#chicago bbq

[copperbadge]

Well, I have returned to Chicago, but my checked bag has not. It's apparently still in Austin and while they can tell me where it is, they cannot tell me why. I guess when your bag gets bumped they're supposed to tell you, how I'm not sure, but in any case my bag is so-called still in Texas and I'll get a text when it arrives. They'll deliver it, at least.

They ask you to list three unique items in the bag so if they have to open it they'll know whose it is. I told the agent, who had a distinctive accent, that there were two puzzles in boxes, a Chicago Fire jacket (recent gift from Mum, I think she's worried I own an AS Roma jacket and might move to Italy on its account), and a meat cleaver in a blue box.

Baggage Agent: A meat cleaver?

Me: Gotta have good tools.

Baggage Agent: Yeah I do barbecue as a side hustle so I guess I can't talk, I got one in my car.

Me: Carolina? Love a mustard sauce.

Baggage Agent: I see I've met a man of taste.

So I got the assurance he'd expedite getting my bag to me, and also the business card of an underground caterer who does Carolina barbecue.

....and the train I'm on just braked super hard, screamed to a stop, and shut off. Can't win for losing today it appears.

[tangledinink]

also i went hiking yesterday and it was fun.

[latenightsushi]

What a wonderful weekend! On Friday, we visited a new upscale bbq place, spent some time at the stable on Saturday, and then on Sunday, we took care of some errands and did a bunch of cleaning 🧡

X

[rabbitcruiser]

National Fast Food Day 

National Fast Food Day celebrates fast food restaurants and the food that they sell. Fast food usually consists of prepackaged and ready-made food that can be quickly cooked—often by deep frying or microwaving—and eaten; most is designed to be eaten on the go, and does not require cutlery. Common fast foods include burgers, french fries, fried chicken, fish and chips, pizza, tacos, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, sandwiches, and ice cream. Fast food is typically high in sugar, salt, saturated fat, and calories, and is linked to many health problems. Fast food restaurants usually sell food at either a counter or a drive-through. Franchising, where there is uniformity in food and presentation between restaurants, is an important aspect of fast food. Besides franchise restaurants, gas station and convenience store food is sometimes seen as fast food, as is some food from street vendors.

The roots of fast food can be traced back to ancient Rome. Thermopoliums were small shops that sold food—such as hot sausages and bread—on-the-go. Urban apartment dwellers of the middle and lower classes often ate these foods. During the Middle Ages, vendors sold food to people in larger cities such as London and Paris. After 1860, fish and chip shops became prevalent in the United Kingdom, and became popular with the working classes. By the 1920's there were more than 35,000 of these shops.

The term "fast food" may first have been used in America by George G. Foster, who in his book, New York Slices, published in 1848, referred to the fast paced food in New York City's business district. An automat, a cafeteria with vending machines with pre-made food, was opened by Horn & Hardart, in 1902, in Philadelphia. A decade later they opened one in New York City, which created a sensation, and many more were built across the country, leading to the popularity of automats during the 1920's and 1930's.

Technological, social, and economic changes in America led to a boom in fast food restaurants by the second half of the 20th century. Following World War I, automobiles became popular and affordable, and curb service restaurants were created in the 1920's. During the post-World War II economic boom, people spent more and bought more, creating a culture of consumerism that led to both men and women working outside the home. Eating outside the home—which was once a luxury—thus became commonplace, because of expendable cash, and in some instances because it was a necessity. By 1951 Merriam-Webster had added "fast food" to their dictionary.

Franchising, which brought uniformity in the practices of particular restaurants, also fueled the boom of fast food. A&W opened in 1921, and became a franchise in 1923. Many see it as the first fast food restaurant. White Castle also opened in 1921, in Wichita, Kansas, and sold hamburgers for five cents each. They standardized the food production of fast food hamburger restaurants, which other restaurants, such as McDonald's, built on. McDonald's was created by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, in 1940, in San Bernardino, California. Originally it was a drive-in that focused on barbecue, but once the brothers saw the popularity of their hamburgers, they closed for three months, and reopened in 1948 with a new focus. Besides hamburgers, their menu included french fries, shakes, coffee, and Coca-Cola, and they served their food in a paper wrapping. At fifteen cents, their hamburgers were about half the price of ones available at diners. Ray Kroc made a franchise agreement and opened McDonald's restaurants in Illinois, and in 1961 he bought out the brothers. In 1953, another important hamburger based fast food restaurant was started in Florida, and would eventually be known as Burger King. Not all early fast food focused on hamburgers though, as the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise opened in 1952.

