Is that a BABY crying?!

OMG.

We attempted to run out for a quick burger Tuesday night at a neighborhood bar around the corner. My hope was that, mid-week, it would be less crowded and less conspicious to bring a baby in (it is kind of a scene on the weekends - Fifty/50 for the locals).

As it turns out, Tuesday is trivia night and the place was packed. We decided to roll the dice. We had driven around for about a half hour to quiet the little noise machine, and he was actually asleep. And the burgers are really good...

We snuck in and headed to a dark corner upstairs. One drink and app into things, Ben melted down. Like, I've been STABBED and need immediate medical attention, melt down.

Conveniently he belted out his first blood curdling scream just as the trivia MC had turned down the music to ask participants a question.

People literally turned their heads in our direction saying, "is that a baby crying?," as if they'd have been less surprised to look up and see an alien. I immediately started sweating. We ate our burgers in a flurry while taking turns trying to silence the little guy. Nothing worked.

We ultimately ran out, heads down, knowing that is the last time we'll ever have the 50 burger...and I may be too scarred to dine out again before Ben is of legal drinking age.

In short, the crying has not subsided...

As mentioned, we made another trip to Angels and Mariachis on Saturday night. This new Mexican restaurant is on Division, a short walk from the house. We've been habitually hitting a different Mexican cantina on Chicago Ave for the past several months once or twice a week - Chris has a new-found love for margaritas. So when A&M opened its doors a couple weeks ago, we went on opening night. It was packed and we had to abandon the mission without even a drink but headed back the following weekend to see if it was worth the hype. It was packed and we ate outside, though it was really too cold to do so comfortably. The food was great, excellent chips and salsa, queso fondido and guac.

I've also unofficially begun a hunt for the best fish tacos in town and theirs are pretty good. That night, for reasons I'm still unsure of (blame the delicious margs) the manager comped our meal. Something about packing up the patio furniture while we were eating, though it hadn't bothered us. Needless to say, it was a nice touch.

We visited last night with Gaston and enjoyed it again. The scene is great - a nice mix of the eclectic old neighborhood style with the new, trendy crowd. It is officially in the running to take over the old favorite. The patio will be great once the weather gets a little warmer. And back to the margs, they are fantastic!

Friday night we decided to give Via Carducci on Division another try. The LP establishment had been a favorite for years when we lived in the 'hood, and their pizza delivery was on speed dial. When we saw the store front go up on Division last summer, we anxiously awaited the opportunity to endulge in a cozy, carb-filled experience. Perhaps we went to soon after it opened, perhaps we loved the original too much. Disappointment was high and nearly unrecoverable. Nearly. After almost a year, and several positive recent reviews, we decided to give it another shot. The food has definitely improved, though some argued still nothing special. I had eggplant parm, the boys had spaghetti bologanse and chicken parm. And we had a nice bottle of wine Stag's Leap. Yet inspite of the improvements, the poor service overwhelmed the experience. I won't bore you with the details but the service was poor. With all the great options in the neighborhood and on Division alone, it doesn't look like we'll be back to VC anytime soon.

See what others are saying about Via Carducci here.