John Greenfield's "What's So Cool About Chicago?"

In the category of virtual native is Native's Guide to Chicago and occasional Chicago Reader contributor, John Greenfield. Greenfield has spent his entire adult life in Chicago. A bicycle messenger for most of the 90s, he now works as Bicycle Parking Coordinator for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. He leads the rock band Illinois First!, playing songs about the history and geography of the Land of Lincoln. His "What's So Cool About Chicago?" compendium has something for everyone, including some mutual favorites like the CTA, Critical Mass, the Garfield Park Conservatory, Myopic Books, Devon Avenue, Café Ibérico, Carol's Pub, Delilah's, and Danny's.

Ted Okuda's Chicago Top 10

There's something about growing up in a place that gives you a perspective on it not accessible to those who arrive later, even when they fully embrace it as their new hometown. This special sense of Chicago is something that Ted Okuda (The Golden Age of Chicago Children's Televsision) shares with our other authors who are natives. To write TGAofCCT, Okuda could draw on childhood endearment for and memories of these low-budget kids' favorites, as well as more real world experiences, such as riding the Addison Street bus to Lane Technical High School at the same Frazier Thomas was using it to get to WGN–TV nearby. Ted taps into that same Chicago passion to give us his Chicago Top 10, which includes hard-to-argue-with favorites like Hot Doug's, the Swedish Bakery, Manny's, and the Music Box.

"Wartime Cubs" Party Report

Trapped in the service elevator of one of Chicago's legendary buildings and old-time dancing with Ronnie Woo-Woo to Sweet Mary and the Vibetones within a three-hour span on the hottest, stickiest Chicago day in three years: Just a couple of the many real and surreal moments of a fantastic book release party for Chuck Billington's Wrigley Field's Last World Series in the historic, terraced room overlooking the Edgewater Beach Apartments' pool last Friday, June 24.

Chuck Billington gave the crowd a run-down of the storied Edgewater Beach Apartments, where many of the Cubs lived during the 1945 season, and under the large, slow-moving fans and within the fabled walls of the pool room, that era seemed not so far away. He also provided some great memorabilia and photos for guests to peruse, directed visitors to the wonderful outdoor gardens, and brought the LCP staff a baseball signed by Andy Pafko. Nice! Singer Mary Edsey and vibraphone player Jeff Hunter provided two sweltering, mood-setting sets of 1940s standards. Vienna Beef donated a table-top umbrella cart and fixings for Chicago-style dogs to accompany our peanuts and popcorn, all of which we washed down with plenty of ice-cold beer and lemonade.

#1 Cubs fan Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers arrived in uniform, talked Cubs and life, and took several women for a twirl on the dance floor. (Ronnie is the subject of a recent documentary, WooLife, and has his own website, www.ronniewoowoo.com.) I first met Ronnie back in the mid-1980s back before he was the "unofficial troubadour of the Cubs" at Sluggers' Upper Deck, where my high school friends and I occasionally gathered for hi-ball, video games, and batting cages. Those were the days when another friend, John, was a batboy for the Cubs. Once catcher Jody Davis lent our 17-year-old pal his jeep, and John's mom promptly instructed him to keep it in the garage! Our alternative plan involved sneaking out in the celerity vehicle for a minor-league joy ride to the lake, where the most scandalous thing that happened was our discovering that Davis had country music cassettes in the glove compartment.

Also joining our family, friends, and devoted customers were David Fletcher and Amber Buchanan of ClearBuck.com, an effort to reinstate George "Buck" Weaver into Major League Baseball. Weaver was the only member of the 1919 White Sox to maintain his innocence in the Black Sox scandal to the very end. Sheila Cull of SportsFan Magazine was also there, reporting on our grand affair for that publication.

Focus Group and Cookie Jars

So I'm participating in a focus group the other night on credit card processing with other small business owners probably also trying to make a buck faster than they typically do in their chosen enterprise, and who should I meet there but the owners of two shops we featured in A Native's Guide to Chicago. Bookworks, the used bookstore a block down from Wrigley Field, and Vintage Deluxe, a newer, hipper addition to Belmont's antique row. This stretch of Belmont, if you haven't seen it lately, is going to the dogs and the condos. Hovering around Belmont and Leavitt, I last counted five establishments devoted to doggie-doings, including a club for pups and their owners ("No cats allowed!"). Stretches of new condos are walling up all of Belmont between Western and Ashland.

For respite amidst the madness there's always Scooters, Chicago's only locale for frozen custard, during the day and the River Kwai Seafood II at night. Described in ANGtC by contributor Ken Polson as "carved from the seedy streets of Bangkok and inserted in Chicago's trendy North Side," this divine Thai dive is only open 11 p.m.–6 a.m. And, my latest exciting discovery on this strip is the return of Jazze Junque cookie jar store. I grew up near the original location on Lincoln in North Center but it vanished about five years back. OK, and for some reason I like the preposterously named Bungalow. Nothing about this lounge says "bungalow" to me except in the sardonic "this is the new face of Chicago" sense. Hey—still perfect for all occassions demanding slick interiors, high-priced martinis, red glow, fireplace, thumping beats, and brandy-soaked French cherries.

