You know you're from Chicago if...

[Ellen Forradalom]

All original, just made up right now by this life-long Chicagoan!

You can pronounce Paulina Street, Devon Avenue and Goethe Street correctly.

You can pronounce the suburbs Des Plaines and Lisle correctly.

You answer "Where are you from?" with North Side, West Side, or South Side.

You have at least one friend who's worked at Potbelly, Connie's or Pizzeria Uno or Due.

You know the difference between Pizzeria Uno and Due.

You would not deign to call the cardboard-and-tomato-sauce concoction New Yorkers favor "pizza."

You eat hot dogs with lettuce, tomato, onion sauerkraut, pickle relish, mustard, hot peppers and cucumber.

Only Vienna Beef is a real hot dog.

You drive on LSD.

You're familiar with the Hillside Strangler, Hubbard's Cave and the Mag Mile.

You stick three fingers out the driver's side window, then cut across three lanes.

You have a Chicago Bulls or B-96 sticker on your car.

You can put down a bowling ball in the front of the living room, and it rolls the length of the apartment to the back of the kitchen.

You don't know how to drive up a hill.

You listen to Mancow instead of Howard Stern.

You remember Ray Rayner, Frasier Thomas, Sven Ghoolie and Magikist signs from your childhood.

You know the melody that '588-2300' is set to.

You picked up a WXRT Featured Artist Card as a teen.

It's a 'sub', not a hero or a hoagie.

You know the difference between UIC and U of C.

You ride the L to work.

Any downtown area is the 'Loop.'

You go to the Sears Tower to work, not to visit the observatory.

Your first job was as a runner at the Board of Trade.

You've been to every landmark in the Blues Brothers.

It drives you crazy that the Blues Brothers' car turns a corner in Chicago and winds up in Milwaukee.

You grew up in a bungalow.

Your version of the American dream is to buy a three-flat.

After it snows, you dig out your street parking spot and market it with lawn furniture.

You know what the Machine is.

It seems that the mayor has always been Daley.

If you've been to Comiskey Park, you've never been to Wrigley Field; and vice versa.

Softball is played with a 16" ball and no mitts.

[eyesroll]

1. The Empire Carpet jingle is totally ruined now.

They expanded into Wisconsin, and with all of the area codes in IL now, the number is now:
800-588-2300.

That "800" is tacked on at best. It's annoying.
(I grew up in the suburbs, and moved to WI 10 years ago.)

[Ellen Forradalom]

2. Do you know the tune to "HUdson 3 2700"?

Another long-gone carpet place with a memorable jingle.

[madrchsod]

5. olsen rugs

i went with my parents to olsen rug in the 50`s and bought a huge wool carpet for our living room.

[chiburb]

82. Are you sure it wasn't "Boushell" carpets?

.

[RetroLounge]

107. Arrrrgghhhhhhhhhhhh

It took 20 years to get that jingle out of my head...

and now? Arrghghhhhhhhh.

[terrya]

35. Exactly how long has that guy (the spokesman) been doing those ads?

It seems like decades....

[ComerPerro]

36. Until he dies

I am telling you the song at his funeral will be the Empire Carpet jingle.

Right after the eulogy.
"And now, we would like to say goodbye the only way we know how. '588-2300, Empire!' Thanks for the memories."

[Ellen Forradalom]

42. Speaking of perpetual spokesmen

what about Marty Robinson of WTTW-11? He's been the face of Channel 11 pledge drives since the 1970s. Is he still at it?

[alwynsw]

46. Wasn't it "5-8-8-2-3hundred, Empire?"

[madrchsod]

3. i miss the magikist sign

on the ike. been driving into chicago since the early 60`s and i miss that sign...
-you remember when wls and wcfl were am music giants in the midwest
-you remember north wells when it was hip
-you remember what alley second city is/was located

[Ellen Forradalom]

6. I remember all of the above

I too have been up and down the Ike since 1967 and remember the Lips well.

[bobthedrummer]

11. I lived just off N. Wells on Burton Street in a tentament with other

musicians during the winter of 1967-68. I ate and survived at Pickle Barrel, mostly on chilidogs. I used to hang out at Piper's Alley and some of the bookstores in Old Town then.

