My Kind of Town (& Around)

New Websites for Gloves, Dibs, Fedoras

2012-02-15T13:34:00.000-06:00

Looking for your lost glove? Want to see poll workers filing petitions? These offbeat blogs and websites bring it:

•    Looking for Glove - Helps Chicagoans find lost handwear via photos and descriptions.

•    Chicago Dibs - Check out photos showing the Chicago custom of dibs - holding a shoveled-out parking space after a snowstorm using chairs, boards and other street "art."

•    Wisconsin Government Accountability Board - Watch workers counting Gov. Walker recall petitions via webcam. Woo!

•    To Be Demolished - Gapers Block has a great section with pics and details of Chicago architecture on the hit list.

•    Chicago Shovels - Let it snow, bitches. This portal has the lowdown on plow locations, parking bans, adopt-a-sidewalk and more.

•    Chicago Past - Posts two big-ass photos daily of historic Chicago; lots of horses, buggies and guys in fedoras.

Brains in Jars

2012-02-14T15:08:00.000-06:00

Brain tourism: it's a travel trend, in case you didn't know.

I first came across brains in jars a few months ago at the forlorn, barbed-wire-enclosed Indiana Medical History Museum, located in the state's old insane asylum. Tours roam the former pathology lab and show how early medicine was practiced, from the cold-slabbed autopsy room to the eerie specimen room. Pickled brains fill the shelves of the latter. Each is tagged with its defect: hydrocephalus, kicked by a horse, syphilis...

Unique? Not really. Lima, Peru, has a Brain Museum with over 3000 brains in jars. Philadelphia's Mutter Museum boasts Einstein's brain (in slices). Yale has 650 brains on display. Cornell has lots of lobes, too - though it says "brain collecting has dimmed" since the 1970s.

Tell that to Washington DC's National Zoo. It has whole cabinets of brains in jars, from pygmy hippos to blue whales, white-tailed deer to red foxes. Because nothing says "fun!" to kids like a roomful of dead animal organs.

Presidential Haircut and Pancakes

2012-01-11T13:34:00.001-06:00

President Obama is returning home to Chicago today for a trio of fundraisers. It's a whirlwind visit - 6 hours in all - which leaves little time for him to get a haircut or pancakes in his old 'hood.

You can both, however. All it takes is a quick trip to Hyde Park. Get buzzed by Obama's barber Zariff at the Hyde Park Hair Salon and pay your respects to the bulletproof-glass-encased presidential barber chair. Then walk around the corner to Valois Cafeteria and fork into the pancakes and eggs special, one of the "President's Favorites." Valois is a real-deal, stand-in-line-with-your-tray cafeteria, and a great place to listen in on Chicago gossip. The socio-economically diverse clientele is so renowned that there's a book about it, called Slim's Table. So grab a piece of chocolate pie and stay for a while.

Holiday Train Rocks Public Transport

2011-12-21T15:50:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I was waiting for the Red Line at Chicago Avenue, when the CTA Holiday Train pulled up. Covered in twinkly lights, with elves on board passing out candy canes, and all the ads replaced by holiday riddles (ie, Where do elves keep their money? A snow bank), it's impossible not to smile when you climb aboard. Santa even has his own open-air flatcar carrying his sleigh and reindeer.

The Holiday Train has been rolling for 20 years. It runs on a different line each day, Wednesday through Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Check here for the schedule.

And one for the road: What is an elf's favorite meal at the North Pole? A brrr grr.

Tales of Butter

2011-12-21T15:19:00.003-06:00

Butter man Abel Gonzales

Perhaps by now you've heard about the butter crisis in Norway. Due to factors such as weak milk production by the nation's cows,butter is missing from supermarket shelves at the time of year it's most needed -for Christmas bun baking. To cope, Norwegians are making butter runs toneighboring countries such as Germany and Sweden. A few days ago, cops bustedbutter smugglers trying to sell 550 pounds of yellowy goodness brought in fromSweden.

Let's hope a similar crisis never hits Texas in October. Because that's when the State Fair serves up its audacious deep-fried butter. Abel Gonzales Jr (pictured) is the genius who concocted the recipe. I was lucky enough to visit him a few months ago and taste test the following:

Fried butter

Deep-fried butter (Grade: A) - much more awesome than I expected, kind of like the southwest's sopapilla

Deep-fried s'more (Grade: A-) - nice balance of gooey interior and crisp exterior

Deep-fried cookie dough (Grade: B-) - can't believe I'm saying this, but it was almost too sweet

Deep-fried Frito pie (Grade: C) - you better be a meat and sour cream fan for this one

Deep-fried Ding Dong (Grade: C+) - the cake-iness gets totally mushed in the fryer

Fried s'more

So there you go: a belated Texas State Fair round-up, brought on by Norway's imperiled butter supply.

RIP Cesaria Evora

2011-12-17T14:20:00.000-06:00

Cesaria Evora died today at age 70. Below is the story of when we met her on the island of Sao Vicente, off West Africa's coast (from an old blog post):

Cape Verde's most famous resident is the singer Cesaria Evora, who has made her living crooning about her country and its beauty. Her deep, smooth voice and romantic songs - called mornas - vaulted her to international stardom, and she tours throughout the world.

So imagine our surprise when we walk down the street in Mindelo (Sao Vicente's capital) and see Cesaria Evora sitting on her front porch. Imagine our greater surprise when she invites us in and offers us a beer (served by a pierced houseboy in an apron).

We couldn't say much to each other directly, since we don't speak Criolo or French and Cesaria doesn't speak English. Everything had to be translated by Peter, Cesaria's 87-year-old uncle, a dapper gentleman in white linen trousers, as sharp-dressed as they come, except for his unzipped fly.

Cesaria asked why we had come to Cape Verde, and where else we had visited in the country. As Peter relayed our answers, she listened graciously puffing on Marlboro Reds held between fingers heavy with gold rings.

At the end of our visit, Cesaria let us take photos (after telling Peter to zip up first), and then she invited us back.

She was a class act. You can see the Barefoot Diva (she only performed shoeless) singing here.

Hello, Cleveland!

2011-12-07T20:41:00.001-06:00

Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2012 inductees today: Guns N' Roses, the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Laura Nyro, Donovan and The Small Faces. The ceremony will be April 14 in C-Town, where it's held every third year. (Apparently, it's too much to ask industry types to travel to the woebegon city annually; the other years it takes place in NYC).

Performers on the ballot who did not make it in included The Cure, Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and War.

Then there's Rush, who wasn't even nominated - despite the fact they've sold more than 40 million records and have "more consecutive gold and platinum records than everyone except the Beatles and the Rolling Stones" (both in the Hall, btw), according to Wired's GeekDad blog.

Rush doesn't hold it against Cleveland, though. Their newest album is titled Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland.

NPR is conducting a poll of whether Rush should be in the Hall. Submit your vote here. At press time, almost 16,000 voters (97.3%) want them in the limelight.

A Christmas Story Story

2011-12-06T13:44:00.001-06:00

Now that it's cold enough outside to stick a tongue to a flagpole, I always think of Cleveland, Ohio. You probably do, too, without realizing it. Because the city holds the house from A Christmas Story, the 1983 film in which Ralphie yearns for a Red Ryder BB gun.

It's a big tourist attraction. In 2004, a fan named Brian Jones bought the private residence on eBay for $150,000 and replicated the interior to match the movie set (only the home's exterior had been used for filming). Jones' job, by the way: manufacturing leg lamps.

When I visited, there was a line to get in. Fans swarmed the place, snapping pix by the Christmas tree, at the mailbox (where Ralphie waited for his decoder pin) and - most popularly - huddled around the leg lamp. This was April, mind you. In December there's the added bonus of having Randy (aka the now-36-year-old actor who played the little bro) on site to show you around. Afterward everyone crosses the street to the gift shop to buy - that's right - a leg lamp! (We prefer the key chain version, as well as a bar of Lifebuoy Soap to wash out dirty mouths).

Random Billy Pilgrim Sidebar

2011-11-21T10:59:00.001-06:00

An addendum to the post about visiting the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library:

In the early 1990s, my husband had a rock band in Chicago called Billy Pilgrim. One day, he got a letter from Atlantic Records: relinquish the name, and the label would pay him $7000. It seems Atlantic had just signed another Billy Pilgrim - a folk rock duo from Georgia (one of the dudes is now the guitarist in Sugarland) - and needed to trademark the name.

We think Vonnegut would smile at the situation: poor Chicago rockers get lots of beer money for a character name Vonnegut invented. Meanwhile, vintage Pilgrim tuques remain on the Windy City's streets.

So It Goes at the Vonnegut Library

2011-11-18T18:44:00.001-06:00

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis is small but mighty. Offbeat tidbits from his life stock the displays, such as his Pall Mall cigarettes, Purple Heart medal, and the box where he kept his rejection letters. Each month the library frames a different letter and hangs it on the wall, ie:

"I was glad to read your story To Dust Return. I am sorry that I cannot write to you about it with enthusiasm.... I'm afraid you have tried to substitute novelty for real dramatic narrative. This sometimes works but very seldom. I'm afraid that I must, therefore, tell you that you should look elsewhere for an agent.... Yours, Larabie Cunningham, McIntosh & Otis Inc., NY, NY"

The library also replicates Vonnegut's office, complete with checkerboard carpet, red rooster lamp and blue Coronamatic typewriter. Visitors can sit at the desk and type Kurt a note, which the library then publishes via Twitter from the name @kurtstypewriter.

