Results tagged “memorialday”

We're signing off for the day, to fight the clouds and occasional raindrop to grill some burgers, chicken, etc and to relax for a little bit before the work week kicks in. Have a safe and wonderful rest of your holiday and we'll see you back here bright and early tomorrow!

For Memorial Day, The Chopping Block is hosting a BBQ Bash at their Lincoln Square location. The bash is an "open-house-style cooking class and party" on their patio with all the proceedes going to veterans via the Disabled Patriot Fund, a not-for-profit that helps Illinois veterans wounded in Iraq or Afganistan. Cook and dine on slow-smoked BBQ pork, balsamic-glazed skirt steak, beer can chicken, three bean salad, blueberry pie a la mode and sip on (free) lemonade and Goose Island Beer. The classparty is from 12-3pm, sponsored by Goose Island, Paulina Market and Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet and is $75 per person. Yes, more than your typical back yard party but it's for a good, local cause. So do it. With a smile and hungry stomach.

The plants we've been watching with worry in our garden have been our pepper plants. We got a late start to this whole project (most everything was planted around Memorial Day) and our natural inclination leans toward impatience, which isn't the temperament to have when were waiting for a garden to grow. That impatience morphed to outright frustration as we watched the tomatoes explode with rich, vibrant fruit. A month ago, when we noticed the...

Le Francais, the Wheeling restaurant that was the gold standard of fine dining in the Chicago area during its heyday, closed down during Memorial Day. The Sun-Times reports today that the restaurant filed a notice with the Wheeling fire department that it was no longer operating. A busboy and food runner who requested anonymity said that owner Michael Moran did not tell his staff of the closing ahead of time, and that he only found...

What we are writing right now probably isn't going to be read by half of our readers. Or that is the conclusion we have come to after reading this article in today's Sun-Times, which tracks the evolution of "summer Fridays." If you don't know what "summer Fridays" are, then you probably don't have them. And if you do, then Chicagoist is insanely jealous of you, you lucky bastard. Essentially, companies are realizing that during the...

Vegetarian Hot Dogs?

Now that Blago's $7.6 billion tax plan has crashed and burned in the state legislature, he's doing a total 180, embracing expanded gambling in Illinois to try and cope with a state budget that is in serious trouble. The legislation, backed by Emil Jones, would expanding gambling in Illinois to include three riverboat licenses for Waukegan, the south suburbs and an as-yet undetermined point within an eight-mile radius of O'Hare Airport. As part of...

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried...

Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day was first commemorated after the Civil War as a way to honor fallen Union soldiers. After World War I it was expanded to honor all men and women who died in a US war or military action. It was originally observed on May 30, but since becoming a federal holiday, is now always observed on the last Monday in May, effectively creating a national three-day weekend. For many,...

Memorial Day Weekend is under way, so pull out the grill, set up the yard games, and put on your leather. For 29 years now this Chicago weekend has been synonymous with International Mr. Leather—a leather beauty pageant, leather and fetish conference, adult superstore, and cocktail party rolled up into one giant event that attracted some 15,000 leather daddies, leather boys, leather mamas, and leather girls last year. (Folks, that’s an entire town of fetish...

Let's start the buffet off with this video this video singing the praises of the Harold's 6-piece wing dinner. The language is NSFW, but if you're watching this in the office, you're probably the only one left, so crank it. Memorial Day is the (un)official start of grilling season. We've had the grill on an eternal flame for two months now, but loaded up on fresh vegetables from the farmer's market, tri-tip steaks from...

Memorial Day weekend is nigh! That means summer is officially here and girl-watching season is in full force. We thought we’d dedicate today’s EOYW to all the ladies who make summer worthwhile. Amanda Leigh Moore has been cultivating that girl next door image her entire life. We’re not sure how Mandy has managed to avoid the pitfalls of excess that other Hollywood divas her age seem to revel in, but this movie and television star...

It’s fast approaching Memorial Day weekend, the official start of grilling season. But if late nights up rocking (and rocking and rocking) your little one have made you too exhausted to head to Paulina and man the grill yourself, pack up the baby and head to Muskie’s instead.

Carl Wright, a Chicago actor who appeared in Soul Food, Barbershop and Big Momma's House, has passed away from cancer. Northwestern won't be offering an undergraduate major in Jazz studies any longer. --> Bo Diddley's condition is improving after having a stroke last week. In local celeb gossip, people are wondering whether Vaughnifer is planning a romantic reunion in Chicago. Someone at MeFi asked "What is required for a Chicago porch repair permit?" A...

They say that the best things in life are free. Now you can count among those the complimentary toddler and dog cones at delicious Scooter’s Frozen Custard in Lakeview.

With Memorial Day behind us and a streak of days breaking 80 degrees, we think we can say summer is on its way. And, nothing says summer in Chicago quite like drinking a $6 margarita overlooking the lake. That’s right, we’re talking about Castaways Bar & Grill, and as crowded and cliché as it might be, it’s a Chicago summertime landmark. If you’ve lived in Chicago for more than a minute, then you undoubtedly...

