Twin Anchors & Second City
2 Must Be The Number of The Night

twin_anchors_ribs.jpg
Ribs at Twin Anchors, Old Town, Chicago

second_city_sign.jpg
Second City, Old Town, Chicago

second_city_alumni.jpg
Second City Alumni List, Old Town, Chicago

Shaun is in town from Boston and last night we went out for dinner at Twin Anchors and then saw the show Doors Open on the Right at The Second City.

Founded in 1932, Twin Anchors is one of the oldest restaurants in Chicago. It was Opened by the Walters family, who were affiliated with the Chicago Yacht Club and who gave the restaurant it’s nautical theme. Twin Anchors was a favorite of Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, and has always been known for it’s tender, barbequed baby-back ribs. I don’t eat ribs .. like.. ever.. .but I will say these are some of the best ribs I’ve ever had. So delicious.. and go for the zesty sauce, not the mild. Shaun and I both ordered mild because we thought that the zesty would be hot. The waitress brought out both sauces for us to try and zesty was definately better. It wasn’t hot at all, just more tangy than the mild.

Second City is an institution in Chicago. This is the theater that launched the careers of John Belushi, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, George Wendt, Tina Fey, and Amy Sedaris, along with many others. The show was 3 acts, the last one being completely improvised. So funny. I kept wondering which of the performers we would be seeing next on Saturday Night Live.

Overall, a great night. It was nice to see Shaun again. Oh, and this is about my one month anniversary here.. so a good way to spend it.

See also:
» Chicago – Day 1 by Shaun

Polish Museum of America

Polish Museum of America
Mom at the Polish Museum of America, Wicker Park, Chicago

My parents came down from Wisconsin today and we had brunch buffet at Hilary’s Urban Eatery (HUE). Afterward we browsed around Brown Elephant, a second-hand store that was the first resale store in the country designed to specifically raise funds for HIV/AIDS care. Since I live in a Polish neighborhood, we then wandered over to the Polish Museum of America where we learned that Chicago and it’s suburbs (collectively known as Chicagoland) have the largest population of Polish people outside of Warsaw, Poland. The museum’s Great Hall closed for renovations so I think we missed a lot, but the admission is free so I’m not complaining.

$2.50 Imports and Roses

Candle
Candle, Wild Goose, Ravenswood, Chicago

Chad
Chad doing either Blair Witch or the Godfather, Wild Goose, Ravenswood, Chicago

Rachelle & Kristin
Rachelle & Kristin, Wild Goose, Ravenswood, Chicago

Rachelle
Rachelle, Wild Goose, Ravenswood, Chicago

Chris
Chris G., Wild Goose, Ravenswood, Chicago

Friday night specials at the Wild Goose are $2.50 Bass, Guinness and Harp pints and an all-you-can-eat Friday Fish Fry* for $6.75. This, combined with some exciting NCAA tournament games happening, ensured that the Wild Goose was packed. Using Jake & Dave’s $10 they gave me for drinking, I was able to purchase 4 beers instead of the 2 they intended. Maybe it’s the cheap drink prices in Chicago that will turn me into an alcoholic and not my friends giving me money specifically for drinking.. or maybe it’s a combination of both. After the Wild Goose we hit up this lame club called Crush (thanks Trent), met everyone over to Ginbucks, scarfed some food from Flash Taco, and piled into Kristin’s bed to watch an exciting episode of CHiPS and a biography on Jeffrey Dahmer. Before I knew it, it was 4 am and I decided I better go home so I split a cab (5 to 20, 5 to 20) with Kevin & Justin.

*Friday Fish Fry is a cultural tradition in the midwest that stemmed from the religious tradition of not eating meat on Fridays.

See Also:
» Fish Fry on Friday by Mary Bergin for The Capital Times
» Friday Fish Fry Blends Tradition: Catholic’s Lenten observation now part of Wisconsin culture by Meena Thiruvengadam for The Post-Crescent
» Fish Fry Anyone? You Don’t Have to Ask Twice in Wisconsin by Tanya Gillitzer
» Some Great Catches by Diane Ayers for the Daily Herald

Milwaukee Ave, The Old Neighborhood

Rainbow, Milwaukee Ave

The Ark, Milwaukee Ave

Heads & Threads, Milwaukee Ave

Lingerie Store, Milwaukee Ave

Religious Kitsch, Milwaukee Ave

Family Fashoin, Milwaukee Ave

DS Yo Yo, Milwaukee Ave

Barry Medical, Milwaukee Ave

Wicker Park was first settled by German and Scandinavian immigrants. In the 1860s many Polish immigrants joined them there. So many that the intersection of Milwaukee/Division/Ashland became known as Polish Downtown. In the 1950s many of the Poles moved away and Mexicans and Puerto Ricans moved in. Most recently, artists and hipsters have begun to take over. Milwaukee Ave. where it meets Division and Ashland is part of the ooooold neighborhood. A few blocks after this and you start to see a trendy shop here and a sushi restaurant there and before you know it you’re in what looks like an entirely different place. But it’s still Wicker Park.

See Also
» The Many Accents of Wicker Park by Brenda Fowler for The New York Times

Calling All Recipes

Empty Peppers

Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers

Because I’m new in Chicago and don’t know a ton of people here and because the weather hasn’t been very great for exploring (snow, cold, rain, dark by the time I get out of work) and because my kitchen in my apartment is bigger than any kitchen I’ve had since 1999, I have been trying out a lot of new recipes and cooking a lot lately. If you post here or email me your favorite recipe for dinner or dessert or really anything and I find it appealing I will more than likely make it and report back here. I look forward to seeing what you send!

BTW, the peppers were good but they didn’t rock my world. Here is the recipe. Oh, and don’t worry.. I have a plans for this weekend and next week so I won’t be home cooking by myself all the time 🙂

Chicago Card Plus

Chicago Card Plus

Yesterday I applied online for a Chicago Card Plus which will allow me to manage my transit card online and reload it automatically from my credit/debit card. It’s kind of like EZ Pass, but for people! Other benefits of getting a Chicago Card Plus as opposed to getting a card from the vending machine is that if your card is lost or stolen it can be replaced without losing your balance, you get a 10% bonus each time your card is reloaded with $10 or more, and you only have to touch your card to a touchpad instead of inserting your card into the turnstyle. The Chicago Card Plus works in any CTA rail or bus. No more CTA vending machines and no more wondering how much is on my card. It’s usually $5 to get a card, but through the end of this month the $5 fee is being waived. I’m so excited!

The Washington D.C. Metro has a system similar to this called SmarTrip but without the online feature or the automatic reloading. I wish New York City had something like this when I lived there.