Burgus Plus world tour

[rungo]

Man, I traipse about Europe for a few weeks, and damn it took me a while to go through the last 10 days of updates. Definitely some good shit going down here.

Keeps making me hungry though. I'm Canadian, but I still miss eating out in America, so cheap and delicious.

[aho]

Day 23

Tomorrow should be the last day of slow updates...No work for a few days in a row!

On to today's updates...woke up to this sky

Prepped some breakfast....Fruit smoothie x Waffles

Woke up so late that the game was just about starting...congrats to Germany, any celebrations out there?

Had to make a visit to The Container Store on North Avenue and also hit up Old Town as well. Supposedly one of the most prestigious areas in the city to live, although IMO not worth the premium...

[aho]

Day 23 contd

At the container store....Might need to buy some heavy duty air/water tight containers for my denim collection...Moths/dust mites are no joke...

In Old Town

This is Second City...

Got hungry and hit up the Adobo Grill next door to Second City for over priced non-authentic Mexican food...

At least the guacamole was fresh

[aho]

Day 23 contd

Alright, so admittedly, the food was awesome...Sometimes you don't need authenticity to hit the spot...Got a Tamarind Chicken

Finished everything...for the most part

More old town

We parked outside a Spice Shop which smelled so fragrant even a few stores down outside

Parking in the city sucks...We avoided a ticket this time...

Got dropped off at work straight after Old Town and by the time I got out I had avoided a heavy downpour and the sun had set...

Had random snacks and soup to curb the hunger...

All in all my day was decent...For some reason I'm always hungry these days....

As I said, tomorrow will be rough for updates but I'll be taking a long break from work so expect big things!

[aho]

Day 24

6 more days and counting...Worked all day today but managed a few shots before and mostly after...

Was too lazy to get a CTA pass (they ran out last time I tried to buy so I've been bumming rides the past few days) so I took a cab last minute to work

This is my view whenever I get off work

Since I was wearing a vest and tie for work it was unbearably hot outside...Forgot to pack clothes to change into after work so I had no choice but to pull a sloppy sam...shirt too long but too hot to tuck!

I got picked up and drove straight out to Niles to visit H-Mart for some Korean groceries

As some of you may have access to H-Mart's around the states, you'll know there is a fully functioning food court that actually churns out some good food...Not on the same level as say Joong Boo, but still good enough!

I decided to order Chinese food since there was no line (a family of 6 were in front of me while I tried to order some sollangtang...)

My girlfriend got her ramyun before I got my order

As luck would have it, despite my being number 57, the family that was in front of me at another food stall happened to get my order before me at the Chinese place, and they were #58! Such is my luck when hungry...

[aho]

Day 24 contd

Finally got my food....Sesame Chicken! Sometimes fast/fake food is the best food...

The actual grocery part is pretty expansive and cheaper than what you'll find in the city...

Random vegetables

The Lychee were so sweet we got a whole bag

Some worm looking stuff

All that kimchee for my Koreans lol

The best kimchee I've ever had was actually from a friend of mine who brought a batch straight from korea that he packed in his luggage...His mother's secret recipe...The secret, was some kind of nut...

A sloppy fit

[aho]

Day 24 contd

Speaking of friends, during my college days I would sit around a flame with my Korean friends while drinking...We would stick dried fish etc. over the flame to heat it up....Good times

The had fresh samples which were apparently cut directly from the remains you see here

Possibly my favorite drunk food ever (next to outdoor ramen stands, fries, and well, ok, everything is good drunk food)

They also have a bunch of Japanese stuff at H-Mart, so feel free to tap D'Ass if you know what I mean...

Koreans make the best seaweed by the way...

Oh soju, my greatest friend and foe....In this picture I am unsuccessfully capturing a "tornado" that I tried to shake up...Another relic of my hardcore drinking games....

I also found some intense denim fadez while there...

Mind blown???

On the way home it started to rain heavy...

After getting home I sat around and watched some dramas...That's all for now!

[aho]

Day 25

Only 5 days left...

Went to Ann Sather's today which is actually the closest restaurant to me. It was my first time at this famous Chicago breakfast place and I won't exactly say that the "wait" was worth it...

I ordered the French Toast Fantasy, as recommended by Rachel Ray who apparently has poor taste...Never did like her 30 minute meals show, or even her talk show...

[aho]

Day 25 contd

Ok, I'll admit, the Cinnamon Rolls were one of the best I've had in a while...

