Duran Duran – Rio

So, before my Chi-town cred completely runs out, I shall reveal my not-secrets to how I managed to not run out of things to do in the awesome city that is Chicago. (An admittedly not-so-difficult-task, given the magnitude of Chicago’s awesomeness.)

1)  Transportation:  The CTA is really the way to get around town.  Yes, the trains are slow and dirty, but gas is pricey, as is parking, and you really should be doing more reading anyways, right?  Just accept the extra 1-2 hrs of round trip commute time as the sacrifice you’re making to have fun and reduce your carbon footprint.  Learning the bus lines will extend your range dramatically, and always, always, always wash your hands before you eat.  I will confess, cars are pretty handy for getting to places not on your subway line, and parking is rarely that hard to find (unless you are trying to find a place in the Loop or River North,) but why not just take the train?  Biking around the city is fairly easy as well.  Just remember to wear a helmet, have some lights, and watch out for car doors.  (Oh, and obey the traffic laws.)

2)  Finding stuff to do:  Chicago’s free alterna-weeklies are your friends:  Chicago Reader, NewCity, TheOnion.  CSMag (monthly) is good if you’re into fashion and the lifestyles of the rich and not-so-famous.  If you’re willing to shell out some cash, a very valuable subscription to ChicagoMag can be had for around $15, and if you can afford a bit more, The Chicago Tribune has a WRFSu subscription that is chock full of adventurey goodness within and without the city.  Metromix, the freebie version of the Trib is also quite handy, though less useful for long-term planning.

3)  Summers:  Productivity plummets during the summer, when there is finally a)  good weather and b) a plethora of street festivals, art fairs, and music festivals.  Use the resources mentioned above to find out what is going on and make sure to subscribe to Millennium Park‘s email list to stay up to date with the free concerts downtown. Pro-tip: Don’t go to Taste of Chicago, just…don’t.

4)  Getting around 2:  Know your grid:  Chicago is super easy to navigate because a) the streets are almost all oriented along the cardinal directions, and b) 0,0 is at Madison and State, and the street numbers just increase as you get further away.  It is also helpful to be able to associate major streets with their numbers, so that if you ever hear about a cool bar/restaurant/show, you can have a general sense of where it is.

5)  Food:  Chicago is home to a wide variety of fantastic food.  Grant Achatz, Rick Bayless, Charlie Trotter, and Graham Elliot are the big names that I know of, but you’ll most likely be eating the hundreds (thousands?) of high quality local eateries.  I have a terrible habit of not revisiting restaurants, but here are some places I would have no problems going back to:  Xoco (Mexican), Hot Doug’s (Sausages), Sticky Rice (Thai), Bop’nGrill (Korean/Diner Fusion), Lao Sze Chuan (one of the few good Chinese places), Tank (Vietnamese), Spring (New American/Seafood), Art of Pizza, Nuevo Leon (Mexican), Smoque(BBQ), Prairie Grass (Localvore), Khan BBQ (Indian), Uncommon Ground (Localvore), 90 Miles (Cuban), Maxwell St. Market (Mexican), Over Easy (Brunch), Las Tablas (Columbian)…and…I’m gonna stop now before I start drooling all over my keyboard.  Deep dish pizza is best consumed in moderation.  (ie, once every 6 months, max)  Also, call me a heretic, but Italian Beef and Chicago Hot Dogs aren’t really my thing.  Give me a cheesesteak any day.

6)  Museums:  Everyone knows the big 4:  The Shedd, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field, the Art Institute.  Make sure to check out the smaller ones too though (Columbia College, National Museum of Mexican Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Surgical Sciences, National Veterans Art Museum, the Stained Glass Museum, SMART, Robie House, etc. (I, sadly, have not been to all of these)).   Everyone raves about the AIC’s Modern Wing, but if haven’t done it yet, why not take advantage of the outdoor museum that is Chicago and go on the Chicago Architecture Foundation River (Boat) Tour (unless it’s freezing/raining outside)?

7)  Explore your neighborhoods:  Each neighborhood has its own flavor and own assortment of shops/restaurants/activities.  Print a Chicago Neighborhood Map and buy a Walking Tour Deck.  Get off at a random CTA stop and wander around.  Be Safe.  If grid numbers aren’t your thing, associating points of interest with the various neighborhoods is the way to go.

