Mission: Fun

Since coming back home after a vacation in San Diego, I've been busy. Not only have I been working, preparing to move, and finalizing wedding plans, but I have also tried to have a social life. Here are a few reviews about some of things that I've been up to, complete with links to check them out online.

Jersey Boys

I may not have been alive when Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were killing it on the charts, but I certainly grew up listening to and loving their music. When I saw that student rush tickets were available for performances of Jersey Boys at the Winspear, you know I called up the fiancé and my family to see if they wanted to watch it with me. The musical, of course, was fantastic.


What I really want y'all to know about, though, are student rush tickets. You can sign up to get text messages from the nice people at the AT&T PAC by texting RUSH to313131. Whenever there will be student rush tickets made available, you will get a text message detailing the price and when you need to show up at the box office to purchase your tickets. While there are not always student tickets for every show, the money you save by getting student tickets leaves you some extra to get normal tickets for other shows. In any case, you get the best available seating. For our trip to see Jersey Boys, that meant that we were pretty much dead center, nine rows back in orchestra seating. At the Winspear, that is perfection (although, I really don't think that there is a bad seat in the house). For more information about student tickets, click here.

Kenny's Wood Fired Grill

For those of you who don't know, I will be moving up to Chicago in late August. Being the foodies that we are/masquerade as/aspire to be, Mark and I decided that we would try to go to a new restaurant about every other week during the summer. Our first stop was Kenny's. We went on a Monday night, expecting there to be a smaller crowd. Thank goodness we made reservations. Otherwise, we probably would have had to wait a while to be seated. Oh ye date planners of the world, always remember to call for reservations if the restaurant accepts them. If a place only takes call-aheads, remember to take advantage of it.

The dining area is dimly lit and cozy. Our server was attentive and never overbearing. Once we were seated, we were brought popovers that were fresh, warm, and crispy on the outside, but soft and delicious on the inside. Both of our meals (steak and fish) were perfectly cooked and flavorful. The portions were generous, which is a double-edged sword when the food is good. My steak was much larger than any one young woman my size should attempt to eat alone, but it was so good that I took home much less of it than I had intended to when I ordered it. The side dishes were remarkable. Mark ordered potato cakes, while I had the adult mac n cheese. Delicious does not even begin to describe them. Also, we were never rushed and it seemed as if many patrons stayed for as long as or even longer than we did.It is always nice when you can really enjoy a meal and the company of another person without being rushed out the door. Dining out is an experience. It is not just the food and the drinks. It is the service, the ambiance, the company, the conversation. 

While we are trying to visit as many different places that we have not been to before over the summer, we will probably come back here to try the salad, burgers, and some more sides. Their website, should you choose to check out their menu, is here.

Urban Taco

The next place we visited was Urban Taco. We were planning a day out at Mockingbird Station and were jonesing for some chips and salsa and stumbled upon this restaurant. Be warned: this is a Mexican restaurant, NOT a tex-mex one. This is not a bad thing at all, but you should not go in here expecting tex-mex food.

We chose three salsas to start off our meal: roja, tomatillo, and pico de piña. Our favorite was definitely the tomatillo. The chips are much thicker than most places and are brushed with some spices that make them a little more special than just saltedchips. We both ended up ordering the same combination of tacos: grilled ahi tuna, pollo con mole, and dos equis amber barbacoa. My favorite was the pollo con mole. It is difficult to find a restaurant where I love the mole, but this was great. It had a rich flavor and a bit of a kick. Mark was partial to the barbacoa, which was tender and had a bit of a tangy kick with pickled red onions. The tuna was good, just not our favorite. As far as sides go, we had the green rice, black beans, and roast corn with lime crema. All were good. If we ever go again, I'll probably try the chicken tinga, carnitas d.f., and pollo con mole, although the tortas are certainly tempting. 

Somehow, our original order was lost. It wasn't a big deal as we were in no rush, but our server brought us a plate of churros at the end of the meal because of the mix-up. These were heavenly. They were crispy and perfectly sugared, drizzled with just the right amount of chocolate sauce. To check out their menu, click here.

While at Mockingbird Station, we stopped by the Angelika to see two movies. One, most of you have probably already seen. The other, however, you may not have even heard of. If you want to watch a feel-good, interesting movie about young love and adventure, I suggest that you go see Moonrise Kingdom. The Rotten Tomatoes page for the film is here.

Obviously, people need to work and get stuff done. But you also need to have some fun. Life is not all about working for the next paycheck or cleaning the house to perfection. Do what you enjoy. It doesn't always have to involve going out, either. Mark and I have just as much fun thinking up a meal, getting stuff at the grocery store, prepping the ingredients, cooking the food, and even cleaning everything up as we do when we go out to a restaurant or to a play. Do what you need to do to pay the bills and all that, but never forget to have fun.