My answer on Facebook that was popular...
I grew up in Chicago, from a family that loved to eat out, and a lover of meats and fatty foods (not for the health conscious, but you're visiting Chicago, right?). First, if you're visiting Chicago, you have to eat steak. It was the historic hub of the cattle industry, Morton's Steakhouse was founded here, and where else are 48 oz portershouses standard?
The local favorites are The Chop House and Gibson's. You can't go wrong with either, but Chop House has been rated "best steakhouse" in America for several years by numerous publications so I would go here. After growing up on Chop House, Gibson's, and others, Peter Lugar in Brooklyn was weak. "Steak for three" at Lugar's is like a steak for one in most Chicago steakhouses.
For higher end restaurants, I would recommend Alinea, Charlie Trotters and MK Restaurant. Alinea and Moto started the micro-dish trend (20 course dinners) several years back and frequent experimentations with liquid nitrogen.
For mid-tier priced restaurants and street food, there are countless choices. If you can travel out to the burbs, I would recommend Bob Chinn's Crabhouse in Wheeling, IL. This is one of the best seafood places you'll ever eat at and has the best Alaskan King Crab (yes, in the burbs of Chicago). They have their own daily shipments of fresh seafood flow in and the largest volume of King Crab. This one restaurant generates over $30 million in revenue and typically ranks 4th in the nation. In Chicago, I would recommend going to Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. Bayless was the winner of Top Chef Masters last year and is an excellent chef.
For fast food, I would recommend Portillo's (chain with many locations) or Al's Beef and get the Italian Beef sandwich. If you haven't tried Italian Beef, then you haven't been to Chicago. Get it "dipped" (in beef juice) with peppers. Then travel to Buffalo Joe's in Evanston, IL and go to Buffalo Joe's. Their buffalo wings have won two national recipes (for any food) and is the standard for many wing fanatics. Their consistency in quality and size of the wings have gone down over the past decade, but it's still tasty.
Then find a Pot Belly's for one of the best subs you'll have. This was a Chicago institution for years with only two locations until several years ago Starbuck's Howard Schultz invested into it and expanded it throughout the Midwest and D.C.
For pizza, Giordano's is my favorite. It's stuffed pizza, not pan so it's even thicker and heavier with meats and cheese. Voted "Best Pizza in America" by NBC and others. I would also check out Spacca Napoli if you love Neapolitan style. And a local favorite in the burbs is Burt's Place, which has a pretty good fan following.
Update 1/9/2011: Recent TIME magazine article on Grant Achatz and Alinea, a three star Michelin restaurant
The hottest restaurant in Chicago right now is Girl & the Goat, which was started by Top Chef winner, Stephanie Izard
Showing posts with label chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicago. Show all posts
Monday, October 24, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Groupon will become the Sarah Palin of tech, and other predictions for 2011
My 4th annual technology prediction piece is up over at VentureBeat. Check it out!
Groupon will become the Sarah Palin of tech, and other predictions for 2011
2011 will be a year of economic recovery and continued drama in Silicon Valley, marked by the hyped battles of Apple vs. Google, Google vs. Facebook, and Oracle vs. the rest of the enterprise world. Without further ado, here is the 4th annual edition of my technology predictions.
The Groupon Juggernaut Will Slow Down
Groupon is quickly becoming the Sarah Palin of the technology world. It has its haters (Forrester’s Sucharita Mulpuru), doubters (Flybridge Capital’s Jeff Bussgang) and fans (FM’s John Battelle) like the former vice presidential candidate. Everyone seems to have an opinion of Groupon, whether through their own personal experiences or spurred by a coffee talk at Coupa Café in Palo Alto. Being from Chicago, where the company is based, I wanted to be a fan, but I have strong doubts on the sustainability of its business model. It will remain successful, but will it be the next Amazon or “Google of e-commerce” as many people predict? I just don’t see it. Maybe its critical mass and huge funding rounds will sustain its market share for a couple years, but the competitive barriers of entry are too low, so I predict its revenue growth will begin to slow towards the end of 2011. A few years from now, this darling of the ecommerce space will be a fading memory... (full article)
This was also republished in The New York Times' Technology section here.
Groupon will become the Sarah Palin of tech, and other predictions for 2011
2011 will be a year of economic recovery and continued drama in Silicon Valley, marked by the hyped battles of Apple vs. Google, Google vs. Facebook, and Oracle vs. the rest of the enterprise world. Without further ado, here is the 4th annual edition of my technology predictions.
The Groupon Juggernaut Will Slow Down
Groupon is quickly becoming the Sarah Palin of the technology world. It has its haters (Forrester’s Sucharita Mulpuru), doubters (Flybridge Capital’s Jeff Bussgang) and fans (FM’s John Battelle) like the former vice presidential candidate. Everyone seems to have an opinion of Groupon, whether through their own personal experiences or spurred by a coffee talk at Coupa Café in Palo Alto. Being from Chicago, where the company is based, I wanted to be a fan, but I have strong doubts on the sustainability of its business model. It will remain successful, but will it be the next Amazon or “Google of e-commerce” as many people predict? I just don’t see it. Maybe its critical mass and huge funding rounds will sustain its market share for a couple years, but the competitive barriers of entry are too low, so I predict its revenue growth will begin to slow towards the end of 2011. A few years from now, this darling of the ecommerce space will be a fading memory... (full article)
This was also republished in The New York Times' Technology section here.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Will LeBron Leave Cleveland?
ESPN's Broussard says LeBron will go to Chicago? Are you kidding me?! Are you hearing this fellow Chicagoans? Rose and LeBron? Our hometown doesn't deserve another 6 titles :)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Chicago Police Training Video
HatTip to Steve K. Chicago Police diversity training video. Eh?
"You should not assume that all Asians are recent immigrants..."
Yes, this is my hometown... well, specifically Northbrook but it's part of Chicago metro.
"You should not assume that all Asians are recent immigrants..."
Yes, this is my hometown... well, specifically Northbrook but it's part of Chicago metro.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Obama, Unions and Foolish Policies
Obama is showing how his political ties can influence his decisions more so than sound policies. Being a Chicago politician, it's very difficult not to succeed without your bread being buttered by unions. Additionally, the Democrats have such historic and deep ties it's probably difficult for Obama to make a clean policy decision on the Big Three automakers and the Republic Windows & Doors situations.
