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View of the Sears Tower and other Chicago buildings from the Sun-Times building.
Took a lovely stroll the other day while reporting to the Chicago Sun-Times for a class. This beautiful picture was taken outside of the building, very close to the ‘L’ Merchandise Mart Brown Line station. I just love this city.
More on city walking coming soon.
Another picture of the city from the Chicago Sun-Times building.
Dev x
Located at 1960 N. Western Avenue, Margie's Candies has been in business for 88 years.
After the Cat Circus, I was in the mood for something sweet and speak of the devil, there was Margie’s Candies, a mere block and a half from the Gorilla Tango Theatre. Located on the intersection of N. Western Ave. and W. Armitage Ave., Margie’s Candies boasts that it has been around since 1921 and is still the place to go for homemade chocolates and ice cream.
The shop counter inside Margie's Candies
Of course, I had to indulge in a homemade hot fudge banana split with strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Now, I have had my fair share of banana splits, but nothing compares to this one. The strawberry ice cream was to. die. for. with huge chunks of real strawberry and the vanilla ice cream was creamy with a rich, buttery taste. The chocolate ice cream was…well, chocolaty, but the real pièce de résistance is the hot fudge served in a little ramekin on the side. Gooey, super-fudgy and slightly chunky, Margie’s may have heated up and liquefied chocolate brownies to make such a heavenly sauce.
The banana split from Margie's Candies
Tim, my boyfriend, went for a root beer float (something I am constantly craving these days!) and was not disappointed by the taste or size (check that monster out!).
Tim hilariously enjoying his root beer float.
I will admit that I took several bites and really loved the fact that Margie’s did not skimp on the ice cream. There must have been three scoops in that float! Although I could not identify the brand of root beer, I will say that whatever they used could have used a bit of a kick. The ice cream overpowered the soda making it a bit flat.
The inside of Margie’s was as cute as it could be (see picture above) and was littered with old album covers, retro signs and a mini jukebox at every table.
This will definitely be an ice cream shop I frequent when the weather gets warmer!
For more information on Margie’s, you can visit the website, www.margiescandies.nv.switchboard.com, and the Wikipedia site, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margie’s_Candies which has a ton of really interesting information on the Beatles memorabilia Margie’s displays and the story behind the shop!
Dev x
Meet the band: Pinky on guitar, Fiji on the drums and Nue on the keyboard!
Oh, and you thought you had seen it all!
On Saturday, I attended a showing of the Cat Circus…or as the performers like to be called, The AcroCats! If you ever thought to yourself, “There is no way that cats can be trained,” then you, my friend, are correct!
Sure, these furry felines were jumping through hoops, walking a tight rope, pushing each other on toy cars and rockin’ out on instruments, but if no treats were handy, these little guys were thoroughly distracted and not very willing to please the crowd!
Samantha Martin, the show’s founder, explained to the crowd that she would reward Tuna, one of the show’s cats, with a treat every time Tuna rang a little bell. After learning the trick, Tuna once rang the bell for 10 minutes until Martin got up to give her a treat.
“So now I wonder who has who trained,” Martin said at the show.
Nue, the keyboarder for the RockCats, taking a break to pose for the camera.
The show took place at the Gorilla Tango Theatre at 1919 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Bucktown, Chicago, and if you are upset that you missed it, have no fear! The Circus Cats of Chicago will return to the stage this Saturday, 28 February, to give an encore performance at 2pm and 4pm! You can buy tickets in advance (because yes, this show does sell out!) here: www.gorillatango.com
Be sure to also check out the AcroCats site,
http://www.amazinganimals.biz/acrocats-rockcats.htm, where you can find a ton of information on the different cats as well as assorted YouTube videos!
At the end of the show, I felt wildly satisfied by the warm fuzziness of it all and was really glad I shelled out the $12 to see a show I would have never seen anywhere else!!
Dev x
You may be tempted to go running for the door once you step into The Sovereign at 6202 N. Broadway (off the Granville stop on the Red Line), but fight the urge.
Sure, the bar decor is a little boring, but there is far more to this dive bar than meets the eye. Make your home at the bar and introduce yourself to Matt, one of the friendly bartenders who will chat you up and, if he likes you, will slide you shots of Jameson and give you extra chances to guess what number and suit is on the Pabst Blue Ribbon bottle cap*.
Do not forget to introduce yourself to David Packer (he goes by Packer), another bartender who will happily dance with you on the dance floor and belt out tunes played on the old jukebox in the back.
To ensure that the songs you want to hear (3 songs for $1) are played before you get too sloshed, we suggest making your selections early. You will want to take time to flip through the massive selection that covers everything from Tegan and Sara, any 50s sockhop diddy you could imagine, British Invasion tunes and oh-so much more.
The drinks may be cheap, but this place is cash only, so make sure you hit up an ATM before you go.
Oh, and FYI: On the last Friday of every month, Sovereign has a DJ take over and play 50s sockhop music. The dance floor is crowded, but the regulars at Sovereign are more than happy to dance alongside you, and more often than not, to dance with you! Enjoy!
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Hours: Sunday –Friday noon–2am; Saturday noon–3am.
*The Sovereign bartenders give you a shot at winning your PBR bottle for free. As they hand you the bottle, they will pop the top, which has a number and suit underneath (e.g. 10
) . It depends on which bartender is serving, but usually, if you can guess the number, then you have yourself a free beer! Good luck!
Dev x
