The Chicago Traveler

• The Croatian Fest features a huge roast of 75 lambs and over 10 whole pigs at the St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church. The festivities include homemade foods, ethnic dancing, and a beer garden. (Aug 15)
• This weekend marks the 50th Annual Chicago Air & Water Show. Arrive early and claim your spot at either North Avenue Beach or Oak Street Beach, where you’ll see the Blue Angels, the Golden Knights parachute team, an F-22 Raptor, and much more. (Aug 15-17)
• The third annual North Side Summerfest features live music from over a dozen artists and bands and plenty of …read more

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This season of the Bravo Network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
The last Quickfire Challenge tested the five remaining contestants’ butchering skills. Each chef was given 20 minutes to cut and clean seven “tomahawk” chops from a side of beef. They were then given an additional 30 minutes to cook two of those chops to the guest judge’s (Rick Tramonto) preference: medium-rare.
Chicago has a long history with beef and livestock. Chicago was home to the Union Stock Yards, the …read more

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It’s time to say good-bye to 2007. The year has treated me very well. I moved to a new apartment, did some traveling, and, best of all, began writing The Chicago Traveler! Many thanks to Mary Jo and everyone at b5media who has been so welcoming and helpful.
Even though The Chicago Traveler is only a few months old, let’s take a look back at the ten most popular articles of this year.
10. Abegweit. Resting peacefully on Lake Michigan, this beautiful ship was once the most powerful icebreaker in the world.
9. Let’s Boogie Records & Tapes. This music store on the …read more

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The relationship between the White Sox, the city of Chicago, and U.S. Cellular Field has just as much of a rocky history as that of the Chicago Bears.

By the 1980s, Comiskey Park was the oldest park in baseball and was slowly falling apart. Even with a new video board and luxury suites, several structural engineers determined that the park would not be usable in only a few short years. And so, the hunt was on for a new home.
Like the Bears before them, the White Sox made plans to build a new park in the suburbs. They purchased a 140-acre …read more

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• The Young Women’s Leadership Council will be hosting its 2nd Annual Fall Fundraiser featuring a performance by Spitfire Comedy, a raffle, and a silent auction at the Mad River Bar & Grille. Selective complimentary drinks and food are included. (Nov 15)
• Jimmy Eat World performs live at the Riviera Theatre, while Ralph Stanley (the best banjo picker in bluegrass) shows off his skills at Fitzgerald’s. (Nov 15)
• This is the last weekend to catch “Runaways” in Humboldt Park. Local playwright Elizabeth Swados’ gritty musical drama takes place on Lower Wacker Drive, featuring hip-hop, rock, R&B, reggae, and mambo …read more

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First opened 30 years ago, Let’s Boogie Records & Tapes is a specialty store on the south side of Chicago that is still going strong. Owner Neil Keller has been in the business long enough to watch music transition from eight-tracks to vinyl records to cassettes to compact discs to mp3s. And while music may have moved on to new measurements like MB and kbps (megabytes and kilobytes per second, respectively), Let’s Boogie has remained true to the old school with 45s and 33s.

[For those of you too young to be familiar with vinyl records (and making me feel incredibly …read more

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Most people only head to Bridgeport on the south side of Chicago to go to White Sox games at U.S. Cellular Field. That’s quite unfortunate because they’re missing out on the historic working-class neighborhood which has been home to Lithuanian, Italian, Mexican, and Irish immigrants.
One hidden gem is Gio’s Café & Deli, which has only been in the neighborhood for a few years but already feels like it’s been around forever. It’s a restaurant, deli, and Italian grocery store all rolled into one. Consequently, there aren’t too many tables to sit down at, but because it’s out of the way …read more

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When it comes to food, I’m pretty easy to please. Give me a good Chicago-style hot dog, and I’ll be happy. A Chicago-style dog is a steamed or boiled all-beef hot dog (usually Vienna Beef) on a poppy seed bun. It’s then topped with mustard, onion, sweet relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, sport peppers, and a little celery salt. No ketchup!! Hot dogs are so popular here in Chicago, there are more hot dog stands than Burger King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s restaurants combined.

In downtown Chicago, one great place to get a Chicago dog and other hot dogs from …read more

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