8)  Theaters/Music/Dance/Culture:  The Harris Theater and the Auditorium Theater consistently bring in amazing out of town shows/performances.  I’ve seen good shows at the Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago Shakespheare Theater, Collaboraction, and the Steppenwolf.   The Universities often have great speakers and performances (likely for cheaper).  The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is great, as is the Lyric Opera (though I’m not sure it’s my cup of tea.)  Millennium Park has tons of free music and occasionally dance/theater performances.  The Chicago Cultural Center often has free things going on as well.  Ravinia is the other big outdoor concert venue up in the North Burbs.  I don’t know the Music Scene very well, but I hear about the Hideout, Double Door, Empty Bottle, Schubas, the Metro, the Subterranean, SPACE(Evanston), the Green Mill (Jazz), Kingston Mines (Blues), BLUES (Blues) and Buddy Guy’s Legends (Blues) all the time.  If you have the chance, go listen to Buddy Guy while you still have the chance.  He is freaking amazing.  Your best chance is to brave the cold and head down during his annual January residency.  The Gene Siskel Film Center always has something interesting playing.  Finally, when it comes to comedy, Second City is deservedly famous, but The Improvised Shakespheare Company at iO is infinitely funnier.  Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind at the Neo-Futurarium is quirky and will gain you +2 “Chicago cred” points.

9)  Bars/Clubs:  Um yeah.  Not exactly my area of expertise, but I’ll give it a shot.  Chicago is definitely more of a Bar town than a Club town, but does have its fair share of lounges/party rooms.  Hopleaf has good Belgians, and allegedly good food.  Map Room is also supposed to be good for beers, but beyond that, I’m at a loss for good bar recommendations.  I think there are a few tequila bars and wine bars and…yeah.  There’s a pretty wide assortment of “mixologist/fancy drinks” places, the grand daddy of which is The Violet Hour and the new starlet of which is Grant Achatz’s The Aviary (both of which I would love to go to.)  I’ve been to the Drawing Room and drank something tasty with one very large and fancy ice cube.  During the summer, the SummerDance festival throws the city’s most diverse and chill dance parties with free lessons and live bands 4 nights a week.  As for clubs, I usually spent my time swing dancing at Fizz or blues dancing at Bluetopia (or both at CodeBLUE), but two places that have a killer “I’m just here to party” vibe are EvilOlive and SmartBar (as opposed to the “meat-market/grope-fest” that pervades most places.  Not to say those things weren’t going on.  It just wasn’t forced upon you.)

10. Groupon/LivingSocial/Bloomspot/etc. – Groupon started here, so it’s got a huge reach in terms of restaurants, stores, activities. Don’t go too wild with the spavings (spending+savings), but getting the chance to try out a new place at a 50% discount is never a bad thing if you’ve got the cash.

11.  One last tip for students.  Most of the theaters/cultural institutions in Chicago have student tickets ($10-$25).  Sign up on their mailing lists to keep up to date.  Yes, you are poor at the moment, but this is seriously the one chance you will have to experience  world class dance/music/theater on the cheap.  (Unless you go for another degree in say…New York)  You may also be able to volunteer as an usher and get in for free. (Links:  Lyric Opera, CSO, Millennium Park, Auditorium, Harris (No student tickets, but there are often discounts))

Ok, that’s it.  I’m done.  All out.  Go.  Shoo.  Stop reading and DO SOMETHING FUN. (In the cold…)

NSDS Swing Lessons
Cook Hall Atrium, Northwestern University
Starting: Sunday, April 24
6:30pm – Advanced Blues
7:30pm – Intro to Balboa
8:30pm – Free social dancing!
Lessons continue for 6 weeks
$20 for 1 class, $25 for both. Seriously, it doesn’t get any cheaper than this.

In the intervening years, I’ve taken a golf PE class at college (3 hrs total) and gone to the driving range a handful of times. To say that I am a n00b would be an understatement.

That said, my 2 hours in the company of 3 friends yielded a number of thoughts for those of you who are just starting out like me.