Here is the French Toast Fantasy....I had what I'm going to now on call a "Hot Doug's Revelation"....Meaning, the first time I had Hot Doug's hot dogs, I blew my mind and knew they were good, but it wasn't until I had dogs from Portillo's (a famous Chicago style hot dog place) that I realized just how advanced the dogs from Hot Doug's were. Today, I had the same realization with the French Toast from M.Henry's (posted a few pages back)....In comparison, the French Toast at Ann Sather's, while admittedly good to look at, was so buttery and rich that there was no balance in flavors or texture! I felt sick after eating a few bites and had to take it all home in a box...

My girlfriend, on the other hand, ordered an omellete which was pretty decent...Although Lou Mitchell's actually has the fluffiest I've ever eaten...

We got home and decided we had to bike off the Cinnamon rolls we devoured for breakfast...Oh HAIL no...Somebody parked their bike up against mine!

Riding action along Lake Shore

This is the Elks Veterans Memorial (?)...stopped for a picture

Best believe it was hot in the direct sunlight...Notice I'm wearing my usual scrub wear gray tee!

Lot's of parks in Chicago now

We ended up here...

There were a few "trails" outside

[aho]

Day 25 contd

Double cuffs for the bike ride

Various ass shots

The Nature Museum is actually a pretty cool place for kids to learn how not to waste energy, and about all the bugs and animals that used to roam Illinois

They even have miniature hands on models of how water gets conserved, etc

[aho]

Day 25 contd

Check out mah buggg collection

Walking sticks

Praying Mantids

The largest grasshopper in North America...So large they dont jump or fly but they have few predators because they actually have a poison...

Straight out of Dharmaville

No idea what I was trying to do here

A bug collection from back in the day

Rats among us!

They also had a display of rotting foods with the dates of when they were first placed inside...Imagine the stench...

[aho]

Day 25 contd

Can you imagine if these things were still around the numbers they were at during the 1800s?

There were some butterfly paintings on the wall

All the butterfly artwork built up the anticipation for...The butterfly room! "No tuts!"

They was gettin it onnnnnn

As is customary, you are supposed to check your body to make sure no butterflies are sticking on you as you exit...

[aho]

Day 25 contd

The Nature Museum also has a few gardens, on the rooftop and surrounding

A "prairie" that would've been normal for Illinois back in the day

Looks like the woods in Michigan to me...

Dare me to jump in?

In the distance stood one man...And his pair of jeans...

We biked due south to drop by the Lincoln Park Zoo which is free all year round

I didn't really take good pictures of the zoo unfortunately...You can get pretty close to the gorillas, only separated by a few inches of glass, which is pretty freaky...Got flashes of the movie "Congo" when standing right next to the silverback

People used to say I looked like this monkey, especially when I sported the "Nakata" style hair cut back in 2006/2007...

[aho]

Day 25 contd

Lions....

...Tigers....

...and a Pissing monkey, Oh my! (He actually did face the crowd and tried to piss on people lol)

After the zoo, we biked back home and decided to hit up "Little Italy" on Taylor street around the UIC campus for dinner. We never explore this area so it was my first real time...

On the way

Not there yet!

Random L shots

Damn Chicago traffic!

We ended up at Francesca's on Taylor street having read many positive reviews

[aho]

Day 25 contd

"Best Calamari in the City"? I might even agree with this statement...

My girlfriend ordered the Frutti Del Mar

And I, the rigatoni with sausage...Holy crap the pasta was perfect!

Saw this guy with a handicap sign in his car....Somehow I don't believe it...

Walked down to the famous Mario's Italian Lemonade Stand which has been around since the 50's...

We had the Strawberry and Watermelon flavors...All natural fruit, it was actually on a level beyond the food we had for dinner. I recommend the Watermelon flavor which blends with Lemonade perfectly

Across the street is Al's Italian Beef, which I haven't had yet...Rumor has it that Portillo's actually has some of the best Italian beef in the city...Will research this in the future...

With stomachs full and appetites completely satisfied, we drove home....Passing through Greektown was torture!

And that's it for today...Hope you've all been enjoying the updates the past few days, despite having slowed down the pace a bit. As I said, I have a thing or two up my sleeve that will have future ramifications for the tour (hmmm what could it be?) and hope that you look forward to it!

medine! did you get back at me on meeting up etc? We'll need to set something up...

[aho]

Day 26

4 more days...

