Results tagged “soulfood”

The Great Migration of the 20th Century was one of the seminal events that changed the demographics of Chicago. Between 1900 and 1970, African Americans came to the north in wave seeking a better life. From 1940-1960 the black population in Chicago increased from 278,000 to 813,000. It helped spur the Golden Age of Bronzeville and gave us such local soul food treasures as Army & Lou's and Lem's BBQ.

Sometimes it pays to look up and have a camera on you. We ate breakfast yesterday at this greasy spoons called MiLady Soul Food on 55th and Halsted (short review: do avoid unless you're just looking for some grease to fight back the hair of the dog). On the way out we noticed the marquee. Even today, MiLady is still known to many locals as Le Meck's. Le Meck's, back in the day, was a steakhouse that one person said had "lots of Edwardianesque () atmosphere, high prices and crummy food." Reminds us of some of the steakhouses that used to populate the Loop around Gallery 37.

Chicagoist's general rule toward our vegetarian tendencies is, if we wanted a dish-chock full of meat, we'd eat it. As such, plates full of fake meat masquerading as juicy animal parts (a vegan Reuben sandwich, for instance) generally hold little appeal, and we instead opt for dishes full of clearly identifiable veggies or simple marinated tofu.

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out...

The "vere" part is pronounced like "were." Now that you know how to pronounce "saveur," it is time to pick up a copy of the food and wine magazine by the same name. The October issue of Saveur is dedicated solely to Chicago; not too surprisingly, a piece of pizza is featured on the cover. And here we were pumped about getting a single article in Gourmet. Like Gourmet, Saveur doesn't put all of its...

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...

This week's theme: soul food, y'all. We ate enough of it last week to pine for the days of Ms. Biscuit on South Chicago Avenue (located next door to Mr. Biscuit's Hand Car Wash and Auto Detail). Here we go. City Mouse: Chef Gilbert Langlois (Rushmore, SushiSamba Rio) describes his new North Center-based concept Chalkboard as "new American cuisine," drawing inspiration from French country, classic Southern, and the less spicy elements of Creole for his...

A few weeks ago Gaper's Block asked its readers to name their most overrated restaurants. Wishbone garnered a lot of votes, which this particular member of the Chicagoist staff didn't find surprising. You see, some weeks before Gaper's polled their readers there was a bit of a row among us here regarding Wishbone. The opening statement of our argument was that Wishbone "sucked" a certain part of the human body really hard. While we were admittedly overstating our case, Chicagoist does contend that when we crave good southern cooking or soul food, Wishbone ain't even on our radar.

In honor of her 70th birthday, the Chicago City Council has declared today Irma P. Hall Day in Chicago. Shame on you if you just said "Who?" Best known for smacking you upside your head because she's "trying to hep you, boy!", Ms. Hall has been the go-to actress in recent years when filmmakers need someone to symbolize the themes of a picture (Soul Food), provide comic relief (The Ladykillers), or ground a picture that...

Sometimes, if you can see your way past all the celebrity fluff puff, Terry Armour’s Sunday Tribune column has some honest-to-God news in it. Yesterday he mentioned the efforts to increase the visibility of Chicago’s multicultural film community, which has been a long time coming. Chicago has had a rich history of Black films made in and around the city. Armour’s column mentions the upcoming Roll, Bounce; Hoop Dreams; Soul Food; and love jones (which...