I hung out with Tom Shiffor then, the drummer from The Shadows of Knight, a great Chicago band. Best of all was blue Monday, when you could hear Little Walter or Paul Butterfield or Junior Wells, if you like harp all playing various clubs on N. Wells advertised in the underground press of Chicago-The Seed.

But I was born and raised in Milwaukee.

[Ellen Forradalom]

12. Say my dad lived in Old Town the summer of '67

before my family followed that October.

[bobthedrummer]

13. It was pretty cool there then.

Maybe I knew him, I'm 54.

[Ellen Forradalom]

14. He was in his 40s then.

Got a university teaching job in Chicago.

[5thGenDemocrat]

154. I, of course, am from Saginaw, Michigan

And I remember when WLS and WCFL were AM music giants in the Midwest.
I especially recall Bob Dearborn and the temperature at Marina City (WLS, right?) from my teenage years (say, 1970).
John
It was a long time and several hundred pounds of weed ago. I could be having another episode of misfiring synapses, I guess.

[MariaS]

4. I remember

Maxwell street visits with my dad as a little girl and the taffy apples in old town. Cuddley Duddley, Miss Frances, and Clutch Cargo. Chicago is my kind of Town. I miss it sometimes.

[absyntheNsugar]

7. Go-Theeee Street

Love it...oh and we in California bow to your Pizza over there in Chi-town. It is the bomb.

ON EDIT: There's a local chain here called "Pi'za Chicago" that makes authentic Chicago Pizza - deep dish and full of stuff.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

8. Chicago Pizza is GROSS!!!

but I do love the bungalow style of houses!

[Ellen Forradalom]

9. Who asked you?

Go back to your clam chowder and beans, it's getting cold.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

53. Lots of real Italian pizza here in Boston

and in NY. Maybe I just had a bad experience with Chicago pizza. The crust tasted like an old sponge.

[Padraig18]

25. Gross? Are you some sort of Communist, or something?

Chicago-style pizza is the ONLY style worth wasting the energy to chew! :P

[kanrok]

31. I have deemed you legaly insane

Congratulations.

[Nailzberg]

32. There is NO pizza but Chicago Pizza

Everything else is crap.

There is nothing like a Pequod's pizza on the face of this earth.

[terrya]

34. I have to disagree with you. Gino's pizza is the BEST. Without question.

:-)

[Nailzberg]

39. Sorry, partial to Pequods.

Not really a disagreemen, but rather a preference.

It's all Chicago pizza, regardless.

[Ellen Forradalom]

41. Pizzeria Due is what it's all about to me.

Mmmm, that crust. My favorite is the Spinoccoli.

[bearfan454]

65. Gino's East for me.

Every time I go to Chicago I eat it. I love it. And don't forget about Berghoff's.

[GOPisEvil]

92. Giordano's won the unofficial DU taste test.

We tried Uno, Gino's and Giordano's. I'm sure our awesome waiter at Giordano's had nothing to do with the the outcome. ;-)

[bearfan454]

97. Hell it is all darn good !

I like Gino's East the best myself. When we ordered a sausage pizza, the sausage was the size of the entire pizza. I miss it a lot.

[pmbryant]

100. Giordano's was always my favorite

But they are all good! I have to stop thinking about this now, or I'll be in trouble. I haven't had Chicago pizza in over 3 years and it's not likely I'll be getting any more soon.

:-(

--Peter

[GOPisEvil]

110. Come up to Austin...we have a reasonable facsimile here.

We have Mangia and Frank & Angie's. Both do a pretty darn fine Chicago-style pie!

[pmbryant]

112. Hmmmm

I've had imitations before and, while often quite good, they have never been the same, or even particularly close.

But I'll have to check those out anyway at some point. :D

Thanks!

:bounce:

--Peter

[GOPisEvil]

115. Hey flush_bush eats at Mangia all the time.

It's good enough for him. Let me know if you decide you wanna give 'em a try. Oh, and didja see, XNASA's coming in February. :-)

[never cry wolf]

147. Lou Malnatis

I believe Lou Malnati started out at Uno's in the 40's and started his own place. They ship anywhere in the US overnight packed in dry ice and baking instructions. 1-800-LOU-TO-GO or http://www.deepdishpizza.com/priority.html

They also have alot of other Chicago goodies such as Eli's cheesecake and Vienna Beef Dogs.

[kanrok]

151. Agreed

Used to be a HUGE fan of Gino's East...until they moved from Superior. Something about the oven there really made a difference with the taste. Now I love Malnati's best.