Woke up and had cereal...wasn't enough so I had Rigatoni leftovers

About an hour later, having applied to a few jobs, I decided to cook up some Chappagetti

It looks pretty disgusting at first since it's just black sauce...

Like I said before, it is one of the best drunk foods! Once had three packages after a grueling day of beer pong...Oh college!

[chambo2008]

aaaah can't see your pic's anymore!

[aho]

oh damn my account just got jacked....is it just the latest post that you can't see or all?

[ThinFinn]

^i can't see all of the "Day25 contd" and all the others before....

only pics i can see are from "Day26"

[chambo2008]

can see one pic from day 26 of noodles and thats it

[aho]

ok the first few posts for 26 should be working....I had to create a new account because I think I exceeded my upload limit for a free photobucket account...I'll go back and delete some pics so all of day 25 show up once I finish day 26 uploads...

Damn, time to get a flickr...

[aho]

Day 26 contd

damn it...just found out I exceeded the 10GB bandwidth for a free account on photobucket...This is all on a new account so I'll either have to pay to upgrade or repost all my pics throughout the whole tour...

But for now, the tour must go on...

___________________________________

Speaking of Chappagetti, the MSG always kills my throat so I need to eat a bunch of fruit and drink water after eating it. Had an apple but it didn't really do anything so what the heck, how about an afternoon beer...

Afterwards I met up with a fellow sufu head for some pizza at Renaldi's...

Went to check out the view from my apartment building's roof...

The three tallest are (in order from left to right) the John Hancock, Trump Tower and Willis Tower

From the other side of the building you can see Wrigley Field...

Sunsetting

Hit up Paciugo for Gelato afterwards with my girlfriend

[aho]

Day 26 contd

Talked to the owner of the store and we requested a few flavors for tomorrow...And he actually complied! Black sesame if you were interested!

My Paciugo point card is loaded by now...

Walked down Broadway to Jewel Osco for late night groceries

"Whats a YAKY-SO-BAAAAA????"

We got home and decided to make some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies!

Who doesn't love cookie dough?

Sooooo cripsy on the outside and hot/soft on the inside...

Alright so I'm gonna have to figure out what I want to do with the pictures...Apparently the bandwidth cap is reset every month so it might be a while til you can see them again (approx 5 more days...I signed up a 19th) but I don't really want to pay for a photobucket account....Re-uploading everything at this point is not something I'm interested in but I'll at least try to fix some of day 25 because I like those pictures...In the mean time I'll just use my new account to upload...Apologies for the inconvenience!

[almostnice]

come on aho,you spend so much money on food,those few bucks wont hurt.this happened to me once with my flickr,i upgraded for a pro-account for 17,-$ a year,dont know how much photobucket is...

[aho]

^haha I'll probably give in eventually but my bandwidth will reset in a few days...if it blows up again I'll just pay the fees for the sake of the tour!

Day 27

Today I roamed about town with a fellow sufu head all the way from the ghetto to Wicker Park...Wayyyy to hot out for me but ever in denim is I...

Ghetto (didn't take pictures of the more "rough" areas)

More views of Wicker Park...hit up Apartment Number 9 and walked around...

[aho]

Day 27 contd.

Lined up at American Apparel was a bandwagon of hipsters...not sure what the attraction of working at AA would be, however...

Ended up getting a few drinks...Not the most solid drink menu (you can't beat the local Whole Foods IMO lol) but good enough for me!

Ordered Oberon as a throwback to my college days...yay for Bell's!

Ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger....Pretty decent meal...

Afterwards, iCream was a must...

Vanilla/Cinnamon with Cookie Dough never steers me wrong!

Upon returning home I went to bike with my girlfriend...And of course, my bike was on the other side of the room knocking over a few others...

Truth is, we ended up a Paciugo for Gelato since we requested a few flavors yesterday (including black sesame) which they faithfully produced for us...

Paired with Sea Salt Caramel, probably the best combination yet!

Bonus shot from day 25 that won't show up until photobucket gives me more bandwidth...

Unfortunately that's all for today!

[aho]

Didn't wear the jeans yesterday but I can't explain why until the end of my run...

[vitasoy]

^ first time trying black sesame ice cream a few weeks ago.. it is now my favourite flavour haha, great updates

[aho]

Just a heads up...I didn't disappear with the jeans! Expect at least two major updates before my run is up...

[ranonranonarat]

its been a great run with you aho. the next person will definitely find it hard to beat! you've certainly restored everybody's confidence in you! HA!