As Frank Sinatra Sang, Chicago Is My Kind Of Town…

By Ron Signore

These past few weeks have gone by so quick; it is hard to reflect accurately on time. I was noticeably absent these past 10 or so days and frankly, it doesn’t even feel like I completely blinked. There have been a couple events, one more major than the other, going on over the past couple of weeks.

First, our family took advantage of the low interest housing market back on Mother’s Day. As we resided in Ohio, it was becoming abundantly clear our children were getting the right advantages for opportunities in life, but one major aspect of their lives was missing that both my wife and I had the advantage of growing up. Being near family. We purchased a home in Indiana near my wife’s family. My family back in Chicago has been packing up their house, the house we moved into in 1998, to relocate to Florida.

My father’s dream is finally coming true, sit pool side in Florida, as they purchased a home in a community just west of Disney. With them in the process of moving, it made the search to Indiana pretty easy.

Since Mother’s Day, the hectic days added up. Between working 3 jobs, umpiring, sitting on two Little League boards and now packing up a 4-bedroom home that has had an additional body included since our arrival, made for amazingly long days. Like Murphy’s Law, timing was not destined to be perfect. Knowing we would take possession of the home on June 28th, we had to align movers with timing around exiting our home in Ohio, which was difficult, but also moving things in and out of storage and childhood stuff from my parents’ home before their move in a few weeks.

Big deal, people do this all the time…But then the late call to have me working out of our Chicago office for the week of June 28th made it ever more difficult. My wife is a champ. She has gotten the art of packing and moving down. She has had to do this a few times before, although each move prior was due to a career opportunity for me, and each time prior, she did it all herself. This was by far the most difficult considering the 3 kids and a dog she constantly has to battle with, and admittedly, I am not good for much other than lifting and the heavy stuff, so I almost was considered in the way. We had all packed up and ready to go by June 29th, as I headed to Chicago for the week to work and she headed to my in-laws with the kids until moving day.

While I dread being away from my kids, the return to Chicago was delightful. I can move anywhere; Chicagoland will always be my home. The sights, the smells, the pace of life and most importantly the food. My colleagues and boss were also in town, and this dubbed me the tour guide for the week. Food and destination were on me to pick and entertain. The first objective was a lunch…we had to move fast, so I walked them out of the building on LaSalle and took them to a local sandwich shop (local chain) on Wells. While passing three Jimmy Johns, a Subway and a Potbelly, I walked them into a Mr. Submarine. Mr. Sub is a Chicagoland staple if you are looking for both quality and affordability and an expectation to be full and satisfied when you leave.

Two of us got the Mr. Sub, which is basically their Italian sub, and one got a beef and sausage combo. Now the glorious freshness of the bread could have been a satisfying meal, but on the Italian subs, the abundance of fresh (oxymoron) deli meat, lettuce, onion, dressing and cheese was like biting into something a soft as butter and a mixture of flavors that put the national chains to shame. The beef and sausage combo were an aggressive move by my boss who has never had a combo before. The mixture of Italian Beef and Italian Sausage dipped in Italian Beef gravy with hot and sweet peppers is a Chicago meal that everyone needs to have once in their life. The moistness of the gravy-soaked sandwich combined with the beef seasoning and spicy ness of the sausage and profile of the fennel in the sausage make for a delectable treat.

Clearly, I set the bar high, and according to my crew, I was able to top it later that night for dinner. We made our way to Jefferson Tap in West Loop. First, the appetizers were a big hit. Great flavor profiles on each of the shrimp, pickles and well-seasoned waffle fries. No complaints whatsoever. For our entrees, we all ordered something a little different and all landed on something of a sandwich or wrap. The portions were abundant, the meat was fresh and the profiles of each of our entrée’s was to the liking of our palates. I specifically had a wrap with buffalo chicken. The wrap was the size of a true humongous burrito. The shredded cheese was fresh and not overpowering and the sliced romaine was just enough to add a good crunch to the well glazed spicy chicken. While the food was right, the environment made it for our group. We had most of the upstairs section to ourselves, and surrounding televisions had the NHL Stanley Cup Finals and the White Sox game on. Tunes played throughout at a comfortable level and were solidly picked from someone who like’s good music. The ‘X’ factor was the libations. Stocked with many local breweries, including my favorite, Three Floyds, we each ordered the hazy IPA and treated our colleague to a Chicago way of passage…we made him take a shot of Malort. If you have not taken a shot of Malort in your life, you have not lived. Its wormwood essence is both gross sounding and tasting, but it is just something we do.

The prize of the social element that was the work trip came Thursday night. We found our way to the Riverwalk down by Michigan and Wacker. We found a place to sit at the Chicago Brew House. From a drink perspective, it is indeed a taste of Chicago. From the classics to the microbrews, we found ourselves looking over the most active and enjoyable spot in the city. Boats made their way up and down the Chicago River while the sun was setting on the evening. People alive with a sense of party and putting the pandemic behind them as they entered 4th of July weekend on a thirsty Thursday.

The city will always be home, but there are still things that I can find and see that are new to me. The experience of Chicago, whether something old or something new, is a breath of exciting fresh air every time.

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