The Ragas Report

Tales of adventure from the exciting lives of Matt and Traci Ragas
About Me

Matt, Traci, and Clark Ragas live in Chicago.

Matt is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, though he called the Sunshine State home for over a decade before moving to Chicago. Traci hails from St. Petersburg, Florida and has never lived more than 45 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico.

Clark originally hails from - well, we aren't totally sure. We're just blessed to have him in our family. He's a "rescue dog" as we say. :)

Here is where you can learn all about our new life in the big city.

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Archive for

September 2010

 

Goodbye to Louis' Lunch

We still keep up with goings-on in Gainesville, so we were sad to see that Louis' Lunch is closing. For readers of FloridaFoodHound - you might remember - Matt wrote about our visits to this historic diner a few years ago.  Louis' Lunch is the oldest restaurant in Gainesville and home to the most interesting hamburger I've ever had. A bit like a meatball, with a touch of meatloaf, crunchy and made in an old pan by the original owner's son, this restaurant was so full of tradition and history it is hard to imagine it being gone.

Here is the Gainesville Sun article. I wish the family happiness though I'm sad to hear they are closing.  Update:  Pictures of the closing, from the Gainesville Sun:  http://tinyurl.com/22nanoh

Posted by Traci Ragas 
 

Chick-fil-A Aurora Grand Opening

There was quite a buzz online some months back when Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A announced that it was bringing its fried chicken sandwiches to Chicagoland. After hearing that the opening of the new Chick-fil-A in Aurora a few days ago (the first non-university store location in Illinois) was the biggest in the chain's history, we decided to investigate the opening in person.

Below are some photos from the grand opening (the walk-up line was out the door after 2pm on a Saturday and the drive-through line stretched on and on). I know a crowd attracts a crowd, but this was something else. We met transplants from Louisiana, Georgia, and North Carolina while waiting in line. The south was out in full force, but there also seemed to be lots of first timers.

Eat mor chikin!

Posted by Matt Ragas 
 

Museum of Science and Industry

Matt and I started off our Labor Day weekend with a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park.  

We spent a lot of time exploring the German U-505 submarine, impressed with its size, the history of its capture during World War II, and how the submarine was installed into the museum.  We checked out the genetics exhibit where Matt was selected as a volunteer to demonstrate how to collect your DNA (mainly, just swish salt water around in your mouth, put the swished water into a beaker, put in some rubbing alcohol and gently swish the beaker and watch your DNA appear).  We also saw little baby chicks entering the world, admired the model of Chicago and Seattle's downtown and played with the latest in farming technology (milking a cow has never been easier!). 

All in all - a fun day learning more about science and industry (though we both agreed we liked the industry part the best!)

Posted by Traci Ragas