Henry Yee's Cantonese Restaurant

Henry Yee's Cantonese Restaurant
624 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, IL, (847) 362-2292

We didn't have anything in particular in mind for dinner tonight and we didn't have anything to cook (we'd only gotten enough for one meal and a bunch of re-stocked condiments yesterday), so we drove out towards Libertyville. We stopped at a little placed called Henry Yee's because a) my family name is actually Yee (even though Mom's last name was Lee; it's a long story and I won't bore you with it here) so I could actually be related to ol' Henry and b) Chinese sounded good.

The menu says the place was established in 1961 and it does have the aura of having been there for a while. When we went in there was just one other table filled up and most of the people were Asian. So that was a good sign. It turns out that they were actually relatives (the daughter of the owner), but another Chinese family was going in as we were leaving, so it still passes the test (you know, it should be at least 80% non-white...otherwise it probably isn't that authentic).

We tried the Family Dinner for Two: soup (egg drop for me, hot & sour for Tony, both decent), a platter of appetizers (egg rolls [decent, though I swear I tasted peanut in them which freaked out my tongue...in other words, nothing like mom used to make...but then, no one makes egg rolls like my mother. You could feed an entire village with just a few of them.], crab rangoon [good], Bar-B-Q Pork [good], breaded fried chicken [not bad, though not like anything I'd had as part of an Asian meal before], and beef satay [really good]), and Sweet & Sour Chicken (not bad) and Pork Chop Suey (good).

I asked him before we ordered the chicken whether or not it was real or not (you know, the goopy orange stuff or the real stuff like mom used to make). He said it was. I'd consider him half right. The sauce wasn't that toxic orange stuff, but it was still a bit on the goopy side, though it did have the right pineapple and bell pepper ingredients. And it was fried, which is something we never did at home. So I'd say that this place is fairly authentic (based on my experiences), but it does cater a bit to American tastes. Other hints support this...the place setting includes normal silverware, but the table had chopsticks as well.

The people were friendly, even the grandkids of Henry who were having fun running around. I'm interested in going again. This might even be one of those places where you can get more and more authentic stuff the more often you go. Who knows. It wasn't the best Chinese I've had, nor the most authentic, but it wasn't bad and the staff was nice. And besides, maybe we're related somewhere down the line. My family was from around Canton.

On ginormous pictures, grocery stores, and closets...

Well, I think I'm just about caught up now in the blog. Yikes. You go without Internet for a few days in a new place and all of a sudden you are w-a-y behind. I guess it doesn't help that you wind up eating out more when all your kitchen stuff is only half unpacked.

So...

So far, we really like Prairie Crossing. Everyone has been very nice. There are little kids everywhere. And I seriously mean everywhere. They flock around the neighborhood, running around in droves and gaggles. I may not know much about the Mid-West yet, but it sure does seem full of breeders. :-) All of them seem pretty well-behaved and cute though. And very friendly. If we do wind up having a kid, this is the place to do it.

Tony took a walk around the lake early on Sunday before I got up and saw a bunch of birds and a muskrat (at least, that's what he thinks it was). The weather was great that day. It's been really up and down (no surprise) -- today it is gray and nasty and rainy. I took a brief walk with him (also on Sunday) and we saw a rabbit. We're definitely thinking about getting some bikes.

So far, settling-in-wise, we're getting there. Right now I'm hanging out in the family room with the fireplace going (it's the gas one - nice, big, and roaring - a new fav thing for Harley). The kitchen is just about unpacked. The guest room is just about settled too. The new (new to us) TV and entertainment center are all hooked up and good to go (since Comcast was here on Monday). Now, we just need our new furniture to get here (hopefully soon).

We managed to hang up the ginormous Flamenco dancer picture in the living room yesterday (it was quite a feat, let me tell you...that thing is over 7 feet tall). Today, Tony is putting in a new closet system in our master bedroom closet. It had those standard white wire racks and he's putting in a cherry finish Easy Track system. It's looking good. I'll post some pictures later. We're hoping to get all of the clothes put up today (or at least most of them; our new dresser is supposed to arrive this weekend or early next week).

The first home improvement we made, though, was to put a new showerhead in the shower. It helped, but this house is definitely not great on water pressure. Our last shower spoiled us. The only other weird-ish things we've found that we hadn't realized before is that the bathrooms just aren't set up for ease of use. You can't fit a regular size bathroom garbage can between the toilet and the sink cabinet in either one. It's kind of weird. And there is no towel bar or storage space at all in the guest bathroom. So we're working on that stuff.