Today the United States has the largest fast food industry in the world. There are close to 200,000 fast food restaurants in the United States, where over 50 million customers are served every day. About 44% of Americans eat at a fast food restaurant each week, and 11% of the calorie intake of adults in the United States comes from fast food. American fast food restaurants are now in over 125 countries, and the intake of fast food worldwide continues to rise. But, fast food has not expanded without criticism. Besides facing criticism for the nutritiousness of its food, the industry has also been pilloried for paying its workers low wages, usually without benefits. Over half of fast food workers are on some sort of public assistance, which has cost taxpayers 7 million dollars annually.

How to Observe National Fast Food Day

Celebrate the day by eating fast food, as you finally have a good excuse to do it! Order fast food at a counter and eat it inside, or go through a drive-through and eat your food somewhere else. There are many restaurants you could choose from. If you are not one to eat fast food, you could watch Super Size Me, or read Fast Food Nation, or watch the eponymously titled film that was based off the book.

Source

[noahmcclurg]

Logo for "k-flame korean BBQ"

[photoschmoto]

My

Shredded Pork Platter

Life 🥩

[allaroundtheworld55]

[papas-majadas]

I don't recall any of this from my weekend.

[cheeseukeikeu]

Modern Patio Example of a mid-sized minimalist backyard patio kitchen design

[city-of-chicago-il-real-trust]

I do, I even prefer sour cream and onion over salt and vinegar

[biggsradiocom]

#Southside #chicago stop by the Historical Leon's Barbeque as we celebrate 70 in Chicago with the #biggsraio team. Performing will be Chicago's own Michael Finney. #biggsradiostation team live on location with music by Julian St Chris the Mid-Day Radio Personality heard weekdays 10 AM with Nino Negash & Al Greer Alvin Washington Jr Gus Redmond and da boss Dinahlynn Biggs #bbq #bbqlife We will be #Broadcasting live!!! (at Leon's BBQ & Grill) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqJsO5OL5sV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[richardalperts]

Landscape in Chicago An example of a mid-sized contemporary shade backyard concrete paver landscaping with a fire pit in summer.

[romancevsreality]

Rooftop - Contemporary Deck Example of a small trendy rooftop deck design with a fire pit and a roof extension

[rabbitcruiser]

Snack a Pickle Day

Snack a Pickle Day is a day for snacking on pickles. Pickles, which usually mean pickled cucumbers when spoke of in the United States, are preserved in a brine or vinegar solution, and flavored with herbs and seasonings. The word “pickle” is derived from the Dutch word pekel, which means brine. The pickling process was invented around 1440, and many people were making pickles in their homes by the 1600’s. This was helped with the invention of the mason jar in 1858. Pickles are a low calorie food and high in vitamin K, but they may also be high in sodium. Each year Americans eat about 9 pounds of pickles.

How to Observe Snack a Pickle Day

The day should be celebrated by snacking on a pickle! Pickles can be eaten on their own or with a meal. They can be put on a hamburger,or chopped into a relish and put on a hot dog. Sometimes they are served on a stick, and sometimes they are even deep fried. There are many types of pickles to try:

Bread and butter—part of sweet family of pickles; has onions and bell peppers; sometimes have a waffle-esque shape; solution of vinegar, sugar, and spices; name comes from Omar and Cora Fanning, Illinois cucumber farmers who started selling the pickles in the early 1920’s and filed for the name in 1923; name derived from how they traded their pickles for things like bread and butter during rough years.

Cinnamon—bright red and flavored with cinnamon; sometimes a Christmas treat.

Dill—made with dill herbs or dill oil; have been served in New York City since at least 1899.

Gherkins—smaller and usually sweeter; made with Burr or West Indian cucumbers; sometimes “gherkin” is a generic term used for pickles in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Kool-aid—soaked in kool-aid and pickle brine.

Kosher dill—dill pickle with lots of garlic in the salt brine.

Polish—somewhere between kosher dill and sour.

Sour—fermented longer in brine, which makes them sourer.

Sour mixed—sour pickles cut and mixed with other veggie such as onions, cauliflower, carrots, and peppers.

Sour relish—made with finely chopped sour pickles with other vegetables; also called “piccalili.”

Sweet—usually made with vinegar, spices, and sugar; includes sliced sweet pickles, or “cross cuts”, which are cut crosswise into chips.

Sweet mixed—sweet pickles mixed with other vegetables.

