Island Soul, Improv & a 6 hour Brunch

Back in the day when I took up residence in and throughout the streets of Chicago, I used to blog recaps of how amazing my weekends were. As I got older and shed my club rat ways, I stopped blogging about my weekends... mainly due to the fact that I could only say so many wonderful things about watching TV, going to the dog park, or attempting (and failing) to finish laundry.

This past weekend I was once again out and about and decided it'd be fitting to blow the dust off my "weekend reviews" and share the shenanigans!

Friday:  

Dinner @ Island Soul Caribbean Cuisine
We started our night with dinner reservations for 12 at this quaint Columbia City eatery. In hindsight this probably wasn't the best choice for 12 people, as the restaurant is small and difficult to accommodate large parties, but the food was pretty good. I ordered the tapas size pork ribs, side of collard greens and hush puppies. The ribs were great! So tender and delicious. The greens were pretty good, but I didn't care for the hush puppies.

Tip: Not the best place for parties larger that 4-6. Service is on the slower side, so give yourself a buffer if you have plans afterwards. Food is pretty good.

In front of Seattle's infamous Gum Wall

Improv show @ Unexpected Productions Improv Comedy Show
After dinner we headed over to the Market Theater to catch the Unexpected Productions comedy show. This improv show featured 2 teams battling it out to be crowned winner for the week. The returning champs were His and Hernia, while "Nerds in Costumes" were the challengers. Tickets to the show were $15 and I actually won "runner up" for best audience contribution of the night (I suggested "Mister Rogers" when asked for a childhood show). My prize: VIP tickets for 2 to another show! Can't wait to head back there with my boyfriend and see how he likes it.

The good? The show is actually pretty entertaining and a nice way to spend your night. The drinks are also super cheap and they had Strongbow cider (one of my favs) for $4/bottle so I was a happy camper.

The bad? The cast isn't that diverse, which makes for limited diversity in jokes and material. Not just that, but with the audience contributing to the show, if you have a wack audience the show has the potential to fall flat. There were a few contributions from the crowd that were very boring when I was there. Luckily the teams were pretty good and did the best to roll with it.


Sunday:

Brunch @ Toulouse Petit
The only thing I love more than a good brunch is a brunch with bottomless drinks. Unfortunately Toulouse Petit doesn't offer a "drunk brunch," but they DO have a happy hour brunch from 8a - 11a, with happy hour pricing ... a considerable savings from their regular pricing. Because of this their brunch is a hot commodity and usually packed.

Yay for Spring and spring clothes!!

Lucky for us, one of our girlfriends made her way to the restaurant before everyone else and camped out to secure us a table in the bar. We were able to fit our group of 12-14 and proceeded to down amazing food and drinks for roughly 5-6 hours. Yeah, shit got real! I actually had an amazing time and would suggest everyone give this place a try.

I've been here for brunch, dinner, and their late night happy hour. I'd suggest going for happy hour first because the price point is awesome and the selection is vast. A great way to try out numerous items on the menu and see what's worth paying full price for... granted I've never had anything I didn't like.

Tip: Go for Happy Hour and order the Catfish Bites, Fried Okra, and Fried Green Tomatoes.