Tag Archive
Giving Thanks
When you ask people what they are thankful for, they tend to be specific. When you ask them what they are thankful for on Thanksgiving Day at Valois on 53rd Street, they tend to be prolific. It was around 4pm and a dozen diners were sitting behind heaping trays of food. A bearded man... »
Best of the South Side 2009: Hyde Park and Kenwood
Hyde Park can sometimes seem like its own little world. In fact, it hosted one near the beginning of its existence: The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, which attracted over 20 million people in six months, was held on the Midway Plaisance and in Jackson Park. Meanwhile, at the western end of the Midway,... »
Hop on the Hope Bus
The Chicago Neighborhood Tours website boasts that Hyde Park and Kenwood are “where lakefront vistas, ancient history, architecture and Nobel Prizes meet.” Now that Senator Obama, who used to be the neighbor of thousands of proud South Side residents, has become President Obama, the tour company offers the opportunity to “admire distinctively designed dwellings... »
High Society
“So have we solved all the world’s problems this evening?” he asked. Everyone chuckled and responded, “Again!” This group was no agency of the United Nations, nor was it even some sort of committee meeting for the city government of Chicago. What I just witnessed was the conclusion of yet another meeting of Café... »
Best of the South Side 2008: Hyde Park
With the success of Barack Obama has come increased scrutiny of Hyde Park such as rarely seen before. Right-wing smears have painted the public consciousness with images of Louis Farrakhan, William Ayers and ivory tower socialists run amok. Yet many cite the University of Chicago’s reverence of the Great Books, its vaulted economics program,... »
The Bitter Taste of Hyde Park
One might as well just state the obvious: Hyde Park restaurants suck. This observation is not qualified with any real culinary justification (although it isn’t hard to do, really); it’s qualified on a moral basis. Last Saturday, the Hyde Park Transitional Housing Project hosted its third annual Taste of Hyde Park at the United... »