The Insights
Hole 1: Golf is a game about form

Hole 2: Golf is a game about consistency

Hole 3: Accuracy is worth more than distance (unless you are putting)

The Practical
Hole 4: Get a golf cart. You’ll be spending a lot of time chasing wayward balls

Hole 5: Reduce the number of clubs you use. Each new club is just another variable for your body to have to adjust to.

Hole 6: Go with one good person (who can help spot balls and bail you out if you play “best ball”) and one other novice (who you can commiserate with.)

The Meta
Hole 7: Have fun

Hole 8: Set realistic goals

Hole 9: It’s just a game

The Reality
The Driving Range: Golf costs money. $100 for clubs, $5 for trips to the driving range, $10-30 each time out.

Chip and Putt: Teaching yourself is hard. After going to the driving range 4-5 times in the past few weeks, I’ve resigned myself that I’m either going to have to make a new friend (any readers out there teach golf? =b) or shell out for lessons (which also cost money).

• Music Without Borders @ Millennium Park – Thursdays, 6:30-9:30p, June 3 – July 22
• Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays @ Millennium Park – 6:30-9p, May 24 – July 26
• Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz @ Millennium Park – Thursdays, 6:30p, July 29 – Sept 2
• The Grant Park Music Festival @ Millennium Park Varies, June 15 – August 21
• Chicago Summerdance – Free Outdoor Dancing with Live Music and Lessons @ 601 S. Michigan Ave. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening, 6 to 9:30 pm, and Sunday afternoon, 4 to 7 pm, weather-permitting. Free. June 17 – August 28
• Ravinia – outdoor music venue, various
• Chicago Festival Calendar @ Metromix
• The Art Institute – Free Thursday Evenings, 5-9p
• Hot Summer Nights @ Chicago Botanic Gardens – Free Music and Dance Lessons, Thursdays 6-8p, June 10 – Sept 2
• Let’s Dance! @ 909 Davis St Plaza (Metra, Evanston) – Free Music and Dance Lessons, Thursdays 6-9p, July 15 – Aug 19
• Official City of Chicago Festivals (Blues, Taste, Air and Water, Jazz, Viva!, Country Music)
• Chicago Festivals
• Maxwell St. Market – Sundays, 7a-3p
• Chicago Arts District 2nd Fridays Gallery Night – Near 18th and Halsted, 6-8p
• Tuesdays on the Terrace – Live Jazz @ Museum of Contemporary Art. Free (and free adm to the museum itself on tuesdays!), Tuesdays 5:30 – 8p, June 1 – Sept 28

And of course, there are the always handy Chicago Reader, NewCity, and TheOnion weeklies to help you keep tabs on some of the smaller events. (film festivals @ Gene Siskel, outdoor Shakespeare, theater performances, etc.) Have fun exploring the city!

versus

But, how do the cities stack up? Does the city of our Founding Father’s have what it takes to relegate Chicago to Second City status? Or will the City of Broad Shoulders outmuscle the lily-livered City of Brotherly Love?

Iconic Food
Chicago: Deep dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef
Philadelphia: Cheese steak
Verdict: Philadelphia: Outnumbered three-to-one, the cheese steak still comes out on top. It’s an unholy trinity of greese, cheese, and meat, but oh-so-amazing.

Art Museum Entrances
Chicago: Lions
Philadelphia: Rocky steps
Verdict: Philadelphia: The Lions just sit there. The Rocky steps provide for endless re-enactment opportunities

Centers of Government
Chicago: City Hall
Philadelphia: City Hall
Verdict: Philadelphia: City Hall is beautiful and has Billy Penn. Plus, no one knows where the heck Chicago City Hall is anyways.

Public Transit
Chicago: The ‘El’
Philadelphia: SEPTA
Verdict: Chicago: The ‘El’ actually runs places you’d want to go to, and it runs all night.

Sports Icons
Chicago: Michael Jordan
Philadelphia: Wilt ‘The Stilt” Chamberlain
Verdict: Philadelphia: MJ was the man, but he they never changed to rules to stop him.

