SSW 05.01.19 - Food Issue

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is an independent nonprofit newsprint magazine written for and about neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. We publish in-depth coverage of the arts and issues of public interest alongside oral histories, poetry, fiction, interviews, and artwork from local photographers and illustrators. The South Side Weekly is dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side and to providing educational opportunities for developing journalists, writers, and artists.

Volume 6, Issue 25 Editor-in-Chief Adam Przybyl Managing Editors Emeline Posner, Sam Stecklow Deputy Editor Jasmine Mithani Senior Editors Julia Aizuss, Christian Belanger, Mari Cohen, Bridget Newsham, Olivia Stovicek Chief of Staff

Manisha AR

Education Editor Music Editor Stage & Screen Editor Visual Arts Editor Food & Land Editor

Rachel Kim Christopher Good Nicole Bond Rod Sawyer Emeline Posner

Contributing Editors Mira Chauhan, Joshua Falk, Carly Graf, Ian Hodgson, Maple Joy, Sam Joyce, Ashvini Kartik-Narayan, Rachel Schastok Amy Qin, Jocelyn Vega Staff Writer Kyle Oleksiuk

Data Editor Jasmine Mithani Radio Exec. Producer Erisa Apantaku Social Media Editors Bridget Newsham, Sam Stecklow Director of Fact Checking: Sam Joyce Fact Checkers: Abigail Bazin, Susan Chun, Elizabeth Winkler, Tammy Xu Visuals Editor Ellen Hao Deputy Visuals Editors Siena Fite, Mell Montezuma Lizzie Smith Staff Photographers: milo bosh, Jason Schumer Staff Illustrators: Siena Fite, Natalie Gonzalez, Katherine Hill Interim Layout Editor J. Michael Eugenio Deputy Layout Editor Haley Tweedell Webmaster Operations Manager

Pat Sier Jason Schumer

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THE FOOD ISSUE It’s not easy to work in the world of food, no matter what end of the food chain you’re on.

Start-up costs are high, the hours long, and the rewards often minimal. But working with food is a labor of love.

Across the city, gardeners, farmers, restaurant workers and owners, bakers, bartenders, and mobile vendors are hard at work every day creating food and communities around it. At the center of this year’s Food Issue, you’ll find spotlights of these people and the menus, restaurants, and communities they’ve built around food. Read about handcrafted ice cream in Bronzeville, a couple-run michelada company, and the growth of a communal garden in Englewood. Hear from worker advocates about what they’re hoping for under a new mayoral administration, and from vendors in Chinatown’s Richland Center food court about the challenges and rewards of running a food stall.

And then, of course, tuck in for some fun reads: our annual beer review, written by nonexperts for nonexperts, incisive criticism of some of Hyde Park’s more recently opened restaurants, and an excerpt from the beloved photo series, What Was Breakfast.

Happy eating reading!

IN THIS ISSUE what is the future of food policy in chicago?

The issue of inaccessible licenses is only one barrier that emerging food entrepreneurs face in Chicago. michelle gan....................................4 fueling up

Behind every unopened gas station door could be a non-Subway, non-corporate food operation. emeline posner & sam stecklow....6 i won’t be back

Three Hyde Park establishments disappoint. nicole bond.......................................8 spotlights

A selection of the South Side’s newish restaurants, bars, and more! weekly contributors.....................10 bittersweet

Beer, tea, coffee, and a pudding milkshake. weekly contributors.....................16

JOIN SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY! We’re seeking a number of volunteer editors to help us report on the South Side and elevate local voices. We’re a teaching paper, and committed to training writers, editors, radio producers, and many more in between. Section editors require relevant experience (which might not be directly related to journalism!) and anyone is welcome to apply to be a contributing editor. More than anything, we want people who care about sharing stories about the South Side.

underground dives at the richland food court

An important avenue for the average aspiring entrepreneur to enter the Chinatown food scene. tammy xu.........................................18 hoppy pairings

The Weekly reviews 13 beers and finds they all go well with something. weekly staff....................................20 what was breakfast

OPEN POSITIONS Politics Editor Food & Land Editor Education Editor Music Editor Social Media Editor Contributing Editors

Team smooth or team crunchy? alan epstein....................................22

Apply @ bit.ly/sswapplication

Cover art by Copeland Smith MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3

POLITICS

What is the Future of Food Policy in Chicago?

Chicago’s food justice organizations weigh in

BY MICHELLE GAN

M

ayor-elect Lori Lightfoot campaigned on a promise to “Bring in the Light,” positioning herself as a progressive candidate who would uplift all Chicagoans. Prior to the runoff, the Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) asked both candidates where they stood on food justice issues that impact Chicago’s communities. In response to the eight detailed questions in the CFPAC questionnaire, Lightfoot simply responded “yes”.

The Weekly asked our future mayor to go beyond “yes,” and explain how she planned to fulfill her commitments to the eight food policy issues identified in the questionnaire. A representative from Lightfoot’s transition team declined to comment, but did state that Lightfoot’s “policy teams are working diligently digging into the City’s most pressing issues, [including] food accessibility.”

Instead, we turned to the experts, the organizations in our city that have spent years working towards food justice. We at the Weekly decided to ask: what should the future of food policy in Chicago look like?

What could Chicago do better?

The answer: A lot.

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or example, the city could make the labyrinthine process of giving licenses to small business vendors more transparent. The CFPAC questionnaire asked the candidates whether they support “mak[ing] the process of becoming a food entrepreneur easier to navigate for all of Chicago’s residents—not just those with extra resources and increased access.”

(Lightfoot responded “yes.”)

4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

The opacity around acquiring licenses particularly burdens those with lower incomes or language barriers. “Folks who have language barriers get treated differently,” Rodger Cooley, the executive director of CFPAC, told the Weekly. “Folks who don’t have access to lawyers and consultants have a much harder time navigating the process.”

Street vendors, in particular, have experienced difficulty acquiring licenses.

In October 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel signed an ordinance legalizing street vendors by requiring them to acquire a “Mobile Prepared Food License.” As of publishing, there are thirty-two vendors licensed for “Sales of Packaged Food From a Non-Motorized Cart (Mobile Prepared Food Vendor).” Even after three years, none of the approximately 150 members in the Asociación Vendedores Ambulantes (AVA), or Association of Street Vendors, have a license.

Martin Unzueta, a spokesperson for AVA and the executive director of Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights, described AVA members’ unsuccessful attempts to work with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) and the Department of Public Health (CDPH) to get their applications approved.

A BACP representative confirmed that they have one online resource to guide the mobile prepared food vendors through the application process. However, many of AVA’s members primarily speak Spanish, and require either city staff or AVA members to translate. Unzueta detailed how, since 2015, AVA and its members have been making appointments with both BACP and CDPH to try to get approval. Each visit,

ELLEN HAO

they are told they have failed to meet at least one requirement. During AVA’s most recent visit to CDPH on April 24, CDPH denied a AVA member for failure to meet a temperature regulation requirement that BACP had previously told them was not an issue.

According to Cooley, this prohibitive licensing process is due to siloing between different departments. “Each agency has a different perspective on what they’re trying to do, and there’s not a real shared vision on how collectively can we get as many operating, thriving small businesses going in the city while protecting public safety,” said Cooley.

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he CFPAC questionnaire also asked the candidates whether they support “build[ing] equitable pathways for emerging entrepreneurs and worker cooperatives of color in food service, urban agriculture, restaurants, and other food related businesses.” (Again, Lightfoot answered “yes.”)

Yet, the issue of inaccessible licenses is only one barrier that emerging food entrepreneurs face in Chicago. Another is a lack of available capital and investment.

Organizations like the Centro de Trabajadores Unidos: United Workers’ Center (CTU) are asking the city to support the incubation of worker cooperatives.

Worker cooperatives are businesses owned by the workers, who reap financial benefits based on their labor contribution. In October 2018, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed a proposed resolution supporting the development of worker cooperatives in Cook County. “The problem with resolutions is that they don’t have much weight. It’s just a start. There’s still no money,” said Ana Guajardo Carrillo, the executive director of CTU and a member of the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation that proposed the resolution.

Instead, Guajardo wants to see Chicago follow in the footsteps of New York City in devoting resources to worker cooperatives. In 2014, New York City Council allocated $1.2

POLITICS

of her larger vision for the future of “Whatever we can do to eliminate as isfoodpartpolicy in Chicago. “Whatever we can do to eliminate as many barriers or promote many barriers or promote the selling the selling and production of fresh produce will help,” she said. Part of that is supporting and production of fresh produce nonprofits like Growing Home that are already doing that work. According to Perry, will help.” –Danielle Perry, Executive eighty percent of those who participate in Growing Home’s paid job training program are formerly incarcerated. Eighty-six Director of Growing Home million to launch the Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative (WCBDI), an initiative seeking to foster an environment for worker-owned businesses to grow and thrive in the city. WCBDI helped create twenty-one worker cooperatives in their first year, and have, to date, launched over one hundred cooperatives. Currently, CTU has the technical resources and knowledge to incubate worker cooperatives, such as Cooperativa Visionarias, a worker-owned catering cooperative based on Chicago’s Southeast side. Nevertheless, CTU lacks money to scale their operations to support multiple cooperatives and make a larger impact.

Guajardo sees supporting worker cooperatives as a tool of economic development. Instead of encouraging chain superstores, she believes Chicago should support community members in starting their own businesses. “These stores might hire a few hundred jobs locally, but what happens to the actual development of the people? Do you want to keep employing low-income folks under you? Instead of helping other people become rich, why don’t you focus on helping community members own their own businesses?”

C

amille Kerr, a founder of Upside Down Consulting, which supports workplace democracy, believes legislative victories for worker cooperatives will pave the way for more investment. One such bill, the Limited Worker Cooperative Association Act (House Bill 3663), creates a specific, legally recognized structure for worker cooperatives throughout Illinois.

Currently, many cooperatives are traditional LLCs, allowing workers to be classified as owners rather than employees. However, using an LLC structure can present challenges, such as how to retain earnings.

House Bill 3663 passed unanimously through the House, and the coalition hopes the bill will be in effect by January 2020.

The bill’s ramifications for Chicago cooperatives go beyond state

acknowledgement. Along with the coalition, Kerr is working with individuals on the South Side to build a cooperative that provides living wage jobs and dignified work for formerly incarcerated women.

“This bill will allow for us to go to the mayor, and say [cooperatives are] a form that will benefit the residents of Chicago.

You need to support this form, like other cities have done... to benefit the low-wage workers in their communities,” Kerr said.

Legal recognition give cooperatives more legitimacy to demand funding and resources.

I

nvesting in cooperatives and communities that are trying to produce and sell healthier food in their communities should go beyond cash. The CFPAC questionnaire asked the candidates whether they will “support farmers of color to gain secure access to affordable land for food production.” (Lightfoot’s response: “yes.”) For Danielle Perry, the executive director of Growing Home and a member of Lightfoot’s environmental transition committee, Chicago must focus on land remediation. “Everyone deserves to live on clean land and clean soil. If possible, the city should help to create that option for people,” Perry said.

That’s what Chicago did for Growing Home. Growing Home uses farm-based training to support people with employment barriers, including paid on-the-job experience and job readiness training and assistance handling issues like criminal records and housing. Perry described how when Growing Home was expanding their farm, the city remediated a block nearby: they secured the fence, guaranteed water sources and clean soil, and made it usable for their job training. All the food from that farm is now distributed throughout Englewood. “What do vacant lots do? They create more and more spaces for trouble,” Perry said. “You could be using it to create food for communities that really need it.”

