There’s something special about a place where the owner has his phone number printed on every receipt. Most times I’ve eaten here, I’ve seen the owner, Glenn, chatting up customers or seeing about the restaurant. It’s his place, his name on the door, and his phone number on the receipt. Continue reading “Eat Here: Glenn’s Diner, 1820 W. Montrose, Chicago”
At the corner of 18th and Carpenter, in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, stands a public art piece, “Before I die.” Simply a large rectangle of chalkboard paint and stenciled half-sentences, the art magnetically pulls in the curious. Read the secret wishes of the anonymous writers now gone, our only clues to their identities their dreams and their penmanship. It can be a little voyeuristic, but I think what this art piece reveals is our common humanity. Continue reading “What do you want to do before you die?”
My girlfriend Marissa, who’s traveling to Barcelona, Spain, asked me if she could bring home to Chicago some wine, cheese, or its famous ham as a delicious souvenir? Continue reading “Can I Bring Home Wine, Cheese, or Ham from Spain?”
Hypothetical situation: You’re a Filipino American, in your 20s or 30s, and you live on your own. You are sick, can’t seem to keep anything down other than Saltines and need some comfort food. You are hankering for your mom’s cooking, naturally. You’re probably wishing she were there to take care of you, poor baby, but she’s a few states away. It’s likely you haven’t gone to the grocery store recently, between your gallivanting and getting sick, so you have to rely on pantry items or what is still stomach-viable in your refrigerator to conjure up something that resembles nutritious food. Besides that, you don’t have a lot of energy so whatever you cook needs to be relatively easy. Put that package of ramen down – we’re not desperate.
I present: Lugaw. Continue reading “How to Make Lugaw, a Filipino Rice Porridge”