[kmla]

146. Berghoff's? That's where I had my first girl....

St. Pauli Girl, that is. Get your mind out of the gutter.

That used to be their ad slogan - "You never forget your first Girl."

Berghoff's, November, 1982. Had a ham and swiss on rye, and a St. Pauli Girl beer, served by a grouchy, disinterested waiter.

Had my first experience w/ Gino's East that weekend, too.

Great weekend, it was....

[ProfessorGAC]

172. Liquor License Number 1

Berghoff's still has the Liquor License #1, as they were the first to have one granted at the end of prohibition. It's still on their wall, with that big #1 on it.
The Professor

[chasqui]

55. I lived around the corner from Pequod's

They make the most absolutely tasty burnt cheese on the edge pizza you will ever find anywhere. As a matter of fact, it is my favorite pizza in the world.
Right....go for a ten minute walk, to Hoghead McDunna's, the bar with a CPD squad door riddled with bulletholes...
Cool.

[Nailzberg]

122. Did they ever fix that pothole in front of McDunna's?

You know the one. It's at the curbside on the south side of the street, almost right in front of the bar. I loved watching drivers try to race around all the cars waiting in turn at the stop sign, then hit that crater-sized hole, bottoming out, sparks flying everywhere. It was the best pothole in the city.

[Gato Moteado]

145. WHOA! hoghead McDunna's??????

isn't that the place that used to be "the roxy"? and, before that it was "the north branch saloon"?

i used to hang out there when it was the roxy. they had a cool open mike night that was hosted by harry waller. they'd get both musicians and stand up comedians to show up at that one. i knew the owner of the place....she adopted my parrot when i left chicago in 1990.

[kath]

156. Giordano's and Edwardo's are the best. Stuffed pizza -- yum

Sometimes my craving for Giordano's or Edwardo's stuffed pizza is so bad I can hardly stand it!
But you can't get it out here in Okie-land. SOB!

[ComerPerro]

38. You just fucked up

Gross? Gross?

I don't have anyone on my ignore list.... yet...

But don't tempt me...


LOL

[Ellen Forradalom]

10. More....

You know where Forest Park, Park Forest, River Forest, Oak Forest and Oak Park are.

There's only one Lake, and it's always cooler by it.

You celebrate the New Year or a Bulls championship by firing your gun off the back porch.

[chasqui]

159. You forgot three:

Lake Forest,
Lake Villa,
Lake Bluff.

[Beaker]

15. what's the 3-finger bit out the driver's window all about?

unless maybe you're referring to flashing a gang sign?

I'm a lifelong chicagoan, and i've never heard of it...when i want to cut across 3 lanes of traffic, I just do it- no 3 fingers out the window, no turn signal, like Nike says: "just do it"...as long as I don't hit nobody else's car, it's no business of theirs where I'm driving.

and I don't listen to either mancow or howard stern- they're both morons.

you also know you're from chicago if you don't pronounce the first R in "Library"

you know you're from chicago, if you know someone who lives "over by there..."

[Ellen Forradalom]

20. good ones!

I've seen the three-finger warning on the Dan Ryan. (You know you're from Chicago if you call the Dan Ryan the Damned Ryan or Daley's Ditch.)

[dolo amber]

60. I have lived

and driven in NYC, southern California, Cincinnati...I have NEVER been more terrified on any freeway than the Dan Ryan. :scared:

Granted when I was there in the mid 90s it was tore up all to hell with construction, but still...JAYSUS!

"Let's all do 90mph, not signal, and cross 4 lanes at a time while staring at the poor schlub with the Ohio plates!! YAY!!" :eyes:

:P

[Ellen Forradalom]

106. Sounds about right

The Dan Ryan is travelled by 250,000 drivers daily and they all drive like assholes.

Other delights of the Damned Ryan:
Flying objects from the overpasses.
Where the Dan Ryan splits into 94 and 57, there's always some absentminded driver who veers wildly across five lanes to get to the right highway.

[ProfessorGAC]

173. I Am Not!

When i drive on the Dan Ryan i am no different than i am at any other time. Oh wait! That would be an ass#$%^. Ok you're right, after all.
The Professor

[Beaker]

16. "Ray Rayner, Frasier Thomas, Sven Ghoolie ..."

what about BJ & Dirty Dragon?

or getting a handjob at The Candy Store?