I still don't believe he's opposed to the Big Three going through bankruptcy. This really seems to be a political decision more so than an economic one. If the Big Three go bankrupt, then their companies are restructured with the hope that they can be rebuilt to truly compete. But if they are also restructured, the unions and their members will have a very small seat at the table or possibly none. Politics as usual. Change is coming? Please.
Also how naive is Obama's response to the Republic Windows & Doors situation in Chicago?
“They’re absolutely right,” Obama, who gave up his U.S. Senate seat from Illinois last month, said over the weekend. “These workers, if they have earned these benefits and their pay, then these companies need to follow through on those commitments.”
Bank of America's response is reasonable:
Bank of America isn’t empowered to tell a company how to manage its business, spokeswoman Julie Westermann said yesterday. Republic is unable to operate profitably in the current economy, she said.
So why would you force a bank to conduct poor lending practices? Poor business decisions? Isn't this what got us into this mess in the first place? I heard Obama as a community activist was working to "encourage" banks in Hyde Park (Chicago) to lower their lending standards so that low-income families could purchase homes that they couldn't afford. Sounds similar, huh? But on who's dollar does this eventually come from? Doesn't sound like change is going to happen.
I still don't believe he's opposed to the Big Three going through bankruptcy. This really seems to be a political decision more so than an economic one. If the Big Three go bankrupt, then their companies are restructured with the hope that they can be rebuilt to truly compete. But if they are also restructured, the unions and their members will have a very small seat at the table or possibly none. Politics as usual. Change is coming? Please.
Also how naive is Obama's response to the Republic Windows & Doors situation in Chicago?
“They’re absolutely right,” Obama, who gave up his U.S. Senate seat from Illinois last month, said over the weekend. “These workers, if they have earned these benefits and their pay, then these companies need to follow through on those commitments.”
Bank of America's response is reasonable:
Bank of America isn’t empowered to tell a company how to manage its business, spokeswoman Julie Westermann said yesterday. Republic is unable to operate profitably in the current economy, she said.
So why would you force a bank to conduct poor lending practices? Poor business decisions? Isn't this what got us into this mess in the first place? I heard Obama as a community activist was working to "encourage" banks in Hyde Park (Chicago) to lower their lending standards so that low-income families could purchase homes that they couldn't afford. Sounds similar, huh? But on who's dollar does this eventually come from? Doesn't sound like change is going to happen.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Griffey Passes Robinson... Sosa, Bonds, But What About Lance?
Today Ken Griffey, Jr. passed Frank Robinson on the all-time home run list. Sixth place after Sammy Sosa. Griffey, Jr. has always been one of my favorite ballplayers. Loves the game, plays with a smile, always gives 110%, and seems to be a nice guy. I'm from Chicago and a Cubs fan, but I never liked Sosa. He always seemed insincere to me, especially during that "magical" home run race with McGwire. Whenever he would say, "You da man, Mark!", I would cringe. Please, Sammy, stop it. We all know you wanted to be 'da man'. Actually, McGwire and Sosa both make me cringe.
When I look at Griffey, Jr.'s back-to-back 50 home run seasons and his run during those years, I am far more impressed than "Shady" Sosa's back-to-back 60 home run seasons. It's the same for much of America. When Sosa past Frank Robinson's mark last year, sports writers yawned. Why did they yawn? Most of them didn't see it as legitimate. It's a tainted record.
For Barry Bonds, it's a slightly different story. Many baseball fans don't like his arrogant and surly personality while people might have been deceived by Sosa's effervescent personality. So outside of the Bay Area, not many are cheering him on as he approaches Hank Aaron's home run record while during Sosa's glory year they were. What's also different is that people had no clue or little reason to doubt that Sosa wasn't juiced back then. It was our first experience with home run numbers off the charts while now we know that drug use is widespread.
Barry just as much admitted to using performance-cheating drugs on a grand jury, but stated that it was ignorance. Whatever. The lack of support and cheers for Bonds is not an issue of race as some corners of America want or believe it to be. It's an issue of fairness and character. The gut reaction in most of us when a cheater gets away with something. Sometimes this feeling fades away with time, but it's still there hoping for the right thing to happen. For justice to prevail.
What I find stupider than people arguing that it is racism as to why the public is against Bonds breaking Aaron's record, is questioning whether steroids and hormones help baseball players. The typical argument is that they still have to hit the ball, which is "the hardest thing to do in sports." Hello? Excuse. These are already professional baseball players. And have you ever watched a game? How balls are caught 10-20 feet away from the fence? Imagine how ball routine ground ball outs with a bit of juice become blistering singles or doubles? Then what about those routine fly balls now? Now imagine how a .233 and 15 home run hitter becomes a .261 and 33 home run hitter or a .308 and 66 home run hitter after a steady diet of hormones and corked bats? These are Sosa's actual stats from his first full season and his juiced up years.
I really hope someone develops an accurate test to detect human growth hormone (hGH) and other performance-cheating drugs. Major League baseball should fund it since they created this mess in our nation's beloved sport.
Moving beyond baseball, one question that always bothered me is "what about Lance Armstrong?" Talk to people in cycling and you'll learn about the wide use of performance-cheating drugs in that sport. Did you ever watch that special report on Lance Armstrong by ESPN's Jeremy Schaap last year? Probably not since it was on-air for a shorten period of time. I assume Lance's attorneys threatened ESPN, so they pulled the plug on an excellent piece. Schapp's report convinced me that Armstrong is a cheater too.
Schapp interviews Greg LeMond stating how he told Armstrong to stop using and not to taint the sport. Next communication LeMond hears is from Armstrong attorney and a threat that he will shutdown LeMond's business. Another interview by a former employee of Armstrong's cycling team seals the deal for me. The year I saw this great piece of journalism was the year that Armstrong was the host of ESPN's ESPY Awards. Probably another reason the piece was short-lived.
Cold and ruthless. For being beloved by much of America, Armstrong gives me vibes worse than Barry Bonds.
Greg LeMond was recently called by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to testify on the Floyd Landis' case. Landis was the 2006 winner of the Tour de France who was stripped of his title after he tested positive for a banned substance. Amazing twist in this story was that Landis' business manager threatened LeMond and tried to blackmail him so that he wouldn't testify. I assume Landis will deny knowing about this too.
Landis, Armstrong, Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Grimsley, and others who use performance-cheating drugs are not athletes to be idolized or followed. They will serve as examples to my children of how not the play sports and compete. It will help me explain how ego or money shouldn't drive their desires of success in business, politics, or whatever they want do it in life. I will tell them to do it because they love it and to do it with fairness, honor and dignity.
