mexican food and yo-yo ma

last night JE and i went out for a night on the town. first we hit up frontera grill, which is owned and run by chef rick bayless (who was on iron chef america and lost to bobby flay). unfortunately we couldn't get reservations and arrived at a very full restaurant. thankfully they have a large bar area which has tables that are first come, first serve. unfortunately i realized that i should have brought a camera to take photos of the food, but i was running late and forgot. i'll be sure to do so next time!

after ordering a few margaritas (which were great - who doesn't love strong margaritas) and i don't mean the frozen blended ones.. those are just silly. on the rocks with some good tequila, strong so when the ice melts into the drink it doesn't become watered down - it becomes even better!

we had some sopes for starters and then JE had pork tacos al carbon and i had the enchiladas with mole sauce. JE's tacos were delicious and the mole sauce on my enchiladas was the real deal, you could definitely taste the chocolate accent before the heat of the peppers hit you at the end. JE's tortillas looked like they were freshly made in house along with her guacamole.

overall the meal was great, but it made me miss the mexican food back home. king taco, $1 tacos on hoover, and taco trucks. it's a great feeling to be in a line where you're the only non-mexican order food from a place that only accepts cash. nothing beats two corn tortillas with carne asada, cilantro & onions and topped with super red hot sauce. makes a boy homesick i tella.

but after dinner came the main attraction! the chicago symphony orchestra and yo-yo ma. the event details were:

• Barber - Adagio for Strings
• Golijov - Azul for Cello and Orchestra
• Brahms - Symphony No. 2

barber's adagio is one of my very favorites and have been known to listen to it on endless loop when i'm sad. it is famously known for being placed at many funerals including FDR's. it was often played on the radio through out the week after his death. the conductor, gustavo dudamel, really stole the show. he conducted the piece without any sheet music or a baton. his style is extremely emotive and he held the orchestra and the audience for a very long silent pause at the end of the piece which felt like an eternity. it seemed almost like a moment of silence which was powerful after such an emotional piece. what's even more impressive is that he's only in his mid-twenties and he will be the new conductor for the LA phil! i'm excited for LA, i hope that they'll embrace their new conductor. i'll definitely have to catch a few concerts the next time i'm in town during the 2009-10 season.

yo-yo ma only performed for the new contemporary piece azul, which included two bizarre percussionist and a hyper-accordion (which i believe is an amplified accordion). the piece had some weirder moments but overall was superb. yo-yo ma was utterly amazing. when he plays cello it sounds completely different, it's almost as if the cello is possessed. not to mention how easy it seems for him to play. but the sound, the sound was just other worldly. i only wish he could have played another piece. when bronfman came to play rach's 3rd, we clapped for so long he had no choice but to play another piece.

the final piece is the always great brahm's 2nd. i don't have much to add hear about the performance except that the conductor conducted the entire 40 minute piece without any sheet music. i don't know how one can commit 40 minutes of orchestral music to memory. it was amazing. the piece was very strong and balanced. the flute and clarinet played masterfully along with the french horn. but my favorite moment was near the end when trombone trio fired away in harmony.