Millennium Park

Fun times during the summer at Chicago's Millennium Park.

Zz.

Random Photo

A tranquil, quiet morning along the Chicago lakefront.

Zz.

Phoenix Restaurant

I went to Phoenix Restaurant in Chicago's Chinatown today for dim sum. Bottom line: HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING.

I've been there for dinner before. The food was wonderful, and so was the service. I've never done dim sum there before, and at this point, I never will. It is just not worth it.

First of all, we probably arrived at the wrong time. Got there around 11:30 am, and there's a long wait. Typically, this means that it is good. We certainly had high expectation because the place was recommended by someone. So we didn't mind waiting. After all, it was Sunday, and it is around Noon. A restaurant in Chinatown that isn't packed at that time isn't worth going to. So we got our number, and was told it will be about 40 minutes. Fine. We went walking around Chinatown a bit to pass the time.

When our number was called, we were all excited (and hungry). The restaurant is on the 2nd floor, so we walked up. Guess what? There's ANOTHER waiting area! This makes no sense. If they have called us, shouldn't they have made sure a table is ready? But no, this is like a Disney attraction. There's another waiting/holding area, which is in an even less convenient location than the one downstairs. We, and everyone else in this area felt like we are always in the way of everyone else, especially the staff, that have to go though this area. OK, so far it sucks. But still, if it is this busy, the place must be good, right?

We waiting another 15 minutes before our number was called again and we finally get to sit at our table. This is when things really become disappointing.

The food was SCARCE! There were very few dim sum carts going around! Some of them even missed us because the persons pushing the carts were busy either yapping away or simply didn't look at our table, and we were next to an aisle! But the disappointing part is the very, VERY limited selection of dumplings and offerings. The chicken feet cart came by at least 3 times, but where were the shumai? The shrimp dumplings? I'd be surprised if we saw more than 15 different offerings.

I've been to many dim sums before. The one I like the most is on Broadway near the New Chinatown near Argyle street - Furama. Now THAT'S a place to have dim sum. Again, it is crowded, and sometime you get the cart pusher that can't speak English. But that's never a problem. The selection of dumplings is always plentiful.

What was disappointing about Phoenix was that, I expected more. One would think that with the large crowd and long wait, there's something remarkable about it. Not only did not it fill that expectation, it also produced significantly LESS than what I expected to be the norm for a dim sum place.

I will not go back there for dim sum. It has also soured me a little bit on going back there for regular dinners, even though I had good food and service there last time. The whole experience simply made me want to go back to Furama next week for good dim sum.

Zz.

Last Night In The City

We had just spent our last night at the old apartment, where we had lived for the past 16 1/2 years. Starting tonight, we will be living at our new home in the 'burbs.

It was bitter sweet this morning as I drive into work heading south on North Lake Shore Drive. The sun hadn't risen yet over the horizon, but there was already pink and red hues in the sky. I've always wanted to wake up early one fine morning and ride to the lakefront to snap some pictures, but never got around to it. Now, it's probably too late. I savored that last early morning drive by the lake.

Oh sure, I'll miss the city. But I'm at the point in my life where I just want to get away from the city noise, and more importantly, have a quiet backyard large enough for ample outdoor living and entertaining, not to mention, gardening. Priorities change, and mine certainly have. That's why we make our choices, and different choices, at different stages of our lives.

I'm now officially in suburbia.

Zz.

Suburbs Here I Come!

I first lived in Chicago in 1985. I'd say it was love at first sight, even though back then, the Loop was NASTY, especially after dark. I mean, it wasn't mean and nasty like Times Square before it turned Disney, but still, people try to get out of the Loop as soon as work is done.

Now, the city is marvelous, and there's life in the city even during off-hours. And I've lived within the city limits ever since. So it is with quite a bit of trepidation that I decided to buy a house out in the suburbs. Yes folks, I'm one of those people who finally decided to take advantage of (i) the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers (ii) the "historically low" mortgage rate and (iii) the very attractive house prices. We bought a house, and will close this week.

