Pratt & Sheridan, Commercial Epicenter

I'm partial to the intersection of Pratt & Sheridan, maybe because I live there. But I also feel that it's one of the brightest spots of RP. I like Jarvis Square (most of it), and Clark Street is always entertaining. Howard is a beautiful street that could be a fantastic candidate for an upgrade, but there aren't exactly tons of merchants begging to get into this area, or any other area due to the economy. Well, that and the thugs that are on the creep up there.

I have to say I really like being able to walk out the door and within a 300 foot radius I have a the new movie theater (the 400), Ropa, Armadillo's Pillow bookshop, Starbuck's, the new Ethiopean coffee shop, the Oasis (for the drunken late night), Hana, and Rice Thai. You can also grab a delicious taquito hot from the roller from 7-11 at the corner, learn some karate, buy an instrument (Flats & Sharp), or pick up a bottle of cheap vodka (Isam's).

You can't get bored at this intersection.

Giordano's on Sheridan Robbed!

I am trying to avoid reporting the negative on my blog, but this story disturbs me. I hadn't heard about this story until this morning, and I watched two newscasts on NBC last night!

Apparently the Giordano's pizza joint was robbed yesterday by two thugs wielding firearms. The worst part is that it happened at 1:30 in the afternoon! If this isn't sound evidence that the police force in Chicago needs help, I don't know what is. This is prime lunch time on one of the busier streets in the city. Sad news, scary news. These guys came in and first hit a 53 year-old employee at the register and they followed that by robbing all of the patrons in the restaurant (which were probably just a handful of Loyola students). Unbelieveable. I can't believe that they drove off in a truck and not on horses, what times are we living in.

Read about it on the Sun-Times website: http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1893287,giordanos-robbery-rogers-park-111909.article

Hana

I'm not the most adventurous diner in the world, but I like to give a place a fair shot. Luckily I have my wife to coax me a little when I need it...that is IF the joint ends up serving tasty eats.

We tried the new Hana restaurant, serving Japanese cuisine, that opened up at the corner of Pratt & Sheridan (to the north of 7-11). I like sushi from time to time, but I usually want a reputable and guaranteed fresh stock of fish; for this reason we usually end up at Kuni in Evanston.

Hana is small and cozy, and they didn't put too much effort into the decor or ambience. There is no sushi bar, so you cannot see the food prepared (which is a bummer in my mind). It's more of a mom & pop shop, and we really can't complain about the service. They offer a variety of asian-inspired dishes and maki (rolls) but no raw fish. And it's BYO. I would have to say that the maki was not bad, but not great. Try it for yourself.

Precious

Wow. This movie, if you haven't heard of it yet, is worth seeing. It's part saddening, part shocking, and part exhilarating. At least in my mind.

Before I moved to the RP or Chicago, I was not exposed to too much that is urban...but since being here 3+ years I've definitely grasped a flavor of what others are having to deal with. But only a hint, only a whiff.

This movie is emotional and moving and disturbing, and I recommend everyone that lives in Chicago to see it. It won't matter too much to those that live back in my home of Colorado, but for those of us that see some diversity and ethnicity...see it.

I walk away from this film with my jaw half-dropped. I know this stuff happens in the real world...I'm not a spring chicken...but sometimes it's good to be reminded that most of us really don't have any real complaints.

Bacon Rodeo

I'm a fan of bacon...then again, who isn't? Even vegans cannot deny their love. Not sure about the bacon bra here in the pic, but hey.

Turns out www.baconrodeo.com is a new blog based in Rogers Park. Check it out, enjoy the bacon.

Not now!

Sun
71°F | 55°F


I was thinking this morning that I need to get back on the blog. I've been super busy this past week and I haven't had time to write about the excitement that is the RP.

But...it isn't happening today. Middle of November and it's sunny in Chicago with a high of 70 today. The blog can wait!

Loyola 'Green Space'

I guess I don't understand the thoughts behind Loyola's provision of 'green space' at Sheridan & Albion where the old buildings were knocked down a few weeks ago. Originally, the area was to be made a garden for use by the university -- but due to the El and Sheridan traffic the conditions were not ideal. SO...they have decided to transform the lot into green space, but what I see isn't exactly fitting the definition in my mind.

