Fun at the Goebbert's Pumpkin Patch

It's fall. It's October. If you have kids, off you go to a pumpkin patch. We went to Goebbert's. It's big, commercialized, dusty (they don't believe in paved roads), and lots of fun. There is a pig race (my favorite), a camel ride with a complaining camel, you can feed carrots to a giraffe, lots various animals to see and touch (skunk anyone?), a pumpkin-crushing dinosaur (kids all-time favorite), a train ride (with an enormous line), and even a haunted house (which I completely avoided and chose to look at cute little piglets huddled around their enormous mama instead). There is also a well-stocked and strategically located gift shop with apples and pies and all kinds of fall decor. In the right weather, you can spend a whole day there. Just dress in layers and preferably rubber boots that you can just hose off later. And if you're so inclined to pick your own pumpkins, you can. They provide you with a huge orange wagon just for that purpose. I saw a guy hauling a pumpkin the size of a microwave oven. All they're missing is a country food restaurant with full service. And paved roads.
Swine Derby. Goebbert's Farm.
Place your bets, the swine derby is about to begin!
They must be bred for racing, because they were on the small and agile side.

Review: Wood Chicago

Wood Chicago, restaurant review

Wood, my husband's pick for pre-concert dinner on Saturday, is on Halsted. They have been around for over 3 years. The executive Chef is Ashlee Aubin, winner of 2013 and 2014 Michelin Bib Gourmand Award. The place is intimate, with great modern decor and rather interesting light fixtures. It's a long, narrow space with booth seating along the windows, and the bar running all the way down the opposite wall. One look at the bar and its bartenders and you just know that the drinks will be out of this world (the Lily Pad Lullaby that appeared on the table next to us came with a floating orchid, and blue cheese olives are hand stuffed at the bar with a piping bag).