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?”
Today, March 4, 2012, is the City of Chicago’s 175th birthday. If it’s one thing Chicago has taught me it’s this: If you can’t love Chicago, you can’t love anything. Chicago is a complex that is complex: The fickle and brutal elements. The concrete. The segregation. Clout. The multilayered fiefdoms of government. The endless flat … Continue reading Blow out the Candles, Chicago. It’s Your Birthday.
As of this writing, it’s an incredibly mild Leap Year Day in Chicago with temperatures at 60 degrees Fahrenheit! It’s gotten me in the mood for baseball! My beloved Chicago Cubs‘ first preseason game will be on March 4 – the City of Chicago’s 175th birthday! – and the home opener is April 5 against the Washington Nationals at beautiful and historic Wrigley Field. April is quickly approaching… Continue reading “Why I Love Baseball. Oh, Let Me Count the Ways.”
