The Most Expensive Groupon Experience If Ever There Was One...

I love reunions! My friend, Hiral, and I went to Ohio State together and currently both live in Chicago. I'd grown accustomed to seeing Hiral at least once every one to two weeks. However, simply due to crazy schedules, we hadn't seen each other for at least a couple of months.

It felt like eons. Seriously!

Last night, it was total reunion central, though. Hiral picked me up from my Lincoln Park apartment and we decided to venture a bit more north, to (finally!) use Hiral's $22 Groupon for Marigold - an Indian restaurant in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. We were primarily excited to check this place out because it was so far north, so we had no doubts it would be MUCH easier to find a parking spot as compared to attempting this pretty impossible feat in my Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Lo and behold! A parking lot was ready and WAITING for us, right across the street from Marigold! It was totally meant to be.

Dinner was mediocre (the food was not NEARLY as good as I remembered it to be) but the reunion was oh so delightful! It was so great catching up with Hiral after much, MUCH too long. After dinner, we headed back out to the parking lot, BOTH of us exhausted (it was a Tuesday, after all!) and so ready to get back home.

Yeah... as we're walking through the parking lot, chit-chatting away, Hiral interrupts the conversation with "Umm... where did I park?" To which I immediately respond with: "Oh, like right over there..." (insert an image of my voice trailing off as my finger points toward an oh-so-empty parking spot).

Lord. I've never had to deal with a towed car situation so I had no idea what to do. I was a little nervous, because hello! Wouldn't YOU be pissed if your car was towed?! Well, I guess Hiral has a different take on things. Because HER reaction? "Oh NO!!... Oh well. We can just go pick it up."

Okay, it's kind of summarized, but that was the general gist. WTF, right? I never DREAMED one individual could treat the experience of getting her car towed as... well, a normal occurrence! (For the record, Hiral rarely, if ever, has experienced a towing situation.)

After calling the towing agency, and determining the location of the sadly towed vehicle, Hiral and I embarked on this seemingly never-ending sojourn. Thankfully, the towing lot wasn't all too far from where we were... only a few blocks, actually! Sure, the majority of the walk was comprised of one LONG block, that housed a cemetery, but whatever. We are brave people! Kind of. But I digress.

So, after this brief sojourn, we FINALLY spot the towing agency! Sweet success! Let's get this car and get the F outta here!!


You know, it was actually at this point in the evening, that I totally got into my blogger element, snapping away pictures (yes, I know- how Hiral didn't kill me during her time of distress, I just don't know). But come ON! Gotta embrace each situation, right?! And embrace, oh I so did...

I mean, LOOK at the towing agency's "office"!


If that just doesn't ADD to the creepy element of the night (initiated by that cemetery walk-by), I just don't know what does.

And, well, what's a night out without... some police surveillance?


At least I felt safer with them around. Because trust me. The people of Lincoln Towing were NOTHING to write home about. I understand that towing companies have to develop thick skin, dealing with complaints right and left. But these people were just plain RUDE. And it takes a lot for me to formulate that extreme of a judgment call!

Oh well. So, a whopping $200 later... Hiral FINALLY got her car back. Wahoo! (I tried to snap a picture of her reunion with her car but it came out all blurry.)

Sigh. To think... we'd started out the night excited about our plan to actually save money by using Hiral's Groupon...

Ha- PLEASE. The most expensive Groupon experience, if ever there was one...

I'm sorry, but is today Groundhog's Day?

Brunch and Groupon... you really can't go wrong with these two words.

The only thing with Groupon is that I get a little overeager and end up sitting on Groupons for things that, let's be honest, I really don't need. This is not my problem... it's this darn Groupon app. I mean, you literally just click BUY and all of a sudden you've purchased a massage, facial, personal trainer workout, movie tickets... well, whatever. I digress. And you probably just got way too much information.

Anyway, about six months ago, I purchased this Groupon for Bakin' and Eggs

Bakin' and Eggs is this fanTASTic brunch spot to which I had been introduced about a year ago. The food is pretty delish (nothing fancy, but solid brunching cuisine), the waits aren't horrendous, you can help yourself to coffee while you wait... and let's be honest, the dessert case isn't too difficult on the eyes.

So what better way to spend Saturday morning than by reuniting with an old Ohio State friend than through some discounted brunching, really? Haha. So... off to Bakin' and Eggs we went!

I don't know what it is about this place... I just feel so warm and cozy each time I visit. The food isn't so shabby either, who are we kidding here?

My friend, Arpana, ended up getting some sort of banana pecan bread french toast concoction (O.M.G. - I know, right? My thoughts exactly). I can't speak for Arpana's dish, but I think the picture (not to mention the mere TITLE of her dish) can speak for itself. All things good and pure in the world combined into one heavenly brunch meal... come on, you KNOW that's what you were thinking.

I opted for a more savory item and ended up with the cinnamon raisin egg white breakfast sandwich. MAN. You just can't go wrong mixing that salty with sweet. I think the secret to this dish is that it comes with a side of maple syrup... which you would think would taste kind of weird with my egg whites, but on top of my egg whites AND cinnamon raisin toast? Umm... divinity.

All in all, a solid brunch experience. Good food, FAB reunion, and obvi, you can't go wrong with fellow Ohio Staters. But that just goes without saying. Hence the aforementioned "obvi".

So, that was Saturday. Enter Sunday... and another brunch outing. Well, if I'm doing BRUNCH again, why not just go BACK to Bakin' and Eggs? I'm sure most of you would have had the exact same thought, really.

I don't know what it is. I just couldn't get enough. So when one of my other friends texted THAT suggestion for Sunday brunch, what? Was I going to turn it down? Please.

So... to Bakin' and Eggs we go! Again.

Welll, if we're recreating the whole Bakin and Eggs brunch experience, why not just...

That's right. Go ahead and order the exact. same. thing? Twist my arm- cinnamon raisin egg white breakfast sandwich (sans the cheese this time), it is!

Whatever. It is just. that. good.

Also ordered around the table were Jill's whole wheat oatmeal pancakes (that is SO what I'm getting next time I go... I swear I'll stray from the cinnamon raisin sandwich sooner or later), Sam's southern comfort bowl, and Al's good ol' fashioned eggs and potatoes.

Unfortunately, I didn't snap a picture of Sam's and Al's food, since they were sitting across the table and I didn't want to cause TOO big a raucous (especially considering this was Sam's first time meeting me... hello! If I'm not discretion personified, I just don't know who is. HA.)... but, oh whatever. Discretion, schmiscretion! Smile for the cam, Al and Sam!

I have to admit though. Becoming a regular at Bakin and Eggs (that's right- I've already deemed myself a regular) certainly has its perks. The host seating people yesterday was also there today... and totally recognized me!!! I was shocked! I mean, he seats so MANY people during weekend brunch... he HAS to be one of those people with a photographic memory.

BUT!! Not only did he greet me with a "Welcome back!" (sigh. Heartstring-tugging moment, if you will), he TOTALLY gave our table a complimentary bacon flight (one of the dishes on their menu)!

Now come ON! Even though I'm not the biggest bacon fan, how is that NOT thoughtfulness at. its. finest? As if the "Welcome back!" weren't ENOUGH!lksafdjlk!

Wellll, since the owner and I were totally now like family... what? You think I'm NOT going to snag a picture with him? Um. Please.

So, there you have it! My Saturday morning... my Sunday morning... and, let's face it, another weekend morning in the very near future. I am, after all, a REGULAR!!! I've always wanted to be one of those! You think I'm giving THAT title up easily?