1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Observations from Chicago and St. Louis

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by kingcreole, Jun 18, 2007.

  1. kingcreole

    kingcreole Active Member

    Back from the old-fashioned-Griswald-style-family vacation to St. Louis and Chicago.

    1. Saw plenty of Cubs fans last week since they played some afternoon home games. Most Cubs fans were younger people with kids. Many were nice to my family and I on the L trains and other places we bumped into them. Regular-looking people. Each time I saw a Cubs fan, I said, "That's a Cubs fan." The White Sox fans I saw ... I said, "That's a White Sox fan." Fat dudes with tattoos on their necks, trashy looking people, nasty women with kids who looked like Rosemary's Baby. Not trying to be harsh, but it just confirmed my fears that if I return to the Windy City for a game, I'm going to Wrigley.

    2. Deep dish pizza vs. thin crust. Had both. Deep dish wins in a landslide. Gino's East was fucking fantastic and almost worth the wait (three restless kids made it tough).

    3. Chicago hot dogs are a bit much. I like the mustard, celery salt, onions and relish, but those huge tomatoes and pickles made it quite a mess. Pretty good though.

    4. Chicago's CTA is a bitch at rush hour. And while I was overall impressed with the friendliness of the people, nobody would give my wife a seat on the L during rush hour, even though she had my son strapped to her in one of those damn snugli things. A handful of people (including two Cubs fans) tried to get people to give up their seats, but nobody would until they left.

    5. Navy Pier was cool. And the John Hancock Observatory topped the Sears Tower. Underrated place to visit - the Federal Reserve Bank. The kids had a blast there, shredding money and seeing millions of dollars.

    6. I was surprised how easy it was to drive around town. The traffic can be a bitch, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

    7. Why in the blue fuck does I-55 have three fucking lanes each way?

    8. I actually prefered the Sun-Times to the Tribune.

    9. If it wasn't for Cardinals fans and Rams fans, I would call St. Louis a cool city. Lots of neat shit to do there. Kids like the brewery, and of course, so did my wife and I. The City Museum and aquarium is a place you can spend all day there. Even I got into the climbing of the stuff at the museum, and so did my wife.

    10. St. Louis is a very hard town to get around in. Few signs, exits at the wrong places, street signs hard to find.
     
  2. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    3. I would much rather have a true Chicago Dog than a deep dish pizza any day - and I love pizza
     
  3. chazp

    chazp Active Member

    A Chicago dog is the best. Damn, I miss home.
     
  4. Herky_Jerky

    Herky_Jerky Member

    Oh man, I'll be in Chicago in about 3 weeks and I can't wait.

    I'm definitely looking forward to some Chicago dogs and a game or two at Wrigley.

    I'm also thinking about bringing my bike with me, which should be fun. I've never biked around town, but I think I might have to bike up to Evanston and get some Buffalo Joe's.

    I'm also looking forward to swimming in the lake at around midnight or so. That's always fun.

    As for St. Louis, I've been there plenty. I don't intend to stop as I drive by on the interstate.

    I am, however, considering stopping in Ozark, Missouri, at the Lambert's Restaurant. I definitely have a hankerin' for some throwed rolls.
     
  5. Cadet

    Cadet Guest

    If you've ever tried to get to Midway/Cicero from LSD during rush hour, you would understand the need for multiple lanes on I-55.

    And I'm not surprised about nobody giving up seats on the El for your wife. The friendly people you met were tourists. Real Chicagoans stick to themselves while using transit.
     
  6. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    I've given up my seat tons of times to elderly people and women with small children. And I lived in Chicago more than half my life. Not all Chicagoans are rude.
     
  7. Cadet

    Cadet Guest

    I didn't say rude, I said they stick to themselves. They don't strike up conversations with people. They don't move their things off the seat next to them when people come on board. And they may not give up their seat, especially when asked by tourists.
     
  8. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    Apologies. I just think that not giving up your seat to the elderly or women with children is kind of rude.
     
  9. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Usually it's only elder;y people or small women with children who want your seat...
     
  10. STLIrish

    STLIrish Active Member

    I hope by "thin crust" you're not referring to the crap that passes for St. Louis-style pizza. Real thin crust pizza, East Coast style, can certainly hold its own with Chicago deep dish, just depends on what you're looking for in a slice. But STL-style, which is also thin, is essentially provel "cheese" on top of a matzoh. Blech.
    There is a surprising lot to do in St. Louis. And most of the museums (though not the City Museum) are free. Which is nice. And the street signs are lousy, but once you know your way around, you can be anywhere in 15 minutes. Try that in Chicago.
     
  11. kingcreole

    kingcreole Active Member

    No, I sampled my daughter's thin crust pizza at Gino's East. Pretty good, but not as good.

    I'm sure getting around STL is easy if you know the way ... which we didn't. :) Luckily, we didn't end up like the Griswalds.
     
  12. Rambler

    Rambler Member

    Very nice. I was going to go on a diatribe about how it's nice you're teaching your kids to be so judgmental but I'll pass.

    Don't bother coming back.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page