Lunchtime Bear Patrol

[muckefuck]

It's really shame I don't get downtown for lunch more often, given what good bear-spotting territory it seems to be. The Panera is probably the best vantage point, but I like the food better at Chipotle. (Before anyone gets on my case about eating stealth McDonalds, I'll just repeat that if there were a decent Mexican place anywhere in town, I'd eat there; AFAICT, there ain't so I don't.)

Today there was the cutest salt-and-pepper daddybear there, so I turned my back to window and surreptitiously gazed at him. He had a ruddy head, with dark, deep-set eyes, a sparse line of gray hair separating bald spot from receding forehead, a dark mustache, a full white beard, full cheeks, and a shirt open to reveal a salt-and-pepper hairy chest. If he'd revealed some nipple, I'd be in intensive care right now; if he'd smiled at me, I would've fallen for him on the spot.

But he never smiled at all--and seeing more than a bit of his yummy neck and his hairy forearms was out of the question. I wasted ten minutes hoping to scope out the rest of his physique as he got up to put his coat on, but I got impatient and left first. He was sitting across from a gray-haired woman, who, like him, was wearing a stainless gray button-down shirt and deep-indigo jeans. I overheard her say something in a shrill and grating voice; his voice, however, was rumbling and a touch rough. They hardly spoke a word until they were finished eating and it occured to me that they might be Having a Talk.

Perhaps I need to take him into protective custody...

Comments

[bunj.livejournal.com]

I'll just repeat that if there were a decent Mexican place anywhere in town, I'd eat there; AFAICT, there ain't so I don't.)

I've always liked Taco Fresco, particularly their quesadillas. I'd call them slightly more decent, or at least slightly more Mexican. They're cheaper than Chipotle, too. I can get a whole combo, including a drink, for less than a burrito at Chipotle. However, I must admit, I've rarely seen any bears there. But the one I frequent is on Adams 'tween State and Wabash, so you might be luckier at another location.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Given that I'm not exactly likely to bop over to Woodfield Mall on my lunch break, Taco Fresco is something of a non-starter.

[bunj.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I thought you meant downtown Chicago, not downtown Evanston (I was wondering why you were so far from work). In that case, I guess you have no choice.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

In Chicago, it all depends where you are. You can eat fantastic Mexican food if you're willing to make the trip to Pilsen, Hermosa, West Town, or one of the other Mexican enclaves. But the overall standard in most of the North Side, particularly near the Lake, is astonishingly poor. It's not like LA, where I hear you can walk into any Mexican restaurant and be assured of a good meal. People there all know what the food is supposed to taste like and the mediocre ones just don't survive.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Ah, but I'm sure we can't match the Hmong food you can find in St. Paul!

[aadroma.livejournal.com]

Perhaps I need to take him into protective custody...

Yes, before he gets hit over the head with a rolling pin ... again! ^_-