Midi Cryptic #4

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Midi cryptic (11x11 blocked) this month, and I hope you'll like it! Please do chime in with your thoughts on the puzzle. I'm especially happy with the surface at 5D, which alludes to my first date with my wife at a Chicago beer garden.

(Spoiler warning! I'm going to talk a bit about Cryptic #16 "Delivery Confirmation" after the jump. If you haven't done it yet, go check it out!)

The meta solution to my last puzzle "Delivery Confirmation" was NEW BABY ELEANOR, our daughter who was born on Valentine's Day! The fact that NEW BABY and ELEANOR split up nicely into seven-letter pieces that could sit among the unches in a standard cryptic grid was too good to pass up. The grid alludes to three well-known Eleanors: Eleanor of AQUITAINE (I must mention here that "The Lion In Winter" is one of my all-time favorite films), Eleanor HOLMES NORTON (DC's longtime Congressional delegate) and Eleanor ROOSEVELT. I got some very kind warm words of congratulations from a couple solvers who got through this one. I love using puzzles as a way to share things that make me happy with others, my family being foremost among these. I'm grateful for your support!