After that I struck out alone, northward, through Northwestern University campus, the Contemporary Art museum, and the shopping heartland of Michigan Ave. Then it was lunchtime, and I had been told I needed to try an Italian Beef sandwich at Portillo's. It's an interesting restaurant (named, as it is, after an obnoxious British politician) with different places you can order different foods - hot dogs, pizzas, sandwiches - around a central area. The walls and balconies are lined with Chicago memorabilia.
The Italian Beef is something to behold. Vince told me to order the bread "dipped". In what? Gravy, guessing by the soggy mass that I beheld on unwrapping the waxed paper. There was plenty of beef inside, that's for sure, about five times as much as the bread surrounding it. But, no word of a lie, it was absolutely delicious.
A quick stop to wash the grease from my hands and face at our hotel, and I wandered down the Chicago lake front. We're right on Great Lake Michigan here, and the bluey-green waters rippled in the sunshine as locals removed most of their clothes and lay about or even paddled. I turned around at the museum campus, where a planetarium, aquarium, and "field museum" collide.
On my way back I stopped at Garrett Popcorn for another gastronomic adventure. The big Chicago thing is a concoction of cheese and caramel. Yes, that's right. I overcame my aversion to even trying it, and grabbed a small bag of "mix", as we locals call it. Holy mackerel, it's good! Like some strange orange-tinged drug I could not shovel it in quick enough. Hannah was quickly caught under its spell too, and we left orangey hand towels for the hotel laundry to deal with. I can still see some colour under my nails.
Hannah had to meet Bill Clinton for dinner. I'm not worried. I got the better deal of pizza, this time with Evan who was bizarrely in Chicago to sign some property deal. This time I went for thin crust while Evan ordered the deep traditional but, I have to say, this mid-continental pizza is not a patch on what we can get on the best coast. I'm living on Italian Beef and cheesy caramel popcorn for the rest of this trip.
The fantastic Frank Gehry designed band pavilion in Millennium Park.
And his equally bendy bridge.
Ah, the bean! So cool!!
In a glass darkly.
Lots of time to reflect.
The fanciest McDonalds I've ever seen! It almost made me go inside, but then I remembered that their food tastes like sewage.
This is more like it: Portillo's!
Ooooooh yes, an Italian Beef (with optional pepper). Vegetables are something my food eats.
Down by the lake shore.
I know how it feels.
Looking back at the skyline from the planetarium.
They even have a beach down here!
Railways, and the cattle they brought in, are what built this city. That explains the Italian Beef.
A dangerous shop.
A dangerous mix.
More! I must have more!!
Who's this? It's Evan "Two Beers".
Thin...but not quite Cheeseboard.
Thick...but not quite Zachary's.