But oh the anxiety! And not just due to the burden of owning a house and almost emptying out my savings. It is the anxiety on life in the suburbs. I wanted a sizable house, with ample storage, a family room, a spacious kitchen, and more importantly, a nice backyard that's quiet, where I can spend many days outdoors. To get that, and within a reasonable price, I had to leave the city limits.

I plan to move out in mid November. I'll miss the city, but plan on being back many times, especially when I crave for good Vietnamese food, or good Ethiopian food, or good Korean food.

Zz.

2016 Olympics Bid

So many people here in Chicago are paying a very close attention to today's vote on the city that will host the 2016 Olympics. Being a Chicagoan, and knowing how much I love the city, of course I have a vested interest in the decision. Am I rooting for Chicago to win? Hum..... good question!

On the one hand, of course I am! It would be a tremendous honor to host the Olympics. I'm proud of the city and hope more people can come and visit and discover all the amazing things about the city itself. It can be as big, as busy, and as hectic as New York, but without the attitude and with pedestrians still obeying the pedestrian traffic signal (well, most of them anyway). Many first-timers to the city are always surprised at how friendly and how beautiful the city is, especially if they get to Grant Park and the lakefront.

But on the other hand, I'm dreading the traffic gridlock. While this may not be a factor for me by 2016 (I'm in the process of buying a house and moving out of Lakeview and into the near 'burbs), I can only imagine how it might work out, especially in the downtown area. And I still want to know how the public transportation (with the CTA trains and busses) are going to handle all the heavy volume of people. Riding the CTA trains, for example, can be a frustrating experience.

Oh well, we will know in a few hours if Chicago gets the bid or not. I think Rio makes a very strong case that it is time for the Olympics to make its first visit to South America.

Zz.

Cubs Going Nowhere This Year

Sign of the times. The souvenir stores around Wrigley field are trying to dump their Cubs merchandise. The Chicago Cubs aren't going anywhere this year after a dismal season.

So if you want at least 20% off of Cubs merchandise, this is the time to get it!


Zz.

More 2009 Halsted Street Market Days

We went back to Market Days later in the afternoon, and of course, the street fair now is totally packed. The sky was still overcast, and there was rain in downtown Chicago. But it appeared that, other than a few strong gusts of wind, the fair has been sparred with any significant rain.



Usually, getting dunked on a hot day in August is a good thing. But it has been cloudy and a bit chilly all day. So this isn't that much fun as it could be.







I think the go-go boys dancing high up in front of Minibar booth were quite a hit with the crowd. :)



The various stages at the fair were also filled with performers already. This is one of them, in front of the 7-11 at Roscoe.

2009 North Halsted Street Market Days

The 2009 North Halsted Street Market Days is going on this weekend (Aug. 1 and 2) in Chicago. This is the largest 2-day neighborhood street fair in the Midwest.

We walked down there (we live a block away) right when they opened at 11:00 am. Many of the vendors were still setting up, and it was crowded yet. We always like to scout around this early in the day before it gets VERY crowded later in the afternoon just so we can get a feel for what's around and where. We usually go back to it several times a day, especially around meal times since we usually buy stuff there to eat over the 2 days.

So we just got back after walking around for about an hour. Grabbed a bite to eat - my favorite grilled chicken-on-a-stick with fried rice. Yummy, and easy to eat while you walk. Here are some early pictures of the street fair before the big crowds arrive. The weather is a bit overcast, and there's some rain in the forecast for this afternoon. It should clear up by late afternoon/early evening, and it should be nice tomorrow.














Zz.

Goodbye, Sears Tower!

Today is the first official day of the significant name change tot he tallest building in North America - the Sears Tower. It will now be called...... wait for it .... Willis Tower.

