WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

(photo by Lee Bey)

Mr. Pee's Hand Car Wash on south Racine avenue is no longer in business. And with a name like that, we are hardly surprised.

I found the strangely-named establishment a couple of years ago. It's part of a collection of pics I've taken of odd signs, wonders and assorted goings-on--things I've stumbled upon while heading someplace. The pics are more snapshots than photographs and are all taken at the spur of the moment. But to me they show Chicago, for all its toughness, can be a very funny city. Even if it is unintentional. Here are my faves:

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Not since the marketing blitz that preceded the lame Jay Leno Show have I been bombarded with as many messages touting the launch of Stone beer in Chicago. The San Diego-based brewery has been putting on special events, beer dinners and tastings for the past few days, part of this week's Craft Brewer's Conference. I spoke with Stone's C.E.O. and Co-Founder, Greg Koch, about the launch of his brand here, and he previewed beer dinners going on tonight and tomorrow.

Stone Brewing

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Robservations on the media beat:

• I still remember sitting across from Joel Hollander, the arrogant and inept chairman and CEO of Infinity Broadcasting, as he tried to explain why oldies radio was dead in Chicago. The format had been drawing a solid audience of more than 722,000 listeners a week, but Hollander insisted that it wasn't profitable enough. "Only time will tell if we're right about it," he told me in June 2005 --  just after pulling the plug on oldies at WJMK-FM (104.3) in favor of the bland, soulless automation of "Jack FM." Among the casualties was radio legend Dick Biondi, who wasn't even allowed to say goodbye to his fans after 21 years on the station he'd helped launch.‚ Now, nearly five years later, one of Chicago media's biggest success stories is --  you guessed it --  the oldies format on WLS-FM (94.7). Singling out the Citadel Broadcasting station for achieving the largest major-market turnaround in the country, Inside Radio this week reported: "The 'True Oldies' outlet increased its revenue by a staggering 86 percent last year, from $6.5 million in 2008 to $12.1 million." In the latest Arbitron Portable People Meter ratings, the station ranks No. 5 in the market overall with a 4.4 percent audience share. It's especially gratifying to note that the evening star of WLS-FM is none other than Dick Biondi. As for the unapologetic Hollander, he was finally was forced out of Infinity Broadcasting (which was renamed CBS Radio) in 2007.

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Kosher chicken and turkey shawarma from Manghal (photo by Steve Dolinsky)

For the past couple of years, whenever I would have to take kosher friends out to dinner, we would naturally visit Taboun, which now has two locations - in Rogers Park as well as in Skokie, just off of the Edens. Kosher restaurants tend to be dairy-only, but Taboun always has excellent shawarma and steak on their menu, making it one of the best kosher meat options in the area. ‚ But a few weeks ago, I got an email from a viewer who told me about this new place called Manghal, up on Howard Street, right on the Southern cusp of Evanston. The name means "grill" in four languages, so kebabs are a given. I checked it out a few weeks ago, and was immediately struck by the fact they use both turkey and chicken in the shawarma, and only dark meat at that. It's juicy, it's tender and it achieves a nice little crisp edge from the vertical broiler.

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If you didn't already know, Vocalo blogger Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a very accomplished author. She has written several children's books and has seen great success. At one point, her book was featured in a Banana Republic billboard (mom reading it while wearing stylish pants). But this one may take the cake. Amy's book "Duck! Rabbit!" was read this past weekend at the White House during their Easter "Egg Roll" festivities. Who was it read by? Well, it was read to kids by Yo! Gabba Gabba! star DJ Lance. Come on. This is truly remarkable.

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Time for Elevating Music on this rainy Wednesday. This one's a keeper:

Thanks (yet again) to Lisa Coughlin for reminding me about this gem of a song; seems she's not quite out of the Guest Blogging mode yet (lucky for us all).

rock on,

amy

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(photo by Lee Bey)

The new 82-story Aqua Tower, designed by architect Jeanne Gang of Studio/Gang Architects.

(photo by Lee Bey)

I can hear you. "Sure, it's a cool building, Lee. But aren't you a little late to the party? Everybody and their mama has written about Aqua." Well, that's true. And here's a Q&A I did with Gang more‚ than two years ago on Aqua, 225 N. Columbus, for my old Urban Observer blog while the tower was still under construction.

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