A few months ago, the library formed a Banned Book Response Team to give away free copies of Slaughterhouse-Five to students in Republic, MO, where the book is restricted. Yes, Billy Pilgrim and friends continue to cause controversy by swearing and having sex, even 42 years after publication.

Click here for a random, rock-n-roll Billy Pilgrim sidebar.

A Pie-Five for Route 66's Birthday

2011-11-10T10:47:00.001-06:00

What better way to honor of Route 66's birthday tomorrow - officials christened the Mother Road on November 11, 1926 - than a pie-filled road trip? You can practically follow the trail of crumbs from one diner to the next.

Launch from Lou Mitchell's in downtown Chicago. Yes, it's renowned as a breakfast place, but since more than 35% of Americans admit they've forked into pie for breakfast, according to the American Pie Council, there's no need to be shy about ordering the fruity, a la mode slice-of-the-day (weekends only) to chase your double-yoked eggs and complimentary donut holes.

Motor on to Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowbrook. As comfort food connoisseurs, the Rhea family knows deep-fried bird and mac-and-cheese can only be capped by warm, buttery, blueberry pie. At least that's what filled plates recently; the selection rotates.

Next up: the Old Log Cabin in Pontiac. Coffee, conversation and Crisco-based crust are its recipe for success, along with loads of classics to choose from. Banana cream? Butterscotch? Cherry? Rhubarb? All here and accounted for (until lunchtime).

When you hear a collective "mmm" rising from the cornfields, you've reached Atlanta and the time-warped Palms Grill Cafe. Thick slabs of gooseberry, peach, sour cream raisin and other retro pies tempt from a glass case. Bonus: Tall Paul, a giant statue of Paul Bunyan clutching a hot dog, watches from across the street.

Then it's on to the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield, one of Route 66's oldest restaurants. Post meatloaf dinner, the waitress hauls out a big ol' dessert tray stacked with Reese's, Snickers, apple and other pies. Consider it fuel for the long drive onward, because friend, you're still in Illinois. You've got 7 states and 2000 miles to go to reach the end of the road.

Bhut-y Call

2011-11-04T15:08:00.000-05:00

I've written before about Jake Melnick's Corner Tap, where the spicy buffalo wings are sauced with the bhut jolokia, the hottest pepper on earth. For reference, it's about 200 times hotter than a jalapeno.

On Sunday, November 6, Melnick's hosts the "Battle of the Bhut" wing-eating contest - an official event on the International Federation of Competitive Eating circuit. Last year's winner, Erik "The Red" Denmark, chowed 35 nuclear wings. They're typically served alongside a bell - you ring it for a shot of cooling milk, in case the pepper incapacitates your vocal chords.

Oddly, while chilies inflame the mouth, they're thought to have the opposite effect on the reverse end of the body. This goes back to French Army officer L Stevenel, who wrote in the 1956 Bulletin of the Society of Exotic Pathology that West African locals' lack of hemorrhoids was does to their red-chili-rich diet.

For more on dishes hot enough to repel elephants, check out the World's 10 Fieriest Foods.

Museums for National Sandwich Day

2011-11-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Sure, you can celebrate November 3 with a couple slices of meat-filled bread. You can even add a piece of cake to honor John Montagu's 293rd birthday (Montagu is the 4th Earl of Sandwich, the 18th century Englishman who invented the dish as a way to eat with one hand while playing cards with the other.) But if you're serious about sandwiches, visit these Midwestern museums to pay proper homage to the holiday:

National Mustard Museum, Middleton, Wisconsin - Born of one man's ridiculously intense passion, the building houses 5300 mustards, kooky condiment memorabilia and a mustard bar to sample the spreads. CMO (chief mustard officer) Barry Levenson is usually on hand to introduce you to Mustardpiece Theatre, Shakespearean mustard references and the rest of his condiment shtick.

Spam Museum, Austin, Minnesota - Learn how the peculiar, blue-tinned meat has fed armies, become a Hawaiian food staple and inspired legions of haiku writers. What's more, you can chat up the staff (aka 'spambassadors'), indulge in free samples, and try your hand at canning the sweet pork magic.

Leather Museum: Home of the Red Spanking Bench

2011-10-29T15:41:00.001-05:00

Add the Leather Archives & Museum to the list of great overlooked institutions in Chicago. Its scholarly displays about leather, fetish and S&M subcultures fill an old synagogue in Rogers Park. Top exhibits:

•    The Red Spanking Bench - An artifact from BDSM club Galleria Domain, designed to be "all things to all bottoms."

•    Short films offering information such as, "Crisco as a lubricant is fabulous. You could put anything up his butt."

•    Last Supper in a Leather Bar with Judas Giving Christ the Finger - A painting by Steven Brown.

•    Kinky historical nuggets, like naughty advice from Ben Franklin (available via the online exhibits).

Bring your mobile device, as many of the displays have barcodes to scan for further information. The website also provides a coupon for half off the $10 admission fee.

Marilyn's Skirt Blowin' in the Windy City

2011-10-27T12:08:00.000-05:00

On this date in 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio divorced. They were married less than a year, and her skirt-blowing pose in The Seven Year Itch supposedly fueled their last fight.

"What would Joe DiMaggio think now?" a grey-haired woman clucks to her two friends before snapping their photo beneath the 26-foot-tall statue of Marilyn on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.

"This is sexist, man. I don't like the way they're objectifying her," says the guy in the Greenpeace T-shirt, laying on his back and aiming his camera up Monroe's skirt.

"Underpants!" A five-year-old boy sums up the issue in a single squeal. He jumps up and down, pointing to the sculpture's lace-trimmed panties.

A local company unveiled Forever Marilyn, which shows the icon in her skirt-billowing-over-a-subway-grate stance, in July. Citizens have been at odds ever since. Detractors say it incites tacky, leering behavior. Supporters say it's fun and rallies the public.

The day I visit, Girl Scouts stand next to gay men admiring the sculpture's slingback high heels. A busload of Chinese tourists swarms Marilyn beside a young wedding party posing in their finery. Of course, a man in plaid shorts is licking Marilyn's leg while his friends ready their iPhones.

Sadly, the blonde bombshell lacks a key attribute of Chicago's other famed public artworks: Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate and Picasso's untitled piece both generated controversy when they debuted in 2004 and 1967 respectively, but had years to win over their critics. Marilyn dismantles next spring.

A Cubs October: Goat, Curse, Theo, Reverse

2011-10-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

October is ever the momentous month for the Cubs. Take October 6, 1945, when The Curse fell upon the team. As the story goes: Billy Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, brought his pet goat to the Cubs-versus-Tigers World Series game. When he tried to enter Wrigley Field with his four-legged friend, ballpark staff refused, saying the goat stunk. Sianis threw up his arms, and called down a mighty hex: "The Cubs will never win a World Series!" They didn't then, and haven't since.

Flash forward to October 25, 2011, when Theo Epstein takes over as Cubs' General Manager. Theo broke The Curse of the Bambino in Boston and brought the Red Sox a World Series championship after 86 futile years. Can he do the same here, after 103 sad, woeful losing years?

Chicago's Mayor Checks into Social Media

2011-09-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

Mayor Emanuel just joined Foursquare, checking in at the hippie haven Heartland Cafe to promote the new Windy City Badge. This sets up the inimitable potential for the mayor to become the mayor of venues around town. (For the uninitiated, one becomes the "mayor" of a place by visiting it and "checking in" using the location-based Foursquare app, and doing so more than anyone else.) Follow the mind-bending possibilities via ChicagosMayor.

In another reality twist, the fake Mayor Emanuel on Twitter has a new book out: The F***ing Epic Twitter Quest of @MayorEmanuel, by Dan Sinker. It recaps Sinker's classic faux tweets in the guise of Emanuel during the mayoral election. To wit:

• OK, Carl the Intern makes a good point: Appellate courts are for pussies. We're going to motherf***ing Supreme this bullshit.

• If you have a giant f***ing pile of money and a bunch of dumb f***s running against you, DREAMS DO COME TRUE.

International Museum of Surgical Science

2011-09-05T15:02:00.001-05:00

The Museum of Surgical Science is one of Chicago's oddest sights. Housed in a four-story Gold Coast mansion, it displays a wild collection of surgical gear and exhibits. A collection of "stones" (as in "kidney" and "gall-") and the ancient Roman vaginal speculum leave lasting impressions. Ever wanted to see an iron lung? Here's your chance.

Perhaps most striking is the hemorrhoid surgery toolkit (pictured). It serves as a reminder to eat lots of fiber.

Eli's Cheesecake Factory

2011-06-15T08:25:00.001-05:00

Champagne cheesecake, cookie-crazy cheesecake, the Neapolitan Cheesecake Tower - these genius ideas happen at Eli's Cheesecake Factory in Chicago, thanks to lab-coated women with mixers and big bowls of butter. Take the factory tour (1pm Monday through Friday; $3 per person), and you'll get backstage access to their methods, plus see Willy Wonka-esque vats of chocolate and caramel squirt onto the swift-moving production line.

