The Chicago Traveler

Being an English major and eventually a writer and blogger, I have always had a fascination with words: how we use them, how we understand them,, etc. Sure, we Americans all speak English, but are we all saying the same thing?
I was shocked when I learned that many of the words I grew up with as a Chicagoan were not used by everyone in the U.S. Or, at least, not always in the same way. I touched on this a bit in my post about Chicago highways. Rather than call our local expressways by their route numbers, we refer to …read more

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My brothers and I all had different interests that usually kept us busy. However, there were always dreaded lapses of boredom. And of course, whenever we were bored, we did what brothers do: we fought.
The Chicago Tribune recently featured an article that listed a number of activities that will help keep boys entertained and may just keep their parents sane. For example, your boys might be at that stage where all things “gross” are “cool,” so stop by the International Museum of Surgical Science. Kids are bound to learn something amidst all the “nasty” exhibits of the human body.
Many boys …read more

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• The African Festival of the Arts is Chicago’s largest neighborhood festival, featuring three music stages, ethnic cuisine, and more than 300 vendors selling everything from fine art to skin care products. Presentations include book discussions and dance workshops. (Aug 29 – Sept 1)
• The 30th annual Chicago Jazz Festival is the city’s longest-running lakefront music festival and features local, national, and international performers on several stages. (Aug 28-31)
• Get your fill of pierogi, Polish sausage, and sauerkraut at the Taste of Polonia, where you can listen to live bands play everything from rock to polka. (Aug 29 – Sept …read more

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Parking in Chicago can be a tricky ordeal. Aside from parking meters and pricey garages, you also have to worry about local neighborhoods’ parking time restrictions, permit parking, and street cleanings. And if you’re visiting in the winter, there are the ever-dreaded snow routes. For those of you from warmer climates, Chicago has several miles of streets that are susceptible to a “two-inch snow ban,” in which parking is prohibited when the snow is over two inches deep (5 cm). And between December 1 and April 1, there is an Overnight Parking Ban in effect on approximately 107 miles (172 …read more

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The restaurant scene in Chicago is constantly evolving, always keeping up with people’s new tastes or trends. Here are a few restaurants that have only been around for a year or so, but they have already made a name for themselves in the dining biz.
Chalkboard, a contemporary American restaurant in North Center, is just that: a restaurant with oversized chalkboards that list the specials of the day. Rather than constantly reprinting menus, the owners are able to easily change these boards on a daily basis. Aside from the namesake wall-length chalkboard, the small dining room features white molding, linen-clad tables, …read more

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Who says pizza is unrefined? Certainly not La Madia, a River North restaurant whose motto is “Art of Pizza, Love of Wine.”
You’ll know this isn’t any ordinary pizza place when you see the floor-to-ceiling wine wall behind the bar. Groups of friends and romantic couples fill the striped booths and the pizza bar surrounding the wood-burning oven. The atmosphere is business-casual, so while you’ll want to don more than t-shirt and jeans, leave the neckties and high heels at home.
The menu at La Madia (just around the corner from Blue Water Grill) features about a dozen contemporary thin-crust pizzas, all …read more

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So, remember how I said that we don’t have Sonic here in Chicago? Well, I have to take that back now.
For years, Chicagoans have had to suffer through commercials for Sonic Drive-In, despite the fact that there aren’t any restaurants of the chain within 70 miles of here. Sonic operates more than 3,000 restaurants, but most of them are in Oklahoma and Texas. (Chicagoist) However, one has finally opened here in the Chicago area last Tuesday. Now Windy City residents can get the Chili Cheese Tots and Cherry Limeade they’ve been craving. Weeks before the grand opening however, flocks of …read more

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Nothing says romance like fine Italian cuisine over candlelight and soft music. It should be no surprise then that many Chicagoans looking to impress their dates head up to Lakeview to Angelina Ristorante.
You’ll ease into a night of comfort as you enter the softly lit room, decorated with oil paintings and black-and-white photos. Show up early, or make a reservation: a line often forms before the doors even open for dinner. The window seats are tempting, but you might be sacrificing table space if you take them.
The menu changes seasonally, relying on the availability of fresh produce. Italian antipasti standards …read more

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The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics have officially come to a close. I have spent the past two weeks staying up late, recording several televised events in the wee hours of the morning, and getting regular medal updates on my cell phone. I guess you can say I’ve been a bit of an Olympics nut. So just how did our Chicagoland athletes do?
Matt Grevers, an Olympic rookie, won the silver medal in the 100m backstroke with a time of 53.11 seconds. He also won two gold medals by swimming in the preliminary heats of the 4×100m freestyle relay and 4×100m medley …read more

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In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that it has been a long, long time since I’ve been to Hydrate on a weekend evening. That’s because the lines are long, the drinks are small and expensive, and the dance club is wall-to-wall crowded. But in spite of all that, this place can still be fun. You just have to know when to go.
Chic 20-somethings hypnotized by the deep bass emerging from Hydrate (just north of Beatnix) enter via the “blue room,” where a bar island sits in the middle of an aquamarine-colored room. There are only about …read more

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