We've checked out the local grocery stores too. Close to us we've got a Sunset Foods and a Jewel-Osco. Both are good (both far better than the Kroger's we had to use in Louisville). The Sunset has a nicer wine section and a bit better meat department (it's kind of like a not-as-fancy Whole Foods), but Jewel has a little loyalty card program (similar to Kroger's) where you can save quite a bit on some stuff and a cool thing where you can register and pay for stuff using a fingerprint. No digging in your wallet or juggling your keys. We'll probably use both stores pretty regularly. I think the Jewel is owned or part of the Albertson's chain. Sunset looks to be a smaller local chain (just 4 stores, I think).

Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe

Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe
1783 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, IL 60048, (847) 247-7777

Okay, I have found my new pancake house. Or, at least, one of them. There seem to be a lot of them around here. And I am, after all, a complete sucker for pancakes. This place has good ones, including some really inventive combinations.

Only open for breakfast and lunch, we knew we were in for something when we got there around noon-ish and there was a line. On a Wednesday. Luckily, it was only about a 5 minute wait.

I've already told Tony he'll have to take me here at least once a month since they have monthly pancake specials. This month is peanut butter and oreo pancakes which I was going to try -- but they were out. I wound up having the tiramisu pancakes from their regular menu. It wasn't a sacrifice (though I do love peanut butter). I'm determined to try every pancake they offer so I can find out which one is best. The only problem, I suppose, is that I'll probably never try any of their lunch entrees. I'll be too busy with the breakfast foods.

Tony had eggs benedict with feta cheese and a chipotle sauce. He liked it well enough to clean his plate. The only thing he wasn't wowed by was the cappuccino (they do the Seattle's Best brand stuff -- it was ok, but not great.). I tried the white hot chocolate and it was pretty good. But next time I'm going to try one of their favored lemonades (real lemonade according to the water guy).

Atmosphere was pretty good. We didn't actually see much of the place since our table was literally on the other side of the wall from the waiting area. So I'm not really sure how the ambiance is throughout the place. Didn't really matter anyway, since I was all about the pancakes.

Whoever owns it also owns / operates two other local restaurants under the umbrella name Next Level Dining. One is called Dunhills Steak & Chops (supposed to be an old-style steak supper club with live jazz on Fridays and Saturdays) and the other is Seasons of Long Grove (restaurant by day, banquet facility by night). If their food is as good as the pancakes at Wildberry, then I've gotta give them a try.

Mars' Cheese Castle & Penzey's

Yesterday we decided to take a break from packing and drive up to Wisconsin, primarily to go to Penzey's and get new spices (we'd been getting their catalog for years and now we're finally close enough to actually go to a store). I'd never been in Wisconsin before, so that necessitated a cheese and brat stop. We were actually planning to go to The Brat Stop, but wound up driving past that exit. Rather than turn around we went to Mars' Cheese Castle (2800 120th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144, (800) 655-6147) since it was just off the highway a little farther down.

I don't mean this in a bad way, but it's a pretty cheesey kind of place. Little bit of a tourist trap. That said, they actually had a pretty good brat and darn good cheese spread. There was also a bakery with kringle (a specialty of the area, so I understand). We ate at the bar and the bartender was very friendly, as was one of her regular customers who was there for lunch. We chatted over a game show.

After that brief stop, we were off. We stopped at some Prime Outlets place to check out a Restoration Hardware (didn't realize it was an outlet until after we got there, which wasn't what we were looking for since we wanted a new doorbell). Then on to Penzey's. They are based in Wisconsin, so there are actually a number of stores there. We went to the one in Greenfield.

Nice stores, which I pretty much expected from their catalog. Every spice has an open jar so you can sniff before you buy. And each one has a description so you can see what it is, where it is from, and what you can use it for. We did a whole replenish thing and bought a bag full of different stuff in various sizes, including the sandwich sprinkle that I'd bought Lisa once as part of a gift set (she tells me she loves the stuff so I figured I'd better try it). We might try the Oak Park, IL store next time. I imagine it is closer. We just felt like doing the Wisconsin thing.

Got to use some of the spices last night for our first meal in the house (Tony made cornish hen stuffed with sausage and bread with a side of roasted potatoes and salad). Looking forward to trying out the vanilla and the cinnamon...I'll have to do some baking soon.

