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You can smell the hickory smoke from this place a block away, which is pure torment when you're hungry. The tiny interior is covered with pictures of politicians and celebrities who have visited the...
You can smell the hickory smoke from this place a block away, which is pure torment when you're hungry. The tiny interior is covered with pictures of politicians and celebrities who have visited the place. In the summer, there are a couple picnic tables outside, but otherwise it's carry-out only.
I usually order a bronco burger and fries with sauce. The bronco burger is closer in quality to a fastfood place than to, say, Goose Island; but it's cheap, easy to eat on the run, and I really just came for the fries (the ribs and chicken are both good, but I tend to go there for food to walk with or eat in the park, and ribs and chicken are just too complicated.) When you get the fries, get them with sauce. They'll come double bagged in paper lined with plastic, steaming and gushing with barbeque sauce. You eat them with a fork. At the top, they are tangy with a little heat that isn't quite like other spicy things. By the bottom, they're swimming in sauce, your mouth is flipping out with the joy of it all, and the icy hand of death is twisting your arteries into little bow ties.
Man, I just made myself really freaking hungry.
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This place makes a mean sandwich and, even though it's in the heart of the loop, it won't hurt your wallet. My friend Aviva shows up at my house sometimes with a present for me. It's always a...
This place makes a mean sandwich and, even though it's in the heart of the loop, it won't hurt your wallet. My friend Aviva shows up at my house sometimes with a present for me. It's always a sandwich from Fontano's.
The one time I was in the store itself, the people behind the counter were yelling at each other amiably, and the woman who seemed to be in charge brewed us a fresh pot of coffee so we could sit and wait for our friend. She didn't charge us for the coffee and didn't have a problem with us sitting there for 20 minutes. My sub was delicious.
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This is a dimly lit and macabrely decorated bar with rotating musical themes and good drink specials. I was pleased that I could pretty much choose how much to pay for a drink, because they had...
This is a dimly lit and macabrely decorated bar with rotating musical themes and good drink specials. I was pleased that I could pretty much choose how much to pay for a drink, because they had cheap things for cheap, all the way up to expensive, nicer stuff. For some reason, this is really rare. We had a long conversation with our bartender, who rocked. There was a framed picture of Laura Palmer up behind the bar.
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I wasn't going to write a review of the Checkerboard, because I haven't been to the new location, and so it seemed sketchy to write a review. Last night I walked past there, though, and it made me...
I wasn't going to write a review of the Checkerboard, because I haven't been to the new location, and so it seemed sketchy to write a review. Last night I walked past there, though, and it made me very sad.
From 50 yards away, I could hear rocking blues coming from the place. Some guy was tearing it up on the guitar, for a minute I thought it was Buddy Guy, and so I walked closer. A man started singing, and he was great, too.
Unfortunately, the new location:
1) looks like a fast food joint
2) is in a strip mall
3) is in @#% Hyde Park, whereas Bronzeville just gets little saxophone guys strapped to their lamp posts that say "Home of the Blues" or some tripe like that
It also appeared to be pretty empty, although I didn't get a good look inside.
My friends went to the new Checkerboard shortly after it opened to see Koko Taylor. She never showed up, possibly knowingly dissing the new spot. My friends had a couple overpriced drinks, complained that the act they came to see (and paid a cover) never showed, and were met with resounding indifference.
So, yeah. If anybody has anything good to say about the new Checkerboard, I'd like to hear it. Until then, I regard it as a brutal stroke in the House-of-Blues-ification of blues in Chicago.
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Seven Ten doesn't provoke strong feelings one way or another for me, so I'll do this as a straight-up pro and con type post. First the cons, because it's more kind to do it that way:
> Pool is...
