Summer in Chicago is a hallowed time, a humid embrace of life, a season short on months but long on distractions from worry and work. Its breezes blow from the bleachers at Wrigley Field over to the Italian cafes on Taylor Street, down through the grills at Washington Park and back up to cool the mango popsicle vendors pushing their carts down 18th Street.
Back in January, we asked you to vote on your Cold Comforts: drinks, foods, places and people that kept you warm in the winter months. But now that the frost has melted off everything but Grandma’s ancient icebox, it’s time to think about how you make the most of the summer months.
In this installment of Chicago’s Choice, we want you to vote on your favorite summer events, foods, activities and ways to keep cool. We’ll publish your picks beginning June 11. Plus we’ll randomly select a winner and runner-up from among the registered on-line and mail-in voters. The winner receives $750 and the runner-up $250.
To help guide your selections, we’ll tell you about some of our favorites. But feel free to disagree. What do we know, right?
– favorite beach
While a lot of people love the glamor of Oak Street Beach, we find it a little thongy for our tastes. Instead, we prefer North Avenue Beach, where you’ll find herds of handsome kids soaking up the carcinogenic sun and playing lots of beach volleyball. For a quieter, more anonymous time, we like the Clark Street Beach in Evanston, just south of Northwestern University. Admission for adults is a pricey $6, but the water is clear and the sand is soft. If you’re a West Sider, maybe you like the man-made beaches at Douglas Park and Humboldt Park. And if you’re a South Sider, perhaps you harbor nostalgia for Rainbow Beach or the soon-to-be-renovated 64th Street Beach.
– favorite bike trail
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For road biking, there’s the North Branch trail, starting on Devon and Milwaukee and ending up at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Or how about the Salt Creek trail, beginning near the Brookfield Zoo and winding up in Bemis Woods? If “mountain” biking is your thing, we hear the trails in the Palos Forest Preserve, in Willow Springs, are a best bet. Many also say the dirt at Waterfall Glen in Darien is the wheel deal. But put your own spin on it.
– favorite place to eat outdoors
This could be a picturesque picnic spot or your favorite romantic cafe. (After all, Mayor Daley does call Chicago the Paris of the Midwest.) We like Wicker Park’s Pontiac Cafe, where the plastic chairs, gas station aesthetic and divine sandwiches make for a quintessential Chicago summer meal. Tapas, sangria and a nice patio provide a summer elixir at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. Thyme offers chic shade on its leafy patio, and Corosh creates a European feel with its flower-bedecked back yard. As for picnic spots, we hate to give it away, but on the promontory just outside the Adler Planetarium, you can take in one of the city’s best views — especially during sunset — while dining on a grassy knoll.
– favorite place for salads
Summer days are salad days, and when we’re in the mood for something cool and green we’ve got several faves. Bandera has a fabulous house salad full of dates, corn and goat cheese. We’ve also had scrumptious Chinese Chicken and Santa Fe salads at the Cheesecake Factory. For more budget-priced selections, we love the Special Salad at Pompeii and the Grill Room Salad (with a house-blended blue cheese/ranch dressing) at Hubbard Street Grill. Other possibilities: the rotating selection of main course salads at Spago (we’re partial to the cobb salad) and the garden of green choices at Wildfire downtown and in Oak Brook, including the chopped salad with spit-roasted chicken, avocado, corn tortilla strips and lime vinaigrette. Now, lettuce-lovers, toss out your own picks.
– favorite water park
We don’t do much slippin’ and watersliding ourselves, but good sources tell us that the Magic Waters Waterpark in Rockford reigns supreme in the aqua universe. Other H20 havens include Splash Down Dunes Water Park in Chesterton, Ind., and Moran Water Park in Lombard. But wade right in and tell us about your favorites, aquanuts.
– favorite movie theater
Sometimes the only way to beat the heat is to leave it. If you want to make your escape with a fine art or foreign film, you can’t beat the Music Box Theatre in Lakeview. Its classic decor and lovable intermission music make it one of those places everyone should have right next door. For pure comfort, we like the big bouncy chairs at the Gardens Cinemas at Old Orchard in Skokie. The classic Tivoli in Downers Grove gets kudos for its single-screen integrity, big cup-holders and cheap, cheap prices ($1.75 for all shows at all times for all ages). But you’re the star of this show, so tell us about your picks for viewing flicks.