Perry’s desire to make land available for urban agriculture or food entrepreneurship

percent of Growing Home graduates found jobs along Chicago’s food chain, gaining positions with urban growing facilities, wholesalers, retailers, and restaurants.

U

rban Growers Collective (UGC) also offers job training programs for formerly incarcerated adults, in addition to programs around teen job readiness and farmer incubation. UGC executive director and CFPAC board member Erika Allen discussed how these programs lower recidivism. “Those who are in the program are doing much better than those who aren’t in the program. If we’re able to help in that process of healing from that trauma, if we’re able to grow food and improve the environment that everybody is living in, that has some impact,” she said.

The question of the future of food policy ties back to health, workforce development, criminal justice, and more. “Our life work is that food is part of all of our lives. It’s really a determinant around health, and says a lot about what people are able to do in a community. As climate change continues to accelerate, our food system is more at risk.

We want to have as much ability and space for people to grow,” said Allen.

A

s mayor-elect Lightfoot decides what she thinks the future of food policy in Chicago should look like, it’s important to remember that connectivity.

She should look to these organizations who have been envisioning and working towards that future for guidance. As Perry said, “It’s important to not reinvent the wheel, and to continue to support the nonprofits that are doing the work.”Michelle Gan is a contributor to the Weekly.

She last wrote about veganism on the South Side, and has also published a photo essay about Jackson Park's Wooded Island.

MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5

FAST FOOD

Fueling Up

The Weekly reviews small-shop restaurants attached to South Side gas stations

L

ast summer, as a friend and I were leaving Lansing for Chicago, we stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank and stock up on our standard road trip fare. Between the two of us, that usually means Combos, Takis, sour gummy worms, and trail mix. But when we walked in, we found a Cuban sandwich bar with a full menu at the back of the Mobil shop, and who were we to choose a bag of chemical cheese pretzels over a six dollar roast pork sandwich? (The sandwich was

delicious. We still bought Combos for the road.) Ever since then, I’ve been haunted by the possibility that behind every unopened gas station door is a non-Subway, non-corporate food operation that is somewhere on the spectrum between decent and delicious. Here are some of the doors the Weekly has opened for the Food Issue. (Emeline Posner)

Kronos Central Sub Station The Sub Station, a Kronos operation tucked into a Gage Park Citgo station, has all your Chicago-style quick-food fare. Its name suggests a sub-focused menu, and to its credit it does serve the Jim Shoe (the Italian beef/gyro/corned beef monster that could only have been born and loved in Chicago). But the menu is stronger on burgers, cheese fries, and dogs.

A classic deal-loving greasy spoon, Sub Station advertises prices in pairs (two hot dogs, $3.50; two Polish, six dollars; two burgers, five dollars; two egg sandwiches, $3.50), but has trouble listing the price for a single item. No matter. I’m susceptible to that kind of ploy, so I walked out with two Polish and a bag of fries ($8.07, which they rounded down to eight dollars, sparing me the dreaded pocketful of change), and had one in the car and one (soggy) at home. Good luck resisting the cheese fries—they’re advertised from the gate of the Citgo parking lot to the front counter ($7.99 for cheese fries with chicken, gyro, or Italian meat, and a can of pop). (Emeline Posner) Sub Station and Grocery Store, 2801 W. 59th St. $4–10. (773) 737-6806.

Urban Counter Urban Counter, inside the BP at 1221 S. Wabash Ave. $10. Monday–Friday, 6am–6pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8am–3pm.

HALEY TWEEDELL

“So next time you have a hankering for a hearty breakfast or an Italian dinner in that part of Bridgeport, consider venturing into the lot of your local gas station.”

6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

If, heaven forbid, you find yourself driving in the South Loop area with a growling stomach, and you want to eat but don’t want to pay for parking, Urban Counter is your best (and probably only) bet. The small, suburban chain is just inside the door of the BP convenience store at the intersection of Wabash and Roosevelt, where the parking is abundant and unmetered.

Urban Counter’s got the corporate food court menu down pat: breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers (everything from blue cheese to turkey and veggie burgers), salads, and shakes. And the prices are decent for faux-gourmet. A Chicago dog or a build-your-own breakfast sandwich cost $2.99 each. But the reliability isn’t quite there. When I came in on a weekday afternoon, truly in a rush, the menu had shrunk down considerably. There were no hot dog buns and I was told the wings would take twenty minutes to prepare. I settled for a six-piece order of chicken fingers, which were good, and french fries, which were bland.

There’s a seating area for Urban Counter eaters, but it’s not particularly inviting. The BP convenience shop’s lights are cold and bright, and, apart from a handful of cops milling about, I was the only person at the Urban Counter side of the shop. (Emeline Posner)

FAST FOOD

HALEY TWEEDELL

Tacos Nietos Tacos Nietos, 2863 E. 95th St. Monday–Saturday, 8am–9pm; closed Sunday. $4–12. (773) 7318555.

It’s not in the Citgo at 95th and Escanaba, but it’s pretty darn close. The taco bar, which shares a side wall with the Citgo, makes for a quick and easy food stop while you’re filling up on gas. Stop in and place your order—I’d recommend the carne asada or lomo (ribeye) tacos, though they offer anything from lengua and cabeza to chicken and pork in taco ($2.20), burrito ($6.60), gordita ($3.60), or torta ($4.60) form—and by the time you pay and fill up your gas tank, your order will be ready.

When I stopped in, I ate from a yellow styrofoam tray at the small bar, which faces out toward the gas pumps. The move may well be to order your food to go; on a busy day, I was the only person sitting at the seven-stool bar, aside from an eight-year-old who spun around while waiting for his dad’s order to be ready. But if you order to go, you may miss out on their counter-only spicy avocado salsa, which paired nicely with my tacos de lomo.

(Though the strips of lomo were tender and pounded thin, they were a bit underseasoned and benefited from the addition of the creamy salsa.)

The staff is friendly, the stools are sturdy, and the food is good. I hear from Southeast Side acquaintances that the carne asada burrito is where it’s really at. The desayuno plates (seven dollars) look promising, too. But a word of warning: They default to “everything”— lettuce, sour cream, tomato—so unless that’s your jam, specify cilantro and onions. (Emeline Posner)

Harvey’s Family Restaurant Harvey’s Family Restaurant, 657 W. 31st St. Monday, 6am–3pm; Tuesday–Sunday, 6am–10pm. $10–$20. (312) 225-5022 Unassumingly tucked in the corner of the lot of the branded gas station for a small San Antonio–based fuelmaker, Harvey’s certainly doesn’t look like much from the outside.

Inside, however, lies a comforting and familiar pastiche of, well, a diner, gas station be damned. As with all good diners, the draw is the breakfast food—generously-portioned, sturdily-made omelets; thick French toast. Recently, it expanded its hours, decorations, and offerings to include satisfying, comfortable red-sauce and white tablecloth Italian dinner options. While it can’t (and doesn’t attempt to) compete with the pizza from Freddie’s, right across Union Street, the rest of its Italian entrées far outshine the oversauced and overheavy dinner options of its neighbor. So next time you have a hankering for a hearty breakfast or an Italian dinner in that part of Bridgeport, consider venturing into the lot of your local gas station. (Sam Stecklow) MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7

HYDE PARK

I Won’t Be Back Three newish Hyde Park restaurants fail to meet basic expectations

BY NICOLE BOND

LIZZIE SMITH

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enjoy food. The second I finish the last bite of my breakfast I’m contemplating what I’m going to have for lunch. I have a liberal palate with no dietary restrictions, and I appreciate most flavor profiles. I can chow down with glee at a she-she poo-poolaa white linen tablecloth reservations-only restaurant, or get my grub on just fine at the hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon, as long as the food and the vibe are good. There are few dealbreakers for me when it comes to a meal, so if I tell you there is a place where I’ve eaten but I won’t be back, you may want to listen. Draw your own conclusions, of course, but here are some of mine.

Nando’s Peri-Peri Chicken is an international chain restaurant operating over one thousand restaurants in thirty-five countries. I visited their Hyde Park location, 8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

which opened on 53rd Street in early 2017.

The décor of bright warm colors, large bold patterned chandeliers, and dark wood set a festive and welcoming mood. The staff was friendly and helpful as they guided me through the menu, showing me how to order for my first visit. I had grilled chicken with two sauces and two sides. The food was tasty and the wait was reasonable. Nando’s is not a full-service restaurant. Patrons order at the counter, then carry a number to their table for a server to bring the food.

While I was enjoying my meal I read on the menu that Nando’s originated in 1987 in South Africa. Immediately I got a little heartburn—seriously. All I could think about as I chewed was how South African apartheid did not end until 1994, a whole seven years after the restaurant originated. That didn’t sit well with me. So

at the end of my meal, I spoke with the store manager. I told him it was my first visit to a Nando’s and for the most part my experience was good, but that I couldn’t help but wonder just what were the Nando’s founding father’s feelings (say that fast three times) about South African apartheid back in 1987, when they were opening the first Nando’s restaurant in Johannesburg. The answer would determine whether or not my first visit to Nando’s would also be my last. It’s worth a mention that there are still products and services I haven’t purchased in over thirty years, because the corporations stayed on the wrong side of South African divestment back in the 1980s.

I was hoping to hear some rehearsed corporate response employees had to learn during training for the three or seven diners like me who would ask this question. But

instead I got a blank stare, followed by an “I don’t know, but you are welcome to contact corporate to ask.” Wrong answer. I needed a “let me find out for you”—but that was not what Nando’s was serving.

So I emailed corporate. They replied that they received my email and that it takes time for them to reply to emails. As of printing time, it’s been fifteen days without a reply. I take that to mean they don’t know how to respond because they were likely thoroughly enjoying the white privilege of minority-ruled government sanctioned apartheid in 1987 South Africa while they were building their chicken empire. But have a statement Nando’s. Say how awful apartheid was and how you knew it wasn’t right and how you regret that brutal time in your nation’s history.

At the time the Food Issue went to

HYDE PARK

press, the Nando’s website boasted an Everyone is Welcome page where people are asked to join with them on January 20—Inauguration Day—when fifty-percent of the net proceeds from Nando’s six D.C. locations would go to D.C. Central Kitchen, a thirty-year-old nonprofit founded to help break the cycle of hunger in Washington.

But it doesn’t say if this was to happen on the last Inauguration Day in 2017 or if it will happen on the next Inauguration day in 2021. Other sources make it clear this was for Inauguration Day 2017, but Nando’s website remains unclear and outdated. I give Nando’s an Okay for their food but an I Won’t Be Back for their ambiguous politics.

Bibliophile is a bar, bakery, bookstore, and restaurant, also on 53rd Street, which opened this past fall. I told you at the top of the page how much I love food, and here is where you need to know how I love books and smart cocktails almost equally as much.

I couldn’t wait until my and my best gal pals’ schedules synched so we could visit the unique new establishment.

One late-night Saturday in January the three of us ventured out to Bibliophile, where we were greeted by a lukewarm welcome and whisked to a four-top in the back of its sparsely filled main room, though there was a comfy booth in the front window. No big deal. We asked for the booth and were seated there instead. But strike one. Most people want to sit at a booth. If there is a booth available, offer the booth, please.