BYO Tequila!

You may have seen Jean Iverson's new book BYOB Chicago logically stacked for sale at local wine shops. Chicago Magazine's April issue points out that within this compendium of BYO restaurants is the Blue Cactus, where diners can bring their own tequila (Margarita mix and salt provided!).

For more on tequila and its even more macho cousin mescal, read these articles I wrote for the former Barfly newspaper (I loved that paper!): Tequila! and Getting to the Bottom of Mescal. And speaking of Barfly, former Barfly writer Paul Barile has his own new blog: Dirty Old City.

Ten Things To Do This Weekend

One of our favorite roundups of Chicago things to do is Margaret Littman's weekly column for Crain's Chicago Business, "10 Things To Do This Weekend" (you may have to see a copy at the newsstand or library if you're not an online subscriber). It consistently suggests diverse and unexpected offerings for all tastes and budgets in the realms of arts, culture, shopping, dining, recreation, family fun, and single living. Littman is the author of two great niche guides to Chicago: Veg Out! Vegetarian Guide to Chicago and The Dog Lover's Companion to Chicago: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog.

Polkaholics Lead Off Lincoln Square Summer Concert Series

Tomorrow, June 16, 2005, The Polkaholics, Chicago's very own wacky punk rock polka band, lead off Lincoln Square's free Summer Concert Series, which takes place every Thursday evening on the patio outside Café Selmarie. The Chicago Brauhaus has beer and grilled brats for sale. "Hot as a grilled kielbasa, crunchy as a potato pancake," we've loved the Polkaholics since they performed at the former Baby Doll Polka Club for our release party for Chris Lynch's Chicago's Midway Aiport. They're also regular's at Lincoln Square's second-floor bowling alley, Lincoln Square Lanes.

Printers Row Recap

We're almost recovered from another great time at the Printers Row Book Fair this past weekend. We love kicking off the summer by meeting our readers in person, introducing new customers to our company, seeing old friends, fielding pitches from potential authors, yapping about Chicago, and especially showing off our talented authors! Several of our authors spent time at our booth talking about their books with passersby and signing copies: Arnie Bernstein, Chuck Billington, Dan Facchini, Grace DuMelle, Libby Hill, Chris Lynch, Jack Mulqueen, Ted Okuda, and Marilyn Pocius. We even had a surprise visit from Greg Holden (Literary Chicago). We showcased our books released since last year's fair: A Native's Guide to Chicago, 4th Edition, Wrigley Field's Last World Series, and Finding Your Chicago Ancestors. Our bestsellers for the weekend were A Native's Guide to Chicago (always big at the fair as people are gearing up for summer in the city) and The Streets & San Man's Guide to Chicago Eats and Wrigley Field's Last World Series (both popular choices for last-minute Father's Day gifts).

Business of the Month

Lake Claremont Press has just been named business of the month by the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce . . . for March 2005.

Book Release Party at Edgewater Beach Apartments

Join us Friday, June 24, 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., at the Edgewater Beach Apartments (5555 N. Sheridan) to celebrate the release of Charles Billington's new book, Wrigley Field's Last World Series: The Wartime Chicago Cubs and the Pennant of 1945. During the '45 season, many Cubs lived at the then Edgewater Beach Hotel and walked the mile and a half to work from there. We'll have a great room off the historic pool (no swimming!), with plenty of ballpark and old-time treats. Admission is free, but because this is private property, you must RSVP with Karen (karen@lakeclaremont.com) to be put on the guest list. Parking in the building is $4. Better yet, take the red line, exit at the Bryn Mawr stop, and walk east to the pink building on Sheridan. And check out the Anna Held Flower Shop on the first floor (it's also an ice cream parlor!).

Edgewater is a wonderful, historic neighborhood on the lakefront, on the red line (Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Thorndale, and Granville stops), and surrounded by other vibrant Chicago neighborhoods: Uptown to the south, Andersonville to the west, and Rogers Park on the north. Some of our new discoveries in Edgewater include: Wing Hoe, Rique's Regional Mexican Food, and Left of Center Bookstore.

Printers Row Book Fair

Lake Claremont Press will make its 10th (maybe 11th?) appearance at the Printers Row Book Fair this weekend June 11 and 12 at Booth CC on Polk, just north of Dearborn and across from Hackney's. We're expanding to three tables this year, one of which will be solely devoted to author signings. My sister Sheryl will be in from Bloomington, Indiana, at the table next to us, selling her company's handmade, recycled paper (Twisted Limb Paperworks). I have a soft spot for Hackney's because my grandpa Leonard Noesen did refrigeration work at the original locations for founder Jim Masterson, a man he respected, and as kids it was a treat to go way out to the burbs for Hackneyburgers on dark rye and greasy blocks of fried onion rings.