Willis Tower will be introduced to Chicago by Mayor Richard M. Daley and others on Thursday during a public renaming ceremony hosted by Willis Group Holdings. The London-based insurance brokerage secured the naming rights as part an agreement to lease 140,000 square feet of space, and has said it plans to bring hundreds of jobs to the city.

I know many Chicagoans will resist the name change, some even dislike it. Still, the city has had several building undergoing such name change (Standard Oil building to Amaco building to... er.... what is it now?). It will probably take a generation or so for the name to stick, and by then, who knows, Willis might be gone!

So for now, as a stubborn Chicagoan, I'll still call it the Sears Tower. Or, I may change my mind and just call it the "Big Willie".

Zz.

Best Kept Secret of Chicago 1

So periodically, I'll post what I consider as some of the best-kept secret of Chicago that most visitors do not know of, but the locals certainly do. As the risk of changing these things as no longer being secrets by revealing them here, I still think that if I were to put myself in the shoes of these visitors to our great city, I would want to know such a thing.

This series will start with, what else, but food! If you are in downtown Chicago, there are a gazillion places to eat, with as many variety. So I will choose just one particular, narrow niche - food court. It is convenient, there's a huge variety (so that various people in your party can get whatever they like), it is quick, and more importantly, it is CHEAP! But since this is me, no run-off-the-mill mall food court will do. No sireee! There has to be something unique and a wide range of selection to be a food court that I would recommend.

One of the most overlooked food court for many visitors (because it isn't obvious since it is at on the top floor), is the food court at the North Bridge shopping mall. This is the mall inside a building just south of the Chicago river on Michigan Ave, and connected to a Nordstrom. There are many eating establishment in the mall, but the food court itself is on the top level, Level 4. So many visitors to the city probably would not venture into it, much less, go all the way to the top level, but many locals certainly do.

You will not find the regular food court chain here. Many of the vendors at the food court I've never seen elsewhere. The available food choices range from typical burgers, to roast turkey dinner (with the actual whole roasted turkey being carved in front of you), to standard chinese, to japanese noodle dishes and freshly made sushi, etc... etc. In other words, if you are tired of the typical mall food court meals, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the selection (and quality) that you'll find here.

I often go there for a quick lunch, especially when I'm out shopping or just walking along Michigan Avenue. People that I've brought to there have always been surprised that there's a food court up there, and the range of selection that they can get. So if you're in the city next time and want something convenient and fast, check out the food court at North Bridge. And no, I don't work for the mall or any of the businesses there.

Zz.

Best Pizza In America

If you want to start a fight, just trying bringing up the question of the best pizza anywhere. You'd have a major fist fight just asking that question in New York City alone.

Still, Alan Richmond (didn't he used to be on the Food Network when it first started and had a show with another woman titled "TV Diners?") of GQ Magazine had the balls to rate the best pizza in the US. And to my surprise, he rated a place here in my own lovely city of Chicago as having the best pizza. And I've never heard of the place!

1. Great Lake
Mortadella pie

I phoned at 6:15 p.m., ordered a cheese pie, asked when I could pick it up. The reply: 8 p.m. When I arrived a few minutes early, two of the fourteen people seated in the tiny storefront shop were eating. The rest looked exasperated. Nick Lessins, the Polish-Czech co-owner and pizzamaker, seemed happily oblivious. I stood inside, watching for twenty-five minutes as he fashioned three pies, mine among them. No man is slower. He makes each as though it is his first, manipulating the dough until it appears flawless, putting on toppings one small bit after another. In the time he takes to create a pie, civilizations could rise and fall, not just crusts. His cheese pie, prepared with fresh mozzarella made in-house, grated Wisconsin sheep’s-and-cow’s-milk cheese, and aromatic fresh marjoram instead of basil, was slightly shy of unbelievable. The next day I returned to try the same pie topped with fresh garlic and mortadella, the dirigible-sized Italian sausage that looks like bologna, tastes like salami, and is usually cut into chunks. He sliced the meat very thin and laid slices of it over the pie the moment it came out of the oven. The mortadella, with its combination of burliness and creaminess, was a meaty addition to the earthy, bready crust. This pie—creative, original, and somewhat local—represents everything irresistible about the new American style of pizza-making.

