Went to Fattys (new burger place) on Clark and Drummond last night for dinner. Had a burger with avocado, bacon, and cheese. On the expensive side ($10-$15), but burger was very tasty, and rather large. Bun was sweet and soft. Didn't get soggy at all which happens at other burger joints. Fries were decent.

Place is rather small. Think I prefer it over Five Guys and Duke's. Will have to check it out again.

Went to Longman and Eagle... kind of a far trek outside of the city but the staff was pretty cool there. We ate most of the menu and most things were hit or miss, really good or not good at all but overall enjoyed and would potentially return

Far trek outside of the city? It's in Logan Square...

It's west of Western. The horror!

I hear there are warlocks and ogres that live over there. It's very scurry

New years eve with umphrey's mcgee.

well it was like a 20 minute cab ride... we're used to like 3 minute cab rides lol

1) still not helping yourself irt the 20 min cab ride and 2) there is the blue line that stops off right in front of L&E

i'm from out of town cut me some slack I barely understand the layout of the loop, I basically fly to o'hare, go to work, go to hotel, go to dinner, get drunk, repeat daily for the last 7 months

0 time to explore and get to know the city unfortunately

kyle,

I think it's just a little friendly ribbing.

I shudder to think what you think of my neighborhood (Andersonville). Probably it's the suburbs to you.

I plan to hit up the Andersonville Midsommerfest this weekend AND I'm going to Big Jones the following weekend. Anyone been?

I don't spend a lot of time in Andersonville, but I did just randomly check out Bad Apple. It was solid, v good burgers and a nice beer list

bad apple rules and it's also not that far from fountainhead as well. Half Acre-->Bad Apple-->Fountainhead is a fun little hop

Bug Jones is solid. The I haven't had anything off the new menu since they reconcepted a couple weeks ago. Usually the only real weakness is the cocktails, and I think they are working on that.

Bad Apple is also solid, but in Lincoln Square, not Andersonville. Midsummerfest seems cool but as a resident it's mostly annoying.

A-ville highlights include Big Jones, Hopleaf, anteprima, m henry, Vincent, great lake, takashi, sunshine cafe, icosium cafe, and rezas. Hopleaf going to double in size to start July. Lady gregory is a solid bar with huge whiskey list as well. Lots of other good food, bars, and stores too. Too much light around the corner, as is little Vietnam, sun wah, Lincoln square just a few blocks west.

I would add Tre Kronor

For a non-food related adventure, I highly recommend kayaking the river.


kayaks by tsearcher2011, on Flickr

That photo is of a group tour which I haven't done. I think it's more fun just to go with some friends. There's two places that I know of that rent kayaks, google will bring you to them. They give you a 5 minute lesson if you've never kayaked before. It's super easy. Way easier than a canoe or rowboat. The activity itself is fun and you'll get a new view of the city.

The only downside is the river can be smelly and you'll get wet. You can also kayak the lake, but when I went to do that, people were just staying in one place and getting flipped over by the waves.

MOAR PORTILLOS

Serious Eats - We Eat Everything at Hot Doug's. Hot dog porn for those of you who haven't convinced yourselves to hit Hot Doug's yet.

i loved the show about it where the guy admitted he had called in sick at work just to eat there

Check out Ada St if you get a chance. We went there w/another couple and were blown away by the food. Plates are pretty small (smaller than The Publican, on average), so a group of 6 could probably order one of everything and eat it all comfortably.

If you go, be sure to order the octopus. We actually ordered a 2nd round after inhaling the first.

I have one extra ticket for a couple different Just For Laughs Comedy Tour shows if anyone is interested:

John Oliver - Friday - 7:30 pm - Vic Theatre (SOLD)
Mike Birbiglia - Saturday - 7:30 pm - Victory Gardens Theater
Vince Vaughn - Sunday - 8:00 pm - Chicago Theater

I'm selling each for face value. Just want to get rid of them. Dad couldn't make the trip from Nebraska so it's just my mom and I seeing the shows. $50 for Birbiglia, $55 for Vaughn. Cash only. Birbiglia is an eTicket, Vaughn is a hard ticket.

Does anyone else abhor these new charity people that hang out all over Michigan Avenue? You know, the ones that wave their hand in the air trying to flag you down from like 20 yards away, then shake your hand and give you some spiel about gay rights or poverty? One of these days I am going to snap and say "Yes I do support gay rights but I don't support annoying people on the street when all I'm trying to do is grab a frickin Subway sandwich so no I will not give to you."

Yes, I am mad.

Biesterfield,

Yeah, I hate them. In my neighborhood they regularly occupy the southeast corner and northwest corner of two intersections in a row (two charities, ldo). This configuration makes it impossible to avoid either of them, regardless of how many times you cross the street. I also super-resent the phrasing "do you have a minute to spare for (insert charity cause here)?" Well, yes, I do, but you actually want $50, and even though I have $50 to spare for almost all of these causes I would actively choose not to give the money due to the obnoxious guilt/pressure/harassment they use to get you to stop. They'll ask if they can pet your dog, then try to use that to start talking to you. Also, several of them have lied to me about the facts of either their cause or where donated money would go, so **** them.

My favorite (semi-related) instance was when I was in Rome 2 summers ago with a friend who was wearing a Stanford t-shirt and some guy (who had no visible pamphlets or anything) stopped him and excitedly said "Hey, you went to Stanford?!" and my friend said yeah and of course asked if he did as well. The guys response: "I'm from New York" [practically neighbors!] and then he proceeded to try to recruit us to go to some event.

So yeah, people with really annoying ways of getting your attention to support their causes is an international problem.

they are far more annoying than homeless people asking for money. they will step right in front of your path trying to get your attention and they to take no for an answer less and less often as time goes on.