Chicagoist: Interview: WTTW's Geoffrey Baer

mike_thoms

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:27:54 -0600

Looking forward to this new one. where does he go from here though? i know he did the EL special but there's a lot of area in the city not covered by the EL. i guess he could do neighborhoods or something like that.

Karl Klockars

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:14:13 -0600

tngn2: I get what you're saying. I have the feeling that when he puts together these films he's not talking to us hyper-diverse urban denizens with taquerias on every corner. The demo of the average Channel 11 viewer is probably different from the average Chicagoist reader, which might be a reason for a bit of that disconnect. curmudgeon: Thanks.

curmudgeon

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:30:26 -0600

You did pretty good. A bismark by any other name is a paczki.

the new guest number 2

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:29:39 -0600

Yeah, I got that he meant Taco Bell fare, it was the comment, "So what you think of as a taco," that got me. What he described is certainly not what *I* think of as a taco, nor probably anyone reading Chicagoist. Guess I was just wondering about his great revelation about what a "real" taco is -- not exactly a big secret. Just ignore me, I'm feeling all nit-picky today.

Karl Klockars

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:12:01 -0600

curmudgeon: You know, I got kreplach and bublik right. I don't know how I missed paczki. Thanks for the catch. tngn2: I think Geoffrey was referring to that Ortega shell, homemade grocery-store taco with that packet of taco spice you get on sale for a buck. Or maybe a Taco Bell hardshell supreme. I love Taco Bell just as much as the next guy, but I never even get hard shells when I'm there.

the new guest number 2

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:57:07 -0600

I've never been in a taco place in the city that even offered hard shell tacos with ground beef -- do they exist? And the ones that normally put on the cheese, sour cream and all that crap will gladly serve them with cilantro and onion if you just ask.

matty

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:46:44 -0600

"So what you think of as a taco, with a hard shell and all this lettuce and tomato and sour cream and ground beef - doesn't even begin to resemble a real mexican taco! A real Mexican taco is not one but two small corn tortillas stacked on top of each other. And on top of that is just chunks of meat, cilantro, and maybe one or two other ingredients on there. And that's it. And you put some sauce of your choice on there, and there's pickled vegetables on there, and it is so superior to what we have come to call a taco." jeffery, the tacos in chicago are great because they aren't like american tacos. they are truly authentic. try getting a taco in new york - you can't! we have some of the best mexican food this side of the mississippi. I hope the reiviewed la pasadita on this show.

Matt Stratton

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:43:27 -0600

I am a huge fan of Geoffrey Baer. He was my first improv instructor many moons ago, and I credit him with influencing my views of improv and documentary. He's a great guy, and his shows always intrigue me. I really enjoyed his doc about the Mackinac race from a few years ago as well. Great interview, Chicagoist.

matty

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:39:43 -0600

I love jeffery baer. looking forward to his new chicago food documentary or whatever you call it.

curmudgeon

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:33:55 -0600

Paczki.