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This is the year of traveling light, and traveling well. My favorite pics for being prepared and relatively unburdened:
 Levenger International Pocket Briefcase
My favorite low-fi gadget. The wallet holds a small stack of index cards, a pen, cash, business cards, receipts, an ID, and up to six credit cards in a sleek leather profile. The index cards are perfect for jotting down grocery lists, directions, and notes when laptop or Blackberry are stowed, and you can cram at least a week’s worth of receipts into its side pocket.
 Montblanc Boheme
This nifty little fountain pen has a very small footprint and fits nicely into my levenger card wallet. Unscrew the cap from the top and screw it into the end of the barrel, and the retractable nib extends to offer you a full-length pen. Normally I prefer fine point nibs, but the medium nib on this pen lays down a lovely, lush line. Cartridges ensure that you’ll never run out of ink on the road, and this happens to be the first fountain I’ve owned that hasn’t leaked once on an airplane.
 Blackberry 8830
The iPhone is so last year. Honestly, it’s a lovely piece of almost functional art, but AT&T service is so shoddy that I’ve cancelled my account and returned to Verizon--the carrier that continues to be the most dependable, cross-country. This particular blackberry has a really bright screen, and I prefer its form factor to the weight and slip of the iPhone. The Google mobile suite extends functionality by adding direct access to Google docs, notebooks, maps, and gmail, and the calendar sync utility is the most dependable I’ve seen yet. The blackberry will also take the SIM chip from my London-based phone, so theoretically it will work when I’m in Europe. And email in real time? Priceless.
 Mulholland Angler’s Bag
I blame my mother for three of my addictions: kitchen appliances, fountain pens, and luxury leather goods. I discovered Mulholland Brothers in the mid-90s, when they were producing high-end leather gear for Eddie Bauer. Since then, I’ve owned and gifted several of these bags. The construct of this briefcase makes it easy to carry; it’s big enough to hold a good deal of gear but small enough to make you pack sensibly. It looks and feels wonderful now, and Mulholland leathers age gracefully. I’m carrying the lariat angler’s now and saving my pennies for Mulholland’s Safari bag.
 Amazon Kindle
I waited 45 days for this thing, it’s been so popular! A trapezoidal piece of plastic roughly the width and height of a pencil, it’s got a screen that mimics actual paper and ink, but with the added ability to boost the font size to suit my eyes. Less than 11 ounces, a long battery life, over 100,000 titles available, free book samples (you can download the first chapter of any book you want without charge), and all downloads priced at $9.99 or cheaper. For people who like to read on the road and who toggle between several books at a time, it’s a dream.
Canon Powershot SD950IS
This camera replaces the powershot I left in first-class on the way to Seattle last fall (bummer, bummer, bummer!). Canon’s cameras continue to get lighter, better, easier to use, and cheaper. This camera is particularly helpful when you don’t want to schlep an SLR around, and it takes some really good snaps. Most of the images you’ve seen on this blog as of late have come from this camera.
 Waterfield Gearpouches
I say gearpouch, but I’m a big fan of everything that this company makes. I’ve got a cosmo bag, a padded laptop sleeve, iPod nano case, an iSight case, three gearpouches, and a Kindle sleeve. All of Waterfield’s stuff is really well made and durable, and they make packing for travel so easy (I sort equipment, cables and cords into different gearpouches and grab the appropriate one from my bureau for travel).
Happy trails!
Posted by Voltaire on 03/06/2008 at 02:19 PM
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 Great Lake
1477 W. Balmoral Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60640
773.334.9270
Wednesday night, bachelor night. Honey P. is at tenure meetings, and I’m footloose. The perfect night to try out the new restaurant in our neighborhood.
Great Lake. The shop is a cozy little storefront off of Clark, with one communal table that seats up to eight, a shelf of goodies that nearly covers one wall, and a kitchen of gleaming steel and butcher block.The name hearkens to the couple’s Midwestern roots and hints at the fact that they intend to be more than just purveyors of brilliant pizza. They intend to be grocers as well, carrying specialty items (they’ve already got Metropolis coffee, Rishi Teas, American Spoon fruit preserves, Amish Country popcorn, and Anjou Bakery crostini on their shelves).
Tonight I had my choice of four different pizzas and two kinds of Pellegrino soda. As tempting as the smoked bacon and creme fraiche and onion and rosemary pizza sounded, I chose the tomato, fresh mozzarella, and sopressata. And a limonata. And I eat in. Nick and Lydia, the owners, talked quietly in the kitchen and planned for the spring while I kindled (tonight, Dresden Files) and dined.
The pizza was perfect. It’s nothing like the Chicago-style pizza (also good, in its own right). Nick’s creation was fresh, crispy, honest, and delicious. No surprise, given the ingredients. Their suppliers include Tomato Mountain Farm, River Valley Ranch, Salumeria Biellese, Newsom’s, and Kendall Farms.
Great Lake is open Wednesday through Saturday. Baking begins at 5:00 p.m.
Run, don’t walk, to Great Lake. The only thing more tantalizing than fantastic ... is fantastic-undiscovered.
Posted by Voltaire on 03/05/2008 at 08:00 PM
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 Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Thank you, Michael Pollan, these are wonderful words to eat by.
I enjoyed the New York Times article Unhappy Meals, from which this book was spawned. “In Defense of Food” fills in the blanks and provides just enough structure to forewarn and forearm us.
I’ve lived through the Atkins Diet, the Zone Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Weigh Down diet, the low-fat craze, the high-carb scare, liquid diets, bar diets (and of course the heady days of my mid-20s when Doritos, coffee, and vodka made up my nutrition pyramid). Funny enough, I was thinnest with the Doritos. Finally and thanks to Michael Pollan, I’m no longer afraid of butter. Or a potato. Or a buttered potato.
We’ve changed our eating habits, trading in the middle aisles of the supermarket for a weekly box of fruits and veggies from our local organic co-op, grass-fed beef, and poultry from local farms. We’ve cut our portions, increased our exercise, lost weight, gained energy, and in the process learned a few things:
1. Home, and the meals we prepare ourselves, are best.
2. Love isn’t measured in indulgence, but in care.
3. Food should cost us something.
This is a lifechange I can believe in.
Posted by Voltaire on 03/04/2008 at 11:51 PM
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 Sepia
123 Jefferson St
Chicago, IL 60661
312.441.1920
It was a Tuesday night double-header. Drinks for business at 6 p.m., dinner with friends at 7:45 p.m. For the most part, worth the trip.
Fantastic food--the baby octopus, spiced almond soup, and grid iron steak were perfectly prepared. Terrific and independent yet connected wine list (and the only place in which I’ve found Ahr wine outside of Germany). Attentive yet unobtrusive service. What could be wrong?
The sound. Frankly it’s deafening.
The brick walls and tile floors don’t help. But what really ruined the meal were the two tables that bookended our own--circles of friends hopelessly stuck in sorority rush. To be sure, they were shouting at and over each other simply to be heard in a very loud room. Still, the sound level nearly ruined the entire experience.
I’d come again, but not on a Saturday night. Life’s too short not to be able to hear yourself chew ... and to hear the tables beside you chew the nonfat.
Posted by Voltaire on 03/04/2008 at 11:17 PM
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