Last night in Chicago

I've had an enjoyable five nights in Chicago, but am looking forward to going home tomorrow so I can sleep in my own bed, stop living out of a suitcase, and of course see Jason and Isabelle. I'm scheduled to land in San Diego at 2:25 tomorrow so I should have plenty of time to make it home and unpack before I pick up Isabelle from daycare.

All in all the conference was good - overall I'd rate the first day of speakers better than the second, although today I sat through an afternoon session on "microcampaigns" that was probably the best seminar I've attended during the three times I've been to this conference. The speaker is the head of an ad agency based out of Milwaukee that has helped companies, including hospitals, create some very provocative, cutting edge campaigns that were exciting and successful. I'd love the opportunity to come up with such highly targeted, compelling and unique marketing campaigns.

My last session wrapped at 4:30 so I decided to embark on a solo adventure. I took a cab to Frontera Grill, which is owned by a very well known chef named Rick Bayless (who not only won Top Chef Masters on Bravo but created the menu for President Obama's annual state dinner earlier this year). Frontera Grill is known to be more casual than some of Chicago's other high end restaurants, and their seating is done on a first come, first served basis. I thought if I got there right when the restaurant opened at 5:30, and I only needed a table for little ol' me, I'd have no problem getting in. Nope. The wait was already 90 minutes long, and I had to wait 30 minutes just to get a pager!

Luckily, after only 20 minutes of watching the bar area like a hawk, a seat opened up at the bar so I snagged it and enjoyed my dinner there. The food was wonderful! I had a blackberry mojito, a jicama / pineapple / cucumber salad, and a Mexican inspired roasted chicken dish with rice and grilled green beans. A very simple meal, but it was so flavorful!

After dinner I found my way back to Michigan Ave (thank you, Droid GPS) and walked around the shopping district and the river for a while before heading back to the hotel to start packing!