WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

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.

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Happy 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

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(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.

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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)

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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.

Here is the link.

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:

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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.

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Green City Market, Saturday, May 15th at 11:30 a.m.; 61st Street Market, Saturday, May 22nd at 11:30 a.m.

Each button will have a number, and after the events above, she will draw 25 winning numbers and post them on www.stephanieizard.com Monday, May 24th. Each winner will be‚ invited to one of the friends and family parties date TBD with a guest.

But you, loyal reader, have a chance to score two tickets to the event simply by telling me why you should go. 

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