Pho Sheezy

Delicious pho, photographed by aiyah.

Pho holds a special place for me which transcends its rich salty broth, rice noodles and crisp greens. It's the first Southeast Asian food I ever tried, served by Hmong refugees who'd settled in Northwestern Wisconsin. My friend, a Mennonite missionary who grew up in Vietnam, tipped me off to pho as the perfect lunch on a student budget. It's been a defacto comfort food ever since.

The Chicago Weekly Yelp posted yesterday is a crowdsourced discussion of the best Pho-downs(obligatory pun) in the city. I'm looking forward to trying Tank Noodles sometime soon, and there are many other options to be sampled. Though a hot soup, the fresh sprouts and basil make Pho is an ideal summer food. Add enough chilies and rooster sauce, and as Eastern medicine suggests, you can bring the heat to the surface of your skin and cool off a little.

More pho on flickr...

Dark Lord Day 2009 in photos.

Erin, bus commander of Lush. Photo bridgportseasoning.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Dark Lord Day. I'm not going to bore you with another review of the sudsy spectacle; the best summary can be found in this MenuPages post. I'm bummed the interminable JOE M500 (responsible for the best of last year) didn't have his camera out !


Photo by m3gustafson.

Dark Lord Day is like a communist country in that there are long lines, product shortages and a high rate of alcohol abuse.


The payoff. Photo by froboy.

Dark Lord looks like it came out of a motorcycle but tastes like it came from the nipple of a goddess.


Double fisting goes well with a cycling jersey. Photo by m3gustafson.

As you can tell from this gentleman's grin, a group did ride bicycles from Chicago. Some of the key organizers were the Chainlink. Consensus found that the thirty mile ride made the beer work better.

Flickr has more right here!

Late-night Veggie Dogs.

Not on the list(yet), but gorgeous at night. Photo by *snapdragon.

Sultry summer nights require midnight snacks, and you never know when your new companions will be vegetarian.

You'll be walking through the dark neighborhood with the sound of lawn sprinklers and cicadas all around, climbing fences and hopping neighborhood pubs. Everyone will be craving some low-brow food and you will look like an A-plus champ as you rattle off a list of hot dog stands with Chicago-style veggie dogs.

I can't vouch for all the hours, but these are sure bets for meat-fee weenies:

• Hot Doug's of course. They have everything. Only open until 4pm though.
  
• Huey's Hot Dogs is open 'till 9pm but the dogs are divine. "Next time you carnivores want a dog, but you're bummed because your militant vegetarian friend insists on Karyn's take them to Huey's. If your friend has a Chicago bone in their body they will thank you." - Lena A
• Underdog has a reputation of dubious quality. They're on the list because they're most likely to be open after bar close.

Photo by Jeff.Ramone.

• Flub a Dub Chub's is a friendly neighborhood joint, open late (11pm) on the weekends. "I had a Chicago style veggie dog and it was perfect. The fries were some of the best I've ever had; thick-cut and fresh tasting. It's a couple days later and I'm still hankering for more." - Guido S.
  
• Budacki's Drive-in has picnic tables and a chill street view. 10pm. "Veggie dogs can be widely variable - anything from "Wow, who needs meat?" to "I think this is made out of remolded pencil erasers" - and this dog was on the high end of that spectrum. Fully dressed in all the fixins, it was tasty and satisfying." - Kelly S.
  
• America's Dog is a chain- it lacks character but has many locations. Boasts a wide variety of styles. Lincoln Park = 3 am! "Because sometimes I just need me a veggie dog & since I don't have a car" - Niki C.

Weekend round-up: Pure optimism

Seriously, eighty degrees. Photo by reallyboring.

The promise of eighty degree days would normally be a euphoric event, but this week everyone seems extremely cautious. Maybe it's the way we've been jerked around by spring this year, every mild day followed by freezing rain and everyone getting sick.

