I just stopped by the office and the first batch of conference room chairs arrived. Annie Block picked out this batch from Gilt Home. What do you think?
We’re expecting more chairs this week. Keep checking back for more photos. It’s a work in progress, but the office is definitely coming together.
The Zapata’s are hosting Turkey Dinner for the first time in our new West Loop pad. My wife Katie is a little stressed. In fact, she’s home today (two days early) slaving away. On the other hand, I know we’ll pull it off. In fact, we did a run through with the Zapwater team a few weeks ago.
But just in case you need some tips, check out the Chefs Sheerin, of soon to be Trenchermen, as they offer their Thanksgiving suggestions on Windy City Live.
Just a reminder, the Zapwater offices close at 2pm on Wednesday and reopen Monday.
We’re back on the Top Chef track. However, this episode was quite boring – the most exciting part was when Keith bought pre-cooked shrimp. It was only the third episode and we know it’s still early, but we haven’t been too impressed.
Quickfire: the 16 chef’s must cook up some rattle snake, a very traditional component of Texas cooking, Padma means business and tells the chefs she’d, “better see some mother –ing snakes on some mother –ing plates.” We saw many dish variations, but the first win went to Dakota for her beer-battered snake. The win grants her immunity in the elimination challenge and $5,000.
The chefs then drew knives and were split into two teams: Pink and Green. The teams catered Blanca Flores’ Quinceanera in the elimination challenge where elegant Mexican cuisine was expected, along with a cake. We saw all sorts of mishaps in this challenge. Keith used flour tortillas for his enchiladas, which really seemed more like a burrito. He also bought pre-cooked shrimp during the shopping trip and blamed his mistake on others for not telling him different.
We thought we saw a light in Dakota after nabbing the first Quickfire win, but that soon fizzled when she made a horrendous boxed cake. We are honestly surprised some chef’s even got food out at all.
In the end, Keith was voted off and the judges didn’t seem impressed by any of the chef’s dishes or talent. Let’s hope the season picks up and the use of store-bought products stop.
Breaking Dawn? Yawn, who really cares? Why settle for teenage vampire brooding that is neither scary nor exciting when we can focus on more important things. Sure there is plenty of eye candy in the uber-popular Twilight movies but not much else. Let’s be honest there are much,much, much better teen novels turned blockbusters on the horizon.
For those of us living under a rock I am referring to the March 23rd debut of the Hunger Games. For “The Hunger Games” uninitiated, Suzanne Collins’ bestselling novel depicts a future in which an opulent Capitol rules the planet and the majority of districts are impoverished nations that must serve the central government.
As a reminder of a previous uprising against the Capitol, an annual “Hunger Game” contest is put into place in which two youths between ages 12 and 17 from each of the 12 districts are forced to compete in a brutal fight to the death. As the trailer says, only one comes out.
The trailer was just released today and suggests that the movie adaptation looks pretty spot on. Yes there is eye candy but unlike Twilight also carries with it gripping action, suspense, and characters you actually care about. I haven’t been this excited since they announced our favorite scar bearing sorcerer would be gracing the silver screen. Team Hunger Games all the way!
By the way, my office co-worker Mary has declared she won’t even give the film a shot. I have t-minus 4 months to make her a fan. Stay tuned!
The work on our new office continues. Here is a shot at David’s almost completed office. As you can see from the photo, David has an extensive collection of Pan Am memorabilia. His collection pre-dates the trendy ABC show. An airline brat by birth, his father was employed by the Sky-Gods for 25+ years before moving over to Delta.
To the right, you can get a glimpse of some of David’s political ballots and posters from around the world. If you’re hanging out in David’s office you might get a chance to see the election ballots from the first open election in South Africa or the first democratic election in Iraq. There is also a funny story behind the Vota No poster which was given to him in Caracas by a supporter of Hugo Chavez.
Just last week, the Zapwater team held their annual Thanksgiving potluck at David’s new home in the West Loop. With strict instructions from Annie that the dishes must be homemade (read: no running to Whole Foods an hour before to grab a last minute meal), I was a little nervous about what to prepare. Luckily, my mom happened to be in town the night before our gathering and helped me whip up a delicious broccoli and cheese rice casserole. Mind you, this isn’t at all difficult to prepare, but who doesn’t want a little help from their mom in the kitchen?
The next day, Zapwater closed the office early to celebrate an early Thanksgiving and eat our weight in carbs. For a vegetarian, this meal was a dream come true. Though I didn’t delight in David’s (surprisingly) well received Turbaconducken, I did enjoy more than my fair share of macaroni and cheese, stuffing muffins, sweet potato casserole and corn casserole. After back-to-back rounds of savory food and a slice of apple pie I must say, Zapwater knows how to cook! I’m even contemplating asking my co-workers for their recipes so that I can contribute to my family Thanksgiving next week.
But for those that are still a little hesitant to put together and entire Thanksgiving meal, there are other options. TheWit hotel in Chicago is one place that offers a Thanksgiving Take-Out/Fake-Out. For $300, guests can pick up a succulent maple brined, oven-roasted turkey with all the fixings for a group of 8-10. Just be sure to place your order by November 17th by calling 312.239.9588.
Today is an exciting day. Zapwater’s conference room table arrived. It took a little longer than expected, but this amazing piece of furniture that we commissioned earlier in the Fall is finally here. It’s not only gorgeous, but made from 100% recycled materials.
Did we mention it is also 16 feet long?
The top of the table is reclaimed hardwood flooring from a police station.
The wood beams were taken from the old gymnasium at the Liberty Center in Berwyn.
The metal pipes were taken from Lincoln Park Hospital.
The claw feet are from an old bathtub.
Enjoy the pictures. We’ll keep posting as the design work continues.
Foreclosure filings — including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions — were issued on 230,678 homes in October, up 7 percent from September but 31 percent below the level of October 2010, according to the report issued by RealtyTrac. What does this mean for the Chicago real estate market and does this create an investment opportunity? Zapwater client Lee Kiser of Kiser Group discusses.
We are so relieved and happy that the final 16 were FINALLY picked so we can now get on with the real Top Chef episodes. There were entirely too many chefs competing in the first two premiere episodes and we’re eager for the actual season to begin!
Last night’s episode seemed to lack in talent compared to last week, as Group 3 competed for a final spot. In the first half of the episode, the chefs chose an ingredient then had hidden individual timers to determine the amount of time each would have to prepare their dishes (20, 40, or 60 minutes). We thought the individual timers were a hard task for some, but added a nice, surprising touch. Our hearts did go out to Chaz for not even getting his risotto on the plate. Hasn’t he ever watched Top Chef? Risotto has “elimination” written all over it. We were very pleased as Chicago brought it again with Beverly Kim Clark of Aria, who added some excitement with her Korean-style octopus and an almost immediate ticket into the Top Chef house.
The second half got more interesting when the bubble chefs were told to prepare the best dish of their lives in 45 minutes, using any ingredients in the kitchen. Edward Lee sliced his hand in the middle of cooking, but powered through and finished his dish. (Take notes Jamie). We also saw his true colors when he mentioned killing the other 5 people in the stew room in order to get one of the sought after chef coats. You know he is going to be a fighter this season. Top Chef then decided the hectic premiere episodes weren’t enough, and unveiled another twist – a weekly webisode competition. Quite frankly, we are not interested. We don’t think it’s fair to have someone compete for a spot in the finale when they haven’t participated in any of the other challenges.
On a side note, what was that flowery tablecloth Padma was wearing?
Having difficulty navigating the Chicago real estate market? Real estate and investment expert Lee Kiser (Kiser Group) offers insight and and answers questions like is the Winter a good time to sell?
