Where did I get that feeling of 'everything is permitted' in Chicago that you (or at least I) only get in the US? Perhaps it was while having a burger in Lockdown, a burger joint in the Ukranian Village where all the burger names are riffs on incarceration themes (Citizen's Arrest, Conjugal Visit, Electric Chair), where your water is served in jam jars with straws, and they had hard rock DVDs on repeat on a club-quality PA system? Or maybe at Smoke Daddy's, a barbeque place where the dude checks you're satisfied with your fine pint of IPA and phalanx of ribs not with some weak-ass "is everything OK for you?" but with the gnostic prompt "life is good?". But it was probably at Kuma's Corner, another burger place, just round the corner from Hot Doug's (which closes surprisingly early on a weekday), where all the burger's are named after metal bands. I took the Motörhead*, while my companion opted for the Neurosis with chicken**. And it's not often you can say that. They were the best burgers ever.
Chicago was great, again. I don't think you can go wrong eating or at certainly drinking-wise. We did a fair amount of other stuff too, but really most of the time we were just hanging out with various nice people, and doing everything that comes with that. Almost everywhere, it seemed, the kitchen closed when the venue closed, typically after midnight. How the hell do they manage it?
We had a great Mexican meal in Pilsen, just choosing a fairly random place called Los Alamos on 18th street, which was half supermarket and half canteen, with a whole bunch of crazy sodas. I think any neighbourhood where people drive around with national flags bigger than their car is bound to be good.
Beer-wise I got to the stage where I was just asking Krisse to just order me anything at all when she went to the bar. It's that good and varied. A Chicagoan noted that the city, and indeed the state itself, is not that prolific in beer-making these days, but there's a strong heritage of it with all the Germans and Eastern Europeans, and it's very well located near several regional strongholds of beer making – Wisconsin, Indiana etc. I won't bother mentioning huge loads of beers, but I enjoyed several fine beers made by Two Brothers brewing co, who did a really nice wheat beer (Edel Weiss) and some great pale ales. As your standard session beers (as the menu in the Wrigley Park branch of the Goose Island brew pub, which was a bit non-descript, put it), I liked Goose Island IPA and Lagunitas. I thought Rogue Dead Guy Ale, which was an appropriate choice in Lockdown, was nice. I'll make just one very special recommendation, which is Alpha King Pale Ale, which was just outstanding. Do try it if you can.
We were staying in Roscoe Village, which is half way in London comparisons between Tufnell Park and Holland Park. Basically, you had to have a dog and deck shoes to live there. It was a bit boring, but I liked hanging out in Wicker Park instead, which is stylish though admittedly pretty gentrified. The bookshops (Quimby's and Myopic) are good, and there's a good cafe called Earwax. That neighbourhood has amazing architecture. Each house is a unique project in its own right. Also in the north, we went to a pretty nice place called Longman And Eagle, which has a great range of beers and a truly outstanding range of whiskeys (mostly US-style). This is quite a serious foody place which is worth considering. Though when I was in there I enjoyed the vibe more than the food.
I was recommended to try Art Of Pizza for my first deep dish experience, but I can't get my head round people lusting after so much tomAHto paste and dried herbs. It's not unlike a cheese and tomato puree toastie, which is nice enough, but hard to get excited about. Weird.
Enjoyed the architectural boat tour again, this time seeing the Trump Tower, which is massive yet impressively elegant. We went up the John Hancock tower, where you get a quite mindboggling view. You need to buy an overpriced glass of wine or beer (don't get a cocktail, I'd say), but it's worth it. You can look hundreds and hundreds of feet down below, and see swimming pools on the top of smaller skyscrapers.
While the neighbourhoods were great, I thought the Millennium Park area was flashy and soulless. Horrendous cock-swinging architecture and it seemed really middle class – nothing wrong with that, but I didn't get the sense of it being an amenity particularly integrated with the life of real people in the city. The public transport isn't great either, is it? We had some fairly terrifying experiences crossing the road. It's a total free for all. One of the guys I met summed it up well: "if you get across the road, they won't arrest you for jaywalking. If you get hit, it's your own fault."
Coffee wise I enjoyed going to a Julius Meinl. Those Austrians have good taste in cakes.
It's a cliche, but the people are really fucking nice aren't they? Perhaps the real epiphanic moment, now I come to think of it, was when I spent ages cocking around like an idiot with my CTA travel card on the bus, and when I thanked the driver for telling me which slot to stick it in, he just said "no problem". This has never happened, to anyone, ever, in London.
* tzaziki, olives, oregano
** cheeses, caramelised onion, sauted mushrooms
www.thesmokedaddy.com/
www.lockdownbar.com/
www.kumascorner.com/
www.longmanandeagle.com/