Wisch List

This weekend’s Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Two hundred and twenty-four years ago this weekend, the people of Paris, fed up with their nation’s monarchy, famously rose up and stormed the Bastille, marking the flashpoint of the French Revolution.

In the process, they also sparked a holiday.

In honor of said Bastille Day, which is Sunday, I didn’t raid any fortress prisons or ignite any revolts this week, at least none that I’m aware of. But I did manage to cut quite a culinary swath through the Chicago French Market, a food-lovers’ paradise so exotic and eclectic that it’s completely unlike any other dining venue in the Windy City.

Located indoors beneath the Metra train terminal next to the Ogilvie Transportation Center in the West Loop, the Chicago French Market opened in December 2009 at 131 N. Clinton St., through the co-development of the Bensidoun family, which bills itself as the largest market operator in and around Paris since 1953, the Chicago French Market. It was designed as a playground for food enthusiasts to stroll about, sniff, sample and savor the offerings of two dozen food vendors.

Since then it’s grown to become what Chicago Tribune food writer Kevin Pang calls “a quirky collective of food nerddom” with more than 30 vendors – including celebrity chef Stephanie Izard of Little Goat – hawking exotic fare ranging from spicy Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches to Montreal-style smoked pastrami and to Belgian fries and French cheese to much more.

Continue reading “French Market culinary experience is a world apart”

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) While walking through the West Loop on Monday, I spotted a moving truck poking out from a loading dock down a side street. On its cardinal hood, the vehicle bore the name “HUSKIE 1” while its trailer shouted “GO HUSKIES,” along with a Northern Illinois University logo.

Now, as to why the truck was in Chicago, I don’t know. But as I strolled past, I couldn’t help but muse about the possibility that it was in town to deliver the hype for NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch.

Expect to hear plenty of that in the coming months.

Late last month, NIU launched an official “Jordan Lynch for 6” Heisman Trophy campaign – complete with a website and Twitter handle – aimed at promoting it’s the candidacy of its strapping senior QB who last season merely led the mid-major Huskies to the Orange Bowl and became the first player in FBS history to throw for more than 3,000 yards and run for more than 1,500, while producing more 100-yard rushing performances (12) than any other player in 2012.

On Tuesday, SportsOnEarth.com columnist Matt Brown wrote bluntly that, “Jordan Lynch will not win the Heisman Trophy in December. This is neither a profound statement nor a negative response to the Northern Illinois athletic department’s active campaign on behalf of its star quarterback. Barring some new level of statistical success, it’s simply reality, and everyone knows this. It also doesn’t matter: Lynch, Northern Illinois and the MAC should fight for all the attention they can get, despite the long odds.”

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Thursday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Tim Beckman’s Fighting Illini may play in the state of Illinois, but the coach’s local recruiting efforts continue to exist in a state of dysfunction.

On Monday, in the latest dig at the Illini’s shaky leader, SI.com columnist Stewart Mandel named Beckman as one of the five worst football coaches in America – after just one season at the U. of I. helm.

“I may be jumping the gun here,” wrote Mandel, who really wasn’t based on the evidence at hand, “but Beckman – hired at Illinois following a pair of eight-win seasons at Toledo – has done little to inspire confidence either on the field (2-10 in 2012) or on the recruiting trail with the Illini.”

As a result, the Illini are trailing badly when it comes to convincing the state’s top prep stars to spend their college careers in Champaign.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Tuesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Guys who can pitch like Matt Garza don’t grow on trees.

Neither do guys who can pitch like Jeff Samardzija.

So, why is it then that one guy is widely considered to be part of the Chicago Cubs’ so-called “core,” while the other is widely considered to be nothing more than trade bait?

On Monday night at U.S. Cellular Field, the streaking Garza handcuffed the struggling White Sox, allowing two runs, only one earned, over seven innings, while picking up the victory in the Cubs 8-2 win.

With that performance, Garza pushed his record to 4-0 with a 0.97 ERA over his past five starts and 5-1 overall with a 3.22 ERA since missing the first seven weeks while recovering from a strained lat muscle. Those impressive numbers have made Garza the most desirable starting pitcher on the supposed trading block, but hadn’t seemed to make him any more desirable to his own team – until Monday afternoon, perhaps.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

From the Saturday, July 6, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

In Chicago, “The Screen” is impressive.

But it also has a glitch.

Or, at least, it certainly did this week when Millennium Park’s enormous new $550,000 LED outdoor display – called “The Screen” because of its proximity to “The Bean” – didn’t seem to be worth a dime.

For 16 minutes on Tuesday night, the latest installment of the park’s inaugural Summer Film Series was delayed due to technical difficulties that left half of the 40-by-22.5 foot Millennium Park Screen at Pritzker Pavilion dark. Finally, after the system was rebooted multiple times, the full screen lit up with the crisp black-and-white glory of James Cagney’s 1942 classic “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and all was well.

But it wasn’t a feather in anyone’s hat to see a state-of-the-art device that’s less than a month old not immediately function as it should.

Perhaps it just didn’t like the weather. After all, it was so unseasonably chilly for July 2 that many among the sparse crowd in attendance were clad in stocking caps, heavy coats and scarves.

The only thing missing was hot chocolate.

“The Screen” itself is intended to heat up the urban wonderland that is Millennium Park with Donna LaPietra, chair of the not-for-profit Millennium Park Incorporated, saying last month during its unveiling that, “We hope that, ultimately, The Screen will be able to stand big shoulder to big shoulder with all of our other iconic features here in the park, the Bean and the (Crown) Fountain and the (Lurie) Garden.”

