DINING
AROUND PLEASANTON BY JEB BING
F
JAN BING
Outside the legendary Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, a news reporter’s hangout.
925.200.0202 Gina@GinaPiper.com
Newly Listed Homes!
Eddie Papa’s American Hangout 4889 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton, 469-6266. Winner of The Pleasanton Weekly’s Reader Choice Awards for “Best American Food,� “Best Meal under $20� and “Best Kid Friendly Restaurant,� Eddie Papa’s American Hangout celebrates the regional food and beverage cultures of America. Bring the whole family to enjoy iconic dishes from across the United States, Old World Hospitality, and hand crafted artisan cocktails.
Back to Chicago or the hundreds, probably thousands of us in the Tri-Valley who have lived, worked or have relatives in Chicago, I can report with enthusiasm that the Windy City is as robust as ever, although somewhat changed. My wife Jan and I were there last week to visit relatives and friends. We found that State Street, “that Great Street,� has lost its luster. Macy’s acquired Marshall Field’s, a Chicago landmark that opened in 1881. All that remains of the store Chicagoans cherished are bronze plaques outside with the Marshall Field & Company name and a pair of well-known outdoor clocks, which served as symbols of the store. Next door, the former Carson Pirie Scott store is a Target, about the same as those across the country. Also gone are Wieboldt’s, Goldblatt’s and the Fair department stores. Sears, which anchors the south end of downtown Chicago, plans to close this summer. Fortunately, there’s North Michigan Avenue, which is now Chicago’s largest shopping district, with mid-range and high-end shops, restaurants and hotels, including several of the country’s tallest buildings, such as Hancock Center and Trump Tower. This “Magnificent Mile� starts at Tribune Tower, a neo-Gothic building that’s home to the Chicago Tribune, where I worked as a reporter and editor for 13 years, and extends north to the historic Drake Hotel, a Gold Coast landmark since 1920. A bit less prestigious but a favorite hangout where I joined my colleagues on newsroom breaks (and reporters still do) is the legendary Billy Goat Tavern, a subterranean
Gina Piper
ON THE TOWN
www.eddiepapas.com.
Like us on JEB BING
Sanctuary of Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church, an 1886 parish in Chicago.
hangout on Lower Michigan Avenue at the basement level of the Wrigley Building. Immortalized by John Belushi on “Saturday Night Live,� it’s still the same as when it opened there in 1964. It’s the place “to be seen� in Chicago, although perhaps not for long. Construction is expected to start soon on another huge, expensive new tower for Michigan Avenue that may displace Billy Goat’s, so plan a visit the next time you’re back in Chicago. As part of last week’s trip, we drove through Bridgeport, an aging blue collar neighborhood that once was home to recently arrived Irish Catholics on one side of 31st Street and German Lutherans on the other. Brick and frame homes there are mostly 100+ years old, some of them built close together with only a few feet in between. One stop was at Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church at 31st Place and Racine Avenue (pictured above), the church home to four generations of my wife’s family. With its Gothic architecture similar to old big city cathedrals in the U.S. and Europe, it has a commanding presence on the neighborhood it has served since 1886. At one time, more than 3,000 worshipped at Holy Cross, which now, like so many churches in old city neighborhoods, has fewer than 50 at Sunday services. In the church basement, we found records of parishioners dating back to the church’s dedication with pictures of my wife’s family from the 1880s forward. The church, its hand-carved altar and the meticulous record-keeping that continues today made history come alive for us, a visit we cherished at a parish that may be nearing the end of its mission. N
www.facebook.com/ pleasantonweekly
1331 Stony Brook Lane 5 Bedrooms ~ 4 Bathrooms ~ 4,157 Sq Ft
Stunning Nolan Farms Home! 1890 Brooktree Way 4 Bedrooms ~ 2 Bathrooms ~ 1,854 Sq Ft
Pleasanton Valley Beauty! “Call me for details or to discuss selling your home�
2012 2013 Best Realtor www.PleasantonRealEstate.com Better Homes & Gardens Tri-Valley Realty BRE#: 01201349
Makes a Difference
$ ' ! " $ # " ! " ' #& ' $ # ! ! ' $ " " " " " " "! $ ! " ! !" ' " '!" # " % ' # # "! % $ " !' ( " !! # # "' ")! % ' " # " # " ! ! " " " # $ # " ! $ #! ! !# " $ " ! )" '
' # % # " " ! ! # $ # " ! ! 925-734-3368.
About the Cover Jill Zollinger of Pleasanton holds the banner of the Jose Maria Amador Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution during the city’s last Veterans Day Parade. Photo by Sherry Wiggins. Cover design by Shannon Corey.
!
Vol. XV, Number 11 Pleasanton WeeklyĂŠUĂŠ April 11, 2014ĂŠU Page 3