For me, people such as Ken Griffey, Jr. and Greg Lemond are refreshing lights in the recent shadow of sports. Where have you gone Don Mattingly? Muhammad Ali? Joe DiMaggio?
OTHER ARTICLES:
"The Dignified Slugger From Mobile" by George Will
"Baseball's biggest bully is Bonds" by Skip Bayless
"For Bonds, great wasn't good enough" by Jeff Pearlman
When I look at Griffey, Jr.'s back-to-back 50 home run seasons and his run during those years, I am far more impressed than "Shady" Sosa's back-to-back 60 home run seasons. It's the same for much of America. When Sosa past Frank Robinson's mark last year, sports writers yawned. Why did they yawn? Most of them didn't see it as legitimate. It's a tainted record.
For Barry Bonds, it's a slightly different story. Many baseball fans don't like his arrogant and surly personality while people might have been deceived by Sosa's effervescent personality. So outside of the Bay Area, not many are cheering him on as he approaches Hank Aaron's home run record while during Sosa's glory year they were. What's also different is that people had no clue or little reason to doubt that Sosa wasn't juiced back then. It was our first experience with home run numbers off the charts while now we know that drug use is widespread.
Barry just as much admitted to using performance-cheating drugs on a grand jury, but stated that it was ignorance. Whatever. The lack of support and cheers for Bonds is not an issue of race as some corners of America want or believe it to be. It's an issue of fairness and character. The gut reaction in most of us when a cheater gets away with something. Sometimes this feeling fades away with time, but it's still there hoping for the right thing to happen. For justice to prevail.
What I find stupider than people arguing that it is racism as to why the public is against Bonds breaking Aaron's record, is questioning whether steroids and hormones help baseball players. The typical argument is that they still have to hit the ball, which is "the hardest thing to do in sports." Hello? Excuse. These are already professional baseball players. And have you ever watched a game? How balls are caught 10-20 feet away from the fence? Imagine how ball routine ground ball outs with a bit of juice become blistering singles or doubles? Then what about those routine fly balls now? Now imagine how a .233 and 15 home run hitter becomes a .261 and 33 home run hitter or a .308 and 66 home run hitter after a steady diet of hormones and corked bats? These are Sosa's actual stats from his first full season and his juiced up years.
I really hope someone develops an accurate test to detect human growth hormone (hGH) and other performance-cheating drugs. Major League baseball should fund it since they created this mess in our nation's beloved sport.
Moving beyond baseball, one question that always bothered me is "what about Lance Armstrong?" Talk to people in cycling and you'll learn about the wide use of performance-cheating drugs in that sport. Did you ever watch that special report on Lance Armstrong by ESPN's Jeremy Schaap last year? Probably not since it was on-air for a shorten period of time. I assume Lance's attorneys threatened ESPN, so they pulled the plug on an excellent piece. Schapp's report convinced me that Armstrong is a cheater too.
Schapp interviews Greg LeMond stating how he told Armstrong to stop using and not to taint the sport. Next communication LeMond hears is from Armstrong attorney and a threat that he will shutdown LeMond's business. Another interview by a former employee of Armstrong's cycling team seals the deal for me. The year I saw this great piece of journalism was the year that Armstrong was the host of ESPN's ESPY Awards. Probably another reason the piece was short-lived.
Cold and ruthless. For being beloved by much of America, Armstrong gives me vibes worse than Barry Bonds.
Greg LeMond was recently called by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to testify on the Floyd Landis' case. Landis was the 2006 winner of the Tour de France who was stripped of his title after he tested positive for a banned substance. Amazing twist in this story was that Landis' business manager threatened LeMond and tried to blackmail him so that he wouldn't testify. I assume Landis will deny knowing about this too.
Landis, Armstrong, Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Grimsley, and others who use performance-cheating drugs are not athletes to be idolized or followed. They will serve as examples to my children of how not the play sports and compete. It will help me explain how ego or money shouldn't drive their desires of success in business, politics, or whatever they want do it in life. I will tell them to do it because they love it and to do it with fairness, honor and dignity.
For me, people such as Ken Griffey, Jr. and Greg Lemond are refreshing lights in the recent shadow of sports. Where have you gone Don Mattingly? Muhammad Ali? Joe DiMaggio?
OTHER ARTICLES:
"The Dignified Slugger From Mobile" by George Will
"Baseball's biggest bully is Bonds" by Skip Bayless
"For Bonds, great wasn't good enough" by Jeff Pearlman
Friday, January 13, 2006
Sapporo... No, Sa-Poor-Oh
So over the break in Chicago I went to Stir Crazy, which is a pan-Asian chain restaurant, and I ordered a beer before dinner.
"I'll have a Sapporo (Sah-po-ro)"
"Sapporo (Sa-poor-oh). So one Sapporo beer."
"Yes."
So I was faced with the same questions I encountered a month ago at a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. Why do some non-Asians accent the second syllable in "Sapporo?" And why do they insist on correcting me with the incorrect pronunciation? This happens a few times a year, but the worst is when it's at a high-end Japanese restaurant and some non-Asian, non-Japanese speaking waiter "corrects" you with an attitude.
Sometimes I just want to say, "Hello, white dude, YOU'RE the one that's saying it wrong."
Another amusing pronunciation error I encountered were at restaurants in South Korea that served fajitas. Since there isn't a large Hispanic population in South Korea, most South Koreans don't know that the "j" is a "h" sound. Also there is no "f" sound in the Korean language, which is typically replaced by a "p" sound. So they say "pah-jee-tas."
"I'll have the chicken fajitas."
"Chicken pajitas (pah-jee-tas)?"
"Yes."
"I'll have a Sapporo (Sah-po-ro)"
"Sapporo (Sa-poor-oh). So one Sapporo beer."
"Yes."
So I was faced with the same questions I encountered a month ago at a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. Why do some non-Asians accent the second syllable in "Sapporo?" And why do they insist on correcting me with the incorrect pronunciation? This happens a few times a year, but the worst is when it's at a high-end Japanese restaurant and some non-Asian, non-Japanese speaking waiter "corrects" you with an attitude.
Sometimes I just want to say, "Hello, white dude, YOU'RE the one that's saying it wrong."
Another amusing pronunciation error I encountered were at restaurants in South Korea that served fajitas. Since there isn't a large Hispanic population in South Korea, most South Koreans don't know that the "j" is a "h" sound. Also there is no "f" sound in the Korean language, which is typically replaced by a "p" sound. So they say "pah-jee-tas."