Well, if it took him that long to get a pizza before, it will be utterly impossible to get a pizza from there now after this publicity.

Still, I'm rather curious to see how the pizza really tastes like. So maybe I'll venture out and get some sampling.

Zz.

A Gorgeous Day In Chicago

It was a Chamber-of-Commerce weather here in Chicago today, even though it was quite a bit on the chilly side (high 40's F) with a gentle breeze from the lake. Still, we had a lovely time walking by the lake in the early afternoon and enjoying the weather.

The neighborhood looks very quite and peaceful, especially in this gorgeous weather.


Belmont Harbor is still empty, but won't be long before it is filled with boats.



Enjoying the sights and scenery on the lakefront.



This is the view from Diversey harbor. I know I'm bias, but it is a gorgeous city.


Zz.

Hang Up And Drive, Before You Kill Someone!

A woman was texting while driving when she slammed into stopped vehicles, killing one person when one of the vehicles burst into flames.

If this doesn't break your heart for a senseless and PREVENTABLE tragedy, then nothing will. I mentioned earlier about all the studies and statistics that clearly indicated that the use of cell phones, be it hands-free or not, has been attributed to so many accidents, and in fact, as dangerous if not more, than driving while intoxicated, that it is mindboggling that cities, states, and federal laws are not not in the books to stop this silly practice, AND to enforce it as diligently as drunk driving laws.

The state of Illinois just passed a law that makes it unlawful to do texting while driving. BIG FREAKING DEAL! The city of Chicago already has a law against using hands-on cell phones, and I see people yapping on their phones all the time! So if such a law is not, or can't be, enforced, how is another law in the books on texting would make any difference? How is one going to enforce it when it is less obvious than yapping on cell phones? The city has all these cameras installed all over the city trying to catch people running red lights. Maybe they should also train those cameras on the driver inside these vehicles to see if they are on their cell phones. You want extra revenue from fines? There's one there!

Zz.

A Night At The Museum

Last Friday we spent the evening at the Field Museum of Natural History here in Chicago for their annual Members Night. It was our first attendance to one of these things and it was a great, great event. It is almost like the museum's open house, where the members not only get to see all the exhibits on display, but also get to go behind the scenes into areas that are not opened to visitors. We also get to talk to many of the staff and researchers doing various work at the museum, often in their own laboratories or offices. So that made it quite worthwhile.

Anyway, here is a photo essay of the evening.

This is the museum as we walk out of the parking ramp at the museum campus.


The museum was quite packed, since it was a Friday night. They had a cash bar right in the middle of the museum, and the food establishements were also open.


We couldn't go into their Pirates special exhibits since they have distributed already all the time slots for it, but we did managed to go do their Aztec exhibits. Sorry, no pictures for that since photos were prohibited.

We then walked around look at some of the areas that we seldom get to see during our earlier visits. One of them was the North American area that showed the natural habitat of N. America, and the native american lives before the arrivals of the Europeans.






We then walked into the bowels of the museum, which is the lower level that isn't opened to the public. This is known as the "CRC", which is the collections resource center.


The area that was most fascinating to us was the oversize anthropology collections storage room. This area stores large anthropological items that, I presume, get rotated to be on display. It's too bad that we couldn't get to see a lot more of the room beyond just the front.

This is one of the sculpture found in the room.


These HUGE jars were excavated at Pompei and were though to be storage jars for olive oil. They are really quite big, as tall as an average person.


More impressive sculpture. These and the previous one are in bronze.


Nice kitty....


A look at the areas that we couldn't go into in the oversize area storage room. There were several bowls and other artifacts that we could only see from a distance.


There were also a few Egyptian hieroglyphs carved on stones. We didn't get a chance to ask anyone there about them because it was very crowded and the staff there were quite engaged with the visitors.