A devilishly handsome gentleman with a late-night radio DJ voice introduced himself as our server and told us about the concept of books and booze, combined with desserts and light bites. My gal pals and I each forgave strike one. What was there not to love? We were in a room full of books on shelves as high as the ceiling could go, with desserts and cocktails. Some of the cocktails were named after classic novels. He gave us a moment to look at the menu. When he returned, my two pals each ordered desserts and asked for a recommendation on which drinks to pair with them. I ordered the To Kill a Mockingbird cocktail, a decadent concoction of Kansas City–style bourbon, orange spice tea syrup, allspice bitters, and lemon. I think Harper Lee would have been proud, and to make her even more proud, I asked to pair it with a copy of her Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name, rather than with a dessert.

My cocktail arrived first with a side of explanation about how DJ, let’s call him, was

LIZZIE SMITH

having a little trouble locating a copy of the novel. He then invited me to get up from my table, leave my drink, and peruse the walls and walls of shelving to find the book myself. DJ went so far as to remind me that Bibliophile sells books, but that he would ask some of the staff to try and locate a copy for me to have at the table. Oh boy. Strike one was reinstated and compounded with strikes two and three. Really dude? First off, the three of us were all well aware that the establishment sells books—you told us in your intro-spiel, and besides, there are signs posted throughout the room that read: WE SELL BOOKS. Secondly, I already own the book; I don’t want to buy the book, but I do want the experience of holding my To Kill A Mockingbird cocktail and a To Kill A Mockingbird novel simultaneously. And for thirds, where the heck are our other two cocktails and desserts? Duh? We sell books, man bye.

Time passes. DJ doesn’t come back. A new server, a young lady with a nonchalant, couldn’t-care-less demeanor brings the other two drinks, but only one dessert. We ask about the whereabouts of the missing dessert. If looks could kill, there would have been mockingbirds all over our table. She leaves. DJ returns. He asks what seems to be the problem. We explain. He tells us he thought our one friend was still deciding about her dessert—ahh, no, she ordered it.

The experience continues to tank when I suggest how it might be an idea to have a surplus of the titles on hand behind the bar, to go with the cocktails of the same name.

DJ let me know that they had tried that but what ended up happening was that people were only buying those books and none of the other hundreds and hundreds

of books they have available for purchase.

What DJ and Bibliophile missed was how many more drinks would have turned into appetizers and other desserts—that my girls and I would have ordered had we been able to flip through the pages of the novel—at our table. We each would have found our favorite passages and read them aloud.

We would have talked about the places we thought the book was better than the film and vice versa. We would have discussed the present day Tom Robinsons in the news.

We would have gossiped how Scout and Dill were said to represent a real-life Harper Lee and Truman Capote. And on and on we would have gabbed like the book nerds we are, while amassing a sizable tab. But what happened instead was that the three of us sat there each nursing our one drink, waiting to see how DJ and Bibliophile would make it right, while trying not to go all Boo Radley!

We were made to feel like Bibliophile had made up their mind about the type of experience their customers were going to have and left no room for any other experience a customer may have wanted to have, regardless of how much it would have been within reason for them to make it happen. I wasn’t asking them to split an atom. I was asking for a book in a bookstore that serves a cocktail by the same name.

I felt dismissed. The desserts were not all that. I Won’t Be Back.

a cola. When this was called to the server’s attention, he explained that the machine needed to be recalibrated or something, and that he would gladly exchange the beverage for another. I took that to mean that he knew the drink would be foul when he poured it, but poured it anyway in the hopes that no one would mention it.

On the day I visited, I got the feeling there was only one person on the entire staff. The man who greeted us was the man who showed us to our seats, took our order, brought our food, explained about the soft drink machine, and was also the same man who was tending the bar when my party arrived. There was no other visible staff in the restaurant. Maybe they were there, but I didn’t see anyone else. But that would explain the quality of the food, too; it seemed like that same guy had to dash in the back between orders to pop precooked food into a microwave. You know when food is microwave-hot rather than flame-hot because it has supernatural steam wafting from it but is cold shortly after the second bite. You also know when something has been left over from some other day. The food’s taste and texture indicated both.

I ordered their half Moroccan chicken and joked how it looked like some other kind of bird but not any chicken I had ever seen. The oddly textured fowl had a massively large breast and a teeny-tiny leg perched atop a mound of yellow rice with random olives scattered about. I tasted no robust Moroccan flavors, just the brine of olives. My friend ordered the shrimp fettuccine, only to fish out the shrimp from an orange colored sauce that claimed to be lobster bisque but missed the mark severely.

Everything about Red Bleu Fish, from the assorted breads, all of which all tasted the same, to the eerie emptiness of the room, made this my least favorite of the three restaurants mentioned. I’m calling Red Fish Bleu Fish dead fish eww fish and I Won’t Be Back. Nicole Bond is the Weekly’s stage & screen editor and resident curmudgeon, as well as an excellent cook who takes food very seriously.

Red Fish Bleu Fish, located on the Harper Avenue side of the building at 51st and Lake Park, anchored by Whole Foods, makes three for three Hyde Park misses. This place couldn’t even get coke right. Caramel colored fizzy water with no syrup—none, nada, zilch—came to our table masquerading as MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9

DEVELOPMENT

Spotlights

SOUL SHACK, BABY SOUL SHACK

If you stop to get lunch in Hyde Park, it’d be understandable to think Rico Nance owns just about every restaurant in the neighborhood. From the original LiteHouse Whole Food Grill at 55th Street and Hyde Park Boulevard, which opened in 2013, his family of restaurants has radiated outwards. In 2016, Mikkey’s Retro Grill popped up two blocks north on 53rd, with a second location opening in Avalon Park in 2018.

This year, Nance returned to Hyde Park, opening the Soul Shack at 53rd and Kenwood in March. (Appropriately, the restaurant sits on a stretch of Kenwood named Chaka Khan Way.) The April opening of its next-door neighbor, the vegetarian-focused Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat, brings Nance’s roster of restaurants to six.

The Soul Shack, however, has taken off like no other. When it opened in March, co-owner Keisha Rucker told the Defender that they’ve served at least 300 people a day during their first week, while the Crusader reported that wait times peaked at three hours over the first two weeks of operation.

Things had calmed down a bit by the time I visited in late April, but the lunch crowd was still fairly sizable. The menu includes soul food favorites like chicken & waffles and smothered chicken, as well as some newer dishes like the Soul Roll: yams, collards, and mac & cheese wrapped in a wheat flour skin and deep-fried, producing something like a

10 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

Southern egg roll.

I chose the grilled salmon, which was flaky and flavorful, and also illustrates an interesting aspect of the restaurant. While salmon is on the menu, some traditional staples of soul seafood like shrimp and catfish are conspicuously absent. Rico Nance, the owner, is a Seventh-Day Adventist, a faith tradition that follows the ritual dietary restrictions set forth in the Book of Leviticus. This is also why Soul Shack, like Nance’s other restaurants, is closed to honor the Sabbath from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.

Back to the food: each entree comes with two sides, with options including green beans, corn bread, and other soul food mainstays. Prices range from fifteen dollars for the chicken & waffles up to forty-two dollars for the surf & turf (grilled salmon with lamb chops or short ribs), but most entrées fall in the fifteen to twenty-five dollar range. While these prices are a little higher than at Nance’s other restaurants, they are well in line with the norm for Hyde Park, which has seen a boom in moderate-to-pricey restaurants over the past few years, including restaurants like Virtue, Red Fish Bleu Fish, Nella Pizza e Pasta, and Mesler. The food is well-seasoned and the portions are decent, so you definitely get your money’s worth. (Sam Joyce) Soul Shack, 1368 E. 53rd St. Sunday–Thursday, 11am–9pm; Friday 11am–5:30pm; Saturday 8pm–midnight. $15-42. (773) 891-0126. thesoul53.com

SPOTLIGHTS

MICHE GANG Pinches Miches is an independent drink company started by Mo Muñoz Husein and Nancy Hernandez five years ago. Their drinks are inspired by a popular Mexican drink, the michelada, a light beer mixed with a flavorful blend of tomato juice and bold spices on the rocks.

The founders started creating their own drink mix for micheladas for friends and family at intimate gettogethers. Soon enough, those friends and family members began requesting bottles of michelada mix for their own gatherings. This lead to Pinches Miches’ very first pop-up event a year and a half ago, which was held at a thirtyperson house party.

“Even your favorite bartender has off days, you know?” Husein said. “I got to the point where I wanted it to taste the same every time. That’s why we made the mix... All you really gotta do is add a certain amount and add beer, and ice it, and that’s it.”

Pinches Miches is now a big hit in Chicago and beyond, and their micheladas can be purchased in twenty-eight stores throughout the state—and the list of locations continues to expand.

Pinches also prides themselves on working with local communities by bringing attention and awareness to other businesses they work with. They believe in helping one another grow and have participated in pop-up events everywhere from hair salons and barbershops to markets and corporate events. Husein says they do pop-up events nearly every weekend.

Seeing the happiness in people’s faces while enjoying their drinks inspired Pinches to go the extra step. At pop-up events, they serve a “Cevichelada”—a michelada accompanied by homemade fresh ceviche that they claim is the first of its kind in the city. They’ve done other variations before, with mango or pineapple shrimp ceviche. The upcoming “Cutecumber” (cucumber mix with chile and lime) will available right in time for Cinco de Mayo, hitting all participating store locations on May 3.

With social media posts and high demand from previous customers, Pinches Miches has found themselves on the upswing. “We owe it all to our Miche Gang,” Husein said. “They are really the ones responsible for everything because they come to our events. Some people drive hours to our pop-ups just to get our cups, and with them posting on their Instagram and Facebook, them reaching out to whether it’s twenty or fifty people, they keep helping us grow and grow. Our Miche Gang plays a really big part in helping us grow.” (Wendy Random) Look out for Pinches Miches’ upcoming events on May 4 at Lo Rez Brewing in Pilsen and May 5 at El Vicio in Cicero.

Follow them on Facebook at Pinchesmiches32oz, Instagram at @pinches_miches, and Snapchat at pinchesmiches, or visit their website pinchesmiches.com WENDY RANDOM

A CUP FOR COMMUTERS The 95th Street Metra station in Beverly closed its window for ticket sales in March 2016, but another window in the station opened for business last month: Two Mile Coffee Bar. Co-owned by couples Sonia and Nate Hollister and Gretta and Patrick Dertinger (Nate and Gretta are siblings), Two Mile serves familyand neighborhood-inspired drinks, as well as pastries crafted by the Morgan Park–based Laine’s Bake Shop, in the station’s bright waiting room. With Nate’s passion for reviving the historic space and Gretta’s extensive experience as a highend barista, the family business seems off to a promising start. Their opening day on April 20 was packed, especially with young couples and children. Despite the tiny size of the coffee bar itself, the seating area is spacious: small tables, rose-colored vintage chairs, and several of the train station’s original wooden benches make for a welcoming and airy environment. Current weekday morning hours cater specifically to commuters. For a taste of Beverly’s latest, try the cedar-infused “Mamma Sue and the Reverend” or “The Ridge,” a latte with a cardamom twist—drinks named, respectively, after Nate and Gretta’s parents and the neighborhood’s iconic hill. ( Janaya Crevier) Two Mile Coffee Bar, 1766 W. 95th St. Monday–Friday, 6am–11am. Drinks $2.25– $4.00, pastries $2.50. Updates and specials at twomilecoffee.com or on social media @twomilecoffeebar COURTESY OF TWO MILE COFFEE BAR

MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11

SPOTLIGHTS

ADAM PRZYBYL

SOMETHING NEW IN FRONT OF THE SUN I got a sense of the kind of effect Frente al Sol could leave on a customer when I walked in for the first time and a woman by the counter turned to me, completely unprompted, and said, “The food here is amazing.” A few minutes later, again spontaneously, she told me to have a great day as she left before I could get her name.