"I'll have the chicken fajitas."
"Chicken pajitas (pah-jee-tas)?"
"Yes."
Friday, December 30, 2005
Home Sweet Home... Chicago
Originally, Christine and I were suppose to go to Shanghai and Seoul after our Maui trip for the days after Christmas and to celebrate New Years. We wanted to visit my cousin Jim and his wife, Kelly, and their kids in Shanghai. Seoul would have been great to see Christine's family and our friends.
For various reasons we came to Chicago since my parents recently moved back from Seoul for good and were readjusting to life in the U.S. They sold their business and are resting now, but I don't know how long it will be before they start another business.
Anyway, it's good to be back in my hometown. I get to see family and friends, and eat in some of the great restaurants Chicago offers. What's different about Chicago this trip for me is the fact that it's becoming a growing haven of cutting-edge entrepreneurial activity. There have always been a handful of startups here, but nothing like FeedBurner or 37Signals. These are two great examples of Chicago startups that are leading the pack in their respective spaces. FeedBurner is a leader and fan favorite of RSS feed management and metrics. 37Signals transformation from a design shop to a leading web-based application and tool company has been fun to watch. From Basecamp to their creation of Ruby on Rails, 37Signals has made a huge impact on the way online applications are designed and built. Go Chi-town! Now I gotta go eat some brats, ribs, steaks, wings,...
For various reasons we came to Chicago since my parents recently moved back from Seoul for good and were readjusting to life in the U.S. They sold their business and are resting now, but I don't know how long it will be before they start another business.
Anyway, it's good to be back in my hometown. I get to see family and friends, and eat in some of the great restaurants Chicago offers. What's different about Chicago this trip for me is the fact that it's becoming a growing haven of cutting-edge entrepreneurial activity. There have always been a handful of startups here, but nothing like FeedBurner or 37Signals. These are two great examples of Chicago startups that are leading the pack in their respective spaces. FeedBurner is a leader and fan favorite of RSS feed management and metrics. 37Signals transformation from a design shop to a leading web-based application and tool company has been fun to watch. From Basecamp to their creation of Ruby on Rails, 37Signals has made a huge impact on the way online applications are designed and built. Go Chi-town! Now I gotta go eat some brats, ribs, steaks, wings,...
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Tastes of Chicago... Definitely Miss Chicago Food
I really don't know why some people in San Francisco say this is an eating town. Some of the high-end restaurants are good, but the overall restaurant scene is mediocre. Nothing like NYC or Chicago, which is why I loved getting a mailing from Lou Malnati's Pizzeria of Chicago a few days ago.
A sign of a good eating town in my mind is when you get great eats even with low-end and mid-tier restaurants. Also how I define "great" is not just a taste that satisfies you, but a taste that makes you crave for more. I crave Buffalo Joe's chicken wings, Pot Belly's subs, Chop House's 48 oz. Porterhouse, Ditka's fried ice cream...
Anyway, so I'm looking through the mailing that reveals Lou Malnati's is now sending food from other Chicagoland restaurants to anywhere in the U.S. For years, if not decades, Lou Malnati's has been mailing their famous pizzas frozen across the U.S. Now they are sending the goods from Carson's (excellent ribs), Portillo's (incredible Italian beef), Vienna Beef (the original Chicago dog), and a few others. This is AWESOME.
I'm going order some ribs and a few pounds of Italian beef! If you want to check out some nasty, fatty Chicago food go to Lou Malnati's Tastes of Chicago.
(I do not get paid for this or any plug on this blog. Nor do I know anyone at Lou Malnati's, but I wish I did)
A sign of a good eating town in my mind is when you get great eats even with low-end and mid-tier restaurants. Also how I define "great" is not just a taste that satisfies you, but a taste that makes you crave for more. I crave Buffalo Joe's chicken wings, Pot Belly's subs, Chop House's 48 oz. Porterhouse, Ditka's fried ice cream...
Anyway, so I'm looking through the mailing that reveals Lou Malnati's is now sending food from other Chicagoland restaurants to anywhere in the U.S. For years, if not decades, Lou Malnati's has been mailing their famous pizzas frozen across the U.S. Now they are sending the goods from Carson's (excellent ribs), Portillo's (incredible Italian beef), Vienna Beef (the original Chicago dog), and a few others. This is AWESOME.
I'm going order some ribs and a few pounds of Italian beef! If you want to check out some nasty, fatty Chicago food go to Lou Malnati's Tastes of Chicago.
(I do not get paid for this or any plug on this blog. Nor do I know anyone at Lou Malnati's, but I wish I did)
Monday, August 16, 2004
Peter Luger Steak House... Below Par of Chicago Houses
Monday night, over six hours ago, I went to the famed Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn with my girlfriend, my childhood friend and his wife visiting from Chicago, his wife's sister, and my other friend. My friend, Chris, from Chicago had some expectations because of Peter Lugar's reputation and our friend's hyped talk about their steaks. Jason, who grew up in NYC, said they had the best steaks even though he lives in Chicago now. Strong words from a man living in the historic cattle hub of America now.
This was a continuation of reacquainting myself with America's great steakhouses since I've been back for a few months now after my stint in Asia. While in Chicago, I went to Chicago Chophouse (Tom Horan's #1 Steakhouse In America 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003), Gibsons Steakhouse, and Tavern on Rush. Chophouse is still my favorite. Their signature prime rib kicks ass, their porterhouse (48 oz and 64 oz) melts in your mouth, and I love their 24 oz boneless NY Strip. Gibsons is my second favorite. Awesome cuts such as their bone-in ribeye.
The third spot is up in the air and I need more information and time before I would make such a call. Smith & Wollensky has a special place in my heart from my graduate school days in NYC, and their cuts are superb. Morton's is just a classic Chicago steakhouse. No matter how much I want to downgrade them for expanding so much and becoming an international steakhouse, they have been a model of consistency. All the Morton's locations I've been to have maintain their excellence in quality and taste as the original one in Chicago. Their wide but unfailing menu, such as their lobster bisque soup, places them at the highest level year after year. I went to the Hong Kong location and was surprised that they maintained their quality, and wondered how this was done with the possible variance in food quality and ingredients in a location across the Pacific.
