Personally, I find awkward the musicals that cobble established songs together into a new storylines. In the case of Million Dollar Quartet, where the characters are performing them straight-up as songs rather than as story elements, I found it additionally odd.

This is a show where a couple lines of dialogue, really—of exposition, are jammed in between the songs. The night jumps from hit to hit to hit.

It’s not bad if that is what you want, but it does make reacting to it a bit difficult. Is it a concert? Is it a play? How should I blend the two?

The up-close seating of Chicago’s Apollo Theater heightens the confusion. The actors can see you, and you can see each other. The loud, brash rock ‘n roll, as well as the narration, definitely go through the fourth wall. The talent of the cast is not in question. They bring the charisma and abilities of the original performers through, and the resulting music is pretty stupendous, but it does bring to the fore an interesting social phenomenon.

Even now, this early rock ‘n roll comes across so raw and powerful. The beats, rhythms, and energy power right into you. But what if those teens who propelled this music into the mainstream the first time are now a little too settled to “shake it, baby, shake it?”

Well, what happens is that the music and attitude come blasting from the stage while the audience may clap along a little bit… sometimes… if some people feel like it.

At least that’s what happened on the night that I went.

It was awkward.

So the artists themselves have worked to return the tradition back to the neighborhood.

There will be 150 artists in the blazing hot maze of the Flat Iron, plenty of musical performances, and cheese and wine galore. I’m looking forward to it. There just isn’t another cultural event like this.

$10 suggested donation for all three days.
1579 N Milwaukee Ave
September 10 to September 12

Nope. It was all the Hawks sweaters and t-shirts around. Contrary to stereotypes, I saw several African-American Chicagoans sporting the hockey paraphernalia as well.

I imagine this display was helped by the victory parade that took place earlier in the day. What a mad house. Two million people! After forty-nine years, the Hawks gave their fans, both long-suffering and newly-hatched, a championship.

Ya hear that, Cubbies!?!

Unlike most of Chicago, I didn’t watch one playoff game. I was excited and didn’t want to avoid the coverage, but I just don’t normally watch hockey. It seems like a lot of commitment to spend hours with it now.

And yet, I will be watching two completely non-local events in the near future. I have no idea what the status of the soccer (football) world is, but I usually find myself watching extended stretches of random World Cup games if the time zones work out.

I’m actually typing this as I wait for the USA/England game to start.

I’m fascinated that there are many countries out there that live yesterday’s Blackhawks mania for a whole month. Life stops, and communities gather around the broadcasts. I can feel that energy when the teams play. The games feel significant even though the significance is not mine.

Have you seen this Nike commercial? Even though I don’t know who most of the people are, it’s 3:04 worth of awesome.

And later in July, I’m really looking forward to the Tour de France. But more on that later.

The rest of their food is reliably good, but since they are a super blend of all things Asian, none of the dishes are going to be better than those from your favorite Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. place.

Still, the servings are large, the food comes fast, and the dishes are seasoned to support the fruit drinks. In the picture, you’ll see a Korean stone bowl meal, Chinese broccoli in garlic sauce, and a beef and mushroom noodle soup. Look at the size of the dishes for under $10 each! The boyfriend is having a taro drink, and I’m having a lychee one.

If you are not familiar with bubble drinks, all the bubbles (sometimes called black pearls) are are tapioca balls. Tapioca is essentially starch and the ones used in these drinks taste and feel like flavorless gummy bears. They’re fun to chew and suck up the straw. Just take care with your first couple though. Newbies always manage to choke on a couple before they get used to the action.

The tapioca does fill you up though—you’ll have to keep an eye on your food to drink ratio.

The rest of the drink is a frozen fruit blend. Joy Yee’s uses real fruit rather than the frozen mixes so sometimes the taste will depend on whether or not something is in season. If you are trying one out for the first time, just order a fruit that you like. It will pretty much taste exactly like that.

These are heavenly on a hot summer day.