Leaving the underbelly of the Field Museum, we then went upstairs to the 3rd and 4th floors, which again are typically inaccessible to the public. We essentially got to see the labs and offices where the staff and researchers work. We spent quite a bit of time in the anthropological area and got to talk to a couple of anthropologists about human evolution. There were replicas of the skulls and bones of Australopithecus Africanus, Homo Erectus, and Homo Sapiens. We would have stayed longer but our time for the Aztec tour was about to start, so we had to scoot out of there in a hurry. These are the view of the hallway in these upper floors.



It was a very pleasant evening spent at the museum. This event alone was worth the membership. Since it was such a gorgeous evening, we drove a short distance to the Adler Planetarium and parked there to get a view of the Chicago skyline at night. I never tire looking at this. It is a gorgeous city where I live.


Zz.

The Slow Death of Diversity In Wrigleyville

We went out to dinner last night at a Moroccan restaurant in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is affectionately known as "Wrigleyville", which is in an area called Lakeview on the north side of Chicago. It is called Wrigleyville because it surrounds Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs' home field.

I truly believe that what makes going to a Cubs game more enjoyable is the neighborhood. There are plenty of sports bars, music clubs, and more importantly, eating establishments in the neighborhood. With a more welcoming and friendlier neighborhood towards visitors and tourists when compared to the neighborhood surrounding the White Sox field, baseball fans tend to linger a lot longer in the neighborhood. It is also a major attraction during weekends for people to come in, have dinner, and then hop on over to the various bars and clubs.

When we first moved into the neighborhood in 1993, there was a wealth of diversity of restaurants in the neighborhood. Off the top of my head, there were 4 Thai restaurants, 3 Ethiopian, 1 Caribbean, 3 Japanese, 1 French-Vietnamese, 1 Korean, 2 Indian, 2 noodles restaurants, etc... throughout the years, a few newer restaurants moved in such as a Moroccan, a Vietnamese, another Indian restaurant, etc.

Such diversity in food is what made this neighborhood such an eclectic mix and a major attraction to many visitors. I know that in my case, I thoroughly enjoyed going to these various ethnic restaurants and trying various new types of food. It is what made me want to stay in this area.

Sadly, during the past 5 years or so, many of these diverse restaurants have closed down for one reason or another, and most have nothing to do with the current economic crisis. Buildings are sold and the new owners want more higher-traffic establishments, or rents were raised beyond what these small ma-and-pa restaurants can afford. Whatever the case, there is a slow homogenization of the types of restaurants in Wrigleyville. Exotic ethnic restaurants are being replaced by generic pizza parlor, Americanized chinese restaurants, bars, and sandwich/hamburger joints. What made this neighborhood so unique and attractive in the first place is slowly being killed. The last of our Ethiopian restaurant has closed its doors. We went from having 3 to none in a span of just 3 years. We also lost an African restaurant last year. We have two Thai restaurants left, with one barely surviving at this point, and in an attempt to survive, had made "compromises" with its menu to appeal to the larger population.

I don't know whether there is a reason for such a trend. The eclectic mix seems to have moved out of the neighborhood and gone further north into the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, where exciting mix of restaurants are sprouting. And whether this is a coincidence or a reason for such a trend remains to be seen, but the gay population that had a major hand in revitalization of Wrigleyville has also been moving north into the Andersonville area, especially after housing and rental prices have skyrocketed to approach that of Lincoln Park.

I'm hoping our Moroccan restaurant makes it. If last night's dinner was any indication, they might just be able to do that. The restaurant was packed to the walls, and there were plenty of people waiting for tables. Of course, it was a Saturday night, and we have been there on weekday nights when they were barely 1/4 full. I really hope they make it, not just because the food is outstanding, but the neighborhood needs them to add color to the palette. It is one of the last few remnants of the vibrant diversity and cultural spectrum in the cuisine that this neighborhood used to have.

Zz.