Thursday Night Shenanigans.

I'll admit it.  I'm a bit of a hermit crab.  I KNOW that I live in an amazing city, and I KNOW that there are amazing things happening around me.  But...I kind of hate chaos.  And people.  And people causing chaos.  Which is what summer can feel like to me in Chicago sometimes.

Every once in a while, though, I put by party pants on, and engage in what can only be described as Thursday night shenanigans.  Why Thursday night?  Because Friday or Saturday just makes too much sense.  And I work a ton of weekends so sometimes Thursdays feel like Fridays.  

This past Thursday started off all innocent.  I came home from work, and went out to meet my CARA peeps for our 7 miler.  While I was out running, and then declared that I was done running, I received the following text message from Mr Sharkie:  "OK.  We might drink some bubbly real quick."  followed by "on the patio out back."

Bubbly??  Patio???!?!?!!?!?  I'M IN!!

Stop One:  Madison Vine Wines - home of free wine tastings on Thursdays from 6 pm to 8 pm.  I'm in freaking love with this wine shop.  There is a seating area upstairs if you want to sit inside, or you can scale the catwalk to get to the outdoor patio (essentially a deck they built on top of their garage).  The best part about Thursdays is that you can taste the wine, find something you like, buy a bottle, and enjoy it on the patio.  Or, if you're the couple next to us, 3 bottles.  It's a really friendly atmosphere, and no one will judge you if the entire patio has a conversation about where Game of Thrones is headed next.  Pontificating on the end of Game of Thrones (I know, I know, read the books already Sharkie) was amazing and all, but Sharkie was hungry!!

Stop Two: Pizzeria del Mercato - new pizza place with wood fired thin crust pizzas in the heart of the west loop.  Mr Sharkie and I stumbled upon it a couple of weeks ago while we were out running, and knew we had to go back and try it!  We were the only ones in the restaurant.  Which I typically find pretty creepy/a bad sign, but we got the owner all to ourselves and got to learn all about the pizza!  They use all organic ingredients, and make their own mozzarella.  Also, they get all their meats from Le Saridine down the street, so everything is super fresh and local!  So...how was it?  Delicious.  Feast your eyes on these pics:

Prosciutto and arugula.  Pretty classic.

Sausage of the day (chicken curry) and chili oil.  So good!!

I should also mention that they are BYOB.  And BYOB we did.  You know, from stop one (genius, right??)

Stop Three: If I wouldn't have been messing around on facebook, this never would have happened (see kids, facebook is bad).  Johnny's Ice House.  I have a couple of friends who play on leagues at Johnny's, and I've been dying to scratch my hockey itch, so we decided to stop by and see a friend play.  His game started at 10:40 pm.  We hit the Ice House, and I encountered this:

Unfortunately.  The whole Ice Crew thing didn't work out for me.  This time.

and then we hit the bar upstairs.  Johnny's Ice House is home to one of the best kept secrets in Chicago: The Stanley Club.  Home of $13 Labatt Blue pitchers, and actually pretty good hockey!  We watched my friend's team get killed, then he headed up for a drink.  So much fun!  But also so much 12:30 am!! We finally decided to head home.  

Fun, right?  

I kinda like the city again :)