Wondering if the food here had that impact on everyone, I ordered, on the co-owner’s recommendation, a tilapia taco and four chicken enchiladas in an avocado-poblano sauce. Frente al Sol bills itself as a Mexican fusion restaurant, so even though the menu had a lot of familiar Mexican restaurant fare, I wanted to try the dishes that came with a twist.

The tilapia was soft and fluffy and came with a tangy red cabbage slaw and a creamy chipotle sauce, all of which together was very good. The flavor of the enchiladas was something between home and heaven. The salsas provided for chips were also good, with the red, the spiciest, being my favorite.

Isidro Aguirra, the co-owner I spoke to, had been working in restaurants for fourteen years before deciding to open up Frente al Sol with his girlfriend Esperanza. Coming up with the name took a while because so many other names for Mexican restaurants were already taken. Esperanza spent some time looking at restaurant names in Mexico, and after a while she and Isidro compiled three ideas, all with “sol” in the name. Frente al Sol (”in front of the sun”) was the only one not taken by other Chicago restaurants.

The restaurant opened in 2017, but within the last two months, they’ve noticed an uptick in customers. Isidro has been slowly expanding their menu, adding new twists on traditional Mexican dishes. The next item he wants to add is a homestyle take on the traditional Mexican dish of birria from the state of Jalisco, which can either be a soupy or more dry dish made with veal or goat meat.

“You may have had birria, but not like my girlfriend makes it at home,” he said. Both he and Esperanza cook, and he explained that for him it meant overcoming cultural stereotypes to do so. “My father would always say a man goes into the kitchen only to eat,” he said, noting that entrenched gender roles around preparing food are strong. “I went back to Mexico and woke up early to cook breakfast.

When my father woke up, he asked, who made this? When I told him it was me, he cried. He was happy.” Since then, Isidro’s brothers have also started cooking and have visited his restaurant. Isidro looks forward to diversifying the menu even more and attracting more customers in the coming years. (Adam Przybyl)

“Gardening is going to be a game changer.” That’s what Cordia Pugh says to me as we walk through the Hermitage Street Community Garden.

Pugh would know. She’s seen the growth of the Englewood garden through from its early stages (a backyard assemblage of around one hundred potted plants belonging to friends and neighbors) into a three-lot garden of raised beds, a gazebo, and a tree-shaded gathering area. Across 57th Street, there’s another garden, this one for the use of veterans and out-patients at the recovery center across the street.

“We’re all soil deficient and sun deficient,” Pugh says. “We’re disconnected from nature.”

A longtime Englewood resident and gardener, Pugh finds importance in gardens’ healing properties. On one of the several occasions she was undergoing chemotherapy—she is a three-time cancer survivor—she would sit out in the garden every day, or her car outside the garden, if that’s what she could manage. “It takes the anxiety down,” she says.

Sitting underneath the the trees with her son, Leonard, Cordia talks about the serendipitous origins of the garden. The first section, to the north of the shade trees, originally belonged to Growing Home, a nearby farm and job-training organization. Its founding executive director Harry Rhodes agreed to allow Cordia to use the land in 2011, before local green space conservation organization NeighborSpace stepped in to purchase the land on her behalf. The funding for the structures came from a Lindblom Math and Science Academy engineering class, which had been tasked with finding a community project to help organize and fundraise for.

Then the city demolished the house next door, which gave rise to the gathering area we’re sitting in, and then the recovery center across the street agreed to let Pugh use the vacant lots they weren’t using, resulting in the expansion of the garden and the creation of the veterans garden across the street.

The garden grew quickly over the course of eight years, but received support from across the community and city throughout. “Many hands make the load light,” Pugh says. And the garden continues to be a gathering site, drawing neighbors from nearby blocks as well as from Calumet Heights, Washington Heights, and Hyde Park.

Pugh embraces this openness in all aspects of the garden. Hermitage Street Community Garden runs as a communal garden. Instead of plots being assigned strictly to families, the plots belong to everyone. On planting day, gardeners and neighbors will plant all the raised beds with all the seeds they have. That way, Pugh says, no one gets left out. “If something comes up, or the squirrel got the cabbage,” Pugh says, you aren’t excluded from participating in the garden for the rest of the harvest season. Twice a week, no matter what, everyone can fill up their bag with fresh produce.

And the produce keeps coming up. The garden regularly donates its excess produce to senior centers in the neighborhood, and over the course of the summer it amounts to nearly 10,000 pounds, Pugh says.

Now, Pugh says, they’re working on growing their programming. There are Zumba classes in the gazebo and there are classes on composting, sowing, and growing, as well as on making lotions from garden-grown herbs. For the second summer in a row, Pugh is organizing a nine-week summer camp for kids.

Pugh likes to say that this community garden is the perfect template. “Put this in the copier and it will work across Chicago.” (Emeline Posner)

Frente a Sol, 4622 S. Kedzie Ave. 7am–9pm everyday. (773) 2316263. frentealsol.com

Hermitage Street Community Garden, 5643–55 S. Hermitage Ave., and Englewood Veterans Garden, 5641 S. Hermitage Ave. (773) 245-3017. hermitagestreetcommunitygarden@gmail.com

12 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

EMELINE POSNER

A HOMEGROWN, COMMUNITY-RAISED GARDEN

SPOTLIGHTS

SPICY CHICKEN FOR THE SOUL

HOUSING

DAVON CLARK

Graffiti adorns Bridgeport’s newest (and only) fried chicken restaurant, but don’t worry— it’s open. Situated just south of Archer and Halsted, the colorful storefront of Big Boss Spicy Fried Chicken is hard to miss. The interior follows a similar design, with spray-paint motifs and illustrations of cartoon chickens and ambiguous creatures (are they rabbits or dogs?) dressed like chickens.

Chef Jassy Lee says that the design is meant to make the restaurant friendly and accessible.

“When people are [feeling] down, they don’t want to go to high-class restaurants.” She points to the restaurant’s name as proof of their values: “Just be yourself. Be your own boss.”

The restaurant started taking online orders a few months ago, and the Big Boss storefront officially opened in March. Lee says that Bridgeport’s proximity to downtown, UIC, and the University of Chicago was a major factor in choosing the neighborhood. “I think this is the center of Chicago,” she said.

Lee said that there’s a dearth of truly spicy fried chicken in the city. “We ordered spicy fried chicken from Popeyes, and, to us, it was very mild.”

All of the restaurant’s chicken, which comes in the traditional bone-in, tender, and wing forms, is flavored with seven types of peppers, with the combination of ingredients changing based on the heat level (“the higher you go, the more ghost pepper”). Lee always recommends “Crispy Fried,” which is mild and uses no sauce, for those starting out. She says that she gets customers all the time who order “X Hot” or “Big Boss Hot”—the two hottest levels on the five-tier spice level—only to struggle through the meal or leave food on the plate. For those patrons, she offers to exchange their dish for a less intense alternative.

The chicken lives up to Lee’s threats. On my first visit to Big Boss, I ordered the “personal-sized” chicken tenders (nine dollars), a surprisingly generous portion that yielded leftovers. I tested the medium spice level, and while the chicken was delicious and flavorful, I found myself needing to take occasional breaks. Admittedly, though, I only dabble in the dark art of spice.

After my second visit to Big Boss, I ordered the fried chicken sandwich (eight dollars) and a passion fruit tea (four dollars) to-go. Besides being Easter, it was a windy seventy degrees and ridiculously beautiful out, so I took my meal to nearby Palmisano Park, about a block away. The medium-hot sandwich contained a chicken breast so large it spilled out of the bun, as well as coleslaw to temper the heat. The passion fruit tea was refreshing, though not a substitute for the water that I also would’ve loved to have been drinking.

Despite being mobbed by dozens of children during my meal—to my horror, I accidentally sat in the middle of an Easter egg hunt—the combination of wonderful weather and deliciously spicy chicken made for a perfect afternoon. I hadn’t really known what to do with myself that day, far from family during a holiday I barely celebrate. But as I sat there, people-watching and reflecting on my unexpected good fortune that day, I very much felt like my own boss. (Taylor Moore) Big Boss Spicy Fried Chicken, 2520 S. Halsted St. Wednesday–Monday, 11am–10:30pm; closed Tuesdays. $7-$13. (312) 877-5031. bigbossfriedchicken.com MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 13

SPOTLIGHTS

ASIA BABIUK

CLASSIC CAKES, NEW SPACE DAVON CLARK

FROM THE SEASHORE TO SOUTH SHORE If anything was going to make me nostalgic for my childhood summers spent driving through beach towns on the white-sand coasts of Alabama, I didn’t expect to find it in South Shore.

But Surf ’s Up South Shore encapsulates everything I remember about the restaurants in Southern beach towns: the colorful painted interiors, the pithy “Life’s a Beach” wall art, a diagram explaining the difference between “you,” “y’all,” and “all y’all,” and of course the menu offerings: deep-fried (or grilled!), richly seasoned, and generously portioned seafood platters that already had me ready to bring out the flip-flops and sunglasses for a beautiful summer day at the Point.

Owned by Vanetta D. Roy, a Chicago Public Schools special education teacher, Surf ’s Up South Shore has already made itself a culinary and community centerpiece of South Shore. The day I went, dozens of customers came and went holding their orders, which ranged from Hennessy-marinated chicken wings and catfish po-boys to something like what I got: the fried tilapia dinner, which comes with a side and sauce of your choice, a lemon wedge, a dinner roll, and coleslaw. I chose the ground turkey dirty rice as my side, which was flavorful and generously spiced, and for my sauce I got the creamy, mayonnaisebased Surf Sauce remoulade. The breading on the tilapia was the perfect crispy exterior to the softness of the fish, and the combination of flavors was elevated even further with a squeeze of lemon. My friend ordered the fried catfish dinner, which was equally as flaky and flavorful, and paired it with garlic fries that were, as she said, the perfect amount of garlickiness (too often garlic fries at other establishments just aren’t garlicky enough). Next time I go, it’s going to be even more difficult to choose which side I want: onion rings, cheese grits, collard greens, or fried green tomatoes—all of my guilty Southern pleasures.

In the coming summer months, grab yourself a plate of your favorite seafood from Surf ’s Up South Shore, pick up some desserts from Give Me Some Sugah next door, and enjoy the fare with friends at the nearest Lake Michigan beach that you call home. (Rachel Kim) 2236 E. 71st St. Tuesday–Thursday, 11am–8pm; Friday–Saturday, 11am–9pm; Sunday, 1pm– 6pm. $2.99–$39.99. (773) 891-5544. surfsupsouthshore.com

14 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

Looking for a place to order a custom cake for your best friend’s birthday or grandparents’ anniversary? Well-known and well-loved for their fluffy tres leches cakes, which come in a variety of flavors, Kristoffer’s Cakes should top your list. For those unfamiliar, tres leches is a type of sponge cake made without butter, which results in a cake that’s full of holes and dry enough to be soaked in three types of milk (evaporated, condensed, and heavy cream) to give it texture.

Kristoffer’s tres leches sits comfortably at a level of sweetness somewhere between I-should-have-skipped-lunch and I-am-craving-something-a-little-something-sweet.

