squeezing in time

Still on this endless stream of night shifts in the ER... I was deathly ill on Sunday, with a fever to 102, and thought I either had strep throat or the flu. I had a co-resident do a strep test on me which was negative, so I'm fairly certain I had the flu. I have never been that sick in my adult life. Other than that one time I got sick with gastroenteritis in Ecuador and couldn't get out of bed for 3 days.

So. it's been busy. But I wanted to share two things.

I went to the Oriental Institute for the first time since I moved to Chicago. They had an exhibit on a mummy named Merasamun, who they recently put through the high tech CT scanner at the hospital. We were amused. It was a really interesting exhibit and they have a lot of other cool permanent exhibits there!

Last night, we finally went to North Pond. The Husband got a gift certificate for his birthday, and we tried to go for Valentines Day but he got sick. So even though I'm recovering from the flu, I felt well enough to venture out there last night. It was so worth it. We went with the 5-course tasting menu. and here are some pictures.

this was the amuse bouche. an oyster that smelled funny and green apple jelly with pureed cauliflour and mini-cavier. not my favorite.

this course was yum. it was lobster tortellini and crab, in broth. couldn't get enough.

this was scallops and pork belly. the scallops were okay but the pork belly was fabulous. so fatty and extra crispy skin. mmmmmmmm.

this was the "main" course of grass-fed beef. a little chewy.

this was another highlight- coconut foam and passionfruit custard.

and the grand finale dessert- chocolate wafer and milk ice cream with chocolate flakes. yum.