Previously on Search for J Street...

Our 2 heroes found themselves in a bind as they faced what seemed like certain doom at either the hands of the Chicago mafia or the devious trap imagined by none other than the Deep Dish villain...

Haha nooo. I'm just playing with you. There was no super hero action. I wiiiish, but that doesn't mean the rest of day 1 in Chicago was without adventure! After I got done at Northwestern, I wandered around the area for a bit looking for the 22 bus which would take me to the hostel where we were all staying. One stop into a weird shoe store and chat with an ultra friendly doorman later, I finally found my bus stop and made it up
town where Erin and my friend Katie J were waiting for me. They had stumbled upon this delicious cafe called Basil Leaf. Erin and Katie J got yummy looking sandwiches, but when my salad came out it put the sandwiches to shame!



It came with delicious berries and nuts and crumbled blue cheese aaaaaand a honey vinaigrette to top the whole thing off! Plus the waitress and the kitchen were very accommodating. When I asked if they'd take the blueberries off, they gave me tons of extra strawberries! If you are ever frequenting the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, you need to stop by. Not only is the food good; the wine is yummy, the service is friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the customers who sit behind your table and end up in your pictures are quite humorous.



See there's a funny man waving to our parents, and then there he is saluting us with his wine. He was sills. His wife was totally trying to drag him out of the restaurant because he was embarrassing her, but he just made us giggle.

Well after an hour and a half lunch, Erin, Katie J, and I are getting a little worried. See we were suppose to have a 4th joining us, my friend Julia (Baltimore Julia). She said her plane was to land at 1, and by the time lunch was over it was almost 3. Why hadn't we heard from her? Did her plane hit the same Lost-esque turbulence? Was she dead? Alive? Trapped on mysterious island?

*RING* Phew. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief. There she was. It had just taken her a solid hour and a half to commute to the hostel from O'Hare. The crew was all together! Mayhem was sure to ensue.