My brother has been traveling a lot thanks to his job, so when he said he was in Chicago for business, I took a day off work for some sibling quality time. Since he was staying in the suburbs, we drove up from Champaign to Oak Brook and picked him up for an afternoon of fun.
On the agenda was Naperville, a town Boyfriend is familiar with thanks to his occasional work trips to the Fermi National Lab. Lucky for us, this suburb of Chicago is full of little restaurants and shops and the main event, the Naperville Ale Fest, but more on that later. First, lunch.
First, we stopped by Green Basil Vietnamese restaurant. Brother has had his fill of "mainland food," and was craving something Asian. Sad to say, but the Midwestern suburbs are kinda lacking in the Asian food market, and he was suffering from too-much-potatoes-syndrome.
It was a little amusing eating Asian food in the mainland with my brother. All the little things on the menu like "daicon" radishes and "sandwiches" label instead of banh-mi made us chuckle. Boyfriend ordered the pork "sandwich" and Brother got some pho, while I stuck with the shredded chicken "sandwich." Ha ha.
Chicken "Sandwich"
Next stop, the Ale Fest. Just a few blocks down from Downtown Naperville, is the Naperville Settlement and the location of the First Annual Naperville Ale Fest. Considering that this was the first time this event was held, I was amazed by the turn out. It was a beautiful Summer day with blue skies and sunshine and the crowds reveled in the idea of drinking outside in the Summer heat.
The Ale Fest had more than 80 different breweries from Vermont to California (even Hawaii) serving multiple brews from white tents on a grass lawn. We were surrounded by people with pretzel necklaces, listening to a live band and sipping out of their souvenir event glasses. We spent the afternoon walking around the grounds and drinking half (and sometimes full) pints of beer and sitting in the shade talking about life goals and football. It was the first time the three of us attended anything like this and we were soaking all of it in.
Punch card for samples
Souvenir cup
Live entertainment
Taking a break from the sun
We're no strangers to sitting on the ground
WHAAT?! Longboard in Naperville? Haha
Tank: Old Navy
Skirt: Forever 21
Sandals: Two Lips
Purse: Steve Madden
After the Ale Fest closed, we were ready for some food to soak up the alcohol. Leaving the Ale Fest was quite hilarious. Seeing the crowds departing, we saw people in their 70's walking home for dinner and young 20-somethings laying in the grass taking their post-beer-guzzling siesta. This truly was a new experience for me.
Walking around Downtown Naperville, there were a lot of options for dinner, but I normally like to eat places that I've never had before. Let's avoid the chains and dive straight into the most interesting food we can find. After a quick internet search I chose Tango Argentinean Grill. We're no strangers to meat, but it sure beats eating at Subway or Burger King.
Elderflower liqueur, Champagne and soda
Steamed muscles with garlic white wine sauce
Muscles glasses - Epic Meal Time Reference
Assorted grilled meats: Steak, chicken, sausage, blood sausage, entrails and veggies
After dinner, we were stuffed. I don't know if the plate of meat is accuratley depicted, but it was supposed to feed two. Between the three of us, we couldn't finish it. It seemed like the best solution was to go on a little drive to Aurora to the Chicago Premium Outlet Mall to walk off dinner and exercise our shopping muscles, something that my brother and I are pretty good at.
We dropped Brother off at his hotel just as the sky was turning dark. It could've been the impending storm, or the fact that the sun sets around 9 PM, but the skies were turning black and it was time to head back home. We bid Brother adieu and drove back to Champaign to our comfortable bed.
I'm glad we got to spend the day with Brother during his time in the Midwest. I'm proud of him that he's found a career path where he can experience so much while he's still young and enthusiastic. I'm even happier that we can bond as adults and get to know each other on another level.
Any time my family is doing something and willing to see me and make time for me, I will gladly drop as much as I can to spend time with them. Sometimes it's sad that I live so far away from the people that I love, but it's moments like these that make me feel like time and space don't matter. As long as I get to laugh and create great memories with them, then proximity is a trivial factor. It's the love and respect that I have for them that will never fade.
-Akemi-chan
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