Source

[ladykailitha]

Do You Know What Shovels Dig? Graves Part 5

Welp, fuck. Yeah this is going to be six parts now. This story just doesn’t know how to end itself so I’m putting the cutting point here and then finish the rest with BBQ idea.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

*

The remaining trio arrived after dinner. Jonathan, El, and Will had stayed over, order pizza.

“California really does have the superior pizza,” Jonathan hummed around his slice.

Steve scoffed. “Even better than Chicago? You’re crazy, man.”

“That isn’t pizza,” Jonathan argued. “That’s an open calzone.”

Will snickered as El cocked her head to the side as she tried to puzzle it out.

The doorbell rang and Steve wiped his hands on his jeans as he stood up to get it.

He opened the door to reveal Eddie with Lucas, Erica, and Max.

“Look what I found skulking around my place,” Eddie said proudly.

Lucas and Max looked at each other as Erica rolled her eyes.

“We figured that you would be over at Eddie’s,” Lucas explained quietly.

Steve shrugged. “I probably would have been if Dustin, Nancy and Mike didn’t stop by earlier.”

“Damn,” Max cursed. “I hoping to beat Dustin.”

Erica rolled her eyes again. “Can we get this over with?”

Steve just shook his head. “Me and Will and them are just finishing up dinner.”

Lucas frowned. “Will’s here?”

Steve smiled and then turned to lead them back to the kitchen. “Apparently Team Steve decided that they were going to monitor each apology to make sure they were actually apologies and not just excuses.”

“Wait, really?” Erica asked.

They entered the kitchen and Steve called out, “Look what Eddie dragged in.”

Eddie grinned.

“Come have pizza!” El said. “There’s plenty for everyone. Steve likes to get a lot.”

��That’s because I know that I will have people grazing the leftovers for the next couple days and I won’t accidentally get eaten out of house and home.”

El giggled.

They all settled down to eat. Happily chatting and laughing as they consumed all of the pizza.

Once everything was cleared away Will asked. “All right who’s first?”

Max and Lucas exchanged a glance.

“Um...” Lucas said.

“Because we did our shovel talk together, can we do our apology together?” Max asked.

Jonathan furrowed his brow. “I think that’s up to Steve.”

“I’m down if you guys are okay with that,” Steve said to everyone else.

There was nodding all around.

“I’ll handle this set,” Eddie said, “if you want to stand guard?”

Jonathan and Will nodded, but El shook her head. “I’m staying. I haven’t got to do one yet. You can chose to stay if you want, but I’m not moving.”

“Fair enough,” Eddie said. “How about this, we double team with Max and Lucas and then I can do Erica?”

El tilted her head to the side as she thought about it. “Agreed.”

Erica threw her arms in the air and left with the Byers boys.

“Is there a reason you have monitors?” Max asked once they had gone.

Steve laughed. “Apparently they think I let you guys get away with too much shit and wanted to make sure that didn’t happen with these apologies.”

Eddie grinned at them.

“Right...” Lucas said slowly, nodding his head. “So it started out as a joke...”

Steve held up his hand. “I’m going to stop you right there. No it didn’t. I don’t care if that’s what you thought. It did not start out as a joke. I will not take ‘it was a joke’ as an excuse. Because it’s starting to sound like you guys knew that other people were giving me the shovel talk and wanted to do it too. And if that is that case, I’m done.”

Eddie let out a low whistle. “I don’t know, Supergirl. I think our Stevie is going to be just fine.”

She giggled again. “Maybe, but I want to stay for the verbal beat down, don’t you?”

Eddie tilted his head and looked up. He pursed his lips and nodded. “No, no, you’re right. Should we get popcorn?”

Steve laughed.

Max bit her lip. “We knew Mike and Erica had done it,” she admitted. “But we didn’t know about anyone else we swear! Ten is too fucking much.”

“That’s good to hear, I guess,” Steve said. “But seriously, a joke? Shovel talks aren’t funny. Not the first time and definitely not the tenth.”

Eddie frowned. “Who was the first?”

Steve cocked his head to the side and leaned against the counter. “Mike.”

Everyone boggled at Steve.

“Mike was the first?” Lucas asked.

Steve shrugged. “It’s why I believed him when he said he had been joking. Because no one else had done it at that point.”

“Were there other people between Erica and Mike,” Max asked, “and us?”

Steve folded his arms and nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” Lucas said. “Yeah, I get not accepting ours as a joke at that point.”