The last steakhouse for consideration in this spot is Peter Luger Steak House. I liked their simple menu with the primary (almost only) steak being the porterhouse. They char their steak, which is great (Chicago is the home of the char dog and char burgers... what other city has burnt meats on the menus of every burger joint?), and the quality is good. It just wasn't great. I was disappointed though because I wanted it to melt in my mouth like I recently experienced at the Chophouse. We ordered "steak for six," which was two orders of "steak for three," but it was pretty small. I was going to order "steak for two" after looking at another table, but afterwards I know I can down a "steak for three." It definitely was not a bang for buck place even among high-end steakhouses. These factors led to my disappointment of Peter Luger last night, but I'm willing to give it another shot.
This was a continuation of reacquainting myself with America's great steakhouses since I've been back for a few months now after my stint in Asia. While in Chicago, I went to Chicago Chophouse (Tom Horan's #1 Steakhouse In America 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003), Gibsons Steakhouse, and Tavern on Rush. Chophouse is still my favorite. Their signature prime rib kicks ass, their porterhouse (48 oz and 64 oz) melts in your mouth, and I love their 24 oz boneless NY Strip. Gibsons is my second favorite. Awesome cuts such as their bone-in ribeye.
The third spot is up in the air and I need more information and time before I would make such a call. Smith & Wollensky has a special place in my heart from my graduate school days in NYC, and their cuts are superb. Morton's is just a classic Chicago steakhouse. No matter how much I want to downgrade them for expanding so much and becoming an international steakhouse, they have been a model of consistency. All the Morton's locations I've been to have maintain their excellence in quality and taste as the original one in Chicago. Their wide but unfailing menu, such as their lobster bisque soup, places them at the highest level year after year. I went to the Hong Kong location and was surprised that they maintained their quality, and wondered how this was done with the possible variance in food quality and ingredients in a location across the Pacific.
The last steakhouse for consideration in this spot is Peter Luger Steak House. I liked their simple menu with the primary (almost only) steak being the porterhouse. They char their steak, which is great (Chicago is the home of the char dog and char burgers... what other city has burnt meats on the menus of every burger joint?), and the quality is good. It just wasn't great. I was disappointed though because I wanted it to melt in my mouth like I recently experienced at the Chophouse. We ordered "steak for six," which was two orders of "steak for three," but it was pretty small. I was going to order "steak for two" after looking at another table, but afterwards I know I can down a "steak for three." It definitely was not a bang for buck place even among high-end steakhouses. These factors led to my disappointment of Peter Luger last night, but I'm willing to give it another shot.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
NYTimes Review of Chicago Hotspots
Hot Doug's, Jim's, Fluky's... At Least They Get Food Right
My favorite hot dog place, Hot Doug's, was reviewed in the NY Times. After living, visiting, and eating in various cities, I still believe Chicago has the best tasting food. I loved NYC for the diversity and high-end food... love its delis, pizza joints, Chinese fast food, Japanese cuisine, various fusion restaurants, etc. Japanese and Korean restaurants in Los Angeles are unmatched in the U.S. Of course, I'm biased because I love meat and Chicago is a city of high-fat, high cholesterol foods, especially steaks, ribs, burgers, and by-products. Anyway, here's the article:
Stand-Up Food in a City of Big Appetites
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By R. W. APPLE Jr.
April 14, 2004
CHICAGO
WHEN Doug Sohn finished his culinary studies at Kendall College in suburban Evanston a few years ago, he decided to get into regional food. He might have opened a steakhouse — Chicago is one of the world's great beef towns — or a nostalgic meatloaf-and-mashed-potatoes palace, for that matter.
But instead he took a road much less traveled. He opened a hot-dog stand and called it Hot Doug's.
Mr. Sohn's place of business is more than it seems at first. In his irreverent moments, of which he has many, Mr. Sohn describes it as an encased-meats emporium. Rightly so. It serves a fine Chicago red hot, about which more in due course, but also what you might describe as canine nouvelle cuisine. At Doug's you can order a veggie dog or a kangaroo sausage if you like.
What, you might well ask if you don't know Chicago, is so regional about hot dogs? Pink's on La Brea in Los Angeles does a great dog, and people in Detroit swear by the chili dogs at the Lafayette. The corn dogs at the Texas State Fair are good, too, though not as good as Texans claim, naturally. Katz's and Gray's Papaya in New York serve classic kosher dogs, and a place in Mamaroneck called Walter's, which I used to frequent years ago while unsuccessfully courting one of the fairest damsels in nearby Larchmont, may top the whole list.
But no place else this side of Frankfurt has a frankfurter stand every three or four blocks, as Chicago does. And no other place anywhere has a catechism of condiments as rigorously defined as Chicago's. A proper Chicago hot dog must be served on a warmed poppy-seed bun (preferably from Rosen's bakery). It must be dressed with a crisp pickle spear, a sweetish fluorescent green relish, a slice or wedge of raw tomato, some chopped onions (or very occasionally grilled onions), a dab or two of yellow mustard, a dusting of celery salt and two or three hot little green chilies, which Chicagoans for some reason always call sport peppers.
All of the above. Absolutely no substitutions. And no ketchup, please. Ever. Your true Chicagoan recoils from a ketchup-smeared hot dog the way your true New Yorker loathes melted Swiss cheese on a pastrami or corned beef sandwich. There are at least 1,800 hot-dog stands in Chicago, according to the people at Vienna Beef, which supplies most of them.
This is a blue-collar city — "city of the big shoulders," as Carl Sandburg called it — and it loves its proletarian food: high-fat breakfasts, deep-dish pizzas, pork barbecue, Italian beef sandwiches and fried fresh-water fish. Hot dogs come first, however, partly for historical reasons, although price and portability are also factors.
My wife, Betsey, and I started a recent round of dog tasting at the Vienna Beef Factory Store on Damen Avenue. The company's principal product was introduced at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 by its founders, a pair of brothers newly arrived from Vienna, then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That accounts for the hint of paprika that flavors Vienna Beef dogs, along with more than a hint of garlic. It also makes them wieners, strictly speaking, not frankfurters — a wiener being a sausage, or anything else, from Wien, or Vienna.
As she tonged a few prime specimens from a water-filled well, the server told Betsey, "Boil your water, turn it off, drop in the hot dogs and let them cook." That way, she explained, you will avoid the dreaded problem of burst casings.
To tell the truth, we had trouble finding a bad dog — there were none at Wiener's Circle, where rowdy late-night weekend crowds gather to soak up the beer consumed earlier; or at Fluky's, which claims to have invented the salad-laden dog on Maxwell Street in Depression-ridden 1929, when it sold for a nickel; or at Poochie's char-dog haven in Skokie, or at Doug's either.
