When dining alone, always sit at the bar. If the bar is full, wait for someone to go to the lavatory and steal their seat (And food. And date.) DO NOT under any circumstance, sit alone at a restaurant at which you are not a regular, during dinner, especially if it’s packed to the gills.

Of course, I speak emphatically about this subject as I put myself through the great horror of DINING ALONE tonight in Minneapolis.

I ate at Pizzeria Lola, one of Food and Wine or Bon Apeitit’s best pizza restaurants in America. The pizza was terrific (I got “The Boise,” natch. Potato, caramelized onions, fontina and (added) smoked bacon.). Eating alone isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world. There are times when it’s a fun experience. Namely, when you’re sitting at the bar and can talk to strangers. It’s much harder to talk to strangers when they’re on a date at the table next to you. People don’t really like that interaction very much.

Today’s drive took me from South Bend to Minneapolis, with a stop in Chicago for breakfast and a stop in Madison for a mid-day walk. 

I’ve never actually “been” to Chicago. I’ve been to Chicago. I went to a White Sox game. I saw Wrigley Field from the outside. I drove on Lake Shore Drive. But that’s it. One day on my first cross-country trip when I wasn’t a very smart traveler. Today was my second experience in Chicago.

Very often, I find myself bothered by Chicagoans love of Chicago. I come from a school of thought that says you should resent the place that you’re from. There are obvious and non-obvious exceptions (basically, it’s a case-by-case basis) but in general, I am comfortable with those who don’t like the place they grew up in. I mean, we all leave for a very good reason, right? 

Chicagoans are loyal to their city like no other American citizens. New Yorkers will defend New York with a sense of irony. Californians will “subtly” mention to you that “IN CALIFORNIA, WE….” Bostonians have no right defending their city. Etc.

Chicagoans embrace their city. They truly LOVE their city (I’m really into using the CAPS lock button right now). And so, long story short, I pretend to hate Chicago because I love being a contrarian. But I’ll say this: the little bits of Chicago I’ve seen are pretty great and I’m sure I would really love it if I, you know, spent more than a few hours there. 

—

When you’ve spent two weeks eating nothing but steamed beets, you’re probably really going to enjoy that first ribeye. And when you’ve spent hours upon hours of time in your car, when you’re presented with a really lovely city, you find yourself skipping through the streets with glee. 

Now, I care very much about how I’m perceived, so I didn’t skip, but my heavens is (Downtown) Madison, Wisconsin a lovely place. I sent Amanda a text while I was taking a 45 minute driving break and told her we need to get a weather transformation machine so that we can move to Madison immediately. 

I haven’t seen any of Minneapolis really. I got here at 7 p.m. just as the sun had set and I was frankly too tired to drive downtown and go for a nighttime stroll. Maybe in the morning. Tomorrow’s drive will, god willing, take me to Bismarck, North Dakota, aka The City Where Dreams Are Made.

Notes: 

-To yesterday’s list of states, you can add:

Arizona
Diplomatic Plate
Minnesota
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Ontario

-I saw my first Fiat, not in Chicago, but in Madison. It remains the only other Fiat I’ve seen. I doubt I’ll see another one until I get to Oregon. 

-Roughly 94% of the road between DC and Minneapolis is currently under construction. I need to look into starting my own business that sells orange construction cones.

-The notion that I would “disconnect” from DC and politics and all of that has already been put to bed. I listened to the President’s press conference today and listened to about 5 different NPR affiliates all of whom had stories about the local impact of the government shutdown. Seriously, Speaker Boehner badly needs a “Come to Jesus” moment. “Jesus” in this case being the House Democratic Caucus. 

-The radio edit of Trinidad James’ “All Gold Everything” left me wondering if musicians, primarily rappers, record two different versions of their lyrics or if they just go into the studio and say the words “Phoney” “Sucker” “Shhhh” “Women” and “Stuff.” Any insight would be greatly appreciated.