Max nodded. “We are sorry, Steve. I understand that saying we didn’t know won’t cut it, but we really didn’t know. We also...” she looked over at Lucas and blushed. “We also thought that Eddie was getting them, too.”

Lucas nodded. “Like we thought Dustin and Robin for sure would have given Eddie the shovel talk. But when we found out that no one had? That really put the nail in the coffin for all this.” He hung his head. “We’re really sorry, man.”

“Yeah,” Max agreed. “We should have known better about the shovel talk to begin with. I wouldn’t want one and I wouldn’t want Lucas to get one either. Our relationship is no one else’s business. And getting into yours and Eddie’s business was wrong. We’re sorry.”

Steve sighed and glanced at El and Eddie to see if it was good enough. They both nodded. “Okay, I accept your apology. Especially since it seems like you learned your lesson. And if you do something like that to someone else, make sure they know it’s a joke. Because I sure the hell didn’t.”

They both winced and then nodded.

Lucas came up and gave Steve a hug. “We’ll try to be better friends too,” he whispered. Steve nodded.

He walked out and Max stood there for a moment. She looked at Eddie and El for a moment before she launched herself at Steve. He caught her and held her tight.

“You’re the big brother I always dreamed of,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m so sorry, Steve.”

Steve kissed the top of her head. “I love you, too, Max.”

When she pulled away, she wiped her face. El held out her hand and Max took it.

“Come on,” El said gently. “Let’s go wash your face before we go back out to the boys.”

Max nodded gratefully and let herself be led away.

Erica came in a couple minutes later and sat down at the counter and stared both of them down. But when Eddie and Steve didn’t back down, she nodded.

“Good,” she said. “I don’t deal with bitches.”

Eddie scoffed. “Does your mother know you kiss her with that dirty mouth?”

Erica batted her eyelashes. “My mother thinks I’m an angel.”

Eddie threw his arms in the air. “Because of course she does.”

“I still haven’t heard an apology,” Steve said after a moment.

“You aren’t going to get one,” Erica said primly. “What you are going to get is why Steve and not Eddie that got the shovel talk.”

Eddie and Steve shared a confused glance.

“Come again?” Eddie asked.

Erica shrugged. “I mean I’m sorry everyone else had sticks up their ass, but I’m not sorry I gave Steve the shovel talk. He’s the badass of the pair of you and needs to know that I will defend my DM to the death if required.”

Steve ran his tongue over his lips and rolled his eyes. “So what I’m hearing is that you think I’m too badass to be protected?”

“Duh,” she said. “I’ve seen you in action. This little bitch nearly died.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide and he tilted his head forward. “Excuse me?”

“You clearly need to be protected from dying again,” Erica said.

“And why can’t I be the one protecting him?” Steve asked, furrowing his brow.

Erica paused for a moment. “You know, I didn’t think of it like that.” She cocked her head thoughtfully. “No, are you absolutely right. I commend you to service in defending Eddie the Banished. Don’t fuck it up.”

She hopped off the barstool and walked out.

“Does–does that count as an apology?” Eddie asked more than a little stunned.

Steve jutted out his bottom lip and nodded. “Coming from her? Yeah.”

Eddie nodded back. “Sounds about right. She certainly is something.”

“I fear for any boy that tries to break her heart,” Steve said. “She’ll break their knees.”

“Provided anyone can find the body,” Eddie agreed.

***

Part Six

Tag List: @justforthedead89 @zerokrox-blog @ihavekidneys @didntwant2come @thelittleclare @liorereshkigal @estrellami-1 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @telidina @stevesbipanic @paintsplatteredandimperfect @a-little-unsteddie @jonesn4coffee @resident-gay-bitch @obliosworld @croatoan-like-its-hot @evix-syne666 @emly03 @wonderland-girl143-blog @bookworm0690

[copperbadge]

Hey Sam. If you're so inclined, could you recommend a few 'must eat' places in Downtown Chicago? My hotel will be near the Red Line (Grand station) and I'm fine walking a good 10 minutes for awesome food. I'm planning my trip and trying to put together a few food places for lunch and dinner and such. Pizza, burgers, bbq, donuts, steak, sushi..., I'm flexible!

You know, honestly, I don't eat out much anymore so I'm not sure where the best places to get a bite are. I'm going to make some recommendations but they're about to be a mixture of "If you come to Chicago this is somewhere everyone goes" and "This is somewhere Sam personally likes to eat but which you may not go for." :D

So, if you're at Grand, you are pretty much on top of the Weber Kettle Grill. Weber Kettle Grill does GREAT grill food and my parents always want to eat there when they come into town. If you ask to sit at the chef's table, you'll be seated at what looks like a bar, but it also looks all the way down the row of giant indoor grills the chefs use to cook the food. If you want something quieter and less busy they also have a fairly large dining room.