The only real disappointment came at O'Hare Airport as we headed home. Betsey could not resist trying just one more dog (for breakfast). For her three bucks, she got a soggy, tasteless mess and heaved it into the garbage.
In the traditional category — poached sausage with the works — we gave the prize to the Factory Store, which served us a perfect self-basting sandwich, whose hot dog delivered a meaty burst of juice as its taut casing burst. The flavors of each condiment, and the red hot itself, danced in our mouths. Our friend Bill Rice, the esteemed Chicago food writer, who came along to navigate, announced after a bite or two, "It's like tasting Guinness in Dublin."
Doug's, of course, was hors classe. A converted storefront in Roscoe Village, a middle-class residential area on the North Side, it was jam-packed at 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, with a line out the door. Mr. Sohn, manning a counter at the back, scribbled order after order, calling them out to cooks staffing the stoves in a minuscule kitchen behind him. More than 250 people ate lunch that day before Mr. Sohn, who likes to spend the evenings with his family, closed down his shop at 4 p.m.
When I asked him how old he was, the slight, owlish proprietor replied, "I'm 42, but my knees are 60."
Betsey quickly decided on a Chicago classic, then busied herself with her duties as supply sergeant — collecting paper napkins for everyone, wiping the table clean, and rounding up salt and pepper shakers. Ever the Francophile, I went for a Calvados-infused smoked duck sausage with citrus-mustard cream (I'm not kidding here, folks). Mr. Rice couldn't decide between a roasted red pepper chicken sausage and a mint-garlic lamb dog adorned with tapenade and feta.
So he sought the expert counsel of Mr. Sohn, who answered, like a bistro-keeper pushing the gigot: "Hey, it's spring. Why not take the lamb?"
Delicious and instantly consumed as they all were, they were not quite as ravishing as the hand-cut French fries cooked in duck fat. Old gold in color, each fry was a different shape and a different texture. The little ones were crisp and chewy; the big ones were fleecy inside, almost soufflé-like.
The last stop on the sausage tour was a concrete-block building surrounded by rubble-filled lots, just yards from the roaring traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway. This melancholy establishment, where the cooks inside pass the food out to customers through slit windows, is all that remains of Maxwell Street's once-thriving restaurant culture and of Jim's, where the famous Chicago Polish sausage was invented decades ago. The rest was bulldozed over the objections of neighbors to make way for University of Illinois-Chicago dorms and parking lots.
Happily, the Polish is as good as ever — a smoky, slightly leathery sausage, grilled to reddish-brown glory, topped with mustard and a jungle of ivory-colored onions, also grilled, on an oversize bun. A bit greasy, I will admit, but still incomparable. They stuff the thing into a paper sack, along with a small bag of fresh, exemplary fries and a well-iced can of soda.
That's it. It's your job to find a place to consume this mini-banquet. I devoured my Polish — more accurately, perhaps, my Slavic, since the inventor was a Yugoslav immigrant, Jim Stefanovic — on a park bench on the nearby campus.
NOT all Chicago's beef goes for steaks and sausages. Some of it finds its way into sandwiches like the monsters served at Al's #1 Italian Beef, a strictly utilitarian operation in River North that consists of a grill, a counter, a drive-through and several tables.
Al's, which was started by the Ferreri and Pacelli families in 1938, bakes lean sirloin butts for four hours with water and "secret special spices" — among them garlic and mustard seed, in the view of Detective Apple. The meat is cut extra-thin on a rotary machine and piled onto a sliced baguette. If you ask for yours "sweet," they add strips of roasted green bell peppers; if you specify "hot," they ladle on an incendiary concoction of chopped chilies, olives, celery and other vegetables, called giardiniera. Either way, you are honor-bound to ask that your sandwich be dipped into the savory, garlicky pan juices.
The juices moisten the meat and soak right into the bread to make a heroic sandwich. Eating the thing is messy, extremely messy. I would not even try to improve Al's beef recipe or its gruff countermen, but I would add a stall shower if I could. (full article / free registration)
My favorite hot dog place, Hot Doug's, was reviewed in the NY Times. After living, visiting, and eating in various cities, I still believe Chicago has the best tasting food. I loved NYC for the diversity and high-end food... love its delis, pizza joints, Chinese fast food, Japanese cuisine, various fusion restaurants, etc. Japanese and Korean restaurants in Los Angeles are unmatched in the U.S. Of course, I'm biased because I love meat and Chicago is a city of high-fat, high cholesterol foods, especially steaks, ribs, burgers, and by-products. Anyway, here's the article:
Stand-Up Food in a City of Big Appetites
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By R. W. APPLE Jr.
April 14, 2004
CHICAGO
WHEN Doug Sohn finished his culinary studies at Kendall College in suburban Evanston a few years ago, he decided to get into regional food. He might have opened a steakhouse — Chicago is one of the world's great beef towns — or a nostalgic meatloaf-and-mashed-potatoes palace, for that matter.
But instead he took a road much less traveled. He opened a hot-dog stand and called it Hot Doug's.
Mr. Sohn's place of business is more than it seems at first. In his irreverent moments, of which he has many, Mr. Sohn describes it as an encased-meats emporium. Rightly so. It serves a fine Chicago red hot, about which more in due course, but also what you might describe as canine nouvelle cuisine. At Doug's you can order a veggie dog or a kangaroo sausage if you like.
What, you might well ask if you don't know Chicago, is so regional about hot dogs? Pink's on La Brea in Los Angeles does a great dog, and people in Detroit swear by the chili dogs at the Lafayette. The corn dogs at the Texas State Fair are good, too, though not as good as Texans claim, naturally. Katz's and Gray's Papaya in New York serve classic kosher dogs, and a place in Mamaroneck called Walter's, which I used to frequent years ago while unsuccessfully courting one of the fairest damsels in nearby Larchmont, may top the whole list.
But no place else this side of Frankfurt has a frankfurter stand every three or four blocks, as Chicago does. And no other place anywhere has a catechism of condiments as rigorously defined as Chicago's. A proper Chicago hot dog must be served on a warmed poppy-seed bun (preferably from Rosen's bakery). It must be dressed with a crisp pickle spear, a sweetish fluorescent green relish, a slice or wedge of raw tomato, some chopped onions (or very occasionally grilled onions), a dab or two of yellow mustard, a dusting of celery salt and two or three hot little green chilies, which Chicagoans for some reason always call sport peppers.
