Viva Las Swedish Day Parade! @ Hugos Frog Bar

A soundtrack to complete your reading experience : Keep on Drinking by Johnny Young

As previously mentioned, it was the Swedish Twins' birthday last weekend. I'm not quite a fan of the word "birthday," because if we really were celebrating our birthday,we'd spend it with our mother, who  birthed us,  and shower her with gifts. Instead, many of us revel in drinking debauchery enough to make  death put his robe on,  and get ready to... Get! to! Work! Let's be honest, you're celebrating you, and what better to do that than a "parade!"

Let the Swedish Parade commence! Instead of getting rumbunk (rambunctious) in a random Chicago bar, they picked Hugo's Frog Bar...inside River's Casino! Ready, set, pretend we're in vegas! 

Our waiter introduced us to these fine pieces of nomery (food, noms, nosh).  No frog legs here! the frog in Hugo's is the nickname of Hugo's grandfather. So we can skip that frog leg adventure.

There was this big piece of meat that looked like Fred Flintstone's dinner, called The Tomahawk. I was too enamored by the meats, I forgot to snap a pic. Here it is...stolen from Google.

We ordered a few appetizers. The parade Grand Marshals ( the twins) are obsessed with oysters.I on the other hand, eat it because it's there. I like my shellfish smothered in cheese.Notice how there are small oysters and big oysters on that tray? It's because Karla Fantastic thinks that the big oysters "look vulgar!"Hmmm...ok I'll leave that to your imagination. 

The second appetizer was the Spicy Tuna Tartare with Sriracha Mayo and Fried Wontons. Every time I got ready to scoop one in my mouth, I kept thinking that I will be eating chips and salsa, then as my taste buds wake up, I realized that it tastes like spicy tuna sushi, minus the rice. How fun is that?! It's like taking a trip to Mexico and Asia all in one bite. I wish it was a little bit more spicy.

 For the main course I had the Cajun Chicken and Crab with Andouille Sausage, Rice, and Lemon Butter.


When I heard we're going to Hugo's, my mouth watered with anticipation for this dish. It's got all your proteins covered; poultry, pork, shellfish. One for every craving. To add to the allure, this dish always leaves me with left overs. Next day gourmet! This time, I really tried to stuff all of it down, but the button on my shirt looked like it was holding on for dear life!  A quick caution for this meal: walking around with your leftovers might clear out the penny slot machine you're dying to play on...or people just think you stink of garlic, etc. Put that doggy bag in the trunk!


What's a birthday parade without cake and candles...and in this case, a dagger ? I've been hearing about the monstrosity of Hugo's desserts from the twins. No kidding!  We got the Ice cream pie with macadamia and fudge, complete with a pep from the staff  that's reminiscent of a Greek chant. This pie looks small in the picture, but don't be fooled, it fed 6 grown adults! Well, ok. This might be small compared to the tower of sliced cake that was paraded by our table. It was approximately a foot and a half tall!  I'll have to go back for that after I come in first place in a marathon...wait, that will be never, so... I'll be back as a reward for driving there. Ha!