Blogs from Illinois, United States, North America - page 5

Many cities claim to have the best hotdog. New York, of course, with Nathan's, Papaya King, Gray's, Crif, and Shaller's always claim to be the best. But my personal preference is for the Chicago dog. Why? First, the Chicago dog is all beef, with a poppy seed bun. It is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. My favorite place to get the Chicago dog is Portillo's in downtown Chicago. Hot Doug's is a distant second. Second, Chicago is my kind of town, Chicago is!!! Most people know the hot dog arrived in Chicago from Frankfurt, via Vienna. Frankfurt was known for pork sausages since the 13th century. Sometime in the 19th century, a butcher in Vienna added ... read more

So, while I am in Chicago for the Frida Kahlo exhibit, I will also see the Immersive van Gogh exhibit, and the Banksy exhibit. Just call me an "artsy fartsy" type of guy, at least once a year. But I must tell you that the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is one of my favorites (I think 3 times?). And I have seen traveling exhibits here in the states several times. Here is some information for you about this unique type of art exhibit. Created and run by the same team behind url=https://www.afar.com/magazine/atelier-des-lumieres-paris-digital-art-museum-celebrates-monet-renoir-and-chagallAtelier des Lumières in Paris (aka the digital art show featured in Netflix’s Emily in Paris), <... read more

What do any of us really know about the Mob here in Chicago? Yes, I watched Robert Stack (as Eliot Ness) in The Untouchables in the 60s, and it scared the cr*p out of me. Many stories exist, some true, some not. Yet, I think we all have a fascination about their fame and notorious crimes. The most famous mobster was none other than Al Capone. And his influence reached California, Florida, and Nevada. Unlike New York City's Five Families, Capone and the Chicago Mob was the most powerful, even though they did not have a complete monopoly on organized crime. And unlike New York’s infamous Five Families, the Chicago mob consisted of only one family, often referred to as the “Outfit.” It was organized under a variety of crews that engage in various criminal activities. ... read more

http://www.heygo.com 11th March - North Grant Park and Millennium Park Grant Park's beginnings dates back to 1835, when citizens, fearing commercial lakefront development, lobbied to protect the open space. As a result, the park's original area east of Michigan Avenue was designated "public ground forever to remain vacant of buildings." After the Great Fire of 1871, the area became a dump site for piles of charred rubble, the first of many landfill additions. In 1901, the city transferred the park to the South Park Commission, which named it for Ulysses S. Grant,18th President of the United States. Renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham envisioned Grant Park as a formal landscape with museums and civic buildings. However, construction was stalled by lawsuits to protect the park's open character. Finally, in 1911, the Illinois S... read more

Chicago was a city that I had always wanted to revisit. I went when I was 16 years old in a travel camp, but I didn't remember much from the trip. I was happy to discuss the trip with my friend Kenny and also visit Milwaukee. As the trip got closer, I had a lot going on with moving to North Carolina and starting a new job. I was able to push back the start date to the following Monday which gave me an extra day when I got home to finish packing and then drive down with my dad. I arrived at LaGuardia airport and noted how fascinating it was to see how the construction has evolved over time since my days of working at Terminal B. The TSA precheck line was decently long and ... read more