Jamie layers preppy basics with a thrifted cardigan and khaki shorts, and Oxfords by Urban Outfitters. Her update on classic staples is perfect for the unpredictable Chicago spring.
Posted in street style, the loop, wearing
Tagged chicago, shopping, street style, the loop, thrifting, urban, wearing
Chicago Turkish Festival, Daley Plaza - Chicago, IL
There are a few days left to explore the 9th annual Chicago Turkish Festival at Daley Plaza. Stop by this FREE fest through May 25 to indulge in Turkish cuisine, music, dance, and handcrafts. Sip a Turkish coffee in the plaza and enjoy the arts of Istanbul without leaving the Windy City.
Posted in arts, events, performing, shopping, street scene, the loop
Tagged chicago turkish festival, daley plaza, eating, events, performing, shopping, the loop, turkish coffee
I’m a fool for a catchy jam, and lately I’ve been found two-stepping on the sidewalk and bopping in my cubicle to Matt Pond PA’s new Spring Fools EP… The irresistibly up-tempo “Love to Get Used” kicks off the record with bright indie pop and candid wordplay…let the lead track put some spring in your step.
Read the rest of my review at Indieball.com.
For Further Exploration:
33 Women Music Critics You Need to Read – I’m taking notes
Posted in listening, music notes
Tagged indie pop, indieball, listening, matt pond pa, music notes, songwriter, spring
Chicago is a drinking town. And why not? It’s an essential companion to pizza, long winters, and every sporting event. The special symbiosis between Chicago and its beers will be celebrated later this week with the kickoff of Chicago Craft Beer Week.
The second annual Chicago Craft Beer week runs May 19 – 27. Organized by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, Craft Beer Week toasts the craft beer culture of Chicago, including its breweries, vendors, and fine ale establishments.
Over 60 venues will host tastings, dinners, brewery tours, discussions, and special draft lineups. To navigate the multi-day, multi-draft event, purchase a $10 passport at a participating bar or restaurant. While a passport isn’t required to participate in most events, they do allow access to 14 restricted events as well as the chance to win Craft Beer Week swag and the chance to be a guest brewer at one of Chicago’s breweries. Craft Beer Week apps are also available for iPhone and Droid users.
I get thirsty just looking at the events list; and while I’m not sure where my stumbling will lead in the quest to soak in as much locally brewed goodness as possible, I will be on-hand for the Beer Under A Glass kickoff event at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The nerd in me is yearning to join the Chicago History Museum on one of their History Pub Crawls or trolley tours. I’ll need to step up my mid-week drinking game (summer is coming after all), and you should too because there are well-crafted pints waiting for you. Cheers Chicago!
For Further Exploration:
my four favorite things: haymarket pub & brewery
What’s on tap to love at the West Loop’s Haymarket Pub & Brewery?
Succulent Suds
The lauded Pete Crowley, a Rock Bottom Brewery veteran, is at the helm of the deliciousness going on in Haymarket’s brewery. We sample the bright and hoppy Speakerswagon Pilsner, the darker Mother Jones Trappist-style Dubbel, offering hints of nut and raisin, and the citrusy IPA cum Hunter S. Thompson homage, Fear. If mere exposure translated to expertise, I’d claim connoisseur. Instead, I offer my inexpert imbibing opinion – it’s really, really good. The Thompson companion beverage, Loathing, is due out soon, though I’m certain that won’t be my response when I return to try it along with the ten or so other home brews. Haymarket’s drafts are brewed on premises, behind glass so you can watch the magic unfold just as fast as you can drink it in.
Pizza Anarchy
“I can never go back to regular pizza,” my companion admits. “There are just too many incredible options in Chicago with unique toppings.” Enter pulled pork. The Riot is the pizza version of Haymarket’s signature sandwich. The spicy Italian sausage and giardinera balanced with mozzarella and the epiphany of pulled pork glazed with sweet BBQ is full of heat and flavor. Admittedly, we haven’t expanded our sampling of the menu, which includes house-cured bacon, but with a Riot like this on our hands we don’t have to.
Drinking & Writing Theater
While the pub’s front room is more West Loop formal, the rear room houses Haymarket’s “Drinking & Writing Theater.” Heaven, is that you? Imagine my excitement! I know I needn’t explain the symbiotic marriage of the activities to you, sympathetic readers; however, I can’t imagine Charles Bukowski lounging within its sleek wood-lined walls, although his poster hangs here. Freshly freed office workers and the casually cool hang in the gorgeous and maybe too-clean space. Despite the disappointment of one half-hearted bookshelf, the room serves its purpose well as I manage to get some writing done before the arrival of my friend, and definitely while drinking.
“Exploring the Connection between Creativity and Alcohol“
This is the mission statement of, Drinking and Writing, the performance troupe behind the aforementioned theater. Pestering my waitress, I learn that the rear room of the brew pub is indeed a space for events and performances geared toward inspiration and inebriation. The group also performs on stage, hosts a radio program, and an annual festival, which I regrettably missed on May 7. I learn, “They have performed with the Neo-Futurists for years, and some of them are brewers here.” A toast to my potential new best friends!
Haymarket Pub & Brewery
737 W. Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60661
Posted in 4 favorite things, chicago, drinking, eating, performing, west loop, writing
Tagged belgian, chicago, craft brew, drinking, eating, four faorite things, haymarket, IPA, performing, pizza, pork, west loop, writing
I’ve heard tell of a magical place; a country of beer, cheese, and flannel plaid. So enamored are its natives, they evangelize the land in ecstatic whispers, eyes alight, “Wisconsinn.”
After months of cement seas, my insides thrill at the verdant stretches rolling past the window upon entry into the kingdom of the badger. It’s so green! Under my thrifted men’s woolen sweater, I’m craving the crisp renewal of spring, outside and in, and have come to find it away from the city.
An impudent move it would be, embarking guideless into this territory. Luckily, my companion is one of its fervent missionaries, as evidenced in her nervous twitching and delight upon crossing the state line. We are not headed completely off the grid, and the trip is scarcely over an hour. Exiting the highway, we pass a boutique hotel in the former Playboy Club as signs stretch upward calling out “CHEESE” and “BRATS.”
A local market offers all the necessary goods our short stay. Plump mushrooms by the bushel, bread, spinach, pasta, and naturally, myriad varieties of cheese – everything fresh. Too brisk still to sit outside, I curl up on a yellow couch watching the lake waves wash the shore as the words of my book do my brain while I read read read. “To town,” we exclaim come lunchtime. The quaint ville’s streets will crowd with luxury cars and Polo attired summerers in a few months, but for now it’s all ours.
I sip a delicious local brew (New Glarus) to a do0- wop soundtrack, my glass sticking a little to the plastic checkered tablecloth. The shoreline promenade is empty, but we’re filling up on crispy fries and pulled pork that is ‘cued on the premises. Exhaling all my weary city ennui, I gleefully digest the mermaid-laden kitch of the themed eatery.
Lulled by the waning daylight, the afternoon is napped away in ultimate indulgence. A waterside hike, a homemade dinner of our market spoils, not too much wine, and we are on our way. My first Wisconsin sojourn is too brief, but satisfying. It’s still chilly outside, but by the time the skyline grins at us I feel like spring. Realizing Wisconsin’s woods, hills, lakes, and green fields remind me of home, I feel close and distant at the same time. Perhaps this lovely land is not so foreign after all.
