Tag: Chicago

SubscribeStar Saturday: Chicago 2025: Field Museum of Natural History

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Every summer for the past three summers I’ve taken a trip to see my older brother, who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.  I go the week of the Fourth of July, when everything slows down and we can enjoy some quality time together.

As part of my visits, we always spend a day or two in Chicago.  We will drive a couple of hours north from Indy to Hammond, Indiana, where we catch the South Shore Line train to Chicago’s Millennium Station.

Every visit is different, as Chicago contains multitudes of everything:  museums, restaurants, public artworks, parks, libraries, theatres—and a Dunkin’ Donuts on every block.  It is also a wonderland of architecture, as various Gilded Age magnates competed with one another following the Great Chicago Fire to build the biggest, tallest, most ornate buildings in the world.  I love how every nook and cranny of Chicago seems to possess some beautiful architectural flourish and Gothic ornamentation.

This trip, we decided to spend the morning of our second day to visit the legendary Field Museum of Natural History.  The Field Museum is most notable for Sue, the massive Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil, a replica of which is on display deep in the bowels of the museum.  Her actual skull is displayed nearby, as well as this impressive Triceratops skull:

Photo Credit: Paul G. Cook
An old fossil—and a triceratops skull!

I love museums, and while I love art and historical museums, I think natural history museums are my favorites by far.  There is something mind-blowing and humbling about witnessing the breadth and depth of God’s Creation, from ancient beasts to exquisite gemstones to human artifacts (the last of which, really, is an extension of God’s Creative Power, that small sliver with which he endowed us humans, made in His Image).

The Field Museum had all of that—and more!—in glorious abundance.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Chicago 2024, Part III: Pizza and Ice Cream

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After a busy day of scurrying all over northwestern Indiana and Chicago, my brother and I settled into our accommodations at the Palmer House Hotel and rested for a bit.  My older brother is one of those guys who likes to have the television on constantly, and he had it tuned—bizarrely—to CNN (I guess he wanted to go for that “waiting-at-the-doctor’s-office” or “sitting-at-an-airport-concourse” feel).  We were in Chicago right after President Biden’s disastrous glitching out during his debate with President Trump, and it was interesting seeing how desperate the CNN anchors and pundits were.  The Democratic Governors met and announced their support for Biden, and it reminded me of how much work Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer—the one who the FBI plotted to kidnap to pin it on Republicans—has had done.

I showered the grime of Gotham and CNN from my doughy body and put on my best (and, I’ll hasten to add, only) Mickey Mouse t-shirt, and we went to Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta for dinner, a short walk from out hotel room.  Pizano’s obviously serves Chicago deep dish pizza, but they also feature “Chicago Tavern Style,” which I thought Pizza Hut made up as part of a recent advertising campaign (apparently, it’s real).

It turns out that Chicago Tavern Style is not just a clever marketing ploy by a formerly renowned national pizza franchise; it’s actually a Chicagoan innovation to pizza.  Basically, it’s the happy medium between, say, New York Style and Chicago Style slices.  The crust is a bit thicker, with a doughier quality than New York Style, but not so thick that it’s like eating a lasagna, a la Chicago Style.

Here’s a handy picture to illustrate:

Wouldn’t you love to wake up in the morning to this fat man serving you pizza?

My brother described the crust as “redolent of the oiliness of a Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizza from the Nineties,” which is the perfect description.  We ordered the “Jeweler’s Special” (the Loop is the old jewelers district in Chicago), which came with sausage and giardiniera.  Giardiniera is the blend of various peppers and carrots that Chicagoans put on their hot dogs.

The pie was delicious, but too spicy.  Keen observers will note the sheen of sweat on my massive forehead.  That wasn’t just because of my excess portliness; the peppers were causing sweat to pour down my face.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Chicago 2024, Part II: Through Mordor and Onto the River

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After visiting Willis Tower my brother and I had to make a long walk across Chicago to a boat landing, where we would embark on a ninety-minute cruise of the river.  The purpose of the tour was to showcase the incredible architecture in Chicago.

My brother is a bit of a Romantic—even more so than yours portly—and wanted to walk along the river for as much of our route as possible.  I was fine with that, but in following our GPS directions, we realized that it would not be feasible to follow the river on the side of the street where we needed to be.  I pointed out that we could cross back over the river and enjoy the river walk on that side, but that we’d be on the river for over an hour soon enough, so we might as well just follow the GPS.

Well, my brother’s Romantic wanderlust was right.  My route took us along Lower Wacker Boulevard.  Wacker is a multi-level street—it gets to as high as three levels—and the underside of the street is basically an underground tunnel.  It’s full of steam pipes, service accesses, and darkness.

And a dead pigeon.  When we emerged on the other side, my brother remarked that we’d been through Mordor.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Chicago 2024, Part I

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Whenever I tell people in the South that I am going to Chicago, there is inevitably a comment along the lines of “don’t get shot!” or “wear your body armor!” or the like.  Chicago does, of course, have a very high crime rate, and homicides are frequent.  But people act like I’m visiting Somalia or downtown Fallujah whenever I mention a trip to Chicago.

Chicago from Willis Tower 5

While I would avoid South Chicago, I would also encourage anyone to visit the Windy City at least once in their lives.  Yes, it’s a cesspool of political corruption, but how much does that really affect a tourist?  I wouldn’t want to live in Chicago, but it’s a great location to visit for its art, architecture, food, and vibrant street life.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Chicago

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Here at The Portly Politico, I like to roleplay as some kind of Jeffersonian country squire, overseeing my little homestead while contemplating the grape harvest.  As much as I love living in a small, country town, yours portly is not immune to the allure of the big city.

Naturally, I have little desire to live in one, and most certainly not the one that is the topic of today’s post.  However, there is a vibrancy and energy to large cities that is intoxicating, especially for those of an artistic bent.  Cities can be cesspools of crime, homelessness, and progressive politics, but they also pulse with an electric creativity and a sense of hustle—everyone is working hard to survive and create in a sea of humanity.

Granted, I don’t want to live in an overpriced shoebox, isolated by the sheer size of that very sea.  Some people thrive in that environment, while others should probably live on forty acres in the woods somewhere.  The rest of us are somewhere in the middle.  Most Americans don’t want to live like lab rats in an urban playground.

All that aside, cities are cool—the seats of civilization, as Milo once argued.  Despite its crime-ridden reputation, I think Chicago, Illinois makes for a good illustration of cities as the centers of art and architecture—of civilization.  After all, what is a civilization but the expression of its cultural achievements?  Few cities exemplify achievements in architecture more than that great epicenter of nineteenth-century America, Chicago.

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