I rolled over and started awake. It was 3:30am. Searing hot pain in my left foot. I’d felt this before. I have a genetic abnormality where my body does not process toxins like “normal people” so one of the toxic byproducts of normal cellular metabolism builds up in my blood until it becomes supersaturated then, without notice, it precipitates into a joint.

I have gout and it sucks.

So I got up (eventually, because, you know, I’m not a morning person) took my Aleve, and started getting ready. My lovely travel-mate, Adrienne, arrived at 8:20 (she IS a morning person), and we made it into the car and onto the road before our planned departure time of 9:00am. For anyone who knows me, trying to get me both “on-time” and “in the morning” is well neigh impossible. To her I say this: relish the moment. It may never happen again.

The trip was uneventful. We made it to the Hotel Palomar just before noon (Chicago time) and booked a quick lunch at Seasons 52.

Actually, that’s not true. The trip was eventful insofar as I used my time in the passenger seat to call and verify that I was double covered on auto insurance, cancel the other, and may even get some of that coverage refunded. In their defense, Geico actually has good customer service. Their commercials, however, will not be defended here or ever.

 

Seasons 52:

This is a restaurant that changes its menu every week (hence the 52). I’ve been here several times (Kansas City and Indy), but I love that it’s a new experience every time, but it’s a known entity.

Drinks: I had a ginger-mint agave soda. It was light and refreshing. Anymore, I can’t get enough of ginger! It’s like it’s the new Sriracha (which is a topic for another paragraph, long story short I don’t like the flavor of Sriracha and I think people (millennials) should just stop already). Adrienne had a sparkling mint raspberry-lemonade. These two drinks made me long for summer days when I can break out my Soda Streams (admittedly I have two machines) and make my own sodas.

Appetizer: Hummus Duo with salted Lavosh. There was a minted edamame hummus and a roasted red pepper hummus. Both were fantastic but they complemented each other quite well. The minted edamame was light and refreshing like a vodka/tonic. The roasted red peppers were strong and daring. The edamame was soft and pliable. The red hummus was thick and stood tall. The lavosh was the perfect level of crispiness and broke into geometric pieces, giving right angled pieces that were exact for dipping.

Lunch: Adrienne got the Rainbow Trout grilled. There was a light carmeled glaze, three roasted and smashed Yukon golds, and a few oven roasted carrots. The glaze on the trout made the dish. It held the fish together on the fork and enticed the palate begging for me. The Yukes were roasted and literally smashed as if with a cold steam iron to the point the sides broke out but not to the point of mashed. The carrots were so small they roasted and carried an earthy sweetness. There was a mayonnaise-mustard sauce with dill that was great, although she wasn’t a fan of the sauce. It reminded me of the dill that grows wild at my parents’.

I got the seabass. I guess I didn’t realize this is handily one of my favorite fishes. It was roasted and set atop a patty of black rice which, itself, was topped with shiitake mushrooms and sugar snap peas. This was drizzled with a warm, rich sauce which I could not quite place for it was too fraught with memories. The mouth feel on the sea bass was to die for.

Dessert: she had some peanut butter chocolate thing and I had some strawberry cannoli thing. They come in these oversized shot glasses and you get a super long spoon, almost like a grown up version of the spoon you get with a frozen Coke.

 

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to rest my gouty toe. I really hate you, uric acid, I really do. Dinner is set to Joe’s Seafood.