We also stopped by a mall to hit a regular Restoration Hardware (picked up a bath mat and a doorbell...though the wrong size doorbell). Since it was cold and I'd made the mistake of wearing a short sleeved shirt (hey, the day before was beautiful!), I also made a stop at Coldwater Creek. Again, I just have to say: what friendly people! Everywhere we've gone we've met just really nice, helpful people. It's almost unreal. I'd never heard that the Mid-West was particularly known for being friendly, but everyone around here has been really nice. The lady at the Coldwater Creek even gave me the $25 discount even though I hadn't brought the discount card in (there's one every month in Better Homes & Gardens).

Flatlander's

Flatlander's Restaurant & Brewery
200 Village Green, Lincolnshire, IL 60069, (847) 821-1234

We were out and about on Monday and wound up having dinner at Flatlander's because we'd stopped at the Walgreen's right by it (I was in desperate need of some sinus medication). While outwardly it looks quite a bit like a chain-type restaurant, it actually seems to be a single location place. The website doesn't give a whole lot of details about who owns it or what their goals are, but I gotta say, it's actually pretty good. Better than, say, Hops down in Florida (the bread & butter there notwithstanding).

The menu had a good mix of dishes and showed some creative flair (like duck tenders), though most of it reads like pretty standard pub food. I had the fried chicken salad (good, though it needed more cheese) and Tony had the ribeye (really good, he said). We both had their baked potato soup to start (pretty decent). Tony even tried one of their home brewed beers and liked it. Next time we'll have to try one of their beer flights. A table next to ours was served one and I noticed they had a really dark looking stout on there. I only like European-style beers. Or, perhaps it is more proper to say that I like ales and stouts and that I can't stand most pilsners or lagers. If I'm going to drink a beer then, by god, I want to drink an actual beer. And it looks like they make real beer at Flatlanders. They'll even sell it to you in growlers, bottles, or kegs so you can take some home.

Looks like they have bands and some other events periodically, so we'll have to keep an eye out. Maybe we'll check out their Sunday brunch with live entertainment.

The Vine Wine & Martini Bar

The Vine - Wine & Martini Bar
101 Center St., Grayslake, IL; (847) 543-0900

I'm already forgetting which night we went to The Vine...Sunday, I think? I'd thought it would be about time Tony actually saw downtown Grayslake (I'd had Nancy drive me by just so I could find out where it was on Thursday). It's a really small but fairly quaint little area with an itty bitty main street (called Center St.) lined with a spattering of shops and restaurants. Drive through it and you pretty much dead-end at the lake and a bunch of big old houses.

Anyway, we thought we'd try out The Vine. It's actually pretty new, from what I understand. It was opened by a group of friends/residents of the area who thought that Grayslake needed something a tad more upscale than the Dog & Suds (a dive drive-up we've gotta try sometime). So they opened up a wine/martini bar with more-or-less tapas-style serving plates.

The Vine was actually a really pleasant surprise. It was nicely decorated inside with some cool architectural details (exposed brick, large fireplace, trendy lights). And while it looks pretty upscale, most people inside were pretty casual and dressed down. They have a fair amount of tables and two cozy leather couches flanking the fireplace.

While the wine and martini menus aren't incredibly extensive (but big enough), they had some good choices and the prices weren't too bad (esp. on the wine). We each had a martini (hey, it'd been a loooonnnng day unloading and unpacking). I tried a Butterfinger-ish one and Tony had the Snickers. Both were yummy and very dangerous. I could drink a pitcher of those things and never know what had hit me...until I hit the floor.

Then we had a glass of wine each with our dinner (malbec for me, some blend for Tony). We each ordered their burger flight. Yes, you read that right. They have a gourmet burger flight. You choose 3 different styles to try on mini-Angus burgers. The only odd thing -- they have just 5 choices. So we wound up getting one twice (the bacon avocado one). They are served with either fries (really good), fruit (too much pineapple), or something else (some kind of salad? I forget already). All of them were excellent. I'm not sure if my favorite was the one with a rich raspberry sauce or the one with the portabello mushrooms. And we also ordered a plate of their roasted red potatoes with a fondue cheese sauce. Also very yum. Next time I'll try and save room for dessert.

We'll definitely be back, especially since their website seems to indicate they hold different events (like wine tastings, or bands). Oh, and they also have free Wi-Fi (for paying customers, of course). Completely non-smoking.

