Best Rib Tips in Chicago Moves to Armitage
I don't go very often but the best place for rib tips in Chicago, Calvin's BBQ (formerly Smokin' Woody's) is moving from near Lincoln Square to Armitage just west of Western.
Lifestyle
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Sun, 05/18/2008 - 9:28am.
Moving: Packing Up
Yes, it's that time again: I'm moving to a new apartment. Here I'm doing some prep work.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Sun, 04/06/2008 - 6:31pm.
The Moment
I don't watch television very often. In fact, I watch it so infrequently that I keep the set hidden away in a closet for most of the year. It only comes out at times of national disaster or an election. In this case, it was the latter -- happily -- as I wheeled the thing out to catch Barack Obama's speech in Iowa with the memorable words, "This was the moment when it all began".
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Fri, 01/04/2008 - 1:16am.
Holiday Dinner
End of year get-together. It was nice to see everyone. Alas, being the cook, I was cooped up in the kitchen for way too much of it. Next year, I'm ordering out!
P.S. Managed to do all the dishes within 24 hours of the event. Yes, I know, a miracle.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Wed, 12/26/2007 - 10:17pm.
Somebody Please Tell Berwyn ...
They're not at the "center" of life in Chicago. You'd have to dig the whole place up and move it 10 miles to the east -- and even then people might have doubts. More on this desperate campaign here...
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Thu, 08/16/2007 - 3:42pm.
July 4th BBQ
Living the High Life at the Lake in Lincoln Park -- with relatives and old friends from both coasts in for the occasion. A perfect day.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Wed, 07/04/2007 - 12:21pm.
Daddy Was a DJ to the Germans in WWII
Family History note: my father, William L. Klein, had a very popular German-language radio show in Chicago called the "Germania Broadcast". He had been doing it in one form or another since the 1930's and it consisted mainly of music with the occasional skit, etc.
Anyway, once WWII came along, he shifted gears, going to London and doing essentially for the Allies what he had been doing so well in Chicago -- namely producing German-language radio shows -- only now beamed into the homes and barracks of enemy Germany.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Sat, 06/09/2007 - 3:42pm.
Berlin 1987: Summer of Hönkel
With all the talk of anniversaries, I thought I'd mention the "Summer of Hönkel" which happened in West Berlin twenty years ago.
It was a hectic period of cultural ferment and turmoil. "Hönkel" -- which I think was a beer -- was supposed to represent this vast chaotic mix.
I was reminded of it most recently by this picture in Flickr. The picture is of a supermarket that went up in flames in the course of a riot on May 1 1987. My house was across the street from the supermarket.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Sun, 06/03/2007 - 12:38pm.
Diversey Harbor
I had lunch at my house with a couple of old friends. Afterwards we went out to Diversey Harbor. It truly was a beautify spring day.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Mon, 05/28/2007 - 12:39am.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Not in Illinois)
Mayor Daley has famously said that the law banning fois gras in Chicago is the "silliest ordinance that was ever passed".
I kind of look at the recent vote by the Illinois State Senate banning horse slaughter in the same light.
The head of the Illinois Department of Agriculture says horse slaughter "is inhumane because our society considers horses to be companion animals or pets".
That's one perspective.
My approach comes from the years I spent in Paris when they served it on a regular basis in the student university restaurants. I was short of money and this meal would literally be my only one of the day. Sometimes they'd serve something really gross like rognons, tripes or cerveaux fouettés which I was unable to eat no matter how hungry I was.
So you can imagine my relief when they'd have something like cheval which kind of resembled boeuf in color if not completely in texture. The truth is, I ate it with relish.
I haven't had the dish since then but it doesn't strike me as the end of Western Civilization to contemplate it being produced here and sent out to the four corners of the world. At least we've got something we can still export.
