Lots of red-state tweeters telling me that Chicago is a sh*thole & who would ever want to live here, etc.
Look: it has real, perhaps intractable problems. But come see the skyline, visit in the winter when's it's cold and snowy and breezy, or in summer when you walk the river.
Look: it has real, perhaps intractable problems. But come see the skyline, visit in the winter when's it's cold and snowy and breezy, or in summer when you walk the river.
As I said earlier, I could dictate a litany of curses abt Chicago (& IL state) gov't, and they'd all be true. But it's a beautiful city, heartbreakingly beautiful. Our skyline, these buildings: this is America. This is our grandest, grander than NYC.
Also, Chicago dogs are great
Also, Chicago dogs are great
No seriously, people, come have a Chicago dog with relish, a dill pickle and a good spicy sport pepper. Workingman's food, but good food.
Here's the other thing about Chicago, and I say this as a native Washington DC kid: the general people approach here is comically friendly compared to the East Coast. Maybe not as much as, I dunno, Iowa, but it whiplashed me when I first came out. Even the panhandlers were nicer.
Yes, any interaction with the police or civic authorities adds a certain flavor of burly "who's your rabbi?" color to it, but even there: the contrast between the east coast and the midwest...that's a real thing, even today.
Also, Chicago is a better "foodie" town than any other one in the country. NYC, L.A., San Francisco, we'll take 'em all. We'll fly in your organic plankton-fed sushi overnight and charge you less and prepare it better. And then go hit Devon and enjoy the Indian food.
(N.B. Chicago-style pizza is still garbage, alas, but this is true.)
But the great thing about Chicago foodie culture is that we have all sorts of great ethnic niche cultures here. Old-school Italian that is totally run by the Mob, with a smoking-friendly Mob bar next door? Check!
Czech food, focusing on very weird meats coming from parts of the animal you would not normally anticipate or be otherwised inclined to eat, but which work (INCLUDING ENTIRE PIG'S HEADS)? Check!
Peruvian, semi-upscale, with peppers that will make you love it in the moment and regret it intensely at 4am in the bathroom? Check!
Forty different Polish joints? Incredible Japanese ramen and Vietnamese pho? Check! And it's all affordable.
Forty different Polish joints? Incredible Japanese ramen and Vietnamese pho? Check! And it's all affordable.
No seriously, come to one our great soul-food cafeterias on the southside.
Best breakfast, or lunch (or dinner for that matter) food you'll find outside of the Delta. We actually makes grits right around here.
Best breakfast, or lunch (or dinner for that matter) food you'll find outside of the Delta. We actually makes grits right around here.