Lining the sidewalk adjacent to heavily trafficked Sheridan and Albion are 10' evergreens with little or no space provided from the branches of one tree to the next. The trees extend the length and width of the exposed sides of the lot. To me, and from what I've learned, green space is specifically dedicated space to reduce sprawl or population density and to provide a place where people can go to enjoy the open space. This wall of trees may be green, but there may as well be a fence up. Paint the fence green, call it green architecture. I think Loyola has missed the point and instead come up with the cheapest solution possible while the lot is in limbo. Lame.

Market Dazed

Did anyone make it to Market Dazed today? I was going to drop a new post about it this past week, but life has been crazy.

I guess this was a promotion for a Rogers Park farmers market in 2010. I definitely can't complain about that, and I wish we had been able to head out to support the effort. Unfortunately, I was replacing window screens today due to my hungry squirrel friends that wanted badly to get into my condo. We usually hit up the Evanston FM, but it would be great to have another right down the street. I'll be interested to know how the promotion went today.

Don't Feed the Squirrel, Dummy!

This is my buddy, Pigpen. I named her that because she reminds me of the Peanuts character -- although she is female, she is kind of brown and dirty and totes around a little cloud of filth with her. But she is cute, and I have been stupid enough to feed her. I know, I know...they are just rats with fuzzy tails, but I like them. She is very comfortable with me, she follows me all over the courtyard. And lately she has even come into the condo, looking for even more peanuts. She comes in through the patio door, or if that's not available, she chews holes in the screens. She has chewed holes in 5 of the 6 screens I have that face the interior courtyard of my building. Oops.

Now the condo association is calling pest control, and it's my fault. Now someone is going to catch my buddy and that will be the end of her. So learn it from me, don't befriend the squirrels.

Sheridan & Albion

The picture isn't great, but it looks like they are moving forward with landscaping the area where the buildings came down at Sheridan & Albion. This picture was taken from the El platform on a rainy day with a cell phone camera, but they are dropping in evergreens with the bobcat. At least it will be green space and not another dollar store or cell phone shop.

Here's Alderman Joe Moore's letter regarding the location:

Dear Neighbor,

As you may recall, I sent you an e-mail last week regarding a community meeting I am hosting to review Loyola University's plans for the property located at 6572-90 N. Sheridan Road (southwest corner of Sheridan and Albion). The University informed me that they planned to demolish the two buildings on the corner and replace them with landscaping and a raised-bed urban educational garden for Loyola's Center for Environmental Research and Policy.

Yesterday, I was informed by Loyola that upon further review, the University determined that the southwest corner of Albion and Sheridan would not be a suitable site for the garden. According to Loyola, the soil condition is bad, and the air quality, constant traffic, winter salt and temporary nature of the site make it a poor location for the garden. Loyola has assured me they will find another university-owned location in the 49th Ward where the garden laboratory will be located in the spring.

According to Loyola, even though the garden will not be located on the site, the two buildings on the corner must still be demolished due to code compliance issues and the prohibitive cost of maintaining the buildings until a new developer can be identified for the site.

Loyola has assured me they will landscape the property with the same type of landscaping as found on the northeast corner of Sheridan and Albion (the former site of the Sheridan-Albion Auto Clinic). Loyola also assures me that the property will be maintained as greenspace, and not as a parking lot. In fact, Loyola informs me that they plan to dig up the existing Loyola parking lot that sits between the rear of the property and the el tracks, and maintain that as greenspace, as well. For security reasons, Loyola will surround the entire property with a wrought iron fence.

As I indicated in my previous e-mail, Loyola can demolish the buildings as a matter of right and needs no special permission from the alderman. Nonetheless, Loyola officials have agreed to my request to attend a public meeting to share with the community their landscaping plans for the property and respond to questions and concerns about the plan.

The meeting is still scheduled to take place tomorrow (Wednesday, September 23rd) 7:00 p.m., at Loyola University's Crown Center Auditorium, 1001 W. Loyola (at the Lake).

Once again, I urge you to attend the meeting to express your views on the proposal. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please feel free to share your views with me by replying to this e-mail or calling my office at 773-338-5796, and I will pass your comments on to the appropriate officials at Loyola.