Eli's uses 10,000 lbs of cream cheese, 3000 lbs of sour cream and 2000 eggs each day to make the goods. The tour includes a free slice, and one lucky winner (chosen by random drawing) gets to take home a whole cake. Even if you don't triumph, the attached shop sells "imperfect" wares for big discounts - think $8 for 9-inch cheesecakes.

Rockin' at Chess Records

2011-06-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

Like Muddy Waters' house, the unobtrusive building at 2120 S Michigan Ave is another hot spot for blues fans. Keith Richards called it "Mecca" and dragged the Rolling Stones here in 1964. The band had to haul its own equipment up the stairs. And during two heady days in June, they recorded parts of 12 x 5, their first American album.

The building was once Chess Records, the seminal electric blues label that paved the way for rock 'n' roll. It is now the Willie Dixon Blues Heaven Foundation, named for the bassist who wrote most of Chess's hits. Staff give tours Monday through Saturday that take in the reception area (Minnie Ripperton worked the desk) and main studio (designed by a 21-year-old newbie who inadvertently created the room's remarkable sound). Bands play free concerts in the side courtyard on Thursday evenings.

Listen in, and you can't help thinking Dixon summed it all up when he said, "The blues is the roots, and everything else is the fruits."

Jammin' at Muddy Waters' Place

2011-06-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

Chicago rocks its annual Blues Fest June 10-12 - a fine time to make the pilgrimage to Muddy Waters' house (4339 S Lake Park Ave) on the South Side. This is where guitars screamed and bass lines rolled at new decibel levels, because Waters and friends had plugged in their amps. So began the electric blues.

Impromptu jam sessions with pals like Howlin' Wolf and Chuck Berry erupted in the front yard of the red-brick abode. Waters lived here for 20 years, until 1974, but today the building stands vacant in a lonely, tumbledown lot. It's private property, so you can't go inside. A sign commemorates the spot.

Mythic Homerun in Minnesota

2011-06-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

Exactly 44 years ago, on June 3, 1967, Minnesota Twins player Harmon Killebrew smacked a home run that rocketed 520 feet into the left field stands and shattered two seats. The Twins never sold tickets for those mythic chairs again.

The Mall of America now stands where the old ballpark used to be, and a chair beyond the mall's log flume (yes, the Mall of America has an indoor log flume, as well as roller coasters, minigolf course, shark aquarium and wedding chapel) marks the spot.

Killebrew died on May 17. I happened to be there May 18, and many people dropped by to pay their respects and offer flowers. A chubby 10-year-old boy stood beside me.

'Did you come to see Harmon?" he asked. 'We're gonna miss him.'

RIP, Killer.

Dylan's Duluth

2011-06-02T12:38:00.000-05:00

Folks in Duluth are low-key about native son Bob Dylan. The Electric Fetus record shop, which was advertising a deal on Highway 61 Revisited in honor of Bob's birthday last week, sits a few blocks down the road from his birthplace. When asked if many visitors stop by to get directions, the clerk looked blankly and said, 'Dylan's from Hibbing.'

Perhaps it should be noted the Electric Fetus also sells bongs.

Cabrini's Illuminated Fall

2011-03-29T07:36:00.002-05:00

On March 30, the wrecking ball swings into the building at 1230 N. Burling St., the last of Cabrini-Green's high rises.

Built between 1942 and 1962, Cabrini became the poster child for failed public housing. It was an anti-oasis, a 70-acre patch of 15,000 poor, black residents bordering but segregated from Chicago's richest neighborhoods in the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park. Cabrini's collapse into drugs, gangs and violence made it infamous - as did the 1970s TV show Good Times, in which the opening credits play over the blighted landscape.

Developers have been demolishing Cabrini bit by bit since the late 1990s, moving residents to mixed-income housing across the city and suburbs. The building on Burling is the last to go. You can watch the event in real time at Project Cabrini Green. The Museum of Contemporary Art and several youth-oriented Cabrini nonprofit groups have turned the demolition site into a lighted artwork that will have a beautiful demise.

Illinois Celebrates Reagan's 100th Birthday

2011-02-04T08:08:00.000-06:00

Illinois may be the Land of Lincoln, but northwestern Illinois is all about another presidential son: Ronald Reagan. Dutch spent his childhood here - born in Tampico, high school in Dixon - and the region works hard to promote its Reagan shrines. That's why Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert and a host of other Republican dignitaries are coming on Feb. 4 to kick off Reagan's 100th birthday year. The Centennial Commission has the slate of events.

Dixon holds the top sights. A Reagan portrait made from 14,000 red, white and blue jellybeans hangs in the Dixon Historic Center. Reagan's Boyhood Home has a bizarre statue of Reagan admiring corn kernels in his hand and a one-of-a-kind gift shop run by chatty locals.

North America's Last Guillotine

2011-01-19T07:55:00.000-06:00

A guillotine sliced just once in North America, in 1889 on the island of St-Pierre, a stone's throw from eastern Canada. You can see it at the L'Arche Museum there.

Monsieur Neel had killed another man in a booze-fueled fight and was sentenced to die by the blade. Only one problem: St-Pierre didn't have a guillotine, so the islanders had to import one from Martinique. There was no executioner either. So the islanders convinced another prisoner - Monsieur Legent - to pull the lever in return for a reduced sentence.

As promised, Legent dropped the timbers of justice. The locals then shunned him. He was unable to get food or shelter and eventually had to be evacuated to France. The Juliette Binoche movie version bypasses that part of the storyline.

Al Capone and St-Pierre

2011-01-17T11:26:00.004-06:00

In Chicago we have Capone sites such as the St Valentine's Day Massacre lot and Holy Name Cathedral. But I ran into more Capone recently while working on the island of St-Pierre.

St-Pierre floats 15 miles from eastern Canada, near the province of Newfoundland (which I cover for Lonely Planet's Canada book). The fog-mantled little land mass is a territory of France, complete with berets, baguettes and Bordeaux. Back in the day it was forsaken and lawless.

Enter Capone. When Prohibition dried out the U.S.'s kegs in the 1920s, he set up shop in St-Pierre. He transformed the sleepy fishing harbor into a booming port that hauled in 300,000 cases of alcohol each month. Bottles were removed from their crates, placed in smaller carrying sacks and taken secretly to the U.S. coast by rum runners. Cutty Sark whiskey crates piled so high on St-Pierre's docks that locals started using the wood to build houses. Some homes are still around - as is the bootlegging supposedly.

So they may be toasting Capone on St-Pierre today, as Jan. 17 is his birthday. In Chicago, groupies typically mark the day at Capone's gravesite at Mt Carmel Cemetery in suburban Hillside, leaving offerings of whiskey or a Cuban cigar.

Flo's Algiers Lounge

2011-01-14T11:39:00.000-06:00

If your gramma decked out her basement like a tiki bar, the result would be Flo's. Faux palm trees sway, lights twinkle, and plastic baskets of pretzel sticks tempt on the formica tables. The bar is in a converted drycleaner's building. Flo and her husband bought it 30+ years ago. He died, Flo got a gun, whipped up some pierogies to serve with her Budweiser, and kept the place going. The rest is history as only a Chicagoan like Flo can tell it.

The sassy octogenarian will give you an "Impeach Mayor Daley" bumper sticker. She'll tell you dirty jokes. She'll bring ice for your whiskey via a shopping cart from the back room (because those damn ice bags are heavy).

Once a month Flo hosts the Revolutionary Swing Orchestra. The 15-piece brass band plays oldies and polka tunes for a rockin' crowd of mostly senior citizens. Catch the next gig on Jan. 22 starting at 9pm.

Flo's is at 5436 W Montrose Ave in Portage Park.

Vonnegut Library/Museum Opens

2011-01-12T12:30:00.000-06:00

The new Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library has opened in downtown Indianapolis. Why Indy? Because Vonnegut was born and raised there, of course.

“All my jokes are Indianapolis. All my attitudes are Indianapolis. My adenoids are Indianapolis. If I ever severed myself from Indianapolis, I'd be out of business," Vonnegut once said.

The library/museum is currently open Fridays and Saturdays. After the official kickoff party on January 29, it'll extend hours to weekdays. Other quotes to tide you over until then:

•    Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God. Cat's Cradle
•    All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental. Timequake
•    Why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut? Slapstick
•    So it goes. Slaughterhouse Five

Chicago Food Trucks

2011-01-11T17:56:00.001-06:00

You probably know Chicago lags behind its big-city counterparts in the food truck department. While technically we have trucks that sell food - like 'naan-wich' seller Gaztro-Wagon, sammie man Meatyballs Mobile, and thick-icing'ed Flirty Cupcakes - the chefs must prepare all their chow in a licensed kitchen offsite, according to current city law.

Food trucksters are hoping to change the regulations so food can be cooked fresh to order onboard. Check their website - www.chicagofoodtrucks.com - for updates. In the meantime, new trucks continue to hit the road. The newest, rolling as of last week, is Sweet Miss Givings, a brownie/cookie/muffin purveyor who gives 51% of proceeds to charity.

Check the Tribune's food truck Twitter feed for locations of all the local trucks.

Snowman vs Sandman

2011-01-02T14:40:00.002-06:00

It doesn't suck when your job requires travel to the Caribbean during winter - especially when you live in Chicago. For comparison purposes:

Average temperature Chicago vs Virgin Islands: 29 degrees/84 degrees
Average water temp: 42 degrees/79 degrees
Average rum shot price: $3/1

But when it comes to Chicago snowman vs VI sandman in an alley fight, I'll take Chicago.