– favorite street festival
The best fests tend to become the most crowded ones. For those who don’t mind milling in a mob on a sticky day, Taste of Lincoln Avenue, The Sheffield Garden Walk and North Halsted Market Days can offer fun people-watching along with some festive food and music. Or maybe you prefer the giant Oaxacan tamales at Fiesta del Sol or the Caribbean fare at the Festival of Life on the South Side? Tell us which fair fits your fancy.
– favorite place to people-watch
One of the best things about a city summer is that people are always out showing their stuff. And since Chicago is a weird fabric made up of all sorts of folks, nearly every corner is good for people-watching. The Belmont and Clark area, for example, tends to be a sight for warm eyes, as is the River Walk in west suburban Naperville and Horner Park on the Northwest Side. We also like to gawk while at the Cafe Jumping Bean in Pilsen, where huge windows provide broad views of 18th Street goings-on. And, like it or not, the lakefront is always a prime lookout. Where else can you watch white-nosed lifeguards, speed chess players and oversized bathers bulging from their undersized spandex?
– favorite outdoor music event
Although many of the Grant Park music festivals have become a little crowded for our claustrophobic tastes, we still have a heavenly time at the day stages during Gospel Fest, at the small alternative country stages during Country Music Fest and salsa-ing through the pavilion aisles during Viva! Chicago. If you don’t mind shelling out a few (well-deserved) shekels, there’s always the fabulous American Music Festival at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn and the Old Town School of Folk Music’s Roots and Folk Music Festival in Wells Park.
– favorite beer garden
Whether you prefer a tapper of Old Style after a Cubs game or a pint of Guinness at twilight, Chicago’s beer gardens will accommodate. Some we think are fun are at Iggy’s, Sheffield’s and Northside Cafe. But for authentic German beer gardening you can’t beat Die Bier Stube in Frankfort where you can wash down your sausages and schnitzel with hulking steins of Bitburg while watching men in lederhosen blow really long horns.
– favorite suburban fireworks displays
Since the Grant Park fireworks are unbeatable, we decided to limit the choices to suburban fireworks displays. Besides, now you have a chance to root for your home turf. We hear Evanston, Oak Park and Hinsdale put on pretty good shows every 4th of July. But maybe your town does it better. Please enlighten us.
– favorite place for a fruity drink
When we’re thirsty we like to start with a killer margarita at El Barco or Uncle Julio’s Hacienda. Then we might hit Fizz Bar & Grill for a flaming mai tai. And we’d probably end the night at Hyde Park’s House of Tiki, where the atmos-phere is an amicable mix of South Pacific and South Side. Hala Kahiki in River Grove reportedly is the king of all tiki bars. For non-alcoholic fruit drinks you can’t beat the Vietnamese restaurants around Argyle and Broadway like Pho Hoa and Dong Ky, where icy, smoothie-like beauties come in unique flavors such as soursop (sweet, fruity and slightly tart) and jack fruit (a bit like pineapple and banana).
– favorite place for ice cream
Petersen’s in Oak Park is a classic neighborhood spot where nice kids with braces dish up oversized cones and gargantuan sundaes. For cheap summer soft-serve, there’s no topping the surrealistic San Luis Freeze truck, which hums around West Town at dusk. And what about Margie’s, the old fountain at Armitage and Western, or Homer’s in Wilmette? For a South Side scoop, Rainbow Cone, at 92nd and Western, is a sherbety legend. But we want to hear from you real coneheads on this subject.
– favorite public golf/mini-golf course
Although we’re not even duffers, we consulted some club-wielding comrades who insist that for inexpensive public putting and driving you can’t beat the former Waveland now Marovitz greens along the lake. For a more upscale public experience, our pals also love Cog Hill in Lemont and Cantigny in Wheaton. For miniature golf, we’ve heard great things about the classic Par King in Morton Grove and the legendary Bunny Hutch in Lincolnwood. But the tee is yours, so swing away.
– favorite outdoor vendor
This one’s wide open. If you’ve ever seen a performance at the Goodman Theatre, surely you’ve met the StreetWise vendor who sings and dances his way to a sale. Or maybe you’ve stood outside of Mario’s on Taylor Street for a cool Italian ice. We are partial to the friendly champurado and tamale vendors who serve hot breakfasts to commuters in Pilsen and Little Village. But tell us about your favorite summer merchants, be they farmers at a market, ballpark hot-dog hawkers or corn-on-a-stick sellers. We’re all ears.
