Chicago Avenue: The Chicago Band Sign

You might be surprised to learn that there is a Chicago Avenue in the city of Chicago. Well, there is. I guess someone wasn’t very creative in their street naming. Chicago Avenue is a major east-west street that runs right through the northern River North area, all the way through to the Magnificent Mile (a.k.a. Michigan Avenue, another creative street name).

Anyway, I walk by and on Chicago Avenue all the time and it was only today that I noticed this:

This cute sign is at the corner of Chicago and LaSalle Street and of course references the great band Chicago! I have no idea how long this sign has been at this corner, but I’m lovin’ it. Chicago is a great city for surprises.

Get Out of the Magnificent Mile…

The first time I visited Chicago was in 1996.  As expected of most tourists, I stayed on the Magnificent Mile, at the Westin.  It was a nice hotel; we particularly appreciated the $5 Snickers bar from the minibar in the morning when we woke up starving to death and in need of food immediately.  My boyfriend split it with me and it was indeed the best Snickers bar I’ve ever had, before or since.  That happens when you pay $5 for a candy bar.

I don’t recall exactly where we went on that trip (I can barely remember what I did yesterday), but I do know we ventured to a bar in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.  It might have been Kelsey’s.  My recollection is that it felt very far away from the Westin.  We cruised up Lakeshore Drive, which felt like a freeway, windows down and the wind blowing.  I was reminded of this last night when watching an episode of House Hunters.  The episode was set in Chicago and featured a couple looking for a two bedroom, two bathroom condo in the Magnificent Mile area for $375,000 or less.  As if.  Unsurprisingly, the realtor couldn’t even find a place for that price to show them in the Magnificent Mile area.  (And let’s not even talk about the assessments at a high rise for unit in that area.)  They were shown condos in Greektown, in the South Loop, and in Lincoln Park.  I’m partial to Lincoln Park because I live there, and felt annoyance set in when the female side of the couple kept referring to Lincoln Park as the “suburbs.”  “I don’t have a city view.”  “This is the suburbs.”

In her defense, Lincoln Park does feel far from all the action when one is unfamiliar with the city.  Lincoln Park is, in fact, one of the closest neighborhoods to the Magnificent Mile.  It’s maybe a ten minute cab ride away, depending on where you are going and when.   It’s all about perspective and distance.  Lincoln Park does have a neighborhoody feel, not that big city-tall buildings feel that you get on the Magnificent Mile.  It’s darker.  The buildings are older and more historic.  Many are quite beautiful.

There’s obviously nothing wrong with staying in the Magnificent Mile area.  That’s where most of the hotels are and is the heart of the action and the tourist sites.  The problem with the Magnificent Mile is that there is so much to do in that area, one has little reason to venture out.  The architectural boat tours, the shopping, the restaurants, the American Girl store, Navy Pier, bars, Water Tower, etc.  It’s all right there.  By all means, stay in the Magnificent Mile area when you visit Chicago.  But do me a favor.  Take one morning or afternoon, and go explore one of Chicago’s neighborhoods.  They aren’t far away.  Most will take you no more than a ten or fifteen minute trip.  Jump in a cab or take the el over to Wicker Park, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Andersonville, South Loop, West Loop, Chinatown, or Roscoe Village, to name a few.  Wander around.  Hang out with the locals, as opposed to the tourists.  I will talk more about each of these neighborhoods (and others) in turn as the blog gets going, to give you specific ideas on what to do, where to go, and how long it will take you.  There is so much more to Chicago than just the Magnificent Mile.  Experience it all.

 

Photo Op Chicago — Jack Brickhouse Statue

D and I do a lot of walking around the city, and the things we stumble across are pretty amazing.  There are statues, “statues,” and other interesting things all over the city that are great photo opportunities.  You know how it is; you see something unique, hand the camera (or phone over), and say “Hey, take my picture with this!”  We can’t help it now.  Everyone has a camera all the time.  Remember back in the day when the Le Clic camera was a big deal because it was so small?

Anyway, hence, the Photo Op category.

This photo op isn’t particularly secret.  Many thousands of people walk by it every day, but it is the kind of thing that as a local you walk past and might not even notice as you go about your business.  (Quite honestly, I often do everything possible to stay off the Magnificent Mile, especially in November and December.)  This one is right on Michigan Avenue, just north of the Chicago River, and just south of the Tribune Tower at 435 N. Michigan.  He’s right out near the sidewalk and you can’t miss him.  If you are shopping, it is at the south end of the main shopping strip past Nordstrom’s, so slightly off the beaten path, but not really if you are heading toward the Tribune Tower, the Wrigley Building or the river.

This is a statue of Jack Brickhouse, sportscaster who is famously known for his Chicago Cubs broadcasts at WGN from 1948 through 1981.  His catchphrase, “Hey-Hey” is at the bottom of the statue.  This is a big, block shaped statue that is great for poses:

Wouldn’t you look great next to him?

David Burke’s Primehouse: Steak, a Patent, and the Dry Aging Room

We* went to David Burke’s Primehouse during Restaurant Week last winter.  Primehouse has been around since 2006 and specializes in steaks.  David Burke is a Very Famous Chef.

Restaurant Week takes place for two weeks each February.  (In 2015, it is scheduled for January 30, 2015 through February 12, 2015).  Each participating restaurant (there are hundreds) has a three course fixed price menu.  Lunch is $22 and dinner is either $33 or $44.   You get to choose an appetizer, main course, and dessert.  (Drinks, tax, and tip are not included.)  Typically there are two or three choices for each course.  This is a phenomenal deal for many of the participating restaurants; for others, the deal is no better than it would be if you bought each item separately.  Restaurant Week is a great time to try out a new restaurant or to go to some of the more expensive restaurants in the city without breaking the bank, especially if you go at lunch time.  If you are considering visiting Chicago during the winter, Restaurant Week is a great time to go. You will absolutely need reservations to get into the most popular places, many of which you can easily get through Open Table.  The list of participating restaurants and their fixed price menus is usually released 2-4 weeks ahead of time.

