MORNING
A friend and I start our (late) morning over slices of sausage at Damenzo’s (2324 W. Taylor St., 312-421-1142), where a massive piece of pizza and a drink runs only $3.50, making it one of the most filling deals in town.
Not only are the slices huge — as in, “can’t see the plate” huge — but they’re tasty too: Both sauce and sausage find that perfect sweet/salty spot.
Bacci Pizzeria (2248 W. Taylor St.) down the block also keeps the Little Italy flame flickering with its own XL slices, but my money’s on Damenzo’s, which is frankly more of a dump, albeit a charming one.
Bacci’s has 14 locations. Damenzo’s has character.
Consider that on this last visit we ate in the dimly lighted dining room, watching a television that surfed on its own between Spanish-language talk shows and static.
At one point a guy burst into the place dressed in camouflage and repeatedly demanded that the staff “Give me my $10!”
You can’t franchise that.
AFTERNOON
The Field Museum. The Shedd Aquarium. The Museum of Science and Industry.
They are all Chicago museum giants.
And we wanted nothing to do with any of them, aiming to explore one of the city’s relatively unknown museums. Gratefully, we found the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture (6500 S. Pulaski Rd., 773-582-6500) in West Lawn.
Stanley Balzekas Jr., who sells cars on the Southwest Side, has obviously thrown his heart into this tribute to all things Lithuania, a country most Americans couldn’t find on a map. Traditional dresses, a coat of armor and ivory-covered prayer books are just a few of the displayed items.
A room for children — What kid doesn’t like scythe and pitchfork collages? — and the amber jewelry collection should not be missed.
Neither should the film “In Love With Lithuania,” which blends beautiful, pastoral images of the countryside with shots of Lithuanians burning effigies, drinking beer soup and visiting the country’s Devil’s Museum, home to “1,000 devils and witches from all over the world.”
Borat would be pleased.
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EVENING
Since we’re already headed south, we trek to Worth, where Friends Cafe & Lounge (11015 S. Harlem Ave., 708-671-1270) hooks customers up with hookahs topped with flavored tobacco.
If the water pipe is not your thing, have a Red Bull and laugh at your friends coughing apple-flavored smoke.
For dinner, we kept the Middle Eastern theme and ate at Lebanese Nights (9050 S. Harlem Ave., 708-430-4377). The place has had several owners, and names, in the past 12 months, but the food has never faltered. The mixed grill and freshly made tabbouleh stand out.