[bearfan454]

66. Garfield Goose and Bozo the Clown too.

[Beaker]

123. I was on Bozo the Clown...as part of an act.

I worked as a costume character at Santa's Village, and went on Bozo in a bear costume as a back-up musician(with a fake instrument) for a girl from one of our shows who was singing on the Bozo show.

I also got to play the "Grand. Prize. Game." with Ringmaster Ned and Cookie the Clown(no Bozo) at the Kane County Fair when I was a kid.

[LoZoccolo]

17. You said "living room" in there!

Did you mean "front room"?

(pronounced "french room", of course)

[Ellen Forradalom]

21. If you've seen a typical Chicago apartment

you'll know why they call it the front room!

[Bat Boy]

18. Mancow?

I have no argument with anything else on the list, but Mancow?

I have absolutely nothing good to say about that paranoid, coke addled hypocrite, and I don't know anyone who has ever been in the same room with him that'll argue that.

[Ellen Forradalom]

19. No argument from me

He's wretched. The idea is that Howard Stern is not big in this market.

[LoZoccolo]

61. Mancow is the one that got me so mad...

...that I ended up getting involved in anti-war activism. Just hearing his fucked-up arguments to beat down anything against the war got me so pissed off I started looking for something I could do about it.

Someone at an anti-war rally was handing out flyers about DU and well...thank you Mancow, I'm up to 800+ posts!

[Norquist Nemesis]

119. I quit listening after his death prank

several years ago. I just couldn't past how he thought it was the funniest joke in the world to tell his loyal audience that he died, have people calling in crying and I remember when's by co-workers only to come on hah-hah-hah-ing.

Never tuned in again after that.

[Padraig18]

22. Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

Sout' Siders RULE! :P

[everdene]

23. The river dyed green on St. Patty's Day seems normal.

[linazelle]

24. You're getting seven inches of snow today...SEVEN INCHES!!! Ughh

[Ellen Forradalom]

40. Mmmmm, seven inches.

Time to stick the lawn furniture and inverted buckets in those street parking spaces.

[rbnyc]

26. Ray Rayner, Frasier Thomas, Sven Ghoolie !

LOL. Someone was asking me how our new temp was working out and I said that she was playing Ray Rayner to my Chaunsey. They did not get it, sadly, because the analogy is spot on.

[Ellen Forradalom]

44. Oh gawd, weren't Rayner's attempts at crafts the pits?

I remember watching in astonishment as a small child as he attempted to assemble some craft project after a neat model created by the mythical 'Chauncey.' Inevitably everything would be crooked and dripping glue. Hilarious.

[flama]

51. Did she have Post-It notes safety pinned all over her overalls?

Gawd, I remember watching Ray Rayner with you! I couldn't go to work until I got the weather on his show. ;-)

Ma

:loveya:

[Skittles]

27. LOL

last time I flew to Chicago to visit family in Vernon Hills, I remember walking outside O'Hare and the first thing I heard was a cabdriver yelling HEY ASSWIPE - MOVE YOUR F***ING TRUCK. Ah, Chicago. :7

[Ellen Forradalom]

43. Oh, he knew you were coming

and gave you a welcome you could appreciate!

[Kamikaze]

47. VH?

Vernon Hills?! Gah!!!! That's where I (unfortunately) live. The suburbs suck, especially this one. =/

[Skittles]

75. HEY

I lived in VH when the population was 1000 and it was surrounded by cornfields. I KID YOU NOT! My mum still lives there.

[kanrok]

28. You can accurately name the 3 streets

that rhyme with a female's private parts.

[Nailzberg]

30. Hey, now!

Haven't heard that one in a while.

[XNASA]

48. Paulina, Melvina and ........................

Lunt.

:evilgrin:

Sorry. Somebody had to say it.

[Nailzberg]

49. As long as it wasn't me.

I chuckle everytime I drive past Lunt.

[greatauntoftriplets]

54. I have a friend who lives on Morse.

And refuses to live on Lunt. Although my mother grew up on Lunt.

[Ellen Forradalom]

57. Thanks XNASA

I wasn't going to say it.

[RetroLounge]

114. hee hee hee

Love that Joke...

[Beaker]

126. Lunt Liquors.

there used to be one, but I don't think that they're there anymore.

