Zimagal Monthly Magazine - Volume One, Issue Nine

Part Two

Long before I went on the Chicago road trip, the Second City had fascinated me. I used to read Chicago Magazine every month, and daydream about living in a city with two - count ‘em, TWO - major league baseball teams. For a diehard fan of the game like myself, that sounded like heaven - and it was. I had the opportunity to see teams play that I would never have seen living in Baltimore, and I was able to spend many beautiful sunny afternoons in baseball Nirvana - Wrigley Field. I was introduced to the culinary delight known as the Chicago dog, and to Old Style Beer - the Natty Boh of the Windy City. Chicago reminded me of Baltimore in its friendly attitude and neighborhood feel, but had every bit of the culture, entertainment, and night life of New York or LA. As my friend Andree once remarked, "If you’re bored living in Chicago, you’re doing it wrong."

I actually lived in Park Ridge, a northwest suburb best known as the hometown of Hillary Clinton. It was like living in small-town America - one main street with a shopping district that included a 1920s Art Deco movie house, library, eateries, coffeehouses, and small shops. And I was only 1 block from a commuter rail station that could get me downtown in 30 minutes, so I had the best of both worlds - small-town living with big-city excitement right on my doorstep.

What follows is a list (in no particular order) of my favorite places and things in and around Chicago - things that made living in the City of the Big Shoulders a wonderful experience. These are some of the reasons that I’d love to live in Chitown again someday.

Kate with the Untitled Picasso.

Kate with some friends at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

1) Wrigley Field
Hands down, my favorite ballpark of all - ivy covered walls, hand-operated scoreboard, bleacher bums, folks on the roofs watching the game, kids with gloves out on Waveland Avenue shagging homers. I’ve been to Fenway, I love Oriole Park, but NOTHING beats The Friendly Confines. Most games are still played in the afternoon, when baseball is SUPPOSED to be played - in the sunshine! Harry Carey hanging out of the broadcast booth leading the Wrigley faithful in a round of "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" was the best seventh-inning stretch in the game. Even though Harry broadcasted like he had a mouthful of shytt, he was part of the allure of the little jewel on Addison. Let’s hope that in the rush to replace the venerable old parks like Tiger Stadium, Fenway Park, and even Yankee Stadium, that the denizens of Cubs Park have enough sense to demand that Wrigley remain.

2) The Hot Dog Stand next to Wrigley
I don’t know the name of the place, but this was where I was first introduced to the Chicago Dog. If it’s done RIGHT, it consists of a Vienna Beef Frank on a poppy seed bun, topped with mustard, onions, relish, dill pickle spears, and tomato wedges. I know - sounds disgusting! But I guarantee that if you try one, you’ll love it. And it MUST be washed down with an Old Style beer to get the real flavor of Chicago. I’m no gourmet, but I know a great hot dog when I bite one!

3) The Frank Lloyd Wright House, Oak Park
The first studio of the famous architect and founder of the Prairie style of architecture. There are houses built in this style all over the Chicago area, many designed and built by Wright himself, and preserved as examples of his early work. I never got here while I was living in Chicago, but I visited on my last trip to the Windy City, and was amazed at the genius of this man. Not only the building, but the glass, furnishings, etc. were all his creations. Definitely worth a visit.

4) The Chicago Botanical Gardens
Open all year round - I visited during the Christmas season. The Christmas trees decorated with natural materials from the gardens were beautiful, and the grounds were lovely, even in the winter. The Japanese garden, with its lagoons, was so peaceful I was compelled to sit for a while and ponder the natural beauty of the place. There are carillon concerts, a Japan Days Festival, and Bike Day. There are a number of different gardens, including herb gardens, vegetable garden, an English garden, and the Arid House, with huge cacti, as well as sculptures and wildlife. I would love to visit again in the spring and summer. It put other botanical gardens I have visited to shame.

5) Blue Chicago
A blues club down the street from the Hard Rock. My advice is to skip the glitz of the Café and spend your time soaking up some real Chicago-style blues. A lady named Shirley Jackson knocked our socks off.

Kate by the Wrigley Building.

6) Dick’s Last Resort
I first discovered Dick’s in Dallas in 1989. This Dick’s was at the North Pier - a dive of a place with obnoxious waitresses, a bra collection behind the bar, mismatched furniture, great Dixieland jazz, and yummy finger foods, including ribs, crab legs, and shrimp. Go with the expectation of being abused - on one trip there, our waitress whacked my friend Kathy on the head with her order pad for not ordering fast enough! When I discovered that there was a Dick’s in Chicago I was thrilled; now it seems they are proliferating as fast as Hard Rocks and Planet Hollywoods. Hope they don’t lose their original charm by multiplying too fast.

7) Ed Debevic’s
A real diner with real diner food. An authentic 50s diner, with servers right out of Arnold’s, and comfort foods like meatloaf and macaroni and cheese. This place was a gas…literally. My friend Kathy learned a valuable gastronomic lesson: Never eat beans after several days of constipation if you have a long El ride ahead of you. The rest of us enjoyed ourselves tremendously, though.

Kate and her good buddy Michael (who is purported to have a *huge* crush on her) across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago.

8) Brother Jimmy’s Ribs
Home of great ribs and BAD service. Our waitress was SO obnoxious we stiffed her - but the ribs were excellent! See issue 2 of Zimagal Monthly for Kathy’s review of Jimmy’s and a link to Blue Chicago.

9) The Art Institute of Chicago
What an amazing place! I spent hours here, and never saw all of it. The Art Institute purports to have the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside of Paris. It’s amazing! And, you pay according to your ability…you only have to pay full price to see the special exhibits. Every city should have an art museum of this quality, and every school child should be taken to see it.

10) Grant Park
There is a music festival here almost every weekend of the summer, and the Taste of Chicago Festival as well. My favorite music festival was the Blues - partly because my friends from Baltimore came to visit that weekend. What a blast!

11) The Sears Tower
I’ve been to the top of the tallest buildings in Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Dallas - this is the best. On a clear day you can see to O’Hare. Worth waiting in line to get to the top.

Kate in front of Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.

12) The Park Ridge Restaurant
Right in the heart of downtown Park Ridge. I ate here with friends, and a number of times by myself, and the food was always delicious. Run by a Greek family, they specialized in good, old-fashioned American cuisine, and fabulous homemade desserts. The lemon meringue pie was to die for, and they made a fantastic spinach, Swiss, and onion omelet. One of my favorite Sunday-morning breakfast spots.

13) Comisky Park
I hate the ballpark itself, but it was the only place I could see my beloved Orioles play in Chicago. Also, Comisky has the best ballpark food I’ve had - they even have hand-dipped ice cream. Also, the cute-guy factor at Comisky is always fierce. Woohoo!