Buh Bye BoA Cinema & Wonder Bar

2011-01-01T21:19:00.001-06:00

As the new year rolls in, we bid adieu to a couple of long-standing if under-the-radar Chicago entertainment venues.

1. Bye, Bank of America Cinema - For 38 years this oddball movie house - hidden in an obscure northwest side bank building - screened Hollywood classics like Laurel and Hardy along with themed series such as "Mustache Cinema" (where one might watch Mutiny on the Bounty, the only Clark Gable movie where he's sans 'stache).

2. Underground Wonder Bar - Lonie Walker's teeny jazz and blues club has been open every night for 21 years in the Gold Coast and given many newbie musicians the chance to cut their chops. Established musicians, too - Liza Minnelli and Tiny Tim rank among the eclectic crooners who've grabbed the mic.

In both cases, the venues fell victim to new landlords who kicked them out. The cinema is hoping to start up again as a Wednesday night series at the Portage Theater. The Wonder Bar is trying to move to a new site at 736 N Clark St.

Candy Capital

2010-10-29T08:23:00.001-05:00

Halloween = candy = Chicago. That's right: Chicago is the nation's Candy Capital, home to factories making treats such as Snickers, Lemonheads and Tootsie Rolls.

The sweetness started in the early 1900s, thanks to the city's large immigrant population (bringing their confection recipes from the Old World) and crossroads location (rail and waterway hub to ship the goods). At one time, Brach's chocolates, Peerless peppermints, Fannie May Frango Mints, M&M Mars candy bars, and Wrigley chewing gum perfumed the air. Many have now fizzled or moved production to cheaper locations.

Still, Chicago retains some fine tooth-rotting opportunities:

1. Blommer Chocolate Factory - It wafts the shoot-your-own-mother-in-the-kneecaps-to-get-to-it aroma that permeates the Loop. The company mostly processes chocolate for mega-companies like Nabisco, but there's an outlet store that sells chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered nuts, chocolate drops, and chocolate everything else for cheap.

2. Ferrara Pan Factory - The folks who make Lemonheads, Red Hots, Boston Baked Beans, Orangeheads, Grapeheads and Jawbusters also have a wee outlet store that sells the goods in bulk for a ridiculous $1.50 per pound.

Chiclone Remnants

2010-10-27T09:12:00.001-05:00

The great 'Chicago Cyclone' blew through yesterday, making the Windy City windier than usual. You probably heard the hype:

•    The storm's barometric pressure was equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane
•    60 mph winds in the city, 20-foot waves on Lake Michigan
•    More ferocious than the storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 (admit it: you're humming the Gordon Lightfoot tune right now)
•    Gusty enough to close the Willis Tower (nee Sears Tower) 103rd floor observatory

That's all nice in theory, but here's how it hit home - literally. An inventory of what the gales of October dropped in my yard:

•    Eureka vacuum cleaner (box only)
•    Neighbor's roses
•    Orange ball
•    White cat (who wouldn't sit for the portrait)

Da Bears

2010-09-28T16:20:00.002-05:00

Chicago is swelling with civic pride after last night's football win: Bears 20, Packers 17. The upset has prompted Superfan-esque predictions for the rest of the season, culminating in - that's right - a 2011 Superbowl win!

So let's take this opportunity to revisit not only Ditka's mustache (see photo, right), but also the hyperbole it engenders. Here are some of the Superfans' greatest quotes from Saturday Night Live:

•    Did God create Da Bears, and make them superior to all teams? Or is he simply a huge fan, and Ditka made them superior to all other teams? (A: That's a tough one.)

•    Who would win in a fight, Ditka or God? (A: Trick question - Ditka is God.)

•    What if Da Bears were all 14 inches tall? Now what's your score of today's game? (A: Mini Bears 24, Giants 14.)

•    Bears vs Stephen Douglas in a debate, what do you think? (A: Da Bears!)

Just so you know: Ditka's mustache has its own Facebook page.

We'll leave you with the Superfans' prayer: We thank Ditka, and God, for all they have provided, for the food we eat, the air we breathe, and for the domination enjoyed by a certain team, from a certain town...

Louis Armstrong and the Hardware Store

2010-08-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

Jazz buffs often seek out Meyers Ace Hardware store (315 E 35th St) in Bronzeville. Why? Because in the 1920s and 30s the building was the Sunset Cafe, where all the greats gigged. Imagine Louis Armstrong blowing his trumpet over by the socket wrenches. Or Earl Hines hammering the piano, down in the plunger aisle. And that was just the house band. Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey and Bix Beiderbecke all launched their careers at the Sunset.

"We've had people come in and hug the wall posts, saying they wanted to get close to the music," says David Meyers, owner of the store, which has sold supplies here for roughly 50 years.

While Chicago landmarked the building, there's no hint of its past life - no plaque marking the spot or jazz tchotchkes for sale. But if Meyers is around and not too busy, he'll take you into the back office that was once the stage. The original, red-tinged mural of jazz players splashes across the wall. He'll bring out a box of yellowing news articles about the club and Armstrong's sheet music. He'll tell you about the German musicians who insisted on recording an album right smack in his office. He'll even autograph a plunger for you.

Evel Knieval's Skycycle

2010-06-29T12:02:00.001-05:00

Evel Knievel was a stuntman's stuntman. This year marks the 35th anniversary of his Wembley Stadium jump in London, when he revved his Harley and flew over 13 buses. Or tried to. He crashed, broke his back, and told the 90,000 fans there he was done with stunts. The vow didn't last long.

Milwaukee's Harley-Davidson Museum pays homage to Evel with an exhibit from July 10 to Sept 6. See the half-motorcycle, half-rocket “Skycycle” Evel used to leap the Snake River Canyon, along with his red, white and blue leathers and other daredevil memorabilia.

So how many bones did Evel break jumping buses, canyons and shark-filled tanks over the years? Most report say 56, though some estimates go as high as 100.

Blackhawks Art

2010-06-21T20:18:00.005-05:00

The thing that distinguishes Chicago from its coastal counterparts is this: we're a city that loves and seamlessly merges high culture and earthy pleasures. Is there another metropolis that dresses its Picasso sculpture in local sports team gear? Note the Blackhawks helmet on that metallic beauty.

And what about the Art Institute, revered house of impressionism and trove of a quarter-million works? It plopped 'Hawks gear on the iconic lions flanking the front door.

That was all prior to the 'Hawks winning the Stanley Cup on June 9. Once the team secured the trophy, 2 million Chicagoans showed up for the ticker-tape parade. Check out this video to see a celebration Windy City-style.

Duncan Keith's Teeth

2010-06-21T20:10:00.002-05:00

You've probably heard all about it by now, but this tooth-tastic story bears repeating. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith lost 7 teeth after being smacked by a flying puck in the playoff game against San Jose. He may not have smiled, but he did spit and then return to the game to finish off the Sharks.

"I saw a couple fall out and I had one in the back of my throat. I could feel it and coughed it out. A bunch of them disintegrated it felt like," the Trib quote him as saying.

What a bad-ass! Local dentists estimate it'll take two years before Keith gets his pearly whites back in shape if he goes the implant route. Or he could get removable teeth. Until then, he won't be eating corn.

Bike Love

2010-05-12T10:17:00.002-05:00

Bicycling Magazine recently ranked Chicago as the 10th most bike friendly city in America (Minneapolis, Portland, Boulder and Seattle are top of the heap). The city does have a lot of two-wheeled love, whether its cyclists wielding DIY mallets for bike polo or bundling on another jacket for snow biking. The Chicago Cycling Club sponsors three to four free rides per week, and Chicago Critical Mass takes over downtown the last Friday of every month. Bike the Drive is coming up May 30, when Lake Shore Drive chucks cars in favor of pedal power. Perhaps the best bike idea yet is from the folks at Fork and the Road: tours where you ride from small ethnic restaurant to restaurant, leaving a trail of pierogies, tacos and falafel in your wake.

Rockin' the World Travel Blogosphere

2010-05-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

World travel publisher Lonely Planet syndicates this blog and many others from around the globe as part of its Blogsherpa program. Want to know the latest happenings in Kazakhstan? Hidden villages in Bulgaria? Dance parties in Tahiti? How a family volunteers and backpacks its way around the world? We've amalgamated all the blogs here, in one big, bold continent-spanning package. Drop by and expand your horizons.

Dino-o-mite

2010-05-06T09:59:00.003-05:00

Guess who's celebrating her 10th birthday? Actually, it's number 67 million and 10, but let's not trifle with technicalities. It's Sue, the Field Museum's beloved T-rex and the largest ever found. She went on display in May 2000.

The 7-ton beauty will blow out her candles May 22 at a big fundraising bash. Then the museum will premiere its new 3-D movie about T-rexes, as well as RoboSue, a new interactive exhibit. To see the whole dino-show, buy an All-Access Pass (adult/child $28/19). Regular admission - which provides viewing of Sue's mighty skeleton, but no movies or special exhibits - costs adult/child $15/10. It's free the 2nd Monday of each month.

Rock on, Sue. You prove being fat and old can still be glamorous.