All of the above. Absolutely no substitutions. And no ketchup, please. Ever. Your true Chicagoan recoils from a ketchup-smeared hot dog the way your true New Yorker loathes melted Swiss cheese on a pastrami or corned beef sandwich. There are at least 1,800 hot-dog stands in Chicago, according to the people at Vienna Beef, which supplies most of them.
This is a blue-collar city — "city of the big shoulders," as Carl Sandburg called it — and it loves its proletarian food: high-fat breakfasts, deep-dish pizzas, pork barbecue, Italian beef sandwiches and fried fresh-water fish. Hot dogs come first, however, partly for historical reasons, although price and portability are also factors.
My wife, Betsey, and I started a recent round of dog tasting at the Vienna Beef Factory Store on Damen Avenue. The company's principal product was introduced at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 by its founders, a pair of brothers newly arrived from Vienna, then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That accounts for the hint of paprika that flavors Vienna Beef dogs, along with more than a hint of garlic. It also makes them wieners, strictly speaking, not frankfurters — a wiener being a sausage, or anything else, from Wien, or Vienna.
As she tonged a few prime specimens from a water-filled well, the server told Betsey, "Boil your water, turn it off, drop in the hot dogs and let them cook." That way, she explained, you will avoid the dreaded problem of burst casings.
To tell the truth, we had trouble finding a bad dog — there were none at Wiener's Circle, where rowdy late-night weekend crowds gather to soak up the beer consumed earlier; or at Fluky's, which claims to have invented the salad-laden dog on Maxwell Street in Depression-ridden 1929, when it sold for a nickel; or at Poochie's char-dog haven in Skokie, or at Doug's either.
The only real disappointment came at O'Hare Airport as we headed home. Betsey could not resist trying just one more dog (for breakfast). For her three bucks, she got a soggy, tasteless mess and heaved it into the garbage.
In the traditional category — poached sausage with the works — we gave the prize to the Factory Store, which served us a perfect self-basting sandwich, whose hot dog delivered a meaty burst of juice as its taut casing burst. The flavors of each condiment, and the red hot itself, danced in our mouths. Our friend Bill Rice, the esteemed Chicago food writer, who came along to navigate, announced after a bite or two, "It's like tasting Guinness in Dublin."
Doug's, of course, was hors classe. A converted storefront in Roscoe Village, a middle-class residential area on the North Side, it was jam-packed at 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, with a line out the door. Mr. Sohn, manning a counter at the back, scribbled order after order, calling them out to cooks staffing the stoves in a minuscule kitchen behind him. More than 250 people ate lunch that day before Mr. Sohn, who likes to spend the evenings with his family, closed down his shop at 4 p.m.
When I asked him how old he was, the slight, owlish proprietor replied, "I'm 42, but my knees are 60."
Betsey quickly decided on a Chicago classic, then busied herself with her duties as supply sergeant — collecting paper napkins for everyone, wiping the table clean, and rounding up salt and pepper shakers. Ever the Francophile, I went for a Calvados-infused smoked duck sausage with citrus-mustard cream (I'm not kidding here, folks). Mr. Rice couldn't decide between a roasted red pepper chicken sausage and a mint-garlic lamb dog adorned with tapenade and feta.
So he sought the expert counsel of Mr. Sohn, who answered, like a bistro-keeper pushing the gigot: "Hey, it's spring. Why not take the lamb?"
Delicious and instantly consumed as they all were, they were not quite as ravishing as the hand-cut French fries cooked in duck fat. Old gold in color, each fry was a different shape and a different texture. The little ones were crisp and chewy; the big ones were fleecy inside, almost soufflé-like.
The last stop on the sausage tour was a concrete-block building surrounded by rubble-filled lots, just yards from the roaring traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway. This melancholy establishment, where the cooks inside pass the food out to customers through slit windows, is all that remains of Maxwell Street's once-thriving restaurant culture and of Jim's, where the famous Chicago Polish sausage was invented decades ago. The rest was bulldozed over the objections of neighbors to make way for University of Illinois-Chicago dorms and parking lots.
Happily, the Polish is as good as ever — a smoky, slightly leathery sausage, grilled to reddish-brown glory, topped with mustard and a jungle of ivory-colored onions, also grilled, on an oversize bun. A bit greasy, I will admit, but still incomparable. They stuff the thing into a paper sack, along with a small bag of fresh, exemplary fries and a well-iced can of soda.
That's it. It's your job to find a place to consume this mini-banquet. I devoured my Polish — more accurately, perhaps, my Slavic, since the inventor was a Yugoslav immigrant, Jim Stefanovic — on a park bench on the nearby campus.
NOT all Chicago's beef goes for steaks and sausages. Some of it finds its way into sandwiches like the monsters served at Al's #1 Italian Beef, a strictly utilitarian operation in River North that consists of a grill, a counter, a drive-through and several tables.
Al's, which was started by the Ferreri and Pacelli families in 1938, bakes lean sirloin butts for four hours with water and "secret special spices" — among them garlic and mustard seed, in the view of Detective Apple. The meat is cut extra-thin on a rotary machine and piled onto a sliced baguette. If you ask for yours "sweet," they add strips of roasted green bell peppers; if you specify "hot," they ladle on an incendiary concoction of chopped chilies, olives, celery and other vegetables, called giardiniera. Either way, you are honor-bound to ask that your sandwich be dipped into the savory, garlicky pan juices.
The juices moisten the meat and soak right into the bread to make a heroic sandwich. Eating the thing is messy, extremely messy. I would not even try to improve Al's beef recipe or its gruff countermen, but I would add a stall shower if I could. (full article / free registration)
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Wedding Weekend... Big Guys Eating Stories IV
I got into Chicago on Friday for my grade school friend's wedding. It was a great wedding and fun to see old and close friends I grew up with. I'll write more about this later since I don't have much time right now. I just wanted to mentioned some stories and talks I had with the Joe and Joong Bae. These guys are still hilarious. Joe came in from LA and Joong from Atlanta. We talk about life, food, philosophy, food, old stories, and food.
On Friday during the rehearsal dinner, Joe was full from eating but some people came late and asked for a plate of kung pao chicken in front of him. He took the plate, scooped some of the food onto his plate, and passed it on to them. He then replied, "I have fat man's disease. If food is in front of me I have to have at least some of it."