If you want a real Chicago experience, there's a Portillo's pretty close to you (that one's called "Portillo's & Barnelli's"); Portillo's is a local chain that does burgers, dogs, and crucially Italian Beef. Italian Beef is my go-to Chicago food for people who (like me) don't want to eat Deep Dish Pizza. It's a crusty roll filled with shredded braised beef; you can get it with sweet peppers, hot peppers, or no peppers (they might call it "giardinera" which is the local term for the pepper relish they use). If you get it "dipped", once the sandwich is made it's dunked in a flavorful jus before being wrapped up; if you don't like wet bread I'd skip this, but I love it. If you REALLY don't like wet bread, maybe get a Chicago Style hot dog instead. Portillo's is also famous for being The Place Where they make you a milkshake with an entire slice of chocolate cake in it. You can also just get a slice of cake, which is fantastic.

There's also an Al's Italian Beef near you if you want a more local experience. Locals absolutely can and will eat at Portillo's, the food's not better at Al's, it's just a bit more tourist-friendly than Al's tends to be.

If you want that true authentic Chicago deep dish experience (pie crust filled with cheese and then topped with sauce) Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due are very close by; they vie for the dubious honor of having invented the deep dish pizza. I can't recommend it, but if you want it, hit one of those.

If you're not from the midwest and would like to sample a decent approximation of Detroit style deep dish (thick bready crust topped with cheese and then sauce) Jet's Pizza likely delivers to your hotel. I can't recommend going to a Jet's, many of them don't have anywhere to sit and eat, and for a pizza joint they're a bit costly, but it's very good pizza. My Detroit friends say it's a perfectly acceptable pie by their standards.

Volare Ristorante is a nearby hidden gem if you're in the mood for upscale Italian; I really like their pasta, but they are on the pricier end. If you're walking east on Grand to get there, you do have to go under Michigan, and you will likely fear that you will be stabbed and left for dead in this weird underground cavern, but I promise you, it's smelly but safe.

Goddess And The Baker and Beatrix are both good places to pick up breakfast. If you wish to glimpse Hell, the Starbucks Roastery at Michigan and Erie is one of the largest buxes in the country (possibly the world?) and is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE to navigate, but it's certainly an experience.

If you're venturing into the Loop, Russian Tea Time is a fun place to have afternoon tea and the a la carte food is also quite good; they're very close to the Art Institute. There's not much to eat if you're going to the museum campus, and my favorite Greek place closed down, but Minghin Cuisine is a good Chinese place (I've eaten there) and AO Hawaiian Hideout is supposedly some of the best Chinese in the city (I have not eaten there).

If you are craving Chinese, you can also catch the Red Line directly to the Chinatown stop and browse, I've never had a bad meal in Chinatown. When you get off the train, if you go north to the station exit with only stairs, you can exit, look left, and see the "new" Chinatown that's basically an outdoor mall; if you go south to the escalator exit, once you leave turn right and you'll see the big pagoda entrance to "old" Chinatown, which is more shops than restaurants. New Chinatown has some excellent bakeries, and also a Korean fried chicken place, Bonchon, that's extremely good. Usually when I take friends we go to Joy Yee which has a huge menu and also bubble tea.

As a final plug I'll list The Berghoff, which is in the loop (off the Jackson Red Line stop); it's pretty hefty German cuisine, all excellent food, and also is a top notch place to take anyone with gluten issues -- the owners have a kid with a gluten intolerance and the restaurant has an exceptional gluten-free menu with unusually strict protocols to prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen.

And if you want to get a little baked first, you are pretty close to Sunnyside dispensary, which is a very nice dispensary with super friendly people. If you take the Red Line to Roosevelt or are in the area, Grasshopper Club is less expensive, just as friendly, and Black-owned, and they've been my go-to for a couple of months now. At either one you can walk-in to speak to a budtender about what you'd like, or you can preorder online, but be aware that there are limitations on what out-of-staters can purchase. Having sampled most of the gummies out there, I'd recommend Mindy's (any flavor is good but the black cherry is my preferred). Do bring ID, you will be carded.

I hope you enjoy Chicago! If you have more questions feel free to hit me up here or at copperbadge@gmail.com if you'd like to have more of like, a dialogue :) Have fun and eat well!