The purpose of this post is not to review the food; it’s unnecessary and thousands of reviews have already been written.  It’s David Burke and it’s Primehouse.  Our meal was fantastic and Primehouse is a great choice for Restaurant Week.  Where else can you get a salad, filet mignon, and dessert of this quality for $44?

Shockingly, the food was not the high point of our visit, although it came in a very close second.  For reasons unknown, we were offered a tour of the dry aging room.  It may have been because D knows his meat and got into a lively discussion with our waiter about the various dry aged steaks on the menu.  We happily accepted the offer (who wouldn’t?) and at the end of our meal were led through the kitchen, down the stairs, and into the underbelly of the restaurant.  It was like a scene from Goodfellas.

Aside from being a great chef, David Burke is quite an accomplished fellow.  He is the sole named inventor on a U.S. Patent No. 7,998,517 for dry aging meat.  The patent, which issued on August 16, 2011,  is framed on the outside of the dry aging room:

Here is a close up of the patent:

I love the gold star and blue ribbon.  Here is one of the claims:

1. A process for dry aging meat for a selected number of days, comprising: providing an enclosed, temperature and humidity controlled aging room having a pair of spaced apart longer length walls each with a height, a pair of spaced apart shorter width walls each with the same height, a floor and a ceiling, for enclosing a volume for containing an aging atmosphere; controlling the temperature and the humidity of the aging atmosphere in the aging room to be within selected temperature and humidity ranges; providing along substantially all of the length and height of one of the length walls, a stainless steel salt rack carrying an ordered stack of a multiplicity of salt bricks, each salt brick in the stack having a smaller width compared to a length and a height of the brick for increased surface area of the stack in the aging atmosphere, the salt rack being space from the one length wall for allowing circulation of the atmosphere around the stack of bricks; providing a plurality of meat racks in the aging room, spaces between the stack of bricks and the other one of the length walls, the meat racks being arranged around the aging room in a respective plurality of aging locations from remote locations spaced furthest from the salt rack, to intermediate locations that are closer to the salt rack, to proximal locations that are along the salt rack; forcibly circulating the atmosphere in the aging room around the meat racks and the salt racks; loading a first plurality of unwrapped and uncovered meat pieces to be dry aged, onto a meat rack at one of the remote locations; leaving the first plurality of meat pieces at the one remote location for a first time cycle corresponding to a fraction of the total selected number of days for the dry aging; after the passage of the first time cycle, moving the first plurality of meat pieces to one of the intermediate locations; leaving the first plurality of meat pieces at the one intermediate location for a second time cycle corresponding to a fraction of the total selected number of days for the dry aging; after the passage of the second time cycle, moving the first plurality of meat pieces to one of the proximal locations that are along the salt rack; leaving the first plurality of meat pieces at the one proximal location for a third time cycle corresponding to a fraction of the total selected number of days for the dry aging; and after the passage of the third time cycle, removing the first plurality of meat pieces from the aging room; the total of all of the time cycles equaling the selected number of days of dry aging for the first plurality of meat pieces.

This is dry aging process is no joke.  Maybe it’s the geek in me, but I was very impressed.  Next, we went into the dry aging room.  It was cool inside and smelled unsurprisingly like meat.  There was a Himalayan rock salt wall against the far end, and a whole lot of meat.

This behind the scenes tour was the highlight of our visit to Primehouse and we will certainly be visiting again.  Primehouse is located at 676 N. Rush Street, in the James Hotel, in the River North neighborhood.  If you are staying anywhere in the Magnificent Mile area, you can walk here.  Reservations recommended on Friday and Saturday nights.

*The use of “we” will typically refer to my fiance, D, and me.  He gets dragged along on all the culinary and liquid adventures.  Trust me, he does not complain.

Sweet Home, Chicago

When I moved to Chicago thirteen years ago, I felt ambivalent about it.  Law school brought me here, and Chicago was not my first choice.   Having grown up in the Detroit area and spent time in Los Angeles – both big car cities – the thought of taking a bus, train, or taxi around town was frightening.  It felt daunting to even imagine learning my way around the city or feeling comfortable with pulling the string to let the bus driver know I needed to get off.  And forget about driving in the city.  My brain was packed with images of unintentionally ending up in a scary part of town or getting side swiped by a taxi driver.  Those fears, of course, proved to be unfounded.  I did end up figuring it out, and stayed after graduation.  In fact, I fell in love.

Chicago is a great destination for visitors.  Not only is it an absolutely gorgeous (and clean!) city, but it has everything.  The restaurants are phenomenal, the clubs are swank, the bars are varied and plentiful, the museums are high quality, and the shopping is to die for.  Whatever you need or want, you can likely find it here.

Even though I’ve been here thirteen years, I still discover new things practically every week.  Architecture I never noticed before, a hole in the wall pub without a sign out front, a historical marker on an old house, a beautiful street, a random statue, a park, or a new boutique.  Nearly every morning as I take the Brown Line into the Loop, the beauty of the river and skyline captures me.  Restaurants come and go with great frequency, and my guess is one could eat at a new one every day, every meal, for a year and never hit the same place twice.

But this is not meant to be a typical review site — there are enough of those.  While I will, of course, share with you my thoughts on my favorite (and least favorite) places and the reasons why, my true aim is to share with you what I find special and unique about this wonderful city from a local’s perspective.