My Day At Macy’s – Ryan Briscoe & Frontera Fresco

Mrs. Houseful was honored with being able to mosey on down to Macy’s and meet Mr. Ryan Briscoe of Indy 500  fame.

Let that sink in for a moment.

I got to rub elbows with a guy who LIKES to drive 220 mph on average around a track. My kind of guy (I’m a bit of a speed demon.)

Macy’s was hosting Mr. Briscoe for a meet and greet with their customers yesterday afternoon. The line was to the door, and Ryan was gracious enough to sign autographs for each and every single person that was in line. He did it with a genuine smile too. There was even some air guitar playing in there, and several pieces of shirts or photos requesting his signature as well.

For those of you who don’t know the Indy 500, is a motor race of 500 miles around a closed loop track. It usually takes place the last weekend in May, and this year Ryan qualified for the P1 position, which means, his car is first. In order to do that, he had to have the fastest qualifying time which he clocked at 226 mph. I also learned that the race on average takes between two to two and a half hours, and each car is specifically molded (the seats rather) for their drivers. The adrenaline rush must be fantastic!

The best thing about this entire thing is that Macy’s hosted it. I know that when most think of Macy’s they automatically think of a large department store with the jewelry, makeup and perfume on the first floor. And that’s exactly where they hosted Ryan. In the hustle and bustle of it all, and everyone was privy to it. This wasn’t some private affair that you had to pay copious amounts of cash to get into, but one where you could bring your youngest and oldest race car fans, and they would be met with Ryan’s infectious smile and even cooler Australian accent.

Talking to him was easy too. It’s amazing to me all the time when I meet people who are famous and they are super duper down to earth. I did hint at the fact that I’m a sucker for Australian accents thanks to my instant television crush on Simon Baker from the Mentalist fame – and wouldn’t ya know – Ryan has met HIM too! Be still my accent loving heart!

They even were giving away a Honda Civic – which I entered to win – I may have been working, but mama can use a new sporty car.

Macy’s hosts these types of events all the time, and I’m pretty excited to see what they introduce to us next.

Now, if you think that was the end of my afternoon out, you would be wrong. I then went on ahead to meet some of my best girlfriends of two generations (my mom and grandmother who STILL don’t care for social media much, but a visit to Macy’s for SURE!) and head to the 7th floor dining area.

We chose to eat at the Frontera Fresco area because of my unhealthy food crush on Rick Bayless. I swear, I need to tell you all some of my hidden vices. They’re all pretty cool, but I tend to think that Rick and I go way back. If that’s not enough to get you down here, then you should go ahead and read all of the OTHER places that you can eat in the midst of shopping some of the greatest brands.

I happened to snuggle up with Chipotle Shrimp, Mango Limeade and a side of Guacamole and Chips. Yes, I was full, and no I’m not ashamed.

and in true Macy’s fashion, my day of running into famous people did not end with meeting Ryan Briscoe, look who else I got to pose with!

That would be Mr. Jim Rose, sports anchor from WLS-7 news. I was even composed enough NOT to bother him while he was eating. He’s super tall – or maybe I’m super short, but either way, he was also a pleasure to meet.

Basically, Macy’s has changed my view on what I would use it for. It’s not just a place to shop. It’s a place to discover new things, run into fantastically famous people (okay, maybe I was just lucky) and eat some of the best quick culinary delights in the Chicago area. The food was of the same quality that you would find at the freestanding Frontera Grill. I loved it. I’ll make sure to add this as one of my meet-up spots with my ladies who lunch while, so that we can laugh, and people watch, and maybe catch a glimpse of the world’s famous.

And for those of you who are Indy Car fans, I have one spiffy autographed IZOD hat to offer. Just let me know what you like best about the Indy 500 races, and I’ll choose one lucky winner!

~Make It A Fantastic Day!