Chicagoist is taking the day off for Memorial Day. In the meantime, here's some knowledge to drop on your friends and family as they gather around the grill. Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a day to remember those who served in our nation’s armed forces. General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, was the first to officially proclaim the day on May 5th, 1868, and it was observed...

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and most of us will celebrate it by gorging on barbecued goodness and large amounts of beer. But, as always, things can get a little out of hand when the party goes too far. Check out This Week in Stupid’s guide to how not to celebrate. And have a safe and happy holiday.

Remember how Memorial Day weekend used to be the official kickoff to the summer movie season? This year has thrown that conventional wisdom out the proverbial window. Three “event” films have already had their shot at a stellar opening weekend this month: The Da Vinci Code, Mission Impossible III and Poseidon. While the latter two haven’t exactly lived up to expectations (especially Poseidon), Da Vinci Code had so many people flocking to the theater, you’d...

City Bike Paths?

Chicagoist hasn't been to Six Flags Great America for years, but we used to love to go and remember the last time we went (1999?) we thought it was really expensive. Great America opened for the season on Saturday, and we were shocked to read that the price for a single adult admission (anyone over 54 inches) is now $54.99. For one day! Holy shit! And that doesn't include the cost of gas to get up there or soda or anything to eat or a wacky souvenir Bugs Bunny tshirt. Not to mention that the price of parking also went up this season. It's now $15 to park for the day.

As you can see from the photo it qualifies as soup, but we still have another month to go before we can call it orangecello. Last month Chicagoist started a three-part series showing how we make orangecello, just in time for grilling season. When we last checked in on our vodka-and-orange-peel mixture we were letting it sit at room temperature for ten days before we moving it to a cool, dark place for another thirty days - under our kitchen sink. Had we not checked our to-do list we would have completely forgotten about this. With Chicagoist nearing a long-needed vacation next week this quickly shot up on our list of tasks, lest we not have orangecello ready to christen our new smoker on Memorial Day.

It's been a busy week for Chicagoist. So we've spent the evenings catching up on our reading. Our jaws dropped when we read that another Chicagoist is yet again undertaking the seemingly Sisyphean challenge of growing tomatoes. It's like that ant trying to move a rubber tree plant. He's got high hopes (and so do we for Tomatoist. May the weather and squirrels be fair to you this season. If you need a deterrent from the latter, we're getting our hair cut this afternoon and can lend you some clippings to keep the furry beasties at bay). In the interest of solidarity, the Bridgeport Bureau is also undertaking a summer project.

Somewhat lost in the slow news cycle of this year’s Memorial Day weekend was the death of a man some called the “Grandpap of Rap.” But a new documentary screening during this month’s Black Harvest Film Festival at The Gene should shed new light on one of Chicago’s music legends. Born in the 1920s, Oscar Brown Jr. began his career working in radio dramas before gaining fame in the arts through his work in jazz....

Chicagoist has had a shitty morning. I mean a running for the bus that goes flying by, waiting for the next one, sitting in construction traffic, two trains because the late bus made us miss the Evanston Express, all with a two year old in tow, who tripped and smacked his cute little cranium into a hand rail on the way into day care where we sat for another half hour with and ice pack on a massive goose egg, kind of morning. Now, what does all this have to do with tomatoes, not a fucking thing, but it’s my post and I’m feeling like sharing (i.e. bitching).

Chicagoist is the first to admit an addiction to Kraft Mac’n’Cheese, the kind with the powdered cheese, not the creamy stuff. Add a little broccoli to the mix, and you’ve made it as healthy as it’s going to get.

There was a lot of talk about rain and thunderstorms for this weekend, and even yesterday weather.gov said there was a 40% chance of rain on Memorial Day. But Mother Nature was in a great mood today, and gave us clear skies, a slight breeze and temps in the low 70's. A great way to kick off the summer, and a great way to spend a day off in Summer Chicago, arguably the greatest city on Earth.

The Tribune's website has a big ol' package on things to do in the city this Memorial Day weekend; it includes a rundown of the "top shows" this summer. Some are a bit pricey and a few weeks away. So if you're stuck in town for the weekend but feel like trying something different, here are a few places that offer live music for little or nothing.

Chicagoist loves it when the underdog perseveres under their own terms. We also love bands with an honest attitude that reflects their music instead of overshadowing their output. For both of these reasons we enthusiastically throw our support behind local rockers Local H.

The Cloud Gate sculpture has finally started her striptease. As you probably know, she put some clothes on in January so that workers could polish and grind her sexy bod. News reports said she'd planned on exposing about 20 percent of herself on Friday for Memorial Day revelers and then discarding clothing bit by bit as she felt comfortable—while wearing a see-through bustier so we can watch the workers finish off the rest of her. But a tipster tells us today that the Bean caught a glimpse of the Hancock rockin' a hard-on, got excited and flashed him.