Mambo Italiano

Mambo Italiano
748 S. Butterfield Drive, Mundelein, IL 60060, (847) 281-9100

After the walkthrough on the house, Nancy took me out to a place she'd never been but had recently heard of called Mambo Italiano. It's in a small shopping center, so from the outside, it is pretty plain jane. The inside was fairly charming however, and the menu was really quite extensive. It'll take you a few minutes reading before you can narrow down your choices.

It is a locally owned place (the Cardone family, according to the menu) and they say that everything is made to order and special requests are no problem. The servers and staff were also very friendly.

The dining room is completely no smoking on the weekends, but it sounds like there's a smoking section during the week. That might not be for long, however...the hostess seemed to think that the whole state might be going smoke-free soon (or at least the county). That will be nice. I know that most of the area around us is already smoke-free, but there are still some places that aren't. At any rate, we were there on Thursday night and there was no noticeable smokiness.

I had the Italian Wedding soup for a starter and it was good, though unlike any Wedding soup I'd had before (no pasta, for one, and lots of greens). For dinner I had the carbonara, always one of my favorites. It was pretty good (the sauce hadn't seized up like some do and they had a nice amount of peas and prosciutto mixed in). Not as awe-inspiring as the one I had in Rome, but hey. This is Illinois, not Italy.

I'd say this is definitely worth another visit with Tony. Robust menu, good prices, friendly staff, and all the dishes I saw/tasted were solid.

We're here...

Well, things never quite work out like you think they will, but they still work out. Let's see...Thursday. My flight leaving Louisville was late because of weather issues (surprise). But the walk through went ok (though the house hadn't been cleaned yet; they did get to it before the closing though). Nancy took me out to dinner at Mambo Italiano (more on that later) and then I met Tony back at the hotel.

The closing went fine and didn't even really take that long. We had a lawyer (I didn't even know we had one; Tony says they require one here) and he hurried things along by knowing when and where we had to sign things. We went by the house afterwards and just checked things out. Then we went to Bank of America to deposit the money we got refunded after the closing (they lady had given us a final closing number that was way high).

Then our plane wound up leaving late from O'Hare (again, no surprise) and we didn't get back to the house in Louisville until, oh, around midnight.

Up again Saturday morning to get stuff packed up...but the movers wound up being late because some of the guys were coming up from Tampa after a move. So, all in all, it wound up being far later than planned by the time they got everything loaded. And...a few things wouldn't fit. The lounge chairs and our rice goddess head are still in Louisville (though hopefully Jameson will be bringing them up to us sometime).

So instead of the movers following us up here, we wound up driving up with just our two cars on Saturday night and they drove up Sunday morning. So we slept on a blow up bed after the long drive up (Harley and Grace were, shall we say, not remotely happy about the drive up).

Our stuff got here okay on Sunday with not much in the way of damage. They unloaded and we met some neighbors, did some unpacking, etc. It was a long, long day. Everyone seems very friendly. Not just in the neighborhood either -- people in stores and restaurants. Everyone has been really nice and helpful. We even had the neighbor across the street (Joan & John) bring us some brownies (really good brownies).

More later, I'm beat now.

Final numbers

We got the final numbers today from the finance lady for what to bring to the closing on the house. A little higher than Tony expected, but we'll be okay. Nothing ever works out exactly like you expect.

I should get almost all the packing done today. I have to stop and get a few more boxes (just a couple), but it's really and truly almost done now. And the realtor for the buyers down here is going to stop by with a check for the furniture that they are buying from us. They wound up buying one of the armoires, the red marble-topped nightstand, the settee, the eastlake chair, the bathroom cabinet and the entire dining room set. I'm kind of glad they bought the dining room set. We were debating about selling it, but it looks so perfect in that room it would be a shame to not leave it. The whole two-tone wood thing with the gold & burgundy fireplace tiles.

And I've sold quite a few other things to people on Craigslist (a CD rack, a TV, my old desk & office chair, a tv stand, an Ionic Breeze filter, our entire living room set, the fountain, a phone, the filing cabinet, an armoire, and our old computer). Not too shabby. Purge, purge, purge.

Of course, now we have to buy new stuff. ;-) We've already ordered a new dining room set, a dresser for the bedroom, a sofa & loveseat for the family room, and a double sofa for the living room. Hopefully they arrive not too long after we move in. I ordered most of it from Black Lion. The only way to order furniture, let me tell you. Saves TONS of money. If they carry the brand you want, you *have* to order from them. It wouldn't make sense not to.