[XNASA]

129. In Beecher......

There was once an establishment named:

Beecher Meat & Liquors

So I've been told.

[Ellen Forradalom]

130. There's a hot dog stand on First Avenue in Melrose Park

called 'Eat It and Beat It'

[never cry wolf]

149. There a small barber shop chain

out here in the burbs, not sure if it's elsewhere or not. When they first opened they hired cute co-eds in bikinis to stand at the curb with a sandwich board proclaiming the shop's name, "Best Head."

It was an attention grabber!

[ProfessorGAC]

174. They Changed That Name 20 Years Ago

It's Beecher Market now. Somebody in that town finally figured out the joke.
The Professor

[Logansquare]

29. My boss got us tickets to a day game at Wrigley

and one of my coworkers, a southsider, agonized for days on whether to go. She finally went, but was sure her grandparents were revolving at high speed in their graves!

[pmbryant]

33. 16" softball!

It was quite an adjustment for me to start playing with gloves after I left Chicago for California.

Everyone gave me weird looks when I told them that we didn't use gloves back where I came from.

:D

--Peter

[never cry wolf]

148. I got out lucky after 25 years of playing 16"

"only" 3 broken fingers and a crushed cheekbone.

[Gato Moteado]

150. you musta played 3rd base

the hot corner in 16" is a bitch

[never cry wolf]

155. Actually mostly I played left field

That's why it was only three. The cheekbone was from catching one day. A college halfback really wanted to score but the throw from right beat him. That was before sliding and non-contact rules.

[kanrok]

152. 3 broken fingers

on my left hand. I played 3rd base and I couldn't wait until the 3rd inning. That's when "The Clincher" got hit enough to soften up.

[Gato Moteado]

158. ever hit a "water-logged" clincher?

those never soften up.

[kanrok]

160. Yep, pretty much had to

when I was a kid, we usually could only afford one ball. I also LOVED playing "fast-pitch." Mark a box on a wall and all you need is a pitcher and a hitter. On the fly past the pitcher is a single. Off the wall, below the windows at the school is a double, above the first floor windows was a triple, and above the second floor window was a homer. Loved those rubber 25 cent balls.

[Gato Moteado]

161. what neighborhood did you grow up in?

i grew up in austin, near austin and lake street (coincidentally, i live in austin, tx now). then we moved to da nort'west side....16 inch leagues abound there. it's one of those special sports that even slow guys with beer guts can play and excel at. bowling is another.

fast pitch was also all the rage on da nort'west side. drive by any public grade school and you'd see several boxes with the big "X" in the middle spray painted on the brick walls. i've thrown my arm out many a time on those very school yards, perfecting my fastball and curve.

[kanrok]

167. 25th and Sacramento

"Little Village." Block and a half from 26th and Cal.

[Gato Moteado]

169. ah, a sout' sider

i was born on the sout' side, but i'm really a nort' sider.

[ComerPerro]

37. I just thought of a good one

I was watching some show (sitcom, based in Chicago, not According to Jim, don't know what it was) and the main characters just decided, on a whim, to go to a Cubs/Sox game. So they went and bought tickets the day of the game.
When they did that, I yelled "BULLSHIT" and turned off the tv.

[The Zanti Regent]

45. I miss Jimmy Wong's

I looked forward to eating there every Friday night as a break from my studies at the University under Milton Friedman

I loved their Hong Kong Steak and flaming appetizer platter!

Still remember the 78/79 winter, snow so high and my street wasn't plowed for weeks! So glad Byrne beat Bilandic!

[XNASA]

50. Yeah, yeah.............

I done all dat shit.

So whaht????

I even bin tah boda dem places, you know, Cominski and, uh, whachamacallit......Cub's Park.

:evilgrin: ;-)

[flama]

52. You're right about the ball parks

I've never been to Comiskey Park, but used to have the phone number of the Cubs' dugout. ;-)

And Vienna makes the only real hot dog. Everything else is mystery meat.

Boy, I miss Italian beef sandwiches and Lou Malnati's pizza. But I don't miss shoveling snow.

[Ellen Forradalom]

58. Now see, it's just the the other way around with me

I used to go to church 1/2 block from Wrigley Field, but I've never been there. The church had a small parking lot; we used to have to post one of the young guys out there to keep Cubs fans from pulling into it for Sunday games. The pastor used to announce the end of baseball season from the pulpit to applause.