Iconic Sculptures
Chicago: Cloud Gate (aka the Bean)
Philadelphia: Love Statue
Verdict: Chicago: Love statue is an icon, but that’s about all there is too it.

Outdoor performance spaces
Chicago: Ravinia and Millenium Park
Philadelphia: The Mann Music Center
Verdict: Chicago: Ravinia is a joke (you can’t see the stage from the lawn? seriously?), but MP has a huge array of concerts, and they’re ALL FREE.

Bodies of Water
Chicago: Lake Michigan
Philadelphia: The Atlantic
Verdict: Chicago: Lake Michigan is right at your door step, versus two hours for the Atlantic. It’s no the ocean, but it’s powerful enough to provide a reasonable facsimile.

Topography
Chicago: Topography?
Philadelphia: Yes
Verdict: Philadelphia: It’s always a treat to see hills after a long stay in the Prairie

Chinatown
Verdict: Philadelphia: People actually live and work in the same neighborhood. As opposed to the neighborhood next door. And it has drinkable sweetened soy milk. And a dou hua shop!

Local Coffee
Chicago: Intelligentsia and Metropolis
Philadelphia: La Colombe
Verdict: *shrug* I don’t drink coffee.

Old Town
Verdict: Philadelphia: Ours actually has a thing called history

Shopping
Chicago: Mag Mile, Belmont, Westfield Mall: Schaumburg
Philadelphia: Rittenhouse Square, South Street, The King of Prussia Mall
Verdict: Chicago: Not that I would really know, but I imagine larger city = more diversity in designers and stores.

Oddball Museum
Chicago: International Museum of Surgical Science
Philadelphia: The Mutter Museum
Verdict: Philadelphia: I’ve never been to the IMSS, but I can’t imagine any surgical equipment topping the medical oddities found at the Mutter Museum

Weather
Chicago: Pros: beautiful summers. Cons: harsh winters
Philadelphia: Pros: mild-ish winters. Cons: humid summers
Verdict: Chicago: Even mild-ish winters aren’t particularly pleasant. Neither place gets enough snow to merit getting cold

Nearby cities
Chicago: Madison, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Detroit
Philadelphia: New York, DC, Boston, Baltimore
Verdict: Philadelphia: Honestly, are there any other big cities in the Midwest?

Outdoor gardens
Chicago: Chicago Botanic Gardens
Philadelphia: Longwood Gardens
Verdict: Chicago: If only because I haven’t been to Longwood in over a decade (maybe 2!) and don’t remember what it’s like

Traffic
Verdict: Chicago: The highway traffic in Chicago is worse, but Philadelphia’s combination of one-ways and super-narrow streets makes it a pain to drive around.

Claim to fame
Chicago: being big, mobsters
Philadelphia: birthplace of freedom
Verdict: Philadelphia: Is there any question?

High End Restaurants and Chefs
Chicago: Alinea – Grant Achatz, Topolobampo – Rick Bayliss
Philadelphia: Morimoto – Masaharu Morimoto
Verdict: Chicago: Achatz cooks without a real sense of taste. That’s baller. Plus, he’s evidently a food tech geek

Power Universities
Chicago: Northwestern, University of Chicago
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore, Princeton
Verdict: Philadelphia. Plus, we have a semblance of college basketball.

Musicians
Chicago: Kanye West, Buddy Guy, Fall Out Boy
Philadelphia: Boyz II Men, Stan Getz, The Roots
Verdict: Chicago: Buddy Guy is the only one I’ve seen live, and he is amazing.

Sports Teams
Chicago: Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks
Philadelphia: Phillies, 76ers, Eagles, Flyers
Verdict: Philadelphia: The Phillies are the most recent championship team, and Philadelphia also has at least some semblance of college sports (if only during the basketball season)

Sports Fans
Chicago: Long-suffering
Philadelphia: Throwing batteries, booing Santa
Verdict: Chicago: Both fans are fiercely loyal, but Philadelphia fans have this bad habit of turning on their heroes in a heartbeat

Cultural Institutions
Chicago: The Lyric, The CSO, The MCA, The Art Institute, The Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, The Shedd
Philadelphia: Museum of Art, The Franklin Institute, The Natural History Museum, The Philadelphia Zoo, The Opera Company
Verdict: Chicago, if only because I haven’t been to any Philadelphia Institutions recently.