Boogaloo Unlocked

2010-05-06T08:45:00.000-05:00

Remember that 1984 breakdancing film classic Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo? Neither do the kids at Amundsen High School. But that hasn't stopped them from forming their own breakdancing club, the Rebels, who will perform their first gig at Experimental Sound Studio at 3pm Saturday. They're part of a multimedia exhibit by Amundsen students titled Unlocked: Sights and Sounds of a High Schooler's Day that fuses art, sound recordings and more. The exhibit runs through May 16 at ESS in Edgewater.

My teacher-man, Eric Markowitz, is leading the effort, though no, he won't be breakdancing (couldn't get the head-spin down).

Electric Boogaloo tip: look closely for a young Ice-T doing his thang in the background.

365-Day Pub Crawl

2010-04-30T12:29:00.001-05:00

We told you he was coming, and we weren't kidding. Marty Wombacher, the New Yorker questing to drink in a different bar every day for one year, has arrived in Chicago.

First stop: Simon's in Andersonville. Who doesn't enjoy a bar marked by a martini-drinking neon fish? See it, as well as all that transpired throughout the evening, at Marty's blog, A Guy Walks into 365 Bars.

Tonight's drinkery: Club Foot in Ukie Village. If you're in the 'hood stop by around 8pm and join the party.

And that picture? That's Marty taking a photo of me taking a photo of him taking a photo. Yes, the bar crawl does very confusing as the night wears on. Just ask Marty about his late-night notes...

Greedy Yellow Fingers

2010-04-29T10:37:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year in Chicago, when tourists descend. The sure place to find them all? Nope, not the Art Institute or Millennium Park. It's Garrett Popcorn (625 N Michigan Ave).

People have passed out, peed in their pants and punched each other while waiting in line here. That's the power of their caramel corn. And cheese corn. Really – that's all they sell. Millions of dollars worth every year. For caramel corn. And cheese corn. And the two mixed. OK, and maybe some plain and buttered flavors too. There’s always a line down the block. You know why? Because it's freakin' addictive. One estimate says Chicagoans down a collective half-million pounds per year. You can tell who's been indulging by the orange-yellow stain on their fingers.

Crown Fountain's Faces

2010-04-28T10:31:00.002-05:00

The city has flipped the switch and turned on the water at Crown Fountain, as it does every year around this time. Gotta hand it to the Crown family, who funded Jaume Plensa's Millennium Park waterwork. They didn't even giggle when he mentioned gothic architecture, sports stadiums and dental equipment in the same breath.

The fountain's two screens are sporty Jumbotrons, and they flash a thousand different faces. The people shown are all native Chicagoans, and they agreed to strap into Plensa's special dental chair, where he immobilized their heads for filming. Each mug puckers up and spurts water, just like the gargoyles atop Notre Dame Cathedral. A fresh set of non-puckering faces appears in winter, when the fountain is dry.

Hasta La Vista, Dark Lord

2010-04-27T13:06:00.005-05:00

The Dark Lord has come and gone, and the only way to get your hands on his 15% chocolatey stout is second-hand. Bottles are selling on Craigslist for $50 to $100 per bottle.

Dark Lord, of course, is Three Floyds Brewery's Russian Imperial Stout - considered one of the best beers on earth - available only one day per year at the northwest Indiana brew house. The festival surrounding the day is mythic, complete with Golden Tickets and metal bands. That event happened April 24.

A bit of good news for those still moping over missed opportunities: starting July 1, Indiana lifts its ban on Sunday microbrew sales. So you can get Three Floyds' wheat ale Gumball Head, mango-hopped Dreadnaught and seasonals like toasty Blackheart (May) on the day of the lord. Though for the Dark Lord, the wait remains a tantalizing 362 days.

A Bar a Day (Keeps Sobriety Away)

2010-04-16T09:52:00.004-05:00

Marty Wombacher has a liver of steel. Or maybe a liver of sponge. It's sturdy, whatever it is, because Marty floods it with beer and shots daily as he quests to drink at a different New York City bar every night in 2010. That's right - 365 bars in 365 days. So far, so good.

He's at bar number 96 currently. He blogs about each place and gives a review with pix at A Guy Walks into 365 Bars.

He's big in Australia, where The Morning Show aired a piece on him. He's relentless enough to drag his 80-year-old parents out when they came to NYC. And we'll host him here in Chicago when he takes the pub crawl on the road Apr. 29 and 30. We have some special watering holes in mind (to be revealed later), but in the meantime, we're open to suggestions.

Peek into Wrigley Field

2010-04-15T16:05:00.013-05:00

I'm over the Game 1 lament - well, not really, but I'm over it enough to attend opening day at Wrigley Field. Say what you want about the team stinking up the place, but the ballpark is a beauty. You've probably heard it ad nauseam: the ivy walls, the hand-operated scoreboard, the neon entrance sign, the retro vibe dating to 1914 (Wrigley is the second-oldest park after Boston's Fenway).

Have a look. The view is from the rooftop across the street. I think Jeff Baker hit the two-run homer.

And FYI: Samardzija's ERA is now 27. Zambrano's is 11.88.

Tornado Tutorial

2010-04-08T15:19:00.001-05:00

April marks the beginning of tornado season. Forecasters say the nation's mega-wet winter and active jet stream could lead to more twisters than usual this spring.

Last year, 1156 tornadoes ripped across the country, killing 21 people, according to the Storm Prediction Center. In 2008, more than 1690 tornadoes spun through, causing 126 deaths.

The state with the most twisters isn't Kansas, as you might expect given the hoopla surround Dorothy and her Oz-blown farmhouse. It's not the other "Tornado Alley" states either, so cross Oklahoma and Texas off your list. Florida wins the funnel-cloud prize. And nowhere is immune: tornadoes have whipped all 50 states.

Learn more when America's Weatherman, Tom Skilling, hosts his annual free Tornado Seminar on Saturday, April 10.

A Cubs Fan's Lament

2010-04-07T12:55:00.010-05:00

Baseball begins, at long last. The Cubs are back in blue. The sun shines, the beer flows. The Cubs bat first in Atlanta, and holy cow! Newcomer Marlon Byrd hits a 3-run homer! It's going to be an awesome season, we're going all the way in 2010!

An inning later, it's all over. Ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano gives up 8 runs. He walks batters, hits batters, serves up a couple meatball home runs, and makes a throwing error.

The season's finished. The Cubs go on to lose 16 to 5.

"Now, now," you're saying. "It's just one game. Cubs fans are such hyperactive, superstitious naysayers."

Please. We know how to read the signs of disaster, including:

Our number-one pitcher ($18 mil/yr) now has an ERA of 54.
Not so bad, really, considering relief pitcher Jeff Samardzija has an ERA of 108. I thought it was infinity (6 runs divided by 0, as in no outs obtained), but apparently he did strike out one batter.
It was the worst Cubs opening game in 126 years. The prior record was set May 1, 1884, when New York clubbed Chicago 15 to 3.
With this game, the Cubs enter their 102nd year of World Series futility. It's the longest losing streak in pro sports history.

"Let's just go back to the hotel and cry," Cubs radio announcer Ron Santo said post-game.

Our sentiments exactly.

Burning Similarities

2010-04-05T19:17:00.004-05:00

What do March Madness watchers in Chicago and the army of India have in common? Read on for the hot answer.

At Jake Melnick's sports bar, where hoops fans gather in the Windy City, the food of choice is a basket of spicy buffalo wings. At Melnick's, they're sauced with the bhut jolokia (aka ghost chili), which the Guinness Book of Records certified as the hottest pepper on earth. You have to sign a waiver before Melnick's will serve you the nuclear wings. And they arrive alongside a bell - you ring it for a shot of cooling milk, in case the pepper incapacitates your vocal chords.

In northeastern India, where the chili grows, locals have long used it to repel elephants. The Indian army recently announced it would put the pepper in hand grenades to fight terrorists. And, of course, folks use it to spice up their curries.

For reference, the bhut jolokia is 200 times hotter than a jalapeno. Medicinal bonus: some studies say eating super-hot chilis reduces hemorrhoids.

Abe Lincoln: Ass-Kicker

2010-03-20T16:21:00.006-05:00

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter has hit bookstores with a vengeance. Who knew the Great Emancipator wielded his ax for more than splitting rails?

"I cut Williams' head off... When it fell to the floor, his eyes were black as the shoes he had been polishing. I have not the faintest idea what his crimes were, nor do I care. I care only that there is one less vampire today than there was yesterday."

Yowza! Author Seth Grahame-Smith shows this heretofore unknown side of the 16th prez. When he launched his book tour at the Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, many historians cried foul. Too bad, because this is awesome stuff. Watch the video below to see for yourself.

Plumbers of St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-12T14:14:00.003-06:00

They're at it again, those magical, plunger-wielding gents of the local plumbers' union. They're dying the Chicago River green tomorrow at 10:45am. (The how's and why's are described in this earlier post.)

The St. Pat's Parade queues thereafter. Then the beer drinking commences. Two excellent places to get your Irish on are the Irish American Heritage Center, which has a first-floor pub that opens on Friday and Saturday nights only and fills with oldsters from the Old Country; and Christina's Place, a corner tavern that pours $2 pints of Guinness all day, every day, year round. It's fiddle players and fish-and-chips in the former, karaoke and microwave pizzas in the latter - both fit for the finest of plumbers.

