Last evening Manny's was the LTHer version of Disneyland, the happiest place on earth. Not only was the company terrific, music toe-tapping and food, from mini-latkes to kreplach to skirt steak spot-on, but there were unlimited choices, portion size, small portions allowed us to sample more, and trips through the line.

Thanks Cathy, David and, for the inside line on Manny's, Steve Z.

LTHer's never bite off more than they can chew.






Geno and the boys in motion.


A real family afair.

Kuhdo clan


Paul SL and daughter


Carolyn and Abby (Hammond) with friends


Though maybe not strictly PG as who could resist the double entendre after Ronnie_Suburban arrived with a 3-foot Summer Sausage.



Many more pictures of the evening may be found here

Ellen and I had a wonderful evening, happy holidays to all.


Enjoy,
Gary

Thank you for a great evening. It was my first LTHForum event, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting such great people and savoring the food and festivities.

We had a great time!!! As evidenced by Jimthebeerguy's happy grin as he shares his Gueze:

Photo: G Wiv

I regret not playing more of the "LTH Shuffle" game... will make a note to play better next time!

I also regret not sampling Manny's LTH Cake. I stood by it and tried to will myself to grab a plate, but I couldn't - I was too full! A nice problem to have!

That was my first knish ever, and it was delicious!

I'm requesting the forum name of the woman who brought the retro Martha Stewart hor'dourves book and the catfish relish. (and who, ironically enough, won one of our raffle gifts) Thanks!!

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put this evening together. It's always a pleasure to spend time with people who enjoy food as much as we do.

Jean and Keith

It truly was a great event! Thanks to the party planners for making it come together.

I didn't shuffle as well as I could have, but I did manage to spend some good QT with several new or relatively new LTH acquaintances, both at Manny's and at the Skylark.

Who was responsible for the origami?

What a blast!

For me, the evening was a dynamite combination: the pleasure of meeting new folks AND being introduced to Manny's beef stew, knishes, short ribs, and all the rest. Great evening!

Thanks to David and Cathy for the inspired choice of venue!

Skip

Saint Pizza wrote:I'm requesting the forum name of the woman who brought the retro Martha Stewart hor'dourves book and the catfish relish. (and who, ironically enough, won one of our raffle gifts) Thanks!!

That would be "helen." And you and she have more in common than raffle gifts, Saint Pizza, she is also the mother of 3 boys!

germuska wrote:Who was responsible for the origami?

Carolyn, illustrious wife of the illustrious Hammond, did the origami.

And thanks, Joe, for the Slovenian sausage, Mean Dog mustard, and fresh lemon-basil pasta in cool retro bag . A friend of mine has been looking for this specific sausage for some time. I will let him know that a trip to Cleveland is just the thing!

For me, the highlights of the Manny's sampling menu were the chopped liver and the crispy potato pancake. They had some stiff competition from the Skylark tater tots, though.

I'd like to add my thanks as well to Cathy and Dave and Steve and to the great company. What a wonderful evening; and well worth braving the snowy ride there and back. Actually, the whole weekend was a reminder of the bounty LTHForum has brought to my life. After the party, I took a friend from Dublin to the Velvet Room. Today I met a friend at the Depot for breakfast, and tonight I was at a party that featured pastries from Pasticceria Natalina - all places that came to me via LTHForum. Looking forward to next year and to gatherings in between.

Thanks indeed to David Hammond and Cathy2. Splendid evening. Everything went flawlessly. Fabulous job.

The "supertaster" strips were an added bonus -- and I'm looking forward to seeing the link to the survey on how that works in our lives.

Cynthia wrote:The "supertaster" strips were an added bonus -- and I'm looking forward to seeing the link to the survey on how that works in our lives.

Here's the survey http://supertastertest.com/survey

The Wife, a supertaster, suggested that it was perhaps a bad idea to hand out bitter-tasting strips right before dinner. Hope it didn't impair anyone's enjoyment of the Manny's repast.

Belated thanks to C2 and Hammond for another great event. And apologies to Joe G, who ended up with my vintage Australian fancy cookbook. Joe - I owe you a beer at the next after work get together.

