Dinner with the Girls

April 3, 2013 by Kari Karch

Once a month my friends and I get together somewhere in the city for a BYOB dinner. The choices are usually the same, sushi or sushi. So this month we opted for something new and exciting in the city of big shoulders and hearty Midwestern steak joints, sushi. We are creatures of habit, but trust me, being able to sit down with my girlfriends over a couple bottles of wine and enjoy the scrumptious dishes we pass around to one another with glee as we go over the weeks in review is something of a tradition. Bowls of miso soup are the starters that surround the long table of ladies who chatter loudly amongst themselves. Then the edamame and shumai grace our table while we slowly get into the juicy details of our dating lives. We are all single gals living in this city with high powered careers, amazing friends, wonderful families, and yet for the most part, solo on a Saturday night. As we move onto our main dishes of rainbow rolls, sashimi, and maki, we all begin to analyze the reasons we find ourselves in our mid-thirties without a husband. Truth be told, these days women want the career over the baby, the power over the white picket fence, and the job title over the husband. We are our own worst enemy when it comes to love and give each other the best advice yet we take none of it. I have to say I love all the great advice we give one another and that we truly do want to find love in the end, it’s just right now, being able to take care of ourselves takes precedence.

As dinner winds down and the copious amounts of wine have been consumed, we always take away the same advice, a different outlook on life, and a feeling of love within our group. The food might always be the same and the wine will always be flowing, but the feeling of sisterhood with my amazing friends is the best thing I look forward to once a month in this windy city.

Kari Karch

Kari Karch is a 19-year veteran of the culinary industry, creator of Kiss the Cook, and the head chef and spokesperson for the Kenmore brand. She has made many notable appearances on ABC Morning News, on WGN, on the Cooking Channel and as a judge for the World Food Championships.