When the Polkaholics Met L'il Wally

2010-03-05T12:53:00.006-06:00

What happens when the Polkaholics, Chicago's favorite punk-polka band, meets L'il Wally, old-school polka meister and frequent Lawrence Welk guest? Find out at the documentary premiere of Polkaholics at the Chicago International Movies and Music Fest.

Be assured it will involve jaunty accordions and Wally classics like Hot Pants and In Heaven There is No Beer (that's why we drink it here). Wally died a few years ago, but not before racking up 17 gold and 4 platinum records and a personal blessing from Pope John Paul, who said "God will reward you for all your hard work."

The swinging begins at the Cultural Center at 8pm tonight.

Podhalanka: Cheap Eat of the Day

2010-03-04T16:06:00.005-06:00

This restaurant pick is in honor of Pulaski Day. It's a Chicago public holiday held the first Monday in March to honor Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, a mustachioed Pole who trained the cavalry.

We can only presume Pulaski liked pierogies, and if he was around today he'd tie up his horse at Podhalanka (1549 W. Division St.). Of all the Polish restaurants in town - and there are many, since Chicago has the largest Polish population outside the mother country - Podhalanka ranks among the most authentic.

It's like entering your grandma's kitchen in Krakow circa 1984. There's a bar with red vinyl seats and tables with green vinyl placemats. A picture of Pope John Paul hangs on the wall. The Polish staff take your order, and soon heaping portions of dill-flecked white borscht, tender ribs, crispy potato pancakes, and fat pierogies come out. You'll need a nap by the time they clear the plates.

Main dishes cost $4-9. The restaurant is open 9am-8pm Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm Sun.

Get Smart at Beer School

2010-02-26T11:18:00.000-06:00

Graduate with honors in English Ales or Belgian Brews at the Map Room's Beer School. Greg Brown, brewmaster at Mickey Finn's in suburban Libertyville, teaches the monthly class. This Saturday's lesson is devoted to swirling, smelling, and sipping Belgian beers.

Knowledgeable hop-heads know you can't just turn up on Saturday. You've got to buy a ticket - in person and in cash - sometime during the preceding five days. The class seats 40 people and costs $25.

On a budget? The Map Room also hosts "International Night" every Tuesday at 7pm, and provides free chow from local ethnic eateries - say, Vietnamese pho, Polish pierogi, or Cuban sandwiches - as long as you buy two drinks from the 200-strong global brewski list.

Chicago Cheap Eats: New App

2010-02-24T16:57:00.013-06:00

Hungry? Broke? The new app, Chicago Cheap Eats, can fix the problem. It'll point you to the city's best donuts, haute dogs, tortas, masala dosas, deep-dish pizzas and much more to stuff your face, typically for under $10.

Yours truly wrote the app. It's available for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Click here to go to the iTunes store, where 99 cents gets you 70+ restaurants of bargain-priced foodie goodness.

The company - Sutro Media - offers other swell travel apps, too, including the low-down on Boston (by Kim Grant) and Las Vegas (by Sara Benson).

Don Pedro: Cheap Eat of the Day

2010-02-23T10:29:00.005-06:00

When you see the neon pink pigs in the window, you've found Don Pedro Carnitas. A machete-wielding gentleman greets you at the front counter, ready to hack off your pork pieces. He wraps the thick chunks with onion and cilantro into a fresh tortilla (the Del Ray factory is a few doors down the road), and you take the taco to the no-frills tables in back and squeeze on lime juice and tomatillo salsa. Delicioso! The restaurant also serves birria (spicy goat stew), brain tacos and chicharrones (seasoned, deep fried pork skin) among its meaty arsenal.

Don Pedro's juicy mecca is at 1113 W. 18th St. in Pilsen. Open 6am-6pm Mon-Fri, 5am-5pm Sat, 5am-3pm Sun. Tacos $1.50, cash only. Weekends are packed.

Hot Tunes from Haiti

2010-02-17T20:04:00.004-06:00

Caribbean tip of the day: donate $5 or more to Partners in Health, a nonprofit that has been working in Haiti for 20+ years, and receive a killer mix of Haitian music from NY-based DJ Chuck Wild. Just forward him your receipt (this applies to any PIH donations made since the earthquake), and he'll send you a download of old-school Kompa and other classic sounds pulled from his crates. Here's the link.

Poor Abandoned Blog: I'm Sorry

2010-02-11T07:36:00.012-06:00

No love for the past 9 months. Sorry, blog. But we are coming up to Valentine's Day, so I'll try to make amends.

In the meantime, here's a video of Chicago's 12.9 inches of snow today. This is the honeymoon stage, before it becomes a slushy, dirty, dog-wee'ed mess:

Roosting at the Rookery

2009-05-14T21:28:00.005-05:00

The Rookery Building (209 S. LaSalle St.) is landmark that makes architecture buffs all weak-kneed. Burnham and Root built it in 1888, and Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled the atrium 19 years later. Its magic is that while it looks like an imposing fortress on the outside, its interior is just the opposite – as bright and airy as a spring daisy.

The building inherited its name from the previous structure on-site, which was a favorite of roosting pigeons. The architects incorporated the bird motif. Check out the crows carved into the arched front entrance.

Learn more about it on the Chicago Architecture Foundation's tour today at 12:15pm. Actually, CAF runs sweet 45-minute tours every Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, which provide access into famous buildings' nooks and crannies you wouldn't get if you strolled in on your own. The price is a mere $5.

Lake Delton's Re-appearance

2009-05-11T11:35:00.002-05:00

Visitors see a lot of magic shows when they go to the Wisconsin Dells, but Lake Delton's disappearance wasn't part of the program. The man-made lake, home to various resorts and the Tommy Bartlett Water Show, vanished in June 2008 during a massive storm. The shore gave way, and all the water drained out and tumbled into the Wisconsin River below. Luckily no one was hurt.

The town refilled the lake, and today it's set to re-open – complete with back-flipping waterskiers – in spring 2009.

Time to Get Cheesy in Madison

2009-04-27T08:12:00.006-05:00

Another springtime rite is here: the Dane County Farmers' Market, which overtakes Madison, Wisconsin's Capitol Square every Saturday from 6am to 2pm through early November.

It's the USA's largest producer-only market, which means the 150 vendors have personally grown or made the goods they're selling. Cheese and fresh vegetables are the most plentiful wares, but meats (bison and free-range emu, among others), flowers, maple syrup, and eggs also fill the stalls.

Keep your eyes peeled for one man in particular: Willi Lehner of Bleu Mont Dairy, who makes fantastic cheeses in his wind- and solar-powered cheese bunker, but in limited quantities. The farmers' market is your best chance to get your hands on his creations. If you miss him though, you can fill in the dairy gaps at Fromagination, just around the corner at 12 S Carroll St in Madison. It carries small-batch and hard-to-find local artisanal cheeses, as well as loads of information on wine and cheese (and beer and cheese) pairings.

Dark Lord Day

2009-04-20T09:21:00.006-05:00

Are you prepared to meet the Dark Lord on April 25? You'll need a Golden Ticket to do so and to imbibe his black elixir.

We're talking, of course, about Three Floyd's Brewery's par-tee when they release their limited batch Dark Lord beer, a Russian imperial stout with 13% alcohol, a motor oil consistency, and hints of bourbon, chocolate, and black licorice.

Fans in the past have so overwhelmed the small Munster, Indiana brewery on the one day per year they offer Dark Lord, that Three Floyd's this year instituted its Willy Wonka policy. It put around 2000 Golden Tickets for sale on its website in March. Fan who got them are guaranteed to chance to buy a few Dark Lord bottles at Saturday's event. The tickets sold out in four hours.

Even without a Golden Ticket, you can still attend the festival, which features bands, barbecue, and plenty of other craft brews. The suds swirl from 11am to 11pm.

Wrigley's Knothole, Harry Caray's Bud

2009-04-13T09:09:00.006-05:00

So it's gray, rainy, and practically snowing. But nothing says 'springtime!' like Opening Day at Wrigley Field.

Built in 1914, Wrigley – named after the chewing gum guy – is the second-oldest ballpark in the major leagues (after Boston's Fenway). Getting tickets is near impossible, but you can always watch the game via The Knothole, a garage-sized opening that let's you peek onto the playing field from Sheffield Ave.

One thing you should know before standing here and getting your hopes up: the team in blue pinstripes is suffering from the longest dry spell in US sports history. The hapless Cubbies haven't won a championship since 1908, a sad record unmatched in pro football, hockey or basketball.

Statistics over the decades show the Cubs have just a 46% chance of winning the game you're watching. Which is why you may want to head over to Harry Caray's, where you can at least sit in warmth while drinking away the pain. And if something feels familiar, almost game-like, while you're bellied up to the 60-foot-6-inch bar, well, that's the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate.

Cardinal George's Crib

2009-04-06T21:28:00.004-05:00

Poor Cardinal Francis George. He should be eating cake, celebrating his 12th anniversary as Chicago's Archbishop (Pope John Paul II appointed him on April 8, 1997). Instead, George is fending off bad press from the Notre Dame debacle, when he said President Obama should be banned from giving the university's commencement address due to his unholy views on abortion.

Ah well. George can always lay low in his mansion 'til things cool down. A sweet perk of being the 'Bish is living in the $15 million, Church-owned abode at 1555 N. State Pkwy. The house is famed for its chimneys. There are 19 of them, which makes Christmas-time stocking-hanging a real chore.