My kudos, also, to David and Cathy. Really a splendid event, and I'm grateful I was able to be there. It's so nice to have occasion to see so many people (and meet several new ones) when visiting Chicago.

On behalf of the Lovely Dining Companion, I add my gratitude to everyone--named and unnamed--who had a hand in putting the evening together. Once again, time flew as we met old friends and new. There just wasn't enough time.

The raffle continues to amaze. One thought: what about turning it into an auction with proceeds to benefit a worthy cause (such as the Greater Chicago Food Depository, to pick one at random) or even, possibly, LTH itself to help underwrite things like the annual GNR dinner?

David & Cathy -

Thanks for organizing this well-planned event. It was fantastic meeting everyone! I don't think there's a friendlier group of people on the planet.

David Hammond wrote:
The Wife, a supertaster, suggested that it was perhaps a bad idea to hand out bitter-tasting strips right before dinner. Hope it didn't impair anyone's enjoyment of the Manny's repast.

Actually, bitter aperitifs are popular worldwide because they enhance the sweetness of what follows. (They actually did tests with Campari, so this is not just anecdotal.)

Cynthia wrote:

David Hammond wrote:
The Wife, a supertaster, suggested that it was perhaps a bad idea to hand out bitter-tasting strips right before dinner. Hope it didn't impair anyone's enjoyment of the Manny's repast.

Actually, bitter aperitifs are popular worldwide because they enhance the sweetness of what follows. (They actually did tests with Campari, so this is not just anecdotal.)

A well-engineered bitterness is one thing, but I guess The Wife (and Jim in Logan Square, I think) felt that the chemical taint stayed on their tongues for a while.

David Hammond wrote:A well-engineered bitterness is one thing, but I guess The Wife (and Jim in Logan Square, I think) felt that the chemical taint stayed on their tongues for a while.

Hey, at least they're less toxic than they used to be.

Great party, thanks to all who made it possible.Thanks as well to who ever brought the Valrohna chocolate and to ReneG for bringing the pata negra ham.

P.S. Peter, no need to worry about it drying out !

Many thanks to all -- it was amazing being with an entire roomful of people who understand driving 3 hours for pastries... I can't wait to try the olive oil and home-canned goodies!

Great night and an inspired choice of location. Thanks to all that made it happen.

Antonius and I had a great time at the party, really enjoyed all the food and were too full to even LOOK at the cake. (But a couple of Cookie Monster's delicious cookies were the perfect end to the meal.) It was wonderful to get caught up with old friends and to put names to faces for those we hadn't yet met.

The raffle was fabulous! I'm indebted to Josephine for putting together a great collection of little seasoning jars and other treats! And I know Antonius was pleased with both of his prizes -- the lovely salts from kayen and jlawrence's maple syrup from Ohio (which has already made our 7 year old very happy).

Everyone involved in the planning and organization deserves hearty congratulations!

(where's the party going to be next year? )

We all had a fantastic time, thanks to all involved. What a prod parental moment I had when Molly held up a piece of well marbled corned beef and announced "you won't find that on no Boar's head stuff !".

By the way, GWiv's photo of "Geno and the boys in motion" is really an excellent picture. I want a copy to hang on the wall. Might be worth entering in a contest of some kind if so inclined. The composition and feeling of movement are really exceptional (at least to my eye...but I'm no expert).

We had a great time at Manny's on Saturday night. I wish we had a mpeg of
"Geno and the boys in motion". And it was enjoyable to see Manny's employees who were clearly enjoying serving us dinner.

When do we book 2008?

I have been remiss in echoing the praise for last Saturday night. The food, the company and the great excitement of the raffle made for a wonderful evening. The drive home in the snowstorm was just an added bonus!

Thanks to all involved!

-Mary and Don (The GP & Mr. X)

We're enjoying Helen's catfish relish and <someone's>* habanero jelly on our festive spread of cheese, sausage, crackers, cookies & eggnog tonight as we celebrate Christmas Eve in our apartment tonight.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

* so sorry, we don't know who gave us that from the LTH Xmas party swap?