The church moved closer to the population it serves in the northwest suburbs, and the building converted to condos. Only in America--your church goes condo.

Oh, and you're a Chicagoan if you're dimly aware that Comiskey Park is formally referred to by some other name.

You're a Chicagoan if you order a cheeseburger by yelling 'Cheezborger! Cheezborger!"

[chasqui]

56. The EL says: "THIS IS GRAND"

[terrya]

63. I really like the El voice. Kinda of sexy. :-) eom

[GOPisEvil]

67. Yes, but which direction do the doors open?

;-)

[Ellen Forradalom]

59. Oh hell, just one more

Your mental model of the universe is, in concentric circles: lake, downtown, city, near suburbs, far suburbs, cornfields, cornfields, cornfields, cornfields, then you fall off the edge of the earth.

[beawr]

62. You know where the Home of Moo and Oink is

n/t

[XNASA]

64. 72nd & Stony

Not Stony Island, just Stony.

http://www.moo-oink.com/

BTW, there's now a Moo & Oink on 183rd & Kedzie.

[bearfan454]

68. What about the Moo and Oink store on Stony Island Avenue ?

[bearfan454]

69. The Museum of Science and Industry used to be free on Thursdays.

Is it still ?

[GOPisEvil]

70. I dunno, but the AIC is free on Tuesdays.

That is the best deal going.

[bearfan454]

71. You're back now from the holidays I see.

I called Klein's. I pick it up this weekend.

[GOPisEvil]

80. *drool* Almost invitation time!

:9

[pmbryant]

72. It used to free *every* day

At least back when I lived in Chicago, pre-1990. :-)

I guess I'm a bit behind the times. A bit embarrassing to read this list in the original post, having spent the first 21 years of my life in Chicago, and yet can only claim about 1/4 of the items.

--Peter

[Ellen Forradalom]

73. I'm on a roll--somebody stop me

You may be a Chicagoan if...

You had breakfast in a Mexican restaurant, lunch in a Polish restaurant and dinner in an Indian restaurant.

Your idea of fun is standing around eating ribs, pizza and cheesecake in 98-degree heat with 750,000 other people.

Your front door is ten feet above street level or four feet below it.

Your landlady cusses out the cops with impunity.

You can get a pizza faster than a cop.

Your family holds four-generation BBQs in the park every summer weekend.

Your neighbor's backyard chicken got out again.

You're familiar with Bud Billiken.

You and your fiancee can't decide whether to hold the wedding at your Korean Presbyterian church or her Romanian Baptist church.

[terrya]

76. Is it weird to admit that I've NEVER been to Taste of Chicago?

I've lived in Chicago for over 10 years now...and I haven't once been to Taste.

[bearfan454]

77. What about Navy Pier ?

Or the OmniMax theater in the Museum of Science and Industry ?

[terrya]

78. Navy Pier...sure. I've even been up on the Ferris Wheel...

I haven't been to the Museum of Science and Industry since I was a kid.

Do they still have the U-Boat at the MSI?

[bearfan454]

79. Last time I was there they did.

Also the working coal mine.

[dontomas]

90. They do...

In fact, MSI is building a new...umm, building for the U-505, so the sub itself might be inaccessible for a while.

[Beaker]

127. U-505 is being moved indoors- the exhibit closed yesterday

it won't be open again until 2005.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sub03.html

After Sunday, the venerable Chicago museum exhibit will be closed until spring 2005.

The German World War II submarine -- which has hosted some 24 million visitors since it arrived at the Museum of Science and Industry in 1954 -- isn't going on much of a trip. About 2,000 feet.

But its next port of call will be, in many ways, a whole other world.

After being exposed to nearly half a century of Chicago's frigid winters, wet springs and hot and humid summers, the boat is being moved indoors into a specially built, climate-controlled underground exhibition hall...

[bearfan454]

74. What about Romper Room and Miss Elizabeth ?

[chiburb]

86. Miss Frances, Ding-Dong School... n/t

.

[XNASA]

81. OK. Here's a couple.

These might be kind of obscure, but most Southsiders would know them.

Where is "Say-Trey Way"?

Where are "North Crotch" and "South Crotch"?

[Ellen Forradalom]

105. You got me

I'm a transplant to the South Side. Please explain.