In addition to the usual suspects, vanilla and chocolate, they also bake cakes in flavors like caramel, coconut, cappuccino, chocolate mint, and rumchata ($23–$37). At the café, they serve the cake by the slice ($3.75) along with other treats like cupcakes, cookies, and chocoflan—and coffee, to wash it all down. Savory—or slightly more savory—options on their menu include tamale types like Mayan, sweet corn, and abuelita ($4).

Owners Carlos and Cristina Chavarria just opened their bakery and coffee shop in McKinley Park last November, but they have many years in the Chicago cake business under their belts. According to Eater, the couple handed their previous shop in Pilsen— Kristoffer’s Café—to new management and moved to Florida in 2013. They returned more than a year ago and started selling to vendors in Naperville and online, using apps like Doordash, Postmates, and Grubhub.

The new café has ample seating in the front and space to host events like weddings, birthdays, and other special events in the back. Since their opening, they have hosted an indoor flea market every couple of weeks to attract customers from different neighborhoods of Chicago. (Manisha A.R.) Kristoffer’s Cakes, 1735 W. 35th St. Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–7pm; Sunday, 10am–6pm. $2.25–$60. (773) 801-1831. kristofferscakes.com

ICE CREAM TO TAKE YOU DOWN MEMORY LANE ‘Tis the season for warm weather, sunshine, and, of course, ice cream!

Luckily, there’s a new(ish) ice cream shop in town. The family-owned Shawn Michelle’s, on the corner of 47th and Wabash in Bronzeville, opened their doors on March 30.

Yahya Muhammad, the CEO and president of Shawn Michelle’s, first remembers becoming interested in homemade ice cream as a young boy playing in the South Side Little League. A woman would often sit on a bench with a bucket selling cups of melted homemade ice cream. He didn’t care that it wasn’t frozen; he just distinctly remembered the great taste.

During his college years and after work, he would experiment at home, cooking ice cream on a stove. It took him years to master the craft of churning and using the right amount of

SPOTLIGHTS

ingredients to create unique flavors wrought from old-fashioned homemade custard.

Then, in 1998, he purchased a storefront in Chatham and named the business Jabril’s Supreme Cream. The community was supportive, and Muhammad’s business flourished.

“We are only here today because of the strong support base,” Muhammad said.

A year after opening, he received news that his sister, Shawn Michelle, had been killed in a car accident on her way to work.

“Shawn was always into the culinary. She had her own culinary business baking cakes on the side,” Muhammad said. He changed the name of his business to Shawn Michelle’s in order to dedicate the business to her, and moved it down to 95th Street.

Muhammad decided to move his business once again because he felt it was important for Shawn Michelle’s to be in a central South Side location, easily accessible from the North and West Sides as well. “Bronzeville is rich with our cultural history and traditions in Chicago and I think that’s something that needs to be shared.”

Not only is the new location, housed in the historic Rosenwald building, a reflection of his family’s fun, loving personalities, but what you will find on the inside reflects their contagious energy, too.

When you walk through the doors you are greeted by vibrant Tiffany-blue walls, the staff ’s bubbly personalities, and lively music. When it’s time to place your order, there is a chalkboard-style menu that lists several specialty flavors, like Honey Cinnamon Graham Cracker and Rainbow Coalition, as well as signature sundaes, like Lemon Pound Cake, and even cobblers to choose from.

According to Muhammad, some customers find it difficult to choose a favorite flavor— many have about three. Customers will be happy to know these special flavors—which you might not find at any everyday ice cream parlor—are not going anywhere anytime soon.

“If we dare remove some of them flavors…” Muhammad chuckled. “Boy, we would have to pull rolling shutters down, and hide and run.”

Muhammad also believes in giving back to the community. Staff recently had an opportunity to participate in an Earth Day cleanup on the blocks adjacent to Shawn Michelle’s.

“It’s alright to be in business, but for me, business should serve the community and we should always remember who the object of everything that we do is,” Muhammad said. “It’s those who patronize it. It’s the community.”

By taking an active role in Bronzeville, Muhammad hopes to expand his business in the near future by opening locations in other Black communities, like South Shore, and maybe even outside Illinois, in Atlanta. Atlanta, to Muhammad’s mind, is the center of the South—and a great melting pot for both his business and Black Americans.

But above all, Muhammad wants everyone to know: “It’s really homemade ice cream!”

(Maple Joy) Shawn Michelle’s Homemade Ice Cream, 46 E. 47th St. $3.99–$16.75. Tuesday–Thursday, noon– 8pm; Friday and Saturday, noon–9pm; Sunday, noon–6pm. (773) 615-3238. shawnmichelles.com

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DRINKS

Bittersweet

The Four Drinks: Beer, tea, coffee, and a pudding milkshake PBR Pitcher at the Falcon Inn The Falcon Inn is, by the numbers, the undisputed champ of Hyde Park dive bars. It’s been around since the 60s, and it boasts the single cheapest pitcher of beer in the neighborhood— just $7.50 for PBR. The Falcon also offers cheap eats, thanks to Cholie’s Pizza, the greasy spoon next door that mainlines into the Falcon through a window called The Chole Hole.

Thanks to this un-Hole-y connection, you can order Cholie’s slices without leaving the building (very Pyramus and Thisbe). Falcon regulars are loyal to the bar, to the point of warning off new customers—one told me not to write about it in the newspaper, for fear of bringing in unwanted yuppies and newly-minted twenty-one-year-olds. The Falcon encourages this curmudgeonliness: according to a rarely-enforced sign on the window, no one under twenty-three is allowed inside. The only people who take this rule seriously, though, are UofC graduate students, who spread it as a rumor to keep out UofC undergrads.

Free karaoke on Fridays! (Kyle Oleksiuk) PBR pitcher, $7.50. The Falcon Inn, 1601 E. 53rd St. Monday–Friday, 10am–2am; Saturday, 11am–3am; Sunday, noon–2am. 21+.

Bingo’s Boba Hits the Spot Bingo Tea’s ceiling is painted light blue with puffs of white, so that when you look up you see sky. The effect is heightened after your first sip of lava milk tea ($4.50) topped with boba (+$0.75 for matcha boba) carries you to heaven on a caramel cloud. Rich brown sugar, the bottom layer of the drink, melts in your mouth leaving behind perfectly soft tapioca pearls—not too oozy, not too crunchy. Starbucks’ entire caffeinated syrup collection pales in comparison. Just ask for reduced sugar (even as a sweetness fiend, I get fifty percent) and don’t forget to shake your cup before you drink or you’ll get a mouthful of unadulterated sugar.

All Bingo shop owners have to go through a training program in mainland China before they can open their own businesses, and Chinatown’s Bingo is no exception.

The preparation is evident in the tea quality—they put more care into the tea steeping process than most boba tea joints do. Even without boba, the green and jasmine teas are delectable. Perhaps the training is also why Bingo is so ahead of the curve, serving the popular Taiwanese-style “milk caps,” a foamy salty-sweet topping (also known as “cheese tea”) that’ll add an unexpected twist to your beverage.

If you’re looking for a small bite to pair with your boba, there’s a small, not-tobe-underestimated rack of baked goods across the tea counter that serves Chinese and European baked goods. And if that’s not enough to tide you over, the tea shop is located in Chinatown’s mall, where you can find a variety of restaurants and cafes that serve more substantial fare. When you exit to Chicago’s gray skies, your face will match the expression of the Bingo mascot on your surprisingly sturdy cup—a blissful, knowing grin, and maybe even a wink for being in the know on Chinatown’s best boba joint. (Alia Shahzad) Lava Milk Tea, $4.50, +0.75 with matcha boba. Bingo Tea, 2150 S. Archer Ave., 1st fl. Monday– Thursday, noon–11pm; Friday–Sunday, 11:30am–midnight. (312) 328-6668.

MELL MONTEZUMA

16 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

DRINKS

For Sitting in the Sun Served at the Vietnamese coffee shop Cà Phê Dá on 18th Street, the Cà Phê Sua Dá is one of my favorite specialty coffees. I usually like to drink my coffee black and only in the mornings but this one is my exception to the rule, and is my recommendation if you are looking for a coffee that leans more toward dessert. A blend of coffee and sweet, condensed milk, it can be served either hot or iced. I prefer the iced version to go with the coffee shop’s chicken bánh mì on a warm afternoon in Pilsen. (Manisha A.R.) Cà Phê Sua Dá, $4. Cà Phê Dá, 1800 ½ S. Carpenter St. Open daily 7am–11pm. (773) 9991800. caphedachi.com

Best Banana Pudding in Beverage Form I am too young to remember the golden era of the soda shop. But B&B Candy & Ice Cream in Auburn Gresham is surely a close approximation. From behind the bar of the familyowned, Candyland-reminiscent heaven, the Brazley family serves up ice cream and Italian ices in the front, ground turkey nachos in the back, and hard candies to carry away from all the shelves in between. (Oh, and taffy grapes from the cooler.)

It feels a little arbitrary to single out B&B for their banana pudding milkshake when they have so many goods on offer, but the hard-to-find ice-cream flavor (Hershey’s brand) is just so good in milkshake form. And who’s to argue with a crowd pleaser? Ellen Brazley, who runs the shop alongside her husband Bernard and daughter Lauren, says that the banana pudding ice cream is a customer favorite—and it’s one of hers, too. The price is just right: a milkshake starts at $3.75 for an 8oz cup, with whipped cream and a cherry at no additional charge, and then it goes up a dollar per cup size, up to $6.75 for a 24oz cup.

When the Brazleys, who are Auburn Gresham natives, first opened the shop in October 2016, candy and ice cream was brand new territory. They really just wanted to create a “happy place” with “lots of colors and brightness” for the community, Ellen says. In the years since, their candy shop has grown into a community center of sorts. The kids from the high school around the corner who populate the shop—“they never leave,” Ellen laughs—call them “ma” and “pop.” The Brazleys host school supply drives every fall and winter, and throughout the year take in and distribute kids’ coats and clothes to those who need it.

When I stopped in on a Friday afternoon, the shop was buzzing, filled with families and groups of friends waiting to order, but not so busy that I wasn’t quickly forgiven for missing the take-a-number ticket dispenser in front of the counter in my eagerness for that banana pudding milkshake. (Emeline Posner) Banana Pudding Milkshake, $3.75–$6.75. B&B Candy and Ice Cream 8238 S. Racine Ave. $3– 12. Monday–Friday, noon–8pm; Saturday, noon–9pm; Sunday, noon–6pm. (773) 322-4060. ¬

MELL MONTEZUMA

MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 17

FOOD

Underground Dives at the Richland Food Court

Big dreams at work in Chinatown’s unassuming basement food court

BY TAMMY XU 18 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

TAMMY XU

FOOD

I

n 2011, when Jinxi Liu saw the Richland Center Food Court for the first time, it didn’t look like a welcoming place for new beginnings. Located in the basement of the Richland Center in Chinatown, the hall had been open less than a year and still looked mostly empty, with only a couple food vendors attending to their stalls. But to Liu, who had moved to the United States from the Chinese coastal province of Guangdong three years earlier, it nonetheless seemed like a promising place to start a restaurant of his own. In June of that year, with money he had borrowed from relatives and saved from working in various kitchens, he opened Yummy Yummy Noodles, the food court’s newest stall specializing in noodle dishes.

Unassuming though it may be, Richland’s food court has been described

by Reader food critic Mike Sula as Chicago’s “great incubator of Chinese restaurants.”Several full-scale restaurants— including Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings, Yummy Yummy Noodles, and Hello Jasmine—have gotten their start in one of the ten stalls that line the cafeteria. These days the space is thriving, home to not only a complete lineup of food vendors but also a kitchen supply store, clothing stores, and barber shops.

