mmmmmm... pork.

  Roasted Pork Shank 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

Wow, what a week this has been. I forgot how tiring a full time job could be. Damn.

All I wanted to do today was curl up in my bed and nap, but that doesn't seem to be an option EVER now that we have two kids. Max has been on a tear lately. If he's not standing on my glass coffee table, he is standing on the open door of my dishwasher, or climbing into the dog's crate, or dragging the stool across the kitchen so that he can open the silverware drawer. It's hard to get mad, because he does ALL of this with a smile on his face, but it is just exhausting. I spend all of my time with him (which is now at a premium, mind you), chasing him around and saying, "No Max. Put that down, Max. Max, NO!! NO NO NO NO NO NO!"

Well, anyway, I really just wanted to sleep, but that wasn't an option, and the thought of just chasing children around an apartment all day was not appealing, so I decided that we needed an outing. The original plan was the Field Museum, but then Michael started talking about German food, so we ditched the culture and ended up at the Chicago Brauhaus, which was a total blast.

I ordered the day's special, a roasted pork shank, which as you can see was enormous. It came with those pretty spaetzle, and a delicious dish of sweet and sour red cabbage. It also came with a cup of yummy liver dumpling soup, but Max ate my whole dumpling, so all I got was some liver broth. The pork shank was outrageous. I can't figure out how they cooked this thing, but the skin on it had turned into just one giant pork rind. It was so good and crispy and delicious. Michael had some tasty wiener schnitzel and Dylan and Max shared a plate of wiener wurst and fries. And... Michael and I each had a giant mug of ice cold German beer.

Which brings me to my next point.

Did you all see Melissa on The Today Show yesterday? The video is here. I should state, first, that I am a staunch Good Morning America viewer. I have never liked the Today Show, and I never will. Matt Lauer was very cute back in his local NY days on Live at Five, but I don't care for him anymore, and Meredith Viera annoys me. This segment did not change my opinion. I can't believe the way they were trying to demonize Melissa and the rest of us moms who enjoy cocktails now and then.

As Michael and I were enjoying our beers at lunch, we started chatting about how annoying that segment was. And then we had this exchange:

Michael: So, if you aren't supposed to drink at playdates, does that mean that we shouldn't have these beers at lunch?

Danielle: Probably. Ridiculous.

Michael: Seriously.

Danielle: I know. I love drinking during the day.

Michael: Yeah, that's the best time to drink. Drinking at night just makes me fall asleep.

Oh, one more random thought. I had such a great night Thursday. Jess from Sassafrass came over for wine (more drinking!) and Thai food. It was the first time we met, but we talked for hours, and I had a fabulous time. She is awesome, and I am so glad that Stefania pointed me towards her blog. I love spending time with other bloggers!

Comments

[Lauren]

I love that you go to a restaurant to have a MORE enjoyable time with your kids. Eating out with Julian, who really just wants to run around, is trying. And then Jamie doesn't eat much and gets bored. What fun for everyone!

[foodmomiac]

We went through a couple of months of not being able to eat out with them. But... Max is an insatiable eater, so we've found that if he has a constant supply of food, we are OK. He does make a terrible mess of the floor, but we try to clean up a bit, and we always over tip. Dylan is pretty good. She spends a lot of time writing and coloring on the place mat.

[Karen Goldberg-Driggs]

Is the Burghoff still open for business? Went to school with Sarah Burghoff...and a few distant cousins. Just Epicurious!

[foodmomiac]

Karen, the Burghoff closed last year. That was our original plan, actually, because we were heading down that way for the Field Musuem. But, the Brauhaus was terrific.

[TJ]

I did see the Today Show segment. Here's my assessment: The Columbia-trained psychologist was fair in saying that women deserve and need to support each other, though they may not want to reach too far in the bottle to do that. On the other hand, Matt Lauer practically painted stay-at-home moms as drinking to the point of passing out, pouring their children in the minivan, and swerving home to make supper. It's really a very chauvinist approach, I'd say, considering that it's fine for guys to get together, watch a game over beers while the children are playing. Lauer, himself, probably has a team of nannies helping on the homefront during his dinner parties... Go Diane Sawyer!