Being Lazy

I was going to transfer all related posts over to this blog, but, ehhhh, just too much trouble. So for diehards and posterity, here are the links to the relevant posts in my personal blog:

• Busy, Busy Bee, Monday, February 19, 2007
• All systems go, Tuesday, February 13, 2007
• Wish us luck...., Monday, February 12, 2007
• Woman driving, man sleeping, Sunday, February 11, 2007
• Houses Currently in the Running..., Thursday, February 08, 2007
• Negative weather!, Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Pictures of our new house

Here are the original pictures I took of our new house upon my first visit with Nancy, our realtor. I'm sure I'll be taking more as we move in and unpack. LOL I am, after all, half Asian. So it's kind of a given.

Michael Thomas Salon and Day Spa

Originally posted on 2/7/07 @ 5:35 PM...from our house hunting trip

Michael Thomas Salon and Day Spa: 346 Half Day Road, Woodland Commons, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
(847) 913-5555

I didn't have any houses to see today, so I thought I'd drive around some and maybe get my hair cut (I'm wwwwaaaaayyyyy overdue). So I left Deerfield driving north on Waukegan Road (not that I realized at the time that I was going north, but that's another story). That got boring, so I turned around and then went west on Half Day Road. That was a construction nightmare.

I randomly stopped at a shopping center (Woodland Commons) that I saw had a salon. According to their website, they were voted #1 by NorthShore Magazine readers (not that I know what that is either).

They had an immediate opening, so I went ahead and got my hair cut. It's my first "real" haircut since we moved from Florida, I think. A real salon cut -- get your hair washed, get a little head massage, get a real stylist... Martha washed my hair (they have separate staff to do that stuff) and Melissa cut it. She did a good job and was friendly and she has fun hair -- kind of short and spiky with a shot of blue in the bangs. She chatted easily and gave me the scoop on some restaurants and neighborhoods. I'll have to check out Dundee Road; she mentioned a few things off of there, including a good pancake place.

The salon looks like it offers a bit of everything -- massages, facials, what have you. A little pricey, but not too bad. Though after having had my hair cut at Jay's Campus Cuts for like $10 bucks a pop for the last two years, it felt like a hit on the wallet. But it was nice to actually feel pampered.

Simon Lin's Asian Bistro

Originally posted on 2/7/07 @ 5:26 PM...from our house hunting trip

Simon Lin's Asian Bistro:
410 Milwaukee Avenue, Lincolnshire, IL 60069
(847) 478-8883

We went to Simon Lin's last night for dinner (Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2006). We just ate sushi, but the menu includes both Chinese and Japanese dishes -- and some "fusion" ones as well. The sushi was pretty good; not the best we've ever had, but not the worst either -- and, for the most part, definitely better and more authentic than you can get in Kentucky.

I'd say it definitely caters to non-Asians primarily -- we had to ask for chopsticks (the table was set with a normal place setting) and also for regular sodium soy sauce (they only brought out low sodium to the table: the green lid, not the red one). But, the service was good and attentive. I think he started to figure out after awhile that we actually know about real Asian food -- like decent sake instead of the cheap stuff warmed up.

One notable thing -- after we'd kind of chatted with the fellow through dinner, we got to dessert. I asked him what he liked and he said the chocolate wasabi mousse, which wasn't on the menu. So we got that and it was really quite yum. The wasabi gave just the right hint of fire to the chocolate. Probably the best thing of the night, as far as I'm concerned. It always pays to talk to people and ask questions.

The atmosphere was nice; kind of understated and fairly elegant. Really pretty, artsy bathrooms. All in all, I think I'd go there again. Tony's been before, on previous business trips.

New city...new blog

Four days until we close on our new house in Grayslake. Five days until we actually move in. Number of boxes sitting and waiting for the movers? A lot.

I hadn't planned on starting up a brand new blog for our move to Chicagoland, but after I started thinking about how handy our moving to Louisville (The Pauley's Go to Louisville) blog had been for us, I decided to do it. It's an easy way for family & friends (not to mention total strangers) to keep track of us and for us to keep track of all the new places we discover and the people we meet.

I'll even be moving the few posts I'd put in my regular blog over to here so everything is in one handy place.

So...on to the next adventure!