George considered selling his crib a few years back, saying it was more than a humble servant of God needed. But jeez, if he sold, how would he entertain? Everyone from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Pope John Paul has crashed here over the years. And they're not going to like moving down the road to the Comfort Inn.

Foodies Dine Underground, Farm-to-Fork

2009-04-03T21:06:00.008-05:00

Underground dining clubs have burrowed into the Chicago scene, as they've done in New York and San Francisco. Here, rogue chefs cook high-end, locally grown chow, and serve it in funky, changing locations such as galleries, warehouses or even the chef's home.

Foodies are eating it up, since it costs less than a restaurant (multi-course meals run $50-80, and you can bring your own booze). It also has an "underground" feel, since chefs don't reveal when/where their events take place until the last minute. Three groups have sprung up - Clandestino (which is hosting an event tonight southwest of the Loop), Sunday Dinner, and X-Marx. The hungry go to the groups' websites, get on the mailing list, and grab a spot when they send out event invitations. Chefs typically serve 20 to 40 diners at communal-style tables.

A riff on this theme is "on-the-farm dining." Several groups now offer city slickers the chance to go where the chickens roam. Again, chefs emphasize local, sustainably harvested foods. They're served outdoors, with tables set up amid the fields. At least three groups do it, all within a few hours drive from Chicago: City Provisions, Prairie Fruits Farm, and Learn Great Foods (which also goes into southern Wisconsin).

If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring

2009-03-30T15:15:00.003-05:00

Hugh Hefner just put his Los Angeles home next to the Playboy Mansion on sale for $28 million. The two-story, 7300-sq-ft, English Manor-style pad has 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and a butler's pantry. That's tiny compared to the Mansion itself, which is 22,000 sq ft with 29 rooms and an onsite zoo.

Remember, though, that the whole "Playboy Mansion" thing started right here in Chicago. The First Playboy Mansion, as it's known, was a 70-room colossus at 1340 N. State St. A brass plate hung over the door warning "If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring.”

Hef not only lived and partied here, but published Playboy magazine here. That's how the whole jammie-wearing thing came about. Hef was working around the clock from home, so he just quit bothering to get dressed.

By the mid 70s, Chicago had gotten too square for Hef, so he split for L.A. He donated the Chicago mansion to the Art Institute. It was a dorm for students until 1993. Then developers carved it into $3 million condos.

Kuma's and the Goblin Cock

2009-03-26T13:03:00.010-05:00

Quit whining and wait. You can swill one of the swell microbrews on tap, or one of the many bourbons (also on tap). So what if you have to stand elbow-to-elbow in this buzzing, dimly lit meat hive for at least two hours, until the tattooed hostess leads you to your table?

Because then, get your carving knife ready. Or unhinge your jaw. Kuma's cooks monster burgers: 10 fat ounces hefted onto a pretzel-roll bun, each burger named after a heavy metal band. The Slayer piles french fries, chili, peppers, andouille sausage, and "anger" atop its burger. The Iron Maiden heaps on avocado and chipotle mayo, while the Goblin Cock - well, you should see it to believe it. The Kuma Burger provides breakfast, lunch and dinner on a single plate. It's like an Egg McMuffin on steroids, with bacon, cheddar, and a fried egg crowning the juicy meat patty.

Kuma's Corner is always ridiculously busy, and head-bangingly loud. It's located at 2900 W. Belmont Ave. Open daily for lunch, dinner, and adult beverages. For less-carnivorous patrons, there's a full menu of mac-and-cheese dishes.

You Say Syrup, Funk's Grove Says Sirup

2009-03-22T21:35:00.006-05:00

No, it's not a typo. About 145 miles southwest of Chicago, not far beyond Bloomington on Old Route 66, Funk's Grove is a 19th-century maple-syrup farm. Actually, it's sirup – with an "i" – which means the product is naturally sweet. When spelled with a "y" it means the makers have added fruit juice to enhance it.

At Funk's they tap and boil the sirup from mid-February to mid-March, depending on the weather. And though it sounds like a sweet job, it takes 50 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of sirup, so it ain't easy. The family sells their wares from a store onsite (free samples!). The sirup is usually available between March and August.

Just down the road is the Sugar Grove Nature Center with trails and birdwatching, and a brooding graveyard and chapel. Together, they make Funk's Grove a surprisingly impressive jaunt.

But if that's too far to drive to sauce your pancakes, try North Park Nature Center by Pulaski and Peterson Rds., which hosts Maple Syrup Fest this weekend.

Dye Me A River

2009-03-14T20:13:00.008-05:00

Chicago's premier St. Patrick's Day tradition started by accident almost 50 years ago. Plumbers were using dye in the Chicago River to test for chemical spills, and holy leprechaun! The dye turned the river a perfect shamrock green.

The plumbers' union still does the honors each year, dropping in the secret-recipe (and biodegradable) coloring from Columbus Drive Bridge. The magic happens at 10:45am today. The best spot to see it is from the bridge's east side.

The St. Pat's Parade follows at noon. Tall-hat-wearing brass bands, curly-haired step dancers, and giant inflatable leprechauns float down Columbus Drive from Balbo northward.

Heroic Pie at Hoosier Mama

2009-03-13T21:38:00.006-05:00

"Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons. Pie is the food of the heroic. No pie-eating people can ever be permanently vanquished."

So said a New York Times editorial in 1902. And so says Paula Haney, owner of Hoosier Mama Pie Co., who opens her new pie shop tomorrow in West Town (and who features the quote on her website). She's opening on 3-14, like 3.14, which is pi. Get it?

As a former pastry chef at Trio, Haney knows her stuff. She hand-rolls and crimps her dough, then plumps it with apples, pumpkin, banana cream, and more. She also bakes Southern-style chess pies in flavors like chocolate and lemon.

Remember the earlier blog post saying 1 out of 5 people have eaten an entire pie solo? This is your place to do it. Because it's heroic.

Hoosier Mama is located at 1618 1/2 W. Chicago Ave. She's open Monday and Wednesday-Friday 8am-7pm, and Saturday 9am-5pm (closed Tue. and Sun.).

New Brew

2009-03-09T21:09:00.005-05:00

Half Acre Beer Co. has begun pumping suds at its new brewery at 4257 N. Lincoln Ave. That yeasty smell wafting from within? Either the crisp, cloudy Lager or the dark, hoppy Over Ale.

To introduce itself to the neighbors, Half Acre sponsors a weekly scavenger hunt. The staff hides a little logo'ed capsule in the 'hood, gives clues to its whereabouts, and whoever finds it first wins a free case of brewskis. Keep an eye on HA's blog for details on the next hunt.

At this time, Half Acre's facility kicks out mostly kegs for pubs. By May, it will host a tasting room and retail shop.

Sunday Labyrinth Stroll

2009-03-08T18:19:00.007-05:00

The Higher Power works in mysterious ways. Within equal spitting distance of JBar's Smor-tinis and American Girl's doll teas, a meditative journey awaits.

Let's assume you're like most 13th-century Europeans, who wanted to pilgrimage to Jerusalem to cleanse their souls, but couldn't wrangle up the donkeys and supplies to get there. These folks went walking at their local labyrinth instead, which was supposed to provide a comparable sacred passage.

You can do the same at St. James Cathedral, just off the Mag Mile. Head to the plaza's upper level, between the church and 65 E. Huron St. Step on the spiraling footpath painted on the concrete, and let the mystical healing begin. The trek should center the heart and mind and relieve stress. This particular labyrinth is based on one in France's Chartres Cathedral.

Movies + Music = CIMM Fest

2009-03-05T20:33:00.006-06:00

There's a new fest in town. The Chicago International Movies and Music Festival, aka CIMM Fest, reels through the Windy City from March 5-9. It presents movies. And music. And movies about music, which is the main gist. The grand finale is the Wilco documentary Ashes of American Flags at the Music Box Theatre.

The rest of the events take place at various Wicker Park venues and at the Chicago Cultural Center. The latter is worth a visit in and of itself.

After the Great Fire ravaged Chicago, Britain's Queen Victoria sent over a box of books to cheer up everybody. Actually, it was a great big box, and the city needed somewhere to put them all. So it built a library. Not just any old library - rather, one modeled after the Doge's Palace in Venice. No one's really sure why. But, hey, more people might read if they could do it surrounded by marble, brass and the world's largest Tiffany stained-glass dome.

Eventually, the library moved to larger digs down the road, and the building morphed into the Cultural Center.

Springtime for Sherman's

2009-03-02T17:59:00.010-06:00

When daffodils shoot up green stems, and baseball talk trickles onto the airwaves - spring is coming, they say. But when Sherman's Dairy Bar flings open its doors at the beginning of March and starts scooping Mackinac Island Fudge, Chocolate Cake Batter and 47 other flavors, it means spring has arrived.

The South Haven, Mich., institution has been whipping up ice cream in the attached factory for more than 50 years. Lines snake out the door on most days, as well-muscled scoopers plop meal-sized portions atop "baby" cones. The top seller, according to our dipping boy? Vanilla. Followed by Butter Pecan.

You won't regret the two-hour drive from Chicago.

Puppet Bike Party

2009-02-25T21:21:00.009-06:00

You can't help but smile when Clover the Bunny (an aspiring starlet) and Chock the Kitty (a blues musician and dice-rolling gambler) dance together under the glittering disco ball. Which is why many people refer to the Puppet Bike as a "happiness maker."