Sincerely,

Joe Moore

Beast of the Lake

Being from the land-locked state that is Colorado, I'm not well-versed in all that is aquatic. I was on the beach the other day for a jog, and I ran past this disgusting creature. This guy was about 18" long, and has sharp TEETH. I didn't know that fish had teeth, other than piranhas and some other specialty acts.

I think I'll reconsider swimming in the drink from now on, unless I feel like having my leg sawed off by the demons in Lake Michigan.

That was fast!

Did anyone notice the quick work that they made of the demolition of the old pre-war buildings on Sheridan & Albion. Damn! When I walked by this morning, they were still working on bringing the facade down. When I walked by the afternoon, all the bricks and miscellaneous demo rubble was gone, and the ground looked nice and well-graded...looked good enough to plant a pumpkin patch on.

Pooch Pride

News is slim in the RP right now. That or I'm just lazy. I decided to do a general google search on Rogers Park and found that it has its on Facebook page. Not very exciting.

I did find news about an upcoming event that has no relevance to me, but interesting nonetheless. Never heard of a Pooch 'Pride' Parade. Uhhh....GO PUGS? :)

Pooch Pride Parade:

Rogers Park Business Alliance, in partnership with The Glenwood Bar presents Pooch Pride Parade Saturday, October 24th at 1 p.m. Festivities will take place on Glenwood Avenue between Morse Avenue and Lunt Avenue.

The event, hosted by Miss Sophia Sapphire, will include contests for dogs in the following categories:

Seeing double (Dog that looks most like its owner)
Best overall costume
Most original costume
Best stupid dog trick
Largest dog
Smallest dog

Celebrity judges including Billy R, Oprah’s dog groomer; and Anthony Mesok, owner of Bark Place in Rogers Park will choose the winner in each category.

The Pumping Company

After the food crawl last week, we had a short list of new places to check out...one of them being The Pumping Company, located on Broadway just south of Granville in neighboring Edgewater. This is a good sports bar with tons of TV's, a good menu, and decent service. We decided to sample the world of the chicken wing that they offered. While we watched the Bears put together another win, we had five different kinds of wings. They have a dozen or so flavors, but I would recommend the ranch or the lemon pepper for something a little different.

Recap on the Dinner Crawl

Now don't get me wrong, I love wings as much as the next guy...but last night's dinner crawl was way too WING HEAVY! There must have been five or more places that offered wings. Add wings on top of pizza, cheesy garlic bread, ribs, and tirimisu and you have the beginnings of a great new diet. All and all, though, it was a really fun time and it was good to get out there and be a part of it. I am a bit confused because there seemed to be two separate dinner crawls going on last night: one that combined Rogers Park and Edgewater and the other was strictly Edgewater (that offered more choices specific to Edgewater). The cool thing was that everything was situated up and down Broadway/Sheridan, and restaurants that were located far off the beaten path were represented at the Morgan. There were trolleys and rickshaws that you could jump on if you didn't feel like walking (but it was a nice night, and we felt like walking). I have to say that Edgewater was much more in to the festivities, with balloons and live music and generally much more interest. Poor RP.

The dinner crawl in the spring wasn't as well organized and thought out -- everything was spread out and the time of year it was picked for wasn't great (it was cold!), but the diversity in food choices was better. But I have good things to say about most places. We were bummed that Taste of Peru and African Harambee had already run out of food by the time we arrived, and it was only 7:15! And Hamilton's wasn't too impressive, they shoved all of the food crawlers into the back room to eat cold (you guessed it) chicken wings. Here are my winners:

- Best Overall Experience: Ropa. Ropa offered calamari, caesar salad, pasta, tirimisu, and samples of wines. The food was good, but the presentation blew everyone out of the water.
- Best Chicken Wing: Pumphouse. I really liked the lemon pepper wing, that was a new one for me. And I hadn't been inside the Pumphouse...I can say I'm excited to watch a football game there.
- Best Specialty Item: Bananas Foster. They offered some kind of parfait or fruity dessert with whipped cream. It was delicious. The restaurant looked nicer than I thought, with a nice outdoor patio outside and white tablecloth inside.
- Best Surprise: Thai Grille. The pad thai was ok (served kind of cold) and the mini-dumplings were great...but I'm most excited about the ambiance of the restaurant. Better than a typical thai restaurant, but not too formal or dressed out like Indie Cafe.