It’s questionable whether what’s essentially a giant HDTV can become truly “iconic,” but there’s no doubt that “The Screen” – when it’s working – is pretty awesome. Capable of being suspended from either the front or the back of the stage, the LED device is bright enough to be viewed in full daylight from all 4,000 seats in the Pritzker Pavilion concert venue and even from the back of the Great Lawn, a football field away.

Continue reading “‘The Screen’ at Millennium Park is a marvel – once it works”

Saturday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) It’s said that Chicago is pro sports town, and it is.

But it’s also home to hundreds of thousands of passionate Big Ten alumni – not to mention all those Notre Dame grads and fans – which very much makes the Windy City a stronghold for college sports lovers, as well.

New York City, on the other hand, is indeed a pro sports town.

Colleges need not apply.

At least, that’s always been the belief – and in large part, the reality – when it comes to sports passions in the Big Apple. But don’t tell that to the Big Ten and the ACC, which both are looking to plant their flag in NYC and convince the 8 million pairs of eyeballs in its boroughs to tune them in.

So, can New York actually be turned into a college town? Well, that’s a huge question mark. But considering the potential upside, why shouldn’t the Big Ten and ACC give it the old college try?

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) They don’t call this place the Windy City because we win.

But, come to think of it, maybe they should.

That’s because even though Chicago historically has been as synonymous with sports futility as any city in America – or maybe that’s just the Cubs – the loser label that long ago was slapped upon this Midwestern metropolis doesn’t really apply today.

In fact, right now, we’re actually living in a Golden Age of Chicago Sports that not only stacks up with other eras from this city’s past, but can hold its own with just about every other “Titletown” too.

Last Friday morning while I watched the Blackhawks’ joyous championship parade and rally unfold on TV, I found myself reflecting on how I’ve now borne witness to 10 Chicago sports titles since I was born back in May of 1976. During those 37 years, the Bulls have provided six of the championships, while the Blackhawks have added a pair to go along with one each from both the White Sox and the Bears.

It’s not a Perfect 10 without the Cubs included. But Chicago’s total does cover all four of the major sports, which is no small feat.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

This weekend’s Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

It’s almost July.

But we’re still waiting for summer to arrive in Chicago.

Between the rain and the gloom and the gloom and the rain, it’s also been kind of chilly.

But, hey, one of these days, you have to figure that the season will finally stick. And then, of course, it will get sticky.

Even if summer has proved to be elusive thus far in the Windy City, there are still plenty of reasons to visit Chicago during July. Here are a few of the festivities that you might be interested in taking advantage of during the coming month.

July 5-27: Chicago Children’s Museum Summer Dance Party

A day after Navy Pier stages its July 4 fireworks celebration (9:30 p.m., visit navypier.com for details), the venue will play host to a monthlong dance party at the Chicago Children’s Museum located on the Pier.

Held at 5:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday evening, the Summer Dance Party is geared for kids, but the entire family is invited to take the floor. And as TimeOut Chicago says, “Deep down, you’re a little jealous of your kid’s completely un-self-aware, utterly joyful gyrations.”

For more information, visit chicagochildrensmuseum.org.

Continue reading “Fun is in season, even if Chicago’s summer isn’t yet”

My June 28 column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) So multitudinous were the Blackhawks fans swarming downtown Chicago on Friday morning that when the gates to Grant Park were opened to let them in, one of my Facebook friends said it looked like a scene out of “World War Z.”

Eat it up, Chicago.

After all, championship celebrations don’t come along like this every year. Except, of course, when they did. Friday’s raucous Blackhawks rally in Grant Park reminded me of Petrillo Band Shell parties past back when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls turned trophy-hoisting into a summertime tradition.

With that in mind, I thought I’d take you on a trip down basketball memory lane today by sharing these fun Bulls moments from back in the heyday.

Rally No. 1: June 14, 1991

Even before the Bulls had won Game 5 in Los Angeles to clinch their first NBA Championship, politicians back in Chicago were already bickering about where to hold the championship parade.

Mayor Richard M. Daley wanted it held downtown. West Side aldermen, meanwhile, wanted it to go through their wards and past Chicago Stadium.

(Not surprisingly, Daley won.)

In L.A., where the Lakers had staged five championship parades during the 1980s, the Windy City bickering prompted Lakers guard Byron Scott to comment, “Those people are like rookies. It’s like a rookie when he first comes in the league, he doesn’t know how to accept being in the NBA. Those people don’t know how to accept being in the championship series. It’s all new to them. Of course they’re excited, and they have a right to be.”

Chicagoans also became championship parade vets, Byron.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

My June 27 column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Sitting 15 games out of first place, the Chicago Cubs couldn’t be much further from a world championship right now if they were, well, living on a different planet.

But some day – if we’re to believe Tom “We will win a World Series for our fans and our city” Ricketts – those Lovable Losers will morph into wonderful winners. And, in turn, Chicago will unleash more than a century of pent-up frustration in a championship celebration so raucous that it will likely make this week’s Blackhawks revelry look like an ice cream social.

If that long-awaited championship ever does happen, here’s to hoping that the mayor’s office and the Chicago Police Department are better prepared for the ensuing rowdiness than it was on Monday night after Hawks won the Stanley Cup. Because, really, property owners in Lakeview and Lincoln Park are going to need them to be.

I’ve said for years that if the Cubs ever do win (or even reach) the World Series, the city is probably going to need to set up a “demilitarized zone” around Wrigley Field that stretches north-south from Montrose to Fullerton and east-west from Damen to the lakeshore.

And even that might not be enough to contain the madness.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …