Frank Brichetto Chicago is always full of adventure and things to explore, and I hope to share these great experiences with the wonderful readers of this magazine.
H appy New Year! H ,
appy new year wishes to everyone from me to you. Have you recovered from your New Year's Eve revelry yet? Yes? Excellent! We are hardy adventurers, and the whole year lays before us, so let's get started, shall we?
Adventures
in the New Year
That was a great show, wasn't it? But it's getting late, and we have a long commute home, so we'll part for now and see you again on Sunday? Drive safely! Did you tell us you've never been to Fitzgerald’s Night Club, 6615 Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn, IL? It's time to fix that. Especially since today, Sunday, January 12th, is their annual Chili Cook Off, where we can sample the fare from all over Chicago and vote for the best ones in town. It's very kid friendly, and over about 5pm, so there's plenty of time to get everyone home and ready for Monday. Get your tickets in advance, knowing that all proceeds go to benefit Opportunity Knocks, a local charity that helps individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
I love chili, don't you? I wonder who's winning? This is so much fun, maybe next year I'll cook up a good batch and enter, what do you think?
Today,
Saturday January 4th, will you join us downtown? We'll go ice skating at the Skating Ribbon, that imaginatively designed double loop in Maggie Daley Park, 337 E Randolph St., where the skating is free, and skate rental is only $15.00 if you need them. I'm not afraid to tell you that I am anything but an accomplished, or even barely functional, ice skater, but there's no fun in not trying. If someone slips on the ice, the rest of us will help him (most likely me) up; we'll laugh and try some more. Come on, it will be a riot of fun! We plan to get started about 2pm, that works for you, yes? See you then, so be ready! Join us today, Sunday January 5th, for some cross country skiing, out south on the Sagawau Trail. The trail head is the Sagawau Nordic Center, 12545 West 111th St., Lemont, IL where we can rent skis and boots, and get a refresher lesson before heading out. There are miles of smooth, nicely groomed trails, and the cold fresh air is refreshing, isn't it? Stretching our legs while smoothly gliding through the quiet forest is a good way to get into a calmer state of mind, ready to take on the week ahead. Keep our eyes sharp, perhaps we'll see a few winter birds or maybe a rabbit or fox.
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January 2020 Ukrainian People
Did you remember that January is when Buddy Guy, the Blues legend himself, plays live on stage at his place, Legends? There are no reserved seats, but the show tonight, Friday, January 10th, starts at 9:00pm, and by then it will be impossible to get in the door. So let's meet there for a casual, soul food/ cajun style dinner, say about 7pm, so we can get a table and drinks settle in, soak up the blues atmosphere, and be ready when the show starts. This is fabulous, isn't it? It's really Buddy Guy up there! Just listen to these younger performers on stage with him. Aren't they great? Buddy Guy's Legends, 700 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, https://buddyguy. com.
We just learned about Revival Food Hall, https://www. revivalfoodhall.com/, 125 S. Clark St., Chicago, and really want to give the place a visit. So after work this Friday, January 17th, we will do some exploring inside the first floor of this big building that houses about 20 different “fast-casual food stalls” with many neighborhood favorites and a selection of “new concept” eateries. I'm not familiar with all of them, but I'm hungry and the barbecue sandwiches from Smoque are always delicious. Of course, I'm also really tempted by the offerings at Danke, especially their “Secret Sandwich” (no, I won't tell you the secret); it's a tough decision. Now over to the HotChocolate Bakery for dessert, yum. After this, let's stop into Curbside Books & Records, right over here, see? They are an independent press as well as a book and record store, isn't that cool?
Look at these unusual titles,
and the interesting styles of writing, holy cow! We can sit and read while dinner settles. How many books are you buying? Nice! We'll meet again on Sunday?
