41 extremely clever poems, haikus and limericks later, Stephanie Izard picks the winner of two tickets to her friends and family dinner before opening her "Girl & The Goat" restaurant. Well, actually, there might be two winners here. See the video for the details.
Fox Chicago cuts another award-winning storyteller
May. 17, 2010
Lilia Chacon was on her way to New York Sunday to pick up a Peabody Award -- one of the highest honors in all of broadcasting -- when I called her to confirm the news that she'd been fired as a general assignment reporter at WFLD-Channel 32. It was one of those little ironies you couldn't make up.
Chacon was part of the team cited for its nationally recognized coverage of the beating death last fall of Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old Fenger High School honor student. But after 21 years at the‚ Fox-owned station, Chacon won't be on the team much longer.
On Friday she was told that her position was being eliminated and that her contract would not be renewed when it expires July 3. She's the latest in a growing list of on-air veterans who've been purged from Fox Chicago News in recent months, including Jack Conaty, Lauren Cohn, Byron Harlan, Nancy Loo and David Viggiano. Close to two dozen technical staffers also are slated for unemployment in the coming weeks.
Friday Foodie Forecast: Chicago spice, farm dinners and the terrace returns
May. 14, 2010
photo by cafemama
Great food is about more than just what's on the plate. It engages all of our senses: wonderful aromas, beautiful colors, fantastic textures. Upcoming events around Chicago turn up the heat with a focus on dynamic spices and the colorful scenery that surrounds and inspires our meals.
Rioja Restaurant Week
Bold and vibrant wines are in the spotlight during Rioja Restaurant Week, May 13-27. Each of the more than 30 participating restaurants will offer a $25 lunch menu and $35 dinner menu, accompanied by a glass of Rioja wine.
Frisbee Friday
May. 14, 2010Happy Frisbee Friday.
Thanks to all of you who took part in this week's first ever Blog-a-thon mission. The song "With a Little Help from my Friends" comes to mind... and so I toss this incredible rendition your way (by the wunderkind Nikki Yanofsky...12-years-old here, now 16 with her first album out).
Very much looking forward to our missions ahead together...
yours,
amy
A bit of Buck Rogers in the 21st & 1/10th century
May. 14, 2010
(photo by Lee Bey)
I was on the top floor of the parking structure behind the Best Buy on Roosevelt Road a couple of weeks ago when I caught his view of‚ the 62-story One Museum Park and its little brother, the 54 story One Museum Park West.
Compressed by my western vantage point (and with the help of a monstrous 500mm camera lens I was using), the two towers don't look at all like Chicago--or even of this time, quite. Standing together they could be excerpts from a futuristic skyline imagined by designer Norman Bel Geddes back in the 1930s. Yet, it is the very recent work of Chicago architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes Ltd. The buildings stand at Roosevelt and Indiana om the northern edge of the Central Station development.
Soul and then more Seoul: Collard greens & kalbi
May. 14, 2010
Fried chicken plate from Dee's Place (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
You'd be forgiven for thinking you've got the wrong address after you read about Dee's Place and then have to actually drive there. The latest Southern/soul food restaurant (one of the only, actually) on the North Side could easily be mistaken for a South Side juke joint. The narrow space on West Division in Wicker Park is an anomaly of sorts. Giant pictures from the 1950s hang on one wall (compliments of the Chicago Blues Museum) and old ads for music acts at the Regal Theater hang haphazardly on another. The vibe is part-Harlem Renaissance, part 70s R & B and part Soul Train. The food, however, is straight-forward Southern cooking, with a hint of cajun thrown in for good measure. The latter is evidenced in the generous bowl of red beans and rice, which arrive sporting a special guest: a ham hock the size of my fist. Collards are tender and smoky, thanks to turkey bones mixed into the giant pot during the cooking process, and the fried chicken and catfish are as good as anywhere South of 47th Street. You'll want to check out the video today after 11:30 a.m. if for nothing else than to see yours truly belting out "The Hungry Hound Blues."
Fried chicken plate from Dee's Place (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
WGN program boss: 'It's possible to screw things up'
May. 14, 2010
Kevin Metheny
Well, it's nice to know there's at least one thing the notorious program director of WGN-AM (720) and his critics can agree on: He very well may be screwing things up at the Tribune Co.-owned news/talk station.
Kevin "Pig Virus" Metheny, the man who's been at the center of the controversial (and, in some cases, inexplicable) changes at WGN for the past 18 months, acknowledged that his efforts could result in damaging what he called "the crown jewel of American broadcasting." Metheny's comments came during a lengthy interview posted Thursday with media blogger Margaret Larkin, a production staffer at WGN who hosts a series of "Radiogirl" podcasts.
Paraphrasing Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels, Metheny compared WGN to a fading dowager, telling Larkin: "Probably the best thing you can do for a grand old lady of AM [radio] is to buy her a new pair of shoes and take her out dancing." Of his mission at WGN, Metheny said:
'Britain's Walmart' looks to build its own towns. Could Walmart do it here? Should it?
May. 13, 2010
You have to wonder will Walmart one day use its billions and tremendous procurement power to do two things that would help stop it from getting border-checked when it comes seeking to build a new store: Either build the town itself, then put in the Walmart, or create a package with so many true public amenities that a city like Chicago--or anywhere---would have a hard time saying no.
Imagine that: a town or a city neighborhood predominantly financed, planned and built by Walmart.