Although the food court attracts a regular flow of customers, the turnover rate for vendors is high, and opening a stall is not a guarantee of success. But with scarce restaurant financing options for people who lack funds, Richland’s food court remains an important avenue for the average aspiring entrepreneur to enter the Chinatown food scene.

Back in 2016, I Min Lin was planning to open his first milk tea store, Hello Jasmine, in Evanston, but found that the costs were beyond what he could afford with his savings from two years working as customer manager of Chinatown’s Little Lamb Hot Pot. But with the combination of his and his wife Jasmine’s savings and loans from friends, they were able to secure a stall at the food court that spring.

Xingjian Chen, who in August cofounded a new milk tea shop, Elitea, two stalls down from Hello Jasmine, is happy about the food court’s location in the heart of Chinatown and its informal atmosphere.

“It’s fast food, and customers have lots of choices,” said Chen, adding that having an internet café and karaoke lounge upstairs means that customers visiting one place can bring business to the others. He felt the only drawback was that the food court looked

“old-fashioned,” not as modern as food courts he’s seen in New York and China.

Chen said this was because the food court’s owners association is made up of many individual landlords who own the stalls and rent them out to restaurant owners, making deciding on changes for the food court slow. Though the association charges low maintenance fees, it results in the association not having a lot of money, which can make it difficult to coordinate large renovations such as fixing the air conditioning or leaks.

Compared to a traditional restaurant, opening a stall at the food court is easier and more cost-effective. Chen explained that to open a traditional restaurant, he would have needed to obtain a permit from the city, invest significant money in renovations, and be approved as being up to city code, which could take a lot of back and forth. In contrast, because each stall has previously hosted a food vendor, new start-ups at the food court only need to get a license inspection from the Department of Public Health, significantly cutting down on time and costs.

Even so, the capital required to open a new stall at the food court can be significant.

Chen estimates that initial investments for Elitea added up to $60,000, which the shop’s three co-owners were able to pay using savings from their full-time jobs in engineering and accounting. They are unusual in that regard—many of Richland food court’s restaurant owners have backgrounds working in restaurants and kitchens prior to opening their own stalls.

The affection that restaurant owners have for their craft is evident in the way they talk about their products and in the dishes themselves. Lin, owner of Hello Jasmine, spends hours every two days chopping chicken into the perfect sizes for his popcorn chicken dish, a popular Taiwanese street food and a customer favorite. They carry a dizzying array of teas, ranging from comfortingly rich and sweet milk teas with tapioca to zany fruit teas.

(It’s unclear exactly how the Orange Cheese Green Tea’s combination of orange juice with fresh orange chunks and a whipped sour cream topping works together, but it does.) Like their milk tea neighbor Elitea, Hello Jasmine imports all their spices and tea leaves from Taiwan.

Each owner takes pride in bringing to Chicago the tastes from a different corner of the world, but according to Ivan Leung, who is the president of the owners association and whose kitchen supply store is the

oldest shop in the food court, the dominant cuisine style has shifted over the years as the demographic of Chinatown changed. “It’s changing from Canton to North China…

You can tell the Cantonese food is less than Mandarin food,” said Leung. “Spicy, that’s different than before.”

Liu, owner of Yummy Yummy Noodles, agrees. Liu serves a bitter melon dish calibrated to the perfect level of bitterness, but their claim to fame has to be their noodle soup dishes, often served with a couple dumplings in it. They used to make Guangdong-style dumplings, but now only make dumplings with jiu cai stuffing—a wonderfully pungent herb beloved in northern China. “Initially I had a lot of customers from Northern China, they didn’t like eating Guangdong-style dumplings,” said Liu, “so I changed them to jiu cai dumplings.”

Liu and his wife moved Yummy Yummy Noodles to a street-level restaurant on bustling Wentworth Avenue five years after opening at the Richland Food Court.

The newer location is decorated with elegant wooden chairs and artwork on the walls, and a flatscreen TV playing Chinese dramas gives it a homey atmosphere. Before the dinner rush one evening, Liu played cards with his wife and daughter at one of the tables. “If we make more money I’d open an even bigger one,” said Liu of his restaurant location.

Other owners who started at Richland are expanding as well. Lin opened a third Hello Jasmine location on Clark Street just outside Chinatown a couple weeks ago, which he envisions as a kind of coffee shop that offers customers a Taiwanese cultural experience. The owners of Elitea are dreaming even bigger. With a franchise at the Fresh International Market in Schaumburg already under their belt, they are looking to open another location in San Francisco, and many more franchises beyond that.

And just about everyone has heard of the success of Qing Xiang Yuan, whose dumplings have people waiting in line just to get a table on Saturdays, and which is opening a new location in the Loop.It seems that the stalls that specialize do particularly well—not every stall in Richland is able to grow so quickly. Snack Planet, which has a less specialized menu and was one of the first stalls to open at the food court, is opening a second location in Naperville just this year.

At Four Season Noodles, opened in January, it’s all about the noodles.

Owner Haoran Meng traveled back to his

hometown of Shenyang, in northeastern China, to learn how to hand pull noodles.

It’s a treat to watch him transform a hunk of dough into long elastic strands, which he boils and serves without fuss with beef and broth, the most popular item on his menu. A single serving contains so many satisfyingly chewy noodles that even a person with considerable chopsticks skills will have to put up a bit of a fight. When asked what his dreams are for the restaurant, he says for now he’s just concentrating on making it work. “I have lots of work to do,” Meng said. Tammy Xu is a contributor to the Weekly. She last wrote for the Weekly in February about civic engagement in Chinatown.

MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 19

DRINKS

Hoppy Pairings

The Weekly reviews 13 beers and finds they all go well with something HORSE THIEF HOLLOW Horse Thief Hollow takes its name from 1850s Beverly—horse thieves would hide their embezzled equines in the woods there before bringing them to market.

Neil Byers opened the brewpub in 2013, rehabbing a former carpet store and using reclaimed wood wherever possible. After spending eight years working as a chef in South Carolina, Byers wanted a place in his hometown “where people could come for hand crafted beer and flavorful cooking with a Southern accent.” Right now, you can find burnt brisket ends, burgers made from venison, and gumbo on the menu.

10426 S. Western Ave. Monday–Thursday, 11:30am–10pm; Friday–Saturday, 11:30am– midnight; Sunday, 11:30am–10pm. (773) 779-BREW. horsethiefbrewing.com The Caretaker Scottish Ale 5% ABV Appearance: Golden bronze goodness— think caramel, think butterscotch.

Label: We still dislike Horse Thief ’s wannabe western growler.

Smell: Surprisingly subdued, like an ale.

Taste: Sweet and caramel on the first taste, this brew is mellow and a little buttery, with a peaty, malty aftertaste.

Feel: Smooth, creamy, smooth as cream.

Overall: The first of Horse Thief ’s spring release is well timed—this quiet, unassuming beer is exactly what you’d want for an April snowstorm, even if the moniker that ultimately comes to mind is Sleepy Hollow rather than Horse Thief Hollow.

Little Wing American Pilsner With Malted Barley 5.2% ABV Appearance: Reminiscent of ginger ale, but cloudier, like a shandy.

Label: This whimsical can, featuring a girl riding a winged zebra and chasing a butterfly, is not what we would have designed, but should surely appeal to the horse girls out there.

20 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

Smell: A subtle citrus, wheaty and airy.

Taste: Very full-bodied, dry and clean and crisp, though not in a bad way. Not a lot of flavor aside from a finishing of lemon zest.

Feel: So soda-pop bubbly that we wouldn’t want to drink it out of a Pilsner glass—give those bubbles the long life they deserve.

Overall: This light and drinkable pilsner has an early afternoon, late spring/early summer feel—sitting on the porch watching fireflies, watching the kids running through the sprinkler, paying attention to nothing much...including, maybe, the beer itself.

ALULU A small Pilsen brewpub featuring twenty beers on tap from brewmaster and firefighter Frank Costanzo and an eclectic menu from chef Jeffrey Hedin, Alulu offers a wide variety of flavors in both liquid and solid form.

2011 S. Laflin St. Wednesday–Thursday, 5pm; Friday–Sunday, 3pm; Monday, 5pm (special menu). (312) 600-9865. alulubrew.com Goslar Locus Sour Gose With Passionfruit, Pink Himalayan Salt, Coriander 4.33% ABV Appearance: Bright, golden straw, without much of a head. pee; bright; golden straw urine sample, medium dehydrated; apple juice; not much head Label: Sleek and geometric, featuring a snake overlaid on the outline of a bear and stylish lettering, Alulu’s growler makes us wonder what they’d do on an actual beer can.

Smell: Pink, fruity, perfumy, fragrant—like shampoo, really (tastes a little like it too).

Taste: It’s like a green apple jolly rancher in the way that a green apple jolly rancher doesn’t taste a thing like green apple—that is, tart to the back. A welcome salty, briny tang balances the first sweet taste, resolving into a very complex but balanced flavor

profile.

Feel: Lighter, not as vibrant or bubbly.

Overall: Take this sunshiney/vinegarsunshine beer in a small glass, or share it with friends at an afternoon picnic.

Malogaan Sky Belgian Dark Ale, Cognac Barrel–Aged Brewed with Cascara 12% ABV Appearance: Pepsi...with a melted ice cube.

Label: Plus, the more you drink, the more you can change your mind over whether that illustration is of a bear or a wolf.

Smell: Whiskey, malty.

Taste: Jack Daniels took a cream soda out on a date for a slice of fruit cake. Once you know, you can taste the skin of a coffee cherry (cascara), with sweetness coming from the cognac.

Feel: Take this strong one slow—with a bit of a burn, it puts hair on your chest like any good whiskey would, but on the whole is pretty smooth for a twelve percent.

Overall: Pepsi look and slight taste aside, this intense beer’s meant for the end of the night, paired with a pub’s dimly lit corner and hushed conversation.

you think it’s like a lemon drop or lemon pith, anyone would agree it’s lemony, accompanied by some mild, warm spices.

Feel: Small, smooth bubbles burn your throat on the way down, but light and crushable.

Overall: A past Weekly favorite, this saison remains friendly as ever. Great for dinner, receptions, whatever’s up first in the evening.

Sliced Nectarine IPA 5.9% ABV Appearance: Bourbon, apple juice, iced tea, maybe all together.

Label: We repeat: you’ve seen one Moody Tongue label, you’ve seen them all. (We wouldn’t say no to a redesign in time for next year’s beer review.)

Smell: This year we detect a definite fruity nectarine scent, along with definite hops.

Taste: Much more bitter than it smells— definitely an IPA, but fresh rather than skunky. Dry, without the sweetness you might expect, or want.

Feel: The carbonation fizzles out strikingly— and disappointingly—quickly.

Overall: The IPA for someone who doesn’t drink IPAs, this somewhat underwhelming beer would go well with spicy food like Rajun Cajun or Uncle Joe’s.

MOODY TONGUE

MARZ

Moody Tongue describes their style as “culinary brewing.” Brewmaster Jared Rouben applies his culinary experience to making serious, experimental beers and food menus that alternate heavily between the sweet and salty: fresh oysters, German chocolate cake, sausage and cheese plates.

Check out their taproom in a former glass factory in Pilsen, decorated with a white marble bar, leather chairs, and cozy fireplaces, to try their rotating drafts and snack on the rest of their rotating gastronomic fare.

