3 Crazy Nights in Chicago: Chapter 2 - Eating and Drinking Our Way Through the City

I was toying with calling this chapter "Texans Like Pizza and Drinking," because that pretty much sums up my weekend.

I'm not sure whether my Texan mamas (and some fellow Illinoisians, to be fair) fully expected the beast of a weekend we got. But one thing was clear from the start - they wanted pizza and drinking. And lots of it. And since I know all too well the city's famously hearty foods - and few of the famously foodie foods - I sent them to reasonably priced casual places. Though I'm always happy to provide recommendations for those looking for a trendier, less-touristy or more upscale scene.

So we started our caloric extravaganza at Gino's East on Friday night; their pick, although since I eat it so infrequently it's a treat for me. If I had to pick the best pizza in the city, it would be difficult, so I usually take out-of-town guests to the place closest to where I am at any given time: Lou Malnati's on the North side, Gino's East downtown, Giordano's or Salerno's in my hood and Home Run Inn on the Southwest side. You really can't go wrong with stuffed deep dish. We ordered a large one, two pitchers of beer (Goose Island, thank you), toasted ravioli and spinach sticks. Including the beer and a few mixed drinks, the total came to about $22 per person. Which is a great deal considering how much food was on our table!

After dinner, we went to Stanley's on Racine for a happy hour in the West Loop, where I taught my girls the fine art of playing bags in the dark. I think I only bought a few beers there, because our bag play amused the crowd, so folks kept our drinks coming whenever we were out. Gotta love the city. We made some new friends, but after losing both games to the Jeffs (that's Jeff and Geoff, to be precise), we were ready to move on.

A quick cab ride later brought us to English, a newish local hotspot downtown, where my smooth tap-dancing moves pretty much owned the top floor. Well, at least I thought they did. Another few drinks, some non-tappy dancing and the bar called last call. So we began our walk back to the hotel (which was a cool corporate apartment complex) with a stop at McDonald's along the way.

Saturday morning I skipped breakfast in favor of Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee and a chocolate donut as I frantically cruised around the city trying to get a phone. The other girls headed to Navy Pier and then west to Wicker Park, where they discovered Earwax, a trendy vegetarian diner that they raved about. I still can't stomach the name, because actual earwax really, really freaks me out, so despite its loveliness and dedication to keeping food real, I don't think I'll go there anytime soon.

Saturday night, we wanted something close, so we headed to the House of Blues, where we split bottles of champagne and racks of ribs. Weird combo? Yes. But also totally fun. There was a FANTASTIC musician performing and I've always thought the space itself is really cool, and they let us on the stage to take pictures with the band. That's usually more of a lunch place for me, but I'd go back for the BBQ ribs. Without the champaign, the ribs came to about $20 per person, including tip. Considering that we saw awesome live music with dinner, it was a great deal.

After HOB, it was up to Sheffield's for the beer garden. We planned to go to Funky Buddah Lounge but got rained on, and thus ended up instead at Trader Todd's because one of the girls was feeling some karaoke coming on. And apparently some shot-ski's... which my super fun Texan friends loved (you'll have to go there to figure out what those are). A few Virginia's Bananas, and some shot-ski's later, we were ready to call it a night.

But first, we finished things off with some late-night burritos. I couldn't even tell you where they were from. It was kind of a "hey cabbie, stop here!" thing. Though I can definitely offer some solid advice on picking a late-night burrito joint... look for long lines and happy faces! Two of my favorites are The Burrito House and the one by Wrigley Field, where Ish will serve you up burritos with a smile all night long at a tasty price. OK, LaBamba will also hit the spot when needed.

Sunday was a late breakfast at Potbelly followed by a heaping spoonful of pride at the Pride Parade (more on that later), and then the girls wanted MORE PIZZA before they got on the plane for Texas so we hit up Giordano's for one last stuffed deep dish and some fried zucchini.

Sure they missed out on some things - Al's Italian Beef, Taylor Street Italian Ice, Nicky's Hot Dogs, Garrett Pop Corn (get the Chicago mix), Portillo's and every foodie place in the city...

And of course they missed out on museums and most indoor activity aside from shopping, but that's why they need to come back in the winter. Maybe by then I'll have a handle on the places that require a coat and tie.

Getting A Bit Worried

The stock market is doing great and I'm a big bull but I'm getting a bit concerned. As we enter another silly season of presidential politics the Dems are making noises about taxes. Bush's tax cuts disappear in 2010 if nothing is done to make them permanent and the Dems, sorry to say this, rarely show much sense when it comes to taxes and the economy.

If the tax cuts disappear, you can probably bet on a recession. The stock market will smell this out before the fact and the market could tank, big time, in 2008 or 2009.

Never happen? Maybe but let's look at some tax facts courtesy of Investors Business Daily. Tax cuts are fairly far and few between--Coolidge in the 1920s, Kennedy in the 1960s, Reagan in the 1980s and Bush in 2003.

Here are the facts--since the Bush tax cut in May, 2003, real GDP has grown 13%, about 3.2% a year. Pretty good. Compare that to Clinton's last year in office-1.5%.

But not just Bushie. After Coolidge cut taxes, real GDP rose 59% from 1920 to 1929. After the Kennedy tax cut, real GDP rose 42% from 1961 to 1968. Real GDP rose 31% during the Reagan boom.

Other factors? Of course. But tax cuts work and tax increases don't. So all the rumblings on the campaign trail are starting to make me a bit nervous.

Summer Poll

It's the first day of the meteorological summer! So I've decided to celebrate with a random poll. Tell us: if you had an extra $50 this summer, what would you spend it on? I've listed a few options with my very unscientific poll here and I've decided to be very rigid. You can only pick one of these, so if they don't appeal to you, pick the closest. No wimpy "none of the above" options in my make-believe land of happy $50 for all. No sir.

Or you can just, you know, write it in the comments. But take the poll first, and then tell me how you'd rather spend an extra $50 if someone approached you with it right now.