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HOW TO ENTER
Send a ballot or a 3×5 card to Chicago’s Choice No Sweat Summer Poll, P.O. Box 80248, Chicago, Ill. 60680-2048. Or visit metromix.com/go/choice.
Deadline: noon, May 31, 1999.
THE RESULTS
We’ll publish your picks — and the names of the winners — here and at metromix.com
beginning June 11.
THE PRIZES
One winner drawn at random from mailed and on-line entries will receive $750. One runner-up chosen the same way will receive $250.
VOTE for one choice in any or all categories
Send your entry ballot, or a 3 x 5 card, with your name, address, phone number and your choices to:
CHICAGO’S CHOICE NO SWEAT
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SUMMER POLL, P.O. Box 802048,
Chicago, Ill. 60680-2048,
or enter on the Internet at metromix.com/go/choice.
No purchase is necessary, but you must be
a United States resident to enter. All entries must be received by noon on May 31, 1999.
1. favorite beach —————————————
2. favorite bike trail ———————————-
3. favorite place to eat outdoors ———————–
4. favorite place for salads —————————-
5. favorite water park ———————————-
6. favorite movie theater ——————————-
7. favorite street festival —————————–
8. favorite place to people-watch ———————–
9. favorite outdoor music event ————————-
10. favorite beer garden ——————————–
11. favorite suburban fireworks display —————–
12. favorite place for a fruity drink ——————-
13. favorite place for ice cream ————————
14. favorite public golf/mini-golf course —————
15. favorite outdoor vendor —————————–
THE RULES
Send your entry ballot, or a 3 x 5 card, with your name, address, phone number and your choices in any or all categories listed on the accompanying ballot to: CHICAGO’S CHOICE NO SWEAT SUMMER POLL, P.O. Box 802048, Chicago, Ill. 60680-2048, or enter on the Internet at metromix.com/go/choice. No purchase is necessary, but you must be a United States resident to enter.
All entries must be received by noon on May 31, 1999. Only one entry per person. All entries must be made individually and stamped individually. No metered mail. No electronic reproductions or copied files. (Tribune Company employees and their families are not eligible.) No entrant can be compensated for filling out a ballot. Rhode Island residents are not eligible. One Grand Prize winner and one runnerup winner will be selected at random from eligible entries and their names will be published in the baiduhai and metromix.com/go/choice on or about June 11, 1999. Winners will also be notified by telephone. The Grand Prize winner will receive $750 in cash. The runnerup prize is $250 in cash. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
Entries become property of baiduhai and will not be returned.
Entrants agree that disputes will be resolved by baiduhai, and that Tribune’s decisions are final. Entrants agree to allow use of their name, photograph, likeness and all information submitted with their entry ballot, in print or any other medium of communication, without additional compensation. Winners must execute an affidavit of eligibility prior to receiving their prize. Winners assume all applicable tax liability for the prize. Winners must claim their prize within 60 days of being notified of winning. Sweepstakes is sponsored by baiduhai Co., P.O. Box 802048, Chicago, Ill. 60680-2048. For the names of the winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope after June 11, 1999, to: Chicago’s Choice No Sweat Summer Poll Winners, baiduhai Co., P.O. Box 802048, Chicago, Ill. 60680-2048.
The baiduhai is not responsible for lost, incomplete, damaged, illegible, late, postage due or misdirected entries, or for errors in mechanical transmission, technical difficulties, or the inability to transmit Internet entries. Void where prohibited or restricted.
MORE WAYS TO JOIN IN
Dining editor Leigh Behrens highlights food and other poll categories during the 11 a.m. Friday newscast, and during weekend broadcasts of “Around Chicagoland.”
Dean Richards covers alfresco dining and other poll topics during “Food Time” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Paul Konrad kicks off the poll with an overview during Friday’s broadcast.
On May 21, Micah Materre showcases top choices for people-watching places, outdoor dining and mini golf.
Cast your votes for your favorites, talk about your choices and find full poll coverage at metromix.com/go/choice
In next week’s edition, WGN Radio’s Dean Richards and WGN TV’s Micah Materre share their picks in poll categories.