The Puppet Bike, in case you haven't had the pleasure to meet it downtown or in Andersonville, is a mobile theater atop a jolly red tricycle. A lone puppeteer parks it at varying street corners and puts on a show with Clover, Chock and five other hand-operated critters. Solar panels power the boom box that blasts jazzy music. Out front kids wave, jump and dance around in circles - just like the puppets.

Each year the Peter Jones Gallery hosts the two-day Puppet Bike Extravaganza with bands, costumes and revelry. The bash rages this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and 28; admission is by donation.

Donut Diaries, Entry #2

2009-02-20T21:18:00.004-06:00

"Donuts return the magic of your childhood and take away the disappointment of your adulthood," said baker Kirsten Anderson in a recent Sun Times article.

True, we thought, and after a failed attempt to get Cubs tickets on the first day of sales, we decided to put Ms. Anderson's words to the test. Could her $3 mint chocolate donut cure our Cubbie blues?

Anderson crafts her wares with soy vegetable oil, forgoes eggs and butter, and sweetens with cane juice. Quirky flavors include pistachio with cardamom and lavender, orange spice with nutmeg and clove, and the aforementioned mint chocolate (with real sprigs of mint baked on top). Anderson hand rolls each cakey treat, so output is limited - only seven dozen donuts per week, popped out of the fryer on Fridays. Grab 'em at Bite Cafe's counter.

Is it worth it, you ask? After all, three bucks equals three Dunkin Donut chocolate kremes or two packs of Dolly Madison Gems. Yes, and no. Yes for the flavorgasm and lack stomach ache/sugar crash afterward. No, because aren't cheap aches and pains part of the defining donut experience?

George Washington's Whiskey

2009-02-18T20:13:00.007-06:00

Monday was George Washington's birthday celebration. While it was crushing to discover he didn't really have wooden teeth, it was redeeming to learn GW fired up his very own whiskey still. Right at Mt Vernon, the Father of Our Country operated one of the country's most successful distilleries, percolating 11,000 gallons of nostril-singeing booze at its peak in 1799.

Historians recreated Washington's distillery a few years ago, and they occasionally cook up a batch of hooch following his recipe - which they're doing now, during the two weeks around his birthday. They'll bottle and sell half the whiskey at Mt Vernon starting in June. The un-aged product is akin to what Washington and troops swilled. The makers will age the other half in oak barrels for future sale - this is more like what we drink today. A daily blog documents the process.

Here in Chicago, top places to quench a whiskey thirst include Delilah's, Duke of Perth and Twisted Spoke. The latter has Whiskey Wednesdays so if you hurry out now, you can sip among the 150 varieties for half price.

St Valentine's Day Massacre

2009-02-15T21:24:00.002-06:00

Al Capone did not send Bugs Moran candy on Valentine's Day 1929. Instead, he sent hit-men to kill him. They missed Bugs, but massacred seven of his buddies.

It happened at the garage that used to stand at 2122 N Clark St. Bugs' guys arrived thinking they'd buy bootleg booze, but it was a set up. Capone's gang entered dressed as cops, lined the men up against a wall, and sprayed them with more than 100 bullets. Lucky for Bugs, he'd already left.

Developers tore down the garage in 1967. Before the wrecking ball swung, Canadian George Patey bought all the bricks. He displayed them in a nightclub and eventually sold a few as souvenirs. In December 08, after Patey's death, his family put the rest of the blocks for sale on eBay.

Today a fenced lawn and trees mark the massacre site, at which passing dogs bark and howl and strain their leashes in the opposite direction.

Lincoln's Disappearing Body

2009-02-12T21:02:00.003-06:00

Honest Abe has been in the news a lot lately, and not just because of his 200th birthday (which happens to be today). Back in December, when Illinois governor Blagojevich got busted for corruption, the federal prosecutor said time and again that Blago's conduct "would make Lincoln roll over in his grave."

Funny thing is, Lincoln has been rolled out of his grave. Several times.

In 1876 thieves boozing in a Chicago tavern hatched a plot to steal Abe's body from its Springfield site and ransom it. Cops stopped the crooks at the cemetery. Soon thereafter custodians moved Abe's body to a concrete-fortified vault.

In 1901 they moved it again, to an even more secure location. Today when you visit Abe's Springfield tomb and circle through the burial chamber, past the crypts of his three sons and wife Mary, and arrive at the marker bearing his name, know this: Abe's body is actually 13 feet below floor level, with a six-foot concrete slab on top of the coffin.

He may roll over in there, but he won't be rolled out again anytime soon.

Donut Diaries, Entry #1

2009-02-11T10:29:00.007-06:00

Is it our imagination, or do donuts taste better when served to customers on a lazy susan from behind bulletproof glass?

Clearly, people kill for the sinkers at Dat Donut (8249 S Cottage Grove Ave). Which is understandable. Take Dat's custard donut, with its dense, eggy filling and thick, powdered-sugar exterior. It's so sublimely doughy it's like a pillow one could nap upon for epochs. Conversely, the caramel frosted donut is light as air, smothered in finger-lickin' icing that melts over the sides.

Chocolate long johns, apple fritters, Boston cream - the list goes on for the hand-cut yeast bombs at this shop on Chicago's far South Side. But the hubcap-sized Big Dat remains the sweet to beat. Even behind thick glass, under fluorescent light, its glaze glimmers and dazzles.

Is it worth the possible gunshot wound and/or the onset of diabetes to obtain its glazed goodness?

"Yeh," the counter girl says, and she spins out a half dozen on the lazy susan that prove it.

Obama's Missed Pie Op

2009-02-10T15:07:00.005-06:00

President Obama looked stressed in Elkhart, Ind. yesterday, as he tried to sell his economic stimulus plan. No wonder. Elkhart - the RV Capital of the World, with more than 100 RV manufacturers in a 100-mile radius - has seen its industry collapse and unemployment rocket to 15.3%.

At least these Hoosiers have first-class comfort food at hand, and Obama could have indulged had he driven 15 miles east. The town of Middlebury has a real live Main St. On it stands the Village Inn Restaurant (107 S Main), maker of big fat wide flaky creamy slices of pie.

Bonneted Mennonite women in pastel dresses and chunky white tennis shoes come in to bake the pies daily at 4:30 am. And yes, lard is the secret ingredient. You have to arrive before lunch to get the best selection, which includes strawberry, peanut butter, Snickers, and the life-changing banana cream.

"How's the pie?" the waitress asked the customer hunkered down at the counter, forking with a frenzy.

"Mmm. Mmm, mmm, mmm," came the reply.

That says it all.

Holy Smoke

2009-02-04T15:43:00.004-06:00

Holy Name Cathedral - the seat of Chicago's Catholic Church - has had an unholy time of it. The Great Fire torched it in 1871. Parishioners rebuilt it a few years later.

In the gangster age, a flower shop used to stand by the church. One day in 1924, the nice man who managed it was gunned down while trimming chrysanthemums for funeral wreaths. Turns out he was Dion O’Banion, a bootlegger who crossed Al Capone. Hymie Weiss took over the biz, but his flower arrangements fared no better. Capone's gang killed him two years later.

Powerful archbishops preached from the pulpit in the decades that followed. When they died, the church hung their red hats from the ceiling forevermore - except when the ceiling let loose a 10-pound piece of decorative wood that smashed 70 feet to the floor in 2008. This prompted a costly structural rehab. A few months after the church completed the job, Holy Name caught fire again. The blazed happened today, Feb. 4.

Banana Cream Calling

2009-02-02T13:41:00.014-06:00

You can deny it all you want, but 1 in 5 of you has devoured an entire pie solo; 35% of you have forked into pie for breakfast. It's a sinful tin-ful, to be sure. Oliver Cromwell banned pie in 1644, saying it was pagan. Restoration leaders lifted the sanction in 1660, saying they were hungry. The American Pie Council

educates the public on these vital facts and more.

But the best way to immerse in flaky goodness? Become a Pie of the Month Club member. No, you do not get an apple, pumpkin or banana cream treat each month, but rather an arty postcard with a quirky recipe to do-it-yourself. Crustless Coconut (President Obama's pastry passion) and Cape Breton Pork Pie (relax, it's made of dates and brown sugar) are among the sweet archives.

The club website has a pie data base, where members review pie places around the country, and a Pie Expert, who answers members' pie-baking questions. So if you want to know what state whips up the most billowy meringue, or how to thicken fruit filling, the club has the juicy answers.

Join the Swingers

2009-01-30T19:07:00.003-06:00

The skyscraper, zipper, Twinkie, electric blues - Chicago has blessed the world with many 'firsts.' Add 16 inch softball to the list. You know the game - no gloves; a squishy ball that's like whacking a small pumpkin; teams named the Manglers, Nine Inch Males and Spicy Meatballs.

It started more than 100 years ago, a practical game for Everyman. The ball's large size meant it couldn't be hit far - perfect for Chicago's small playlots. And the lack of equipment needed (other than a bat) meant people of all income brackets could partake.

Approximately 30,000 locals have at it. February is league sign-up month. Join the swingers at chicagoball.com or ilsoftballreport.com.

And keep an eye out for the forthcoming 16 Inch Softball Hall of Fame Museum in suburban Forest Park.