I’m home tonight after a long weekend of travel for work.  I spent some time in the great north recruiting high school and a few college students to come to UT. Lots of students gave me the hook ’em sign and wanted to talk football before explaining that they were looking to go to a ‘real’ music school for undergrad.  Sigh. 

One of the best things about my trip  was all the food I ate!  40 hours in a city doesn’t give you much time for sightseeing, so I tried to at least eat adventurously while I was on the road and make the most of my time.

In Chicago I ate lots of delicious things.  On Friday night, I went to Morton’s Steakhouse on Wacker for their late-night happy hour.  After 9 PM on weeknights, they serve $5 appetizers at the bar, and it’s mostly for locals; the bartender gave me the regular menu and didn’t mention the special until I asked about it.  (Thanks, Yelp.com!) Besides crab cakes and wedge salad bites, I had a fantastic gin martini with blue cheese olives.  

On Saturday, I ate breakfast at Argo Tea and lunched on Midwestern beers at a sports bar off Michigan Avenue.  After a Guinness and pot pie at Kitty O’Shea’s for dinner, I was a happy tourist indeed.

In Interlochen I ate some organic lunchables that I got at some hippie grocery store  (two meals’ worth), plus a venison burger and locally-brewed cherry mead at a bar/grill in Traverse City.  I had some time this morning before heading to the airport, so I stopped for breakfast at a bread bakery in Interlochen and tried samples of their honey wheat, rye, and cherry loaf before ordering a homemade bran muffin. Delicious and fiberful!

Now that I’m home my food options are decidedly less glamorous.  I’m trying to use up some pantry items before I head to Iowa on Thursday night, so this will be a week of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, TV dinners, pudding, and eggs. Yummy, and decidedly less caloric than road food.

What are you having for dinner this week?