A self-described collective of “homebrewers, professional brewers and artists that found each other while drinking beers at Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar,” Marz Community Brewing opened their own taproom in McKinley Park in February 2017. Recognizable for its quirky label art and experimental brews, Marz has deep roots in the Bridgeport community.

Ed Marszewski, owner and president of the brewery, also runs the Co-Prosperity Sphere, an art gallery and home to Lumpen magazine and 105.5 FM WPLN Lumpen Radio. Ed’s brother, Mike, owns Maria’s—a great spot to try Marz’s newest offerings or pick up a bottle or two to go.

2136 S. Peoria St. (312) 600-5111. Wednesday, 5pm–10pm; Thursday, 5pm–11pm; Friday, 5pm–midnight; Saturday, noon–midnight; Sunday, noon–9pm. moodytongue.com Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison 6.3% ABV Label: You’ve seen one Moody Tongue label, you’ve seen them all. Here, the yellow allows the simple, deft design to pop.

Appearance: Deep yellow. Looks like Martinelli’s.

Smell: Smells like Martinelli’s, too, with a sweet yeasty tinge. A little like the fish crumbs in the bottom of the bag of J&J’s Fish and Chicken, but maybe that’s just us.

Taste: Delivers upon its advertising: whether

3630 S. Iron St. Tuesday–Thursday, noon– 11pm; Friday–Saturday, noon–midnight; Sunday, noon–10pm. (773) 579-1935. marzbrewing.com Cloudy Boyz New England IPA in collaboration with Collective Arts Brewing 7.77% ABV Appearance: A mimosa-like gradient that almost matches the can; a beermosa, we guess.

Label: Marz used to wow with artful quirky-

DRINKS

wallpaper labels; it only makes sense that it’s tracked the evolution of hipster aesthetics with hyperactive self-mocking labels that refer to noise shows and “art book fair afterparties.” We hate that we like it.

Smell: Dewy pineapple.

Taste: Dry and bitter, of course, but the notes of pineapple and passionfruit are there, too, and strong, making for an uplifting, wellrounded juiciness.

Feel: Swells in your mouth, making for an IPA that goes down easy.

Overall: Aside from being great for drinking conspicuously in public because it looks so much like a juice can, has the right vibes for a comics workshop at the Weekly, or for hanging out with foodie art kids pregaming for an event. We hate that we like it.

WHINER Whiner Beer has been brewing in The Plant—Back of the Yards’s favorite closed-loop farm and food and business incubator—since fall 2015, and its taproom has been an essential feature since 2016.

Aside from promoting “environmentally responsible brewing” and playing a role in The Plant’s anaerobic digester, Whiner is the place to be if you’re in the mood for barrel-aged French and Belgian beers. The taproom makes smart use of its home, with plants nestled in its tables and wood-fired pizza you have to venture up a couple flights of stairs to Pleasant House Bakery’s space to order.

1400 W. 46th St. Wednesday–Friday, 4pm– 11pm; Saturday, 12pm–11pm; Sunday, 1pm– 8pm. whinerbeer.com Save the Queen American Farmhouse Ale with Honey and Blackberries 6.9% ABV Appearance: Cloudy, a little rosy, we’d even go so far as to say pretty.

Label: A huge teddy bear hot-air balloon spilling honey out of its mouth! Bee fighter planes! A duck releasing a cannon! A hot pink background! Somehow both lurid and chipper—Whiner at its Whinerest.

Smell: A little like candy—Red Vines, let’s say—and blackberry if you search for it.

Taste: Sour that sneaks up on you—at first it’s not sour, then it’s sour, then it’s really sour. Accompanied by the strange sense of having overeaten four pints of blackberries.

Feel: Very lingering. Lingered hard.

Overall: This sour-candy beer packs a punch.

Share it alongside one of the Pleasant House vegan pizzas upstairs from Whiner’s taproom—you’ll probably only need to split a single bottle.

Coolship Sasha Fontaine BarrelFermented Raspberry Wild Ale 6.8% ABV Appearance: Hazy, burnt orange.

Label: The Whiner cast of characters now features pink ’n’ purple monsters—makes us feel a little nervous about indoor swimming pools.

Smell: Sour-candy, again, with some fruitiness to it.

Taste: Less sour than Save the Queen, and the raspberry comes through strong to balance it out.

Feel: Smooth, slick, and airy.

Overall: Take this summery fruit-and-sourcream ale to the Point after your second swim, drying off on the heat of the rocks.

Bubble Tub Kettle-Soured Saison Ale with Watermelons Label: Classic Whiner, with the lovable critters and the lovable mustache.

Appearance: A little bit more of a head than Whiner’s other offerings.

Smell: As you might expect, there’s a little watermelon here.

Taste: This one takes us—okay, one of us— back to the 1970s. Anyone with a fake ID

in 1980 was buying pink champale, the champagne-yeast-brewed beer in a can to have on hand while you were trying to sneak into a disco.

Feel: 1979 via 2019, sweet and friendly.

Overall: It’s 2019 and disco is over, but this family-friendly sour beer standby will still be welcome at any party.

OPEN OUTCRY This Morgan Park brewery—named, for some reason, for the strange sign language utilized by stock and futures traders on the trading floor—opened in 2017, and gives off what Weekly editors described as “strong pizza dad vibes.” Fitting, as owner John Brand, who lives in the area, told the SunTimes in February his intention was to open a family-style restaurant and brewpub that would showcase his beers, which he began home-brewing fourteen years ago—and the fact that Open Outcry offers a pizza oven.

10934 S. Western Ave. Bar hours: 11am–11pm daily; kitchen hours: 11am–10pm daily. (773_ 629-6055. openoutcrybrewing.com Speculator Cream Ale American Cream Ale 4.2% ABV Label: Let’s just say these large brown-andgold cans were meant for transport, not for ogling.

Appearance: Unexpectedly pretty, with the sheen of champagne.

Smell: Fresh, simple, lightly wheaty.

Taste: There’s a little wheaty sweetness here, but on the whole it’s—pretty boring.

Feel: Refreshing—drink it in midday when you don’t want to get a buzz.

Overall: All-American blandness: it’s what you drink while mowing the lawn, or at a baseball game, or, of course, alongside Open Outcry’s pizza.

Bang The Close New England Pale Ale 5.3% ABV Label: Let’s just say these large brown-andgold cans were meant for transport, not for ogling.

Appearance: True New England haze, with a good head—gotta appreciate that.

Smell: Sudsy laundry detergent. Oof. Taste: Very wheaty, with a hop in the finish.

Feel: Like a PBR. Overall: All-American blandness, but poolside. PBR’s fancy cousin from the city.

5 RABBIT This Southwest Suburban brewery, which is expanding into a controversial Pilsen development called Mural Park in coming months, made headlines in 2015 when it stopped providing the Chicago Trump Tower with a custom beer in the wake of Donald Trump’s comments about Mexicans in his presidential campaign launch (which subsequently became the subject of a short documentary). Named for an Aztec mythological character, 5 Rabbit says that it brews its beers with “píixan,” a Mayan word roughly translating to “free spirit.”

6398 W. 74th St., Bedford Park. Wednesday– Thursday, 4pm–10pm; Friday, 4pm– 11pm; Saturday, 1pm–9pm. Tacos every Thursday starting 5:30pm, tamales every Saturday starting 1pm. (312) 895-9591.

5rabbitbrewery.com 5 Rabbit Cerveza Dorada American Blonde Ale 5.3% ABV Label: Whimsical, folk tale–style illustration—the coloring on the zigzag rabbit and the tiny eagle is so pleasingly delicate that it makes the somewhat tacky, boisterous fonts all the more disappointing.

Appearance: Straw.

Smell: Definitely the skunkiest of them all.

Taste: Not so skunky as the smell—clean and balanced, with a subtle hint of lemon pith.

Feel: Full-bodied and rich—highly drinkable.

Overall: A sweetness comes through when you pair this golden ale with food—we like the idea of drinking it alongside a meal and a low-key activity: bowling alley brew.

Overall overall reflections: “I wouldn’t refuse any of these beers if someone gave them to me.” ¬

MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 21

ALAN EPSTEIN

W

hat Was Breakfast is a series in which I walk up to a stranger, take their portrait, and interview them about what they had for breakfast.

There are few things that can get us all on the same page like food does. To this day I’ve never interviewed a person who has said they don’t eat food. (There have however been a few intermittent fasters who told me they don’t eat until lunch, but that actually reinforces the idea of what breakfast really is—breaking the fast!)

Early on when I first started What Was Breakfast I Interviewed someone who had peanut butter in their breakfast and when I posted it on Instagram, people started commenting about whether they were Team Smooth or Team Crunchy and it made me happy that, in this era, people were arguing about something so seemingly silly. But more importantly, even though they disagreed, in a sense they were all on Team Breakfast.

In an age when people draw lines in the sand and we can find endless things to argue about, I found something we can all agree on: food.

"What did you have for breakfast? Say oatmeal?" Mom "..buhbuh."

"Oatmeal? ..and muffin?" "..."

"Say blueberry?"

"Bluber."

"Muffin?"

"Muffi."

"And what about you? What did you have?"

"Same thing, oatmeal and a blueberry muffin."

"Sausage and waffles."

"Uh, yeah, sausage and waffles."

"Both you guys had em? At the same place?"

"Yup, same place. At home."

"At home?"

"Yeah, that's my cousin, I'm here visiting."

"Where you visiting from?"

"Texas."

(Right) "We can't speak English well, but we had a like, healthy noodle with a vegetable, like broccoli and onion and carrot and slaw and roots. It was like organic healthy food."

"Salchicha verde con nopalitos."

EVENTS

BULLETIN Urban Readers Series: Lawrence Vale, After the Projects 57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th St. Wednesday, May 1, 6pm–7pm. Free. semcoop.com MIT urban design professor Lawrence Vale and UofC urbanism professor Emily Talen discuss Vale’s recently-published book on the effects of the federal government’s HOPE VI housing program, which resulted in the razing of high-rise public housing in cities across the county— including Chicago. (Sam Stecklow)

Public Newsroom 106: What is Asset-Based Education Reporting?

Loretto Hospital, 645 S. Central Ave. Thursday, May 2, 6pm–8pm. Free. citybureau.org Nonprofit education and training organizations Project Exploration and the Chicago Learning Exchange lead this Public Newsroom looking at how Austin residents are taking an asset-based approach and shining a spotlight on the innovative learning happening in their neighborhood through Remake Learning Days Chi, and other initiatives outlined in their community-led Quality of Life Plan.

(Sam Stecklow)

Chicago Antiquarian Map, Book, & Ephemera Fair Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St. Preview night cocktail reception Friday, May 3, 6pm–8pm; fair Saturday, May 4, 10am–5pm and Sunday, May 5, 10am–3pm. Cocktail reception $30 per person; fair $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and free for children under twelve. chicagomapfair.com Geek out this weekend at the beautiful Newberry Library, where thousands of rare and antique maps, prints, and books will be on display, and available for purchase. Over thirty dealers from around North America and Europe will be offering their goods.

