Video: Japadog the perfect marriage of beef, pork and kewpie mayo
Aug. 25, 2010
I had heard of these little carts in Vancouver, on busy street corners, selling all manner of hot dogs topped with Japanese mayo, chili sauce and fine shards of nori (seaweed). ‚ When I approached the cart in the late afternoon, a steady line, eight or nine-deep hadn't budged. ‚ They were here for the famously delicious - and beguiling - Japadog. ‚ A funky marriage of Hot Doug's-like sausage, Kogi BBQ-like bold toppings and Japanese-style acoutrements (boniato flakes, anyone?)
#37b John Williams' F*ck It list
Aug. 25, 2010
John Williams
Do you all know John Williams, as in the John Williams Radio Show on WGN? Those of you who are nodding yes then already know what I'm about to say: John is amaaaaaaaaaazing.
Glance at this real quick please:
He's supremely good at what he does. And to boot, he's a true gentleman. Smart, interesting, nice--that's the coveted "human character" hat trick right there, isn't it. And one more thing before we share his list; this from intern and Mission Specialist Mark Munger:
I was at one time an intern for WGN. While I was there, John Williams nearly ran me over on a daily basis. He prepped for his show with such dedication that he almost missed it...every day; and so here he'd come racing down the hall. I always thought they should fit him out with a siren. Someone with a mind like that, who can forget about everything but what he is doing, I thought, must really know what to put on a f*ck it list. I was right.
And now, John Williams' F*ck It list...
What can you get for $1? How about a historic Glenview home? (but there's a catch)
Aug. 25, 2010
In a bid to save it from demolition, a four-bedroom Glenview home built by a nephew of Chicago planner/visionary Daniel H. Burnham is on the market for $1.
Yes, there is a bit of a catch. More on that in a bit.
The 1890′s Queen Anne home at 8 Park Drive was built by Hugh Burnham, an attorney who was Glenview’s first village president (He also named the town). The home sits in the suburb’s “The Park” area–acreage bought by Burnham as a planned community for fellow members of the Swedenborgian Church of New Jerusalem (the Glenview New Church), according to a current real estate listing on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s website. Daniel Burnham was raised in the same faith.
The house is today owned by the Glenview New Church. It has woodwork, stained glass windows, turrets and more than one fireplace, according to the listing. The home’s exterior has been altered since its construction; it lost a wrap-around front porch years ago.
Vancouver can easily feed an Olympic hangover
Aug. 25, 2010
Wild salmon at C Restaurant in Vancouver (photo: Steve Dolinsky)
Its been six months since Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics, and while the rest of the world may have turned its attention elsewhere, there is still plenty to be excited about in Canada's jewel on the West Coast. The signs of post-traumatic tourist disorder are everywhere: you can snag an official Olympic hat, shirt or bag for 50% off, especially along the cheesy parts of the historic Gastown district. But for my money, I'd rather snag a table at Vikram Vij's eponymous Indian restaurant in South Granville (I still remember the lamb lollipops from a visit there five years ago).
Album review: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, "Hawk"
Aug. 25, 2010
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, "Hawk" (Vanguard) Rating: 3/4
Three albums into their mirror-universe take on the classic ’60s country-pop collaborations between Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood—here, Belle and Sebastian ork-pop veteran Isobel Campbell is the songwriter, producer, and Svengali and former Screaming Tress and Queens of the Stone Age vocalist Mark Lanegan is the gruff-voiced boy toy that she lovingly employs—there are hints that the unlikely beauty and the beast duo is running out of inspiration.
A new duet partner, the unremarkable emo-folkie Willy Mason, pops up on a few songs; Campbell handles some others in solo mode, and an uncharacteristic instrumental and covers by Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt (two of ’em!) help fill out the 13 tracks.
Yet if this is the lesser installment in their joint discography, “Hawk” still has some stellar moments, and it’s hardly a shameful way to cap the trilogy. “Come Undone” is a lovely, gently swaying pop gem that cheekily nods to James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” (Ha!
Feder's Chicago media flashback: August 1984
Aug. 25, 2010An assortment of news items (updated and annotated) from my Chicago Sun-Times columns of 26 years ago this week:
WLS-Channel 7 "Eyewitness News" team, 1984
- "After 22 years in the Chicago television news business, John Drury finally has made it to the top. And it feels good. 'I'm exhilarated. I'm absolutely exhilarated,' Drury beamed on the eve of his return to WLS-Channel 7, where he took command this week as principal anchor of the station's 5 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts. 'My heart is even beating at a different pace being over here.' " [Within a year, Drury and co-anchor Mary Ann Childers became No. 1 in the ratings, with Drury enjoying a spectacular 18-year run at the ABC-owned station until his retirement in 2002. In 2007, he died of Lou Gehrig's disease at age 80.]
A few more tasty morsels from Vancouver Island
Aug. 24, 2010
Care for some high tea at The Empress Hotel? (photo: Steve Dolinsky)
Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are considered BC's "other" wine region next to the more popular Okanagan Valley (which is a four hour drive North of Vancouver).‚ Ten years ago, there were only seven licensed wineries on the Wine Islands and today there are 35.‚
Revision Street: Aaron Karmin, Early 30s
Aug. 24, 2010Aaron Karmin is a mental health counselor, and he recently got married. “Chicago’s been good to me,” he says. “I can’t complain. I always say, I’m a Chicago ambassador I go around and I tell people, Chicago’s a fantastic city.” I don’t know him very well—he’s the brother of an acquaintance, so I start by telling him how many of the Revision Street: America interviews touch on September 11. And right away his story fascinates.
I was on the phones with people who were trying to get in touch with people in the Towers, I need you to find my cousin, my mother, my brother, my lover, my broker. Part of what I do is, I work with a counseling service, so if you work for, say, Target, you get this counseling service. Now we have JP Morgan, American Express, what have you, that were in Tower Eleven, so it wasn’t the main Twin Towers, but Tower Eleven was one of the towers that went down. So I was actually on the phone in the NBC building downtown, so it was like: When’s the other shoe gonna drop? You know, Chicago. Eventually, they let us go after they were gonna shut down the CTA. That’s where I was on September 11. Being a counselor, you get different perspectives on things.