasty. The apples were warm but still crisp and the cheese was just melty enough. I had the trio of grilled fish, which included salmon, pike and tuna. This came with spinach and fried capers. I’d never had fried capers before and the taste is interesting. You have the salty, briny flavor of the capers, but they’re crunchy from being fried. Each piece of fish is served on top of a piece of onion ravioli.

The food was very good and reasonably priced for a fine dining lunch downtown. Our reservation was at noon and it wasn’t too crowded. Their website is www.rhapsodychicago.com. They have the menu up on the website with prices.

South Side Irish Parade

Marched in the South Side Irish Parade this past weekend. The parade is a fun time. The weather was very cold, but luckily we were with Float No. 2, so we made it through pretty quickly. Went to the Beverly Arts Center party after, total rip off. The cover charge is $5 per person, $15 for a family. We had to pay $15, even though we had two babies with us. You have to get tickets for the food & the food and drinks are really overpriced. They really get you with the fact that there's nowhere else to go. Next year, we will walk in the parade & then go to Gaelic Park. There's more room and the party is better.

Jack Desmond's

We had my son’s third birthday party yesterday at Jack Desmond’s in Chicago Ridge, Illinois and I just have to rave about it.

The room was adorable. The service was perfect. The prices reasonable.

The food was great. Tender chicken, delicious corned beef, mashed potatoes seasoned just right. The cabbage was cooked so that it wasn’t too soft and still had some crunch to it. The carrots and parsnips served together and were just the right combo of sweet and savory with a little spicy kick to them.

The waitresses were lovely. My baby fell asleep in his high chair. They went to the trouble of removing a table so the two seats of the booth could be pushed together for the baby to have someplace comfortable to sleep.

The room is as cute as it looks on their website: www.jackdesmonds.com, or call them at 708-857-7910. The menus and prices are on the website, too.