During the dinner, Joe stated some of his random comments:
"There were two times I know I was the heaviest person in the country. When I went to Kenya and Haiti. Kenya is uncertain since I know there are some fat warlords there."
"One time Joong and I had a four hour conversation on who would win in a fight. First it started as a joke and then it turned into a serious discussion. Joong would be like, 'Come on, Joe. Be serious, I would kill you...' We went back and forth on why one person would be able to beat up the other person."
Conversations eventually led to how much food Joong can eat. Joe said one time Joong came over and said he was hungry. He didn't have much food except corn, so Joong ate 8 stalks of corn. I really don't know how much that is, but Joe insists it's a lot of food. I thought about it and one stalk is probably about a can of corn. For me it would just be strange to just sit there and eat 8 cans of corn. Anyway, then Joong and Joe went to a hot dog stand and Joong ate two hot dogs and fries. Then they went to their friend's to eat duk man doo gook (dumpling & rice cake soup) and Joong ate two giant bowls of it (see EATING STORIES III). Joe said this was one of the most amounts of food he saw Joong eat.
On Friday during the rehearsal dinner, Joe was full from eating but some people came late and asked for a plate of kung pao chicken in front of him. He took the plate, scooped some of the food onto his plate, and passed it on to them. He then replied, "I have fat man's disease. If food is in front of me I have to have at least some of it."
During the dinner, Joe stated some of his random comments:
"There were two times I know I was the heaviest person in the country. When I went to Kenya and Haiti. Kenya is uncertain since I know there are some fat warlords there."
"One time Joong and I had a four hour conversation on who would win in a fight. First it started as a joke and then it turned into a serious discussion. Joong would be like, 'Come on, Joe. Be serious, I would kill you...' We went back and forth on why one person would be able to beat up the other person."
Conversations eventually led to how much food Joong can eat. Joe said one time Joong came over and said he was hungry. He didn't have much food except corn, so Joong ate 8 stalks of corn. I really don't know how much that is, but Joe insists it's a lot of food. I thought about it and one stalk is probably about a can of corn. For me it would just be strange to just sit there and eat 8 cans of corn. Anyway, then Joong and Joe went to a hot dog stand and Joong ate two hot dogs and fries. Then they went to their friend's to eat duk man doo gook (dumpling & rice cake soup) and Joong ate two giant bowls of it (see EATING STORIES III). Joe said this was one of the most amounts of food he saw Joong eat.
Friday, April 25, 2003
Sweet Home Chicago
It's great to be back in the City of Big Shoulders, pan pizza, Ernie Banks, Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, Dick Butkus, Al Capone, MoMo Johnson, old cattle hub of the U.S., best steaks & ribs, fatty foods and grease, Jenny McCarthy, Denise Richards, lakeshore drive, most beautiful metropolitan architecture in the world, John Belushi, Chris Farley, John Hughes...
I love this city. After visiting dozens of cities throughout the world, Chicago is still one of the best, if not the best, places to live. The city provides a rich heritage and vibrant culture. The urban architecture is beautiful with no equal and people who present a sincere midwest attitude towards life and visitors. Friendly, warm and open.
The main downside is the weather. Its winters are harsh where visitors from Boston and Buffalo have expressed shock at experiencing a coldness like they never felt before and a biting of the ears and noses that made them tear. Summers can be hot and humid, but the mid-year months are generally beautiful with a gentle evening warmth that provides comfort to most people. The character and culture of the city makes up for these deficiencies of nature. The performing arts are only second to New York City and the food is rich and full of taste. There isn't as much ethnic diversity of food compared to New York, but everything just tastes better on average. Buttery, fatty, divine, full, and heart-attack are all adjectives people use to describe the richness of Chicago's restaurants or how they feel afterwards.
Random tangent...
I wanted to write about a recent incident with one of my good friends in Korea. We were sitting in a restaurant together eating this Korean pork dish. Basically it's about a pound of pork with some spicy vegetables. The power went out in the whole city block, so just before we started our dinner we were sitting in the dark. Some light came through from a distant street light through the windows, but I mainly saw darkness in front of me. After about five minutes the lights went back on and I was ready to eat. Looking down upon the plate, all the pork was gone. After my initial shock, I asked my friend Davis, "How did you eat all the pork in the dark?"
"From my side, I could see the plate, so I decided to go ahead and eat it."
"Ok. You couldn't wait for me? Or the lights to go on?"
"Well, I figured you would just order more."
"Yeah... I guess so. Waitress!"
I realized after writing about all these random eating stories most people that read this blog imagine me to be this 250+ lbs. Asian with a big gut and pizza in hand. Who knows if I'll get like that a few years down the road, but I simply love food and eating.
I love this city. After visiting dozens of cities throughout the world, Chicago is still one of the best, if not the best, places to live. The city provides a rich heritage and vibrant culture. The urban architecture is beautiful with no equal and people who present a sincere midwest attitude towards life and visitors. Friendly, warm and open.
The main downside is the weather. Its winters are harsh where visitors from Boston and Buffalo have expressed shock at experiencing a coldness like they never felt before and a biting of the ears and noses that made them tear. Summers can be hot and humid, but the mid-year months are generally beautiful with a gentle evening warmth that provides comfort to most people. The character and culture of the city makes up for these deficiencies of nature. The performing arts are only second to New York City and the food is rich and full of taste. There isn't as much ethnic diversity of food compared to New York, but everything just tastes better on average. Buttery, fatty, divine, full, and heart-attack are all adjectives people use to describe the richness of Chicago's restaurants or how they feel afterwards.
Random tangent...
I wanted to write about a recent incident with one of my good friends in Korea. We were sitting in a restaurant together eating this Korean pork dish. Basically it's about a pound of pork with some spicy vegetables. The power went out in the whole city block, so just before we started our dinner we were sitting in the dark. Some light came through from a distant street light through the windows, but I mainly saw darkness in front of me. After about five minutes the lights went back on and I was ready to eat. Looking down upon the plate, all the pork was gone. After my initial shock, I asked my friend Davis, "How did you eat all the pork in the dark?"
"From my side, I could see the plate, so I decided to go ahead and eat it."
"Ok. You couldn't wait for me? Or the lights to go on?"
"Well, I figured you would just order more."
"Yeah... I guess so. Waitress!"
I realized after writing about all these random eating stories most people that read this blog imagine me to be this 250+ lbs. Asian with a big gut and pizza in hand. Who knows if I'll get like that a few years down the road, but I simply love food and eating.
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