Parks
Chicago: Grant Park, Millenium Park
Philadelphia: Fairmount Park
Verdict: Philadelphia: Fairmount Park is y’know, nature-y and stuff. Like a park should be.

Regional Accent
Chicago: The nasal A, “dis”, “da” (as in “da Bears”)
Philadelphia: Wuder (as in water), Yo, yoos guys
Verdict: Philadelphia: If you’ve got a Philadelphia accent, you sound a like a tough guy (or girl). If you’ve got a Chicago accent, you sound like a…midwesterner.

Local stereotype
Chicago: Blue collar midwestern
Philadelphia: Blue collar, chip on shoulder
Verdict: Depends: If you’re just a tourist, Chicagoans are nicer. If you befriend an Philadelphian though, they’ll take a bullet for you.

Summer Festivals
Verdict: Chicago: It has way too many neighborhoods and there’s basically at least one neighborhood with a big block party bash every week.

Multiculturalism
Verdict: Chicago: Size has its advantages

Famous politicians
Chicago: Barack Obama
Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin
Verdict: Philadelphia: Obama may be the most powerful man in the world at the moment, but they don’t say “show me the Benjamins” for nothing.

RR station markets
Chicago: The French Market
Philadelphia: Reading Terminal Market
Verdict: Philadelphia. Please, the French Market opened 2 years ago.

Stadiums
Chicago: Wrigley, Soldier Field
Philadelphia: The Linc, Citizen’s Bank
Verdict: Philadelphia: The Linc and Citizen’s Bank are both beautiful. Wrigley has lots of history, but Soldier Field looks like it got hit by a UFO.

Mayor strength
Chicago: Daley
Philadelphia: Nutter
Verdict: Chicago:  Daley freakin’ bulldozed an airport he didn’t like just because he didn’t like it.

Large Buildings
Chicago: Willis, Trump, Hancock
Philadelphia: Comcast, 1 Liberty Place, Cira
Verdict: Chicago: Chicago has the #1, 2, and 5 tallest buildings in the US. Philly maxes out at #15.

Final Tally and Thoughts
Chicago: 16
Philadelphia: 17
Tie: 2
Verdict: Both are great cities to live in, but Philadelphia eeks out a victory in this carefully controlled, absolutely unbiased, thoroughly scientific study.* Hopefully this bodes well for the Flyers as well.

Despite my years in the MidWest, I still bleed orange, red, green, and whatever the heck the Sixers are considered to be colored. Go Flyers!

contributors: jchou, elee

* n.b. I have actually only lived in the nearby suburbs, not within, the limits of both cities. However, for the purposes of this post, I have considered myself to be a veritable font of knowledge on all things Chicago and Philadelphia-related.

Stall ten!

Generally not the sort of place I dine at, but my good friend wyu was in town and I had a Groupon to burn. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to do do grown up things every once in a while, yah?

I’ll apologize for the generally poor quality of photos and food descriptions in advance. My taste memories are a bit clouded, and I’ve never shot in candlelight before, and I couldn’t get the white balance to behave. Photos have had their levels adjusted, a crop here and there (really just there), but that’s about it.

Spring's Dining Room

Spring is surprisingly low-key. It was cozy, in a trendy/zen sort of way, which makes sense, given its location in Wicker Park, Chicago’s once-bohemian / now-gentrifying(-ied?) neighborhood. I figured that I would’ve needed to wear at least a blazer or something, but I didn’t, and still managed to not feel out of place, which as a grad student, feels like it should be some sort of an accomplishment.

The Menu

The menu is “New American”, with lots of seafood and Asian influences. Lots of different fantastic sounding flavors and only 2 stomachs! Whatever a dilemma! With the help of our very helpful (and very perky) waitress, we eventually settled on 3 appetizers and 1 entree. Unfortunately, we let her take away both our menus, so it was a little hard to identify everything on our plates.

