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On the Friday of Labor Day weekend, I took Jessica and Katie to celebrate Polish culture (my culture!).  Taste of Polonia happens every year during the Labor Day weekend at Copernicus Center (5216 W Lawrence, http://www.copernicusfdn.org/).  Friday was the first day of the festival, and it was COLD, but there were still plenty of people there.
Katie and Jessica both got the Polish plate, which included pierogi (meat and cabbage, I think), kielbasa (Polish sausage), golabki (stuffed cabbage), and potato pancakes.  I had some kielbasa. It was a lot of food!  It was yummy, but it was nothing compared to my grandma's cooking! :)  Her kitchen is the best Polish restaurant I know.  For dessert, Jess and Katie got an ice cream concoction from Cafe Melba- ice cream topped with raisins, peaches, pineapple, peanuts, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and a wafer.  I've had that at the festival in years past, and it's delicious!
We listened to some Jamaican music (at a Polish festival?) and watched people getting their hair done in crazy styles as a promotion for a salon that was advertising at the festival.
All in all, a fun night.  It would have been better if it weren't so cold!!  At least we got a backpack and lots of glowsticks (I got 5!) from the people advertising Cricket on the way to and from the festival.

Wow, it's been quite a long while since the last post, and that was all the lab and MCAT's fault, but I can happily say that as of last Saturday, I don't have to worry about the MCAT anymore.  I'll know my score in about a month!
A few Fridays ago, Katie and I decided to try the wings at Jake Melnick's (41 E Superior, http://www.jakemelnicks.com/), which won the Best of Festival and Best Hot Wings at this year's Wing Fest.  The restaurant has a very laid back feel as well as two outdoor patios.  I was very excited to sit outside  and people watch since it was such a beautiful day. :)

Katie and I share the wood-grilled artichoke appetizer.  We had a little trouble figuring out how to eat it since neither of us were familiar with the whole artichoke (just the easy to eat artichoke hearts), but we managed. lol.  Both of us got the Pancho's garlic and cayenne marinade chicken wings.  There are ten pieces in a basket, and they sure were messy to eat.  The marinade gave the wings some kick, which I liked.  I'm not brave enough to try the XXX wings (super spicy!!), so these were just spicy enough for me.

The service was okay, though I didn't think our waitress was quite attentive enough to us.  I don't usually have wings, so this was a nice treat for me.  Sitting on the patio was definitely my favorite part.  Since I'm not really a wings person, I probably won't go back the Jake Melnick's, but overall the experience was fine.