I've been looking forward to Dark Lord Day all month, and people have started approaching me about riding to the festival on Saturday, so I think it will be a huge success. I'm thinking about sunscreen and water bottles, and how the hell I'm getting home after a day of drinking, pulled pork and rock music.

At the same time there's so much going on around town it seems a bad weekend to miss...

Friday

The Cheeseburger Show offers free sliders at Sheffield's after work. This is a Tribune thing so I expect some weirdness mixed with the free meat. 8-10pm.

Broadzilla is at Exit again, including Wham Bam Pam who I have a total crush on. This lady has the moves!

Saturday


Genesis P-Orridge in full glory, photo by Andrea Marutti

I probably haven't mentioned it enough, but Dark Lord Day!

Tara McPherson at Rotofugi from 4-6pm.

Throbbing Gristle will be in town all weekend for the first time in 20 years.

Sunday

Empty Bottle mix-tape Sunday brunch. My Bloody Mary pick for the week.

Mountain biking season has been properly kicked off! If it's dried up, take a trip to Palos.

Get your freak on. Rope bondage class at Early to Bed should take you back to Boyscout days... actually, I hope not.

Help the Windy Citizen support Chicago bloggers.

Have you read the Windy Citizen yet? It's like Digg or Reddit, but with Chicago content. They're a valuable resource for local blogs like BTSIC to get wider coverage.

Windy Citizen is having a one-week fund drive. They are looking for "micro patrons" to donate $10-50 to support their fantastic crowd-sourced news site, so if you think this is a cool, worthwhile idea, kick in a few bucks.

Tara McPherson will fill the hole in your heart.

For a similar scene, visit Rotofugi this weekend.

Tara McPherson's paintings are great for getting nerdy tough guys(and girls) in touch with their feelings. She makes righteous stoner rock gig posters and a variety of simultaneously cute, dark and lonesome images found everywhere from beer lables to vinyl toys to art galleries.

This Saturday she'll be at Rotofugi from 4-6pm promoting her new book, Lost Constellations.

Check out this video interview for Vinyl Frontier and get in touch with your pastel metal side.

Heartland Beef is as good as it tastes.

Heartland's stand at a Chicago farmers' market, by Foodmomiac.

It's amazing in these cynical times what length people go to so you can sink your teeth into an awesome cheeseburger, made from an animal that lived and died a hundred miles from your front door.

A few weeks ago in my cheeseburger post I made a quip about Wisconsin beef. A reader set me straight; Heartland Beef, from which the burgers at Hot Chocolate are made, actually originates in Mendota, IL.

Folksy anecdotes and eco-propaganda slathered on food packaging by Whole Foods and their ilk make me want to vomit organic, gluten free, free range soy product all over someone's bumper-sticker encrusted Jetta.

I seriously have to point the labels away from me just to use the product, lest I stab the healthy, glowing multi-ethnic models with my fork and lose pasta all over the kitchen floor.

Heartland, however, is one of those rare places where the feel-good talk is true. They are a century-old family farm who doesn't use growth hormones or animal byproducts, processes their meat in the same town it's raised, and ships to local restaurants and farmers markets. They raise Peidmontese cattle, known for their lean meat, and feed them corn raised on land they own.

Check them out. You can get their meat at these restaurants, stores, and farmers markets in Chicago.

Dark Lord Day 2009, you and your bicycle.

Angela of Sybris at Dark Lord Day, photographed by JOE M500.

You may just have heard of the scarce, black-as-sin, powerful-as-a-Baptist-revival Imperial Stout brewed by Three Floyds of Munster Indiana. Then again, you may have been counting down since this time last year to the day you could thread your fingers through another six-pack.

Either way, Dark Lord Day is Saturday and you should make travel plans soon! I suggest riding with our bicycle group. We'll gather at Buckingham Fountain on Saturday morning and ride out at 9 AM. The pace will be casual and the route easy to follow.

If the exertion sounds far to difficult for a day of drinking, Lush may still have room on their charter bus.

In addition to sampling countless craft brews, this Saturday will feature barbecue, live music and all manner of alcohol fueled hijinx. Bring your bike, a camera and someone to hold back your hair.

Inspirations: Surly beer.

There's an intimidating sheaf of prescriptions standing between me and a voluptuous pint, but nothing sets a man dreaming like this lifestyle photo from the Surly Brewing Company.

I bring it up for two reasons.

First, being sick has eliminated everything blog-worthy from my life. I haven't biked to work, had a fancy beer or cocktail or eaten anything deliciously decadent for two weeks. I've still got the death-rattle cough which makes the neighbors think they live above a TB ward. I haven't slept this much since I was a child, and I'm drinking water by the liter.

Second, a case of Surly beer, imported from the land of ten-thousand lakes by a coworker, is has manifested its self like a prophetic grail. A beacon of normal, joyous existence. The stuff is a potion of hoppy, boozy balance and because Minnesota can't hide it's country roots, it comes in cans. Yee-haw!

Savvy readers have probably been drinking this stuff for a year now, but if not, try the Maproom, Kuma's, Hopleaf, and Smallbar.

I'll be a different kind of Surly until my antibiotics run out, but the end is in sight. Cheers!



Photo by uberculture.

BTSIC has the flu.

This photo by buttershug captures all the components.

Imagine your worst house-guest ever. The one who overstays their visit, trashes the place, sells your laptop for drugs, lets your cat out(permanently) and leaves a foul surprise in the oven.

I've had the viral equivalent of that scumbag using my lungs as it's couch for the last week.

Regular readers will notice things have not exactly been cracking around here. I'll rejoin the living any day now. Hold yer' damn horses.

If you just discovered this blog via a link or old post, bookmark it or add me to your feed reader and wait for the good stuff to resume.

Hack, cough,

Ira

Cheeseburger wishlist.

Five Guys burger. Photo by benzamg.

Top-three BILFs (Burgers I'd like to feast on).

So little time, so many cheeseburgers! The truth is I'm lazy and only eat where I can conveniently walk or ride my bike. It's not helping me chow my way through this itinerary. Think of it as a "to do" list for a prosperous midsection.

1. Five Guys has finally come to Chicago and their burgers are dreamy. So say Chicago Gluttons, anyway:

As I finished the last bite, a sentimental hamburger clip-show played in my head. Boyz to Men’s “Its So Hard to Say Goodbye” gently filled my mind. All the best burgers from my past were there: Diner Grill, Moody’s, Kuma’s, Culvers, In-and-Out, Boston Blackies, White Castle. They formed a circle around us as I slow danced with my Five Guys WTF burger. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you”, I whispered to it. “I’m in love with you. . . maybe you could put on some mayo for me later?”

Yeah, I want some of that. Especially after MenuPages Chicago hyped it up for like five months!

Speaking of MenuPages, I've been working my way down their "Truly Local Burgers" list. This brings me to burger number two:

2. Hot Chocolate is not a name usually I'd mess with on the way to burger town, but appears their sandwich is made with:

"Heartland Beef (available at the Green City Market) which he grinds in-house, served on a homemade brioche bun with local bacon, local pickles, and Wisconsin's own Widmer cheese." - MP

In the words of Ted Nugent, "My taste buds are erect." Also, I try to eat cows from Wisconsin whenever possible because I was a farmhand in high school and have a vendetta against them.


Photo by littlepretty.

3. Oh Kuma's, how I miss thee! It's been over a year since a fist full of metal-burger has crossed my lips. Every visit, as I'm engulfed by the maelstrom dinner crowd, a tattoo-clad Valkyrie/waitress informs me of an hour-plus wait. One of these days, like the creeping death, I'll stop by for lunch.

How's this for a deal? I won't make another weak metal reference if someone delivers a Mastodon for lunch today. Any takers?