Amuse Bouche

What’s this? I was prepared for small portions, but this is ridiculous! Ah, what did you say? It’s an amuse bouche, compliments of the chef? Why thank you very much! I don’t remember exactly what it was. I want to say that it was a small salad of seaweed, homemade noodles, and soy/sesame oil. Quite tasty. They also provided some sesame crackers with white bean puree dip. Not quite as tasty, but I was pretty hungry and they kept on refilling the basket, so down they went.

Sashimi of Pacific Hamachi / Crispy Rice Noodle, Mustard Green Salad

Unfortunately, I can’t make out the the last set of ingredients on my menu-photo, and this dish isn’t online either. It was sushi. It was slimy. It was tasty. It was room temperature (which was odd to me. Not unpleasant, just odd.) A little heavy on the soy, but the salad provided a nice contrast with the sushi. I’d never had hamachi before, and unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll see it on a menu again either.

Left: Grilled Octopus / fresh egg pasta, parsley, confit lemon, marrow || Right: Foie Gras Gyoza / charred tataki of prime New York strip, smoked apple

Appetizers Two and Three, ie, the hot appetizers. The grilled octopus was fantastic. It was sweet and smoky and managed to be chewy yet tender. The inch-long egg pasta was also great. Really QQ, if you happen to know what I mean. There was definitely enough to share between three people.

I was a little wary of the foie gras gyoza, but wyu was pretty interested in them, so order them we did. I had never had foie gras before, so I wasn’t so much worried about the taste as the the texture. I tend to prefer that my dumplings have a bit of substance when I bite into them, and pate is sort of the antithesis of substance. So, what can I say? Taste-wise it was great. Foie gras is some pretty tasty stuff. The dumplings were fried well. I have no idea what Tataki is, and I don’t think I took note of the apple, since I forgot that it was supposed to be in there. Texture-wise? Eh…it was what I had expected…

I think the busboy is under orders to not let anyone’s water glass be less than 3/4′s full. I contemplate challenging him, but think the better of it.

Atlantic Skatewing / lobster & parsley root ravioli, shaved Brussel sprouts, basil, citrus

Ah, the main course. We were deciding between the skatewing and the sea scallops, one of the signature dishes. As neither wyu or I had had skatewing before, we went for something new. Highlight of the dish: The not-skatewing. The lobster was super-sweet and once again, the hand-made ravioli was fantastic. Guess I’m just a sucker for QQ pasta. Lowlight? The skatewing was lightly fried and salted, and really, just didn’t have too much going on. On the other hand, wyu really enjoyed the dish. She was also eating the skatewing and the ravioli together, whereas I was left with a half-chunk of skatewing at the end. How was I supposed to know? Why wasn’t someone there to tell me how I’m supposed to eat the dish like on Iron Chef!?

Not feeling quite sated, we succumbed to the temptation of dessert. I actually didn’t read the menu close enough (I blame the darkness), so I was expecting to have a poached pear tart with fig ice cream and blue cheese, which sounded like an intriguing flavor combination. Much to my surprise, it was fig _and_ blue cheese ice cream. It was still an intriguing flavor combination, to say the least. Not bad, but it took a bit of getting used to. On a whole though, it was quite good.

Drinking chocolate and thyme

We capped off the meal with yet _another_ item sent complements of the chef: a small shot glass of drinking chocolate brewed with thyme. (Aside: actually, does anyone ever _not_ get sent these items “complements of the chef”? Does s/he ever send them begrudgingly? What would it take to not be sent something? Or is it more a “how busy is it?” question?) But, back to the drink. It sounds like a weird flavor combination, but it’s absolutely fantastic. Perfect way to finish the meal.

Total (inc. tip and tax) for 2: $105 – $35 groupon = $70

Totally worth the $70. I haven’t eaten out at enough high end restaurants to know if its worth the $105. I suspect it is.

Major props to: wyu for the excellent company and for schlepping in from the suburbs; groupon for giving me the opportunity to impulse buy gift certificates to places that I would never otherwise eat; and the nameless waitress and staff and chefs of Spring!

The Friday and Saturday shows of his annual January residency are already sold out, but going on a less crowded day will get you a better view and breathing room anyways. Tickets are $40, standing room, unless you eat there and squat a table.

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