(Sam Stecklow)

Migration and Housing: A Century of Color Lines DRW College Prep, 931 S. Homan Ave. Saturday, May 4, 1pm–3pm. Free. bit.ly/MigrationAndHousing1919 As part of Chicago 1919, the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded programming around the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Chicago Race Riots, the Newberry Library hosts this conversation between the Newberry’s Brad Hunt, a historian of housing in Chicago, and architecture critic, writer, and photographer Lee Bey on the effects of the riots and racial segregation on housing throughout the last century. (Sam Stecklow)

VISUAL ARTS Yollocalli Spring Show Yollocalli Arts Reach, 2801 S. Ridgeway Ave. Friday May 3, 5pm–7pm. bit.ly/YCSpringShow19 Swing by for youth arts collective Yollocalli’s spring art show, showcasing work from sessions throughout 2018. Buy merchandise from the Yollocalli Youth Council and enjoy the art and snacks.

(Roderick Sawyer)

Common Unity ALULU Brewery and Pub, 2011 S. Laflin St. Sunday, May 5, 3pm–11pm. 21+ with ID. bit.ly/CommonUnity1 Featuring collaborative and collective art work from a large range of artists, join curators Steph Scum, Ryan Stuchly, Victor M. Montañez for a night of brews and art.

This exhibition will explore the struggles, triumphs, and experiences of those in Chicago’s communities.

(Roderick Sawyer)

BAUHAUS TEA PARTY, PART 2 Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, 915 E. 60th St. Thursday, May 2, 6pm–8pm. bit.ly/Part2BTP This even is the second part of a two-part series exploring designed objects and their relationships to our bodies. Beginning with a tour at the KilnHouse, a recently completed structure dedicated to pottery, glazing, and crafting. Participants have the opportunity to use kilns and explore how the glazing and firing processes transform clay into archival artwork. (Roderick Sawyer)

Family Day: Blocks!

Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. Saturday, May 4, 1pm-4pm. bit.ly/BlocksFilmDay What constitutes a block, a city, or a public space of any sort? Come explore the idea of a “block” with artist & architect Amanda Williams and author of The South Side & WBEZ reporter Natalie Moore. This event is open to the whole family. (Roderick Sawyer)

MUSIC Figures on the Big White Screen Brat Trap, ask a punk. Friday, May 3, 8pm. $5 suggested. bit.ly/big-white-screen On Friday, this McKinley Park DIY venue will host a night of experimental electronics. Expect performances from Omnia Sol and Magical Mind, harsh noise from the (aptly named) Tardive, and a live set from Obe of Gauze Records.

(Christopher Good)

Chicago No Wave Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Saturday, May 4, 7pm–midnight. $15. (773) 823-9702. coprosperity.org The Co-Pro might not be CBGB, but with performances from Bobby Conn, Azita, D.O.G., and the Flying Luttenbachers on deck, who needs nostalgia? Chicago No Wave will take “No New York” to heart: this special event will revisit Chicago’s own second-wave take on the tropes of no wave (nihilism, negation, discodnant sax) in the 1990s. (Christopher Good)

AACM Great Black Music Ensemble Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Sunday, May 5, 5pm. Free, no RSVP required, drinks for sale. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org On Sunday, Douglas Ewart—a versatile performer and long-running member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM)—will direct a performance from the Great Black Music Ensemble, Chicago’s own always-in-flux ensemble of avant-garde Black musicians.

(Christopher Good)

Bodymilk: Warm Darn, FUKO, Hedra Rowan Ashland Gymnasium, 1808 S. Ashland Ave. Fl. 3 Friday, May 17, 9pm–midnight. bit.ly/bodymilk2019 The latest installation of Bodymilk’s Pilsenbased party series will feature Champaign’s Warm Darn (as in “hot damn,” but milder), local producer Fuko, and “trans bronte heroine” Hedra Rowan, whose outstanding “19th Century Girl” album just dropped on Bodymilk. (Christopher Good)

STAGE & SCREEN Hyde Park Community Players: Buddha Swings University Church, 5655 S. University Ave. Fridays and Saturdays, May 3–18, 7:30pm; Sunday, May 19, 2pm. $12 , $15 at the door, $10 students and seniors. hydeparkcommunityplayers.com Hyde Park Community Players presents Buddha Swings, a swing-dance jazz-era, film noir-style musical...about the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. It’s directed by John Poole and features Deigha Gary as Prince Sidd. (Nicole Bond)

F is For Funny Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Saturday, May 4, 7pm doors, 8pm show. $25, $30 at the door. fisforfunny.com Michael Issac will host a laugh-out-loud funny night of comedy starring Just Nesh, Joey Villagomez, and Em Brown, with sound by DJ Mike Calliber and a special performance by Gifted Keys. (Nicole Bond) MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 25

EVENTS

Boss: The Black Experience in Business Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Friday, May 10, 4pm–6pm. Free. rebuild-foundation.org This documentary film explores the history of Black entrepreneurship, presented in collaboration with the Illinois Small Business Development Center at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago and WTTW-11, in time to celebrate National Small Business Week. A panel discussion will follow the screening. (Nicole Bond)

What Use Are Flowers?: A Fable

by Lorraine Hansberry makebelieve.fm/flowers Listen online to an audio drama produced by the Make Believe Association of a littleknown one-act play intended for television, written in 1961 by South Side playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The dystopian though timely tale of a hermit returning to a society he had abandoned features: Grammy nominee Billy Branch, director and performer Daniel Kyri, Khloe Janel, Tevion Lanier, Kiayla Ryann, and sound by the Weekly’s Radio Executive Producer Erisa Apantaku and Mikhail Fiksel.

(Nicole Bond)

Afro Film Series Harper Theater, 5238 S. Harper Ave. Thursdays now through May 23. Doors open 6:30pm, screening 7pm. Free. bit.ly/2UXGPeW So Live Experiences presents a series of films to showcase the work of African and Caribbean talent. This week–Osuofia in London, directed by Kingsley Ogoro of Nigeria, which tells the story of a man arriving in London from an African village to claim an inheritance left by his late brother. In the coming weeks catch Sometimes in April, by Haitian director Raoul Peck; Black Girl, directed by Ousmane Sembene of Senegal; Lumumba, a political thriller based on a true story, also directed by Peck. Yabba, by Idriss Ouedraogo of the Republic of Upper Volta; and Yeelen, by Souleymane Cissee of Mali.

(Nicole Bond)

26 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY ¬ MAY 1, 2019

Hamilton: The Exhibition Northerly Island, 1300 S. Linn White Dr. Opens April 27 through September 8.

Mondays and Tuesdays noon–6pm (last entry 4pm); Wednesdays, 10am–6pm (last entry 5pm); Thursdays–Saturdays, 10am–8pm (last entry 6pm); Sundays, 10am-6pm (last entry 4pm). $39.50 adults, $32.50 seniors/ military, $25 ages 4-14. Discounts available for CPS groups or groups of 10 or more. hamiltonexhibition.com Whether you have or haven’t yet seen the theatrical phenomenon that is Hamilton, this exhibition of interactive lighting, sound, multimedia, music, and historical artifacts, featuring an audio tour by Hamilton director Lin-Manuel Miranda, will be an experience beyond the musical to immerse attendees into the world of the now famed founding father. (Nicole Bond)

FOOD & LAND Field Museum Free Admission Days The Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr. Free admission days Thursday, May 2; Saturday, May 4; Wednesday, June 26; Thursday, June 27; and Friday, June 28, 9am–5pm. Free for Illinois residents. fieldmuseum.org Explore one of the largest natural history museums in the world on the above dates for free if you’re an Illinois resident, which you are if you’ve lived in the state for over a year—if you don’t have an ID card, you can bring a copy of your lease, a library card, a photo student ID, a utility bill, or a work paystub. (Sam Stecklow)

World Naked Gardening Day

Too Heavy for Your Pocket

Saturday, May 4. wngd.org

TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave. April 24–June 29. $25-$54. (773) 281-8463 ext. 6. timelinetheatre.com

In what is definitely a real holiday, you are encouraged to garden, naked. “Why garden naked?” the website for the holiday asks. “First of all, it's fun! Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude.” With that sound logic, the Weekly wishes you all a happy World Naked Gardening Day. (Sam Stecklow)

Court Theatre Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson directs a story by playwright Jiréh Breon Holder, who was recently named one of “Tomorrow’s Marquee Names, Now in the Making” by the New York Times.

Holder’s play examines the bonds of love and friendship, and the personal cost of progress when the opportunity to fight racism in the Deep South, as a Freedom Rider, supersedes a college scholarship.

Too Heavy For Your Pocket was seen in an extended Off-Broadway run at the Roundabout Theater in 2017. (Nicole Bond)

Birds in the City at McKinley Park McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing Rd. Saturday, May 4, 7:45am–9:45am. Free. chicagoparkdistrict.com Learn about the city’s migratory birds in this workshop hosted by the Chicago Park District, one of four. In this one, participants will birdwatch, then “experience the bird’s perspective by trying a little nature bathing,” according to the park district event page, which offers no further explanation of what the nature bathing will entail. It does implore attendants to bring binoculars, a notebook, and a field guide if you have one (they’ll let you borrow theirs if not), and to dress for the weather (reports indicate a sunny sixty-two degree day) and to “be prepared for muddy feet.” (Sam Stecklow)

Wooded Island Bird Walk Jackson Park’s Wooded Island, 6401 S. Stony Island Ave. Saturdays, 8am–11am. Free. chicagoaudubon.org Join members of the Chicago Audubon Society every Saturday morning, weather permitting, to observe the fowl of Jackson Park’s famed Wooded Island. Participants meet in the parking lot of the Museum of Science and Industry, and do not need to be Audubon Society members. (Sam Stecklow)

Sputnik Coffee’s First Birthday Party Sputnik Coffee, 2057 W. 51st St. Saturday, May 4, 9am–4pm. Free. facebook.com/ sputnikcoffee Join the team behind one of the South Side’s newest independent coffee shops and roasteries to, as they put it, “drink coffee, eat birthday cake, and share fun chats.” (Sam Stecklow)

Illinois Hemp Growers Summit The Quarry, 2423 E. 75th St. Saturday, May 4, 11am–4pm. $25. hempgrowersummit.com The recently-passed Illinois Hemp Law allows farmers to plant and grow the cannabis-related (but low-THC) cash crop, which the growers’ summit says has the potential to “empower small farmers and revitalize farming communities.”

Learn about planting, harvesting, drying, processing and extraction, transportation and logistics, and CBD and hemp products.

(Sam Stecklow)

Chicago River Cleanup at Bubbly Creek W. 35th St. and S. Iron St. Saturday, May 11, 9am–noon. Free with registration. bit.ly/ CleanBubblyCreek Join neighbors, friends, and fellow stewards at this cleanup day for the most notoriously polluted portion of the Chicago River, the South Side’s own Bubbly Creek. Sponsored by the aptly-named Bubbly Dynamics (the owner and operator of The Plant). (Sam Stecklow)

EVENTS

61st Street Farmers Market Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Saturdays through the end of October starting May 11, 9am–2pm. experimentalstation.org/market The South Side’s premier farmers market returns to its weekly outdoor iteration, taking up the 1400 block of East 61st Street every Saturday with over twenty vendors, pop-ups at Build Coffee, and live performances. Stock up on fresh produce, meet and shop with your neighbors, and contribute to sustainable, affordable agricultural practices on and for the South Side. (Sam Stecklow)

Cooking With the Seasons The Plant, 1400 W. 46th St. Saturday, May 11, 1pm–2:30pm. $30. plantchicago.org Learn how to locate, source, and cook with seasonal produce at this workshop hosted by nutritionist and holistic health practitioner Carly Feldmeier. (Sam Stecklow)

MAY 1, 2019 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 27

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