Seven Ten doesn't provoke strong feelings one way or another for me, so I'll do this as a straight-up pro and con type post. First the cons, because it's more kind to do it that way:
> Pool is expensive
> Drinks are moderately expensive
> The service is highly variable, from excellent all the way down to terrible
> It has a vaguely soulless feel to it
And now the pros:
> The pool tables are beautifully felted and the cues are well maintained
> They have Ms. Pacman
> An order of fries is way too big to be finished by a mere mortal
> When the Cubs were in the playoffs and other Hyde Park bars were full of 'fans' in brand-spanking-new Cubs gear, Seven Ten (at the time called Lucky Strike) was still a White Sox bar. When the Cubs lost, I was involved in a group hug with the rest of the people playing pool, even though I didn't know any of them.
So, on balance, this place is pretty cool, though somewhat expensive and somewhat soulless.
By the way, it's a bowling alley.
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I hope this place opens again soon, because it's one of my favorite places for breakfast. Good, cheap food; and nice, attentive staff; occasional live music; what could be better? Fried chicken on...
I hope this place opens again soon, because it's one of my favorite places for breakfast. Good, cheap food; and nice, attentive staff; occasional live music; what could be better? Fried chicken on waffles covered in gravy, maybe? They've got that, too.
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Whirly Ball
Category:
Foundations, Clubs, Associations, Etc
1880 W Fullerton Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60614
(773) 486-7777
Imagine riding around in bumper cars with bizarre steering mechanism, ramming your friends, and trying to get them to drop a wiffle ball so you can grab it with you lacrosse stick and try to...
Imagine riding around in bumper cars with bizarre steering mechanism, ramming your friends, and trying to get them to drop a wiffle ball so you can grab it with you lacrosse stick and try to manuever to the other end of a basketball court to score a goal, while you opponents are trying to crash into you so hard that your glasses fly off of your face.
Pure fantasy?
Not so. Whirly Ball is incredibly fun. It also happens at a bar. I was too broke to buy drinks when I went to play Whirley Ball. The bar seemed to be a sports bar type place, with video games, and drinks that are either a little too expensive or a little too small.
When I went, a year ago, Whirly Ball cost $10 per person for 20 minutes, which sounds like a lot. I found 20 minutes very gratifying, though, and when you compare the prices to laser tag, or Battle Tech, or something like that, it's fairly reasonable.
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This is my favorite place for beer in Chicago. They have a fantastic selection of imports, and domestic microbrews. They have tons of Belgian beers on tap, for reasonable (i.e., moderately expensive...
This is my favorite place for beer in Chicago. They have a fantastic selection of imports, and domestic microbrews. They have tons of Belgian beers on tap, for reasonable (i.e., moderately expensive compared to normal beers) prices. On Mondays, they have a $1 off Belgians special, which makes the prices very good. They have a knowledgeable staff and the clientele is a nice mix of people. It can get crowded, but I've always been able to find a place to sit. Sometimes there's free food.
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How times have changed in Wicker Park...
This bar is lit with infernal red lighting. It's noisy and crowded with people who are out to look good and pay too much for crappy drinks and poor...
How times have changed in Wicker Park...
This bar is lit with infernal red lighting. It's noisy and crowded with people who are out to look good and pay too much for crappy drinks and poor service. Our waitress didn't think they had any whiskey, because she clearly didn't know what whiskey was. She did have a short skirt, though. Since we could see the bottle of Jameson at the bar, we asked for that. She said she didn't think they had it. We said we could see it, and pointed. She said "Oh, you mean Jame-O?" We said "We'll have the Jameson, please."
This is the type of place where people go to have stupid combinations of sweet things mixed into shooters so that they can get loaded without having to taste alcohol. The drinks are served in carefully crafted mason jar mugs, presumably to justify the name of the establishment. Just thinking about this place makes me mildly annoyed.
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This place has the kind of menu that's so extensive it makes your head hurt. They also serve cocktails. The food is perfectly sufficient, but the prices are higher than they ought to be. I've...
This place has the kind of menu that's so extensive it makes your head hurt. They also serve cocktails. The food is perfectly sufficient, but the prices are higher than they ought to be. I've definitely waited half an hour without so much as laying eyes on my waiter. This place certainly isn't terrible, but there's better stuff close by.
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