The food is fresh and tasty. I loved that it wasn’t overly salted. The broth in my noodle soup was full of flavor but still light. To me, it tasted as if they’ve been simmering that stock with some really good stuff for a really long time. As a person who adores soup, I was so happy that this was a bowl I could clean out without being dehydrated from the sodium or weighed down with oil.

I’ve been reading some of the reviews on Yelp, and a lot of the negative ones complain about flavorless food. This must be why I really enjoyed my meal. I don’t use a lot of seasoning in my own cooking at home so when I eat out, I can find the food over the top at times. Why drown out flavor and taste with artificiality?

I tried the boyfriend’s curry dish, and that was very yummy—creamy and lip smacking. And everyone in my party seemed to enjoy his/her bubble drinks.

I do wish the entree portions and rice allocations were just a little bit bigger, but overall, this was a great find.

To see them, you get one chance and one chance only. From the time the doors open until 10:00 tonight, you can wander around and play Name That Artist. At around 10:00, all these art works are going to be painted right over.

Crazy isn’t it?

I took these pictures on the special Thursday preview night, and I have to say that these murals change the building a lot. I’ve been to shows at the Flat Iron Building for years, and today was the first time in a long time that I became disoriented and turned around in those hallways.

Follow this link to see some of the work in progress.

I finally got to visit the diner on Christmas Day. Yep, when they say open 24 hours, they mean it. We were at one place for Christmas Eve dinner and presents and would be at another household on Christmas night. At that point, why cook?

As you can see by the picture, I had the meatloaf special, and the boyfriend had a Denver omelet. We split a short stack of pancakes.

Jeri’s Grill is not as good as our favorite breakfast/brunch place, Cozy Corner, but it is serviceable. The coffee is hot and reasonably priced. The prompt service keeps your cup well filled.

Don’t come here expecting a million different choices and organic this and that. This is a greasy spoon neighborhood diner. It’s going to be there for you when everything else is closed, too expensive, or just not worth the hassle. Jeri’s Grill is a place you can stop in for a fried spam sandwich and a piece of pie. Mmm.

It’s a lot of food for their very affordable prices. Just remember to bring cash because that is all they take.

NFA Space put together an installation that could be looked upon with either hope or dread. Quirky and fanciful life jackets sat at the ready in every seat and hung above the doors. The creators said that it was like a lifeline. Everyone has had such a bad time lately that the life jackets are a sign that there is life and survival in the future.

I, however, couldn’t help but feel panic that (oh, no) we’re going to need life jackets on the CTA too. There are dangers out there where you may not have previously considered there to be.

Other cars:

• car 1: Fiji Water
• car 2: Flat Iron Artists’ Association
• car 3: Aldo Castillo Fine Art Gallery
• car 4: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• car 5: Aldo Castillo Fine Art Gallery
• car 6: Hyde Park Art Center
• car 7: Colibri Studio & Gallery
• car 8: NFA Space

The Colibri Studio organized this train car to showcase their artists and to promote the 18th Street PIlsen Open Studios event. If you’re reading this, the tour has unfortunately already passed you by.

Other cars:

• car 1: Fiji Water
• car 2: Flat Iron Artists’ Association
• car 3: Aldo Castillo Fine Art Gallery
• car 4: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• car 5: Aldo Castillo Fine Art Gallery
• car 6: Hyde Park Art Center
• car 7: Colibri Studio & Gallery
• car 8: NFA Space

The Hyde Park Art Center had an interesting approach decking out their car. Visitors could take as many of these money bags as they wanted and explore the contents later. Inside, there were items ranging from messages and drawings to interesting fabric scraps. My guess is that they went for a Money Train/Great Train Robbery tie-in.

Other cars:

• car 1: Fiji Water
• car 2: Flat Iron Artists’ Association
• car 3: Aldo Castillo Fine Art Gallery
• car 4: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• car 5: Aldo Castillo Fine Art Gallery
• car 6: Hyde Park Art Center
• car 7: Colibri Studio & Gallery
• car 8: NFA Space