[XNASA]

117. Say-Trey-Way is................................

63rd Street. Get it?

North Crotch is where the Kennedy and Edens separate into two expressways. South Crotch is where the Dan Ryan separates into the Bishop Ford and I-57.

[terrya]

83. One Chicago treasure...the Menards Guy.

Whom the company actually dumped as their spokesman for awhile.

It just wasn't the same without him.

[bearfan454]

84. Does the Grecian Gardens still have belly dancing ?

[bearfan454]

85. Does anybody remember Riverview amusement Park ?

The parachute rides scared the hell out of me as a kid.

[XNASA]

87. I remember. It was at Belmont and Western.

But I don't remember going there. I lived up in that neighborhood for awhile though. Now it's a Police Station, a DeVry and a strip mall.

[bearfan454]

88. Do they still have chariot racing at Washington Park racetrack ?

[XNASA]

89. There is no Washington Park......

It burned down about 25 years ago.

I live about 4 blocks from there. It was at 179th and Halsted.

Now it's an old strip mall/supermarket that's going to be renovated this Spring.

[bearfan454]

91. Been to any concerts at the International Ampitheater

at 43rd and Halstead ? Or the Aragon ballroom ?

[XNASA]

94. Well sure I have.......

I remember seeing "Yes" at the International Ampitheater, many years ago.

And as for the Aragon, too many to count. In fact, I've played onstage at the Aragon. The Aragon Brawlroom, that is.

How about the old Coliseum at around 15th and Wabash? You're really old if you remember that place. My Dad played semi-pro roller hockey there.

[Ellen Forradalom]

103. Hey, maybe we were at the same Yes concert.

I also saw a 1974 World Cup match on closed-circuit television at the Amphitheater. I went with my older brother. It was Scotland vs. Yugoslavia. When Yugoslavia scored, the whole place erupted in cheers; when Scotland scored, two kids (one with bright red hair) could be heard saying, "Yay!"

[XNASA]

118. It had to have been in '77 or '78.

It was after my Navy stint, which ended in June of 77, but before I became a full-fledged punk in '79 or so.

I remember that it was an "In-the-Round" show.

[Ellen Forradalom]

121. Was Starcastle the opening act?

That was the '78 show, I think.

[XNASA]

132. I'm not sure.

All I remember is that it was in-the-round and that I went to the show with about 7 other people crammed into one of those vans with the shag carpetting on the walls and floors.

Boy, those were the days.

:crazy:

[Ellen Forradalom]

135. Oh, the Hippy Dippy Henry Van!

Held together with baling wire and duct tape! Are you sure we weren't in the same vehicle :-)

[ProfessorGAC]

175. It's Arrogant(!) Brawlroom

Actually that was a pretty good sounding room. Just in terrible condition.

I saw Yes at the Amphitheater, too. In 1973. Maybe we were there together, huh?
The Professor

[kanrok]

153. Used to go there for "The Fishing Show" every year

with "my old man." I loved that place.

[Obamarama]

93. You know that a two egg breakfast at Lou Mitchell's comes with four!

Man, I LOVE Lou Mitchells...the only place in Chicago Julia Child has breakfast in Chicago when she visits.

You also know you're from Chicago if...

You ask someone where they live and they say 4600 and you know exactly where they mean...

Kennedy and Eisenhower are more than past presidents...

One cinnamon roll from Ann Sather's is never enough...

You know that the best Rosebud's is Rosebud on Taylor...

You know where the ORIGINAL Seven On Heaven restaurant is and not to be afraid of the line because it moves fast...

You have stood in line with all the tourists to get that great carmel corn at the little shop next to Cartier at Michigan Avenue & Ohio...

You know that Frontera Grill & Topolobampo is THE place to get REAL Mexican Food....

[bearfan454]

95. Is Fannie May's candy store still there on Michigan Avenue ?

I used to love the chocolate covered orange and lime peels.

[Beaker]

125. Fannie May is going out-of-business as of Jan.17

the whole company that is, according to the 'rumours' that they were reporting on the news a week or so ago.
More americans soon to be without jobs.
Even less candy being made in Chicago.

[bearfan454]

96. Mohawk4-3- 7hundred

Another carpet place gone under.

[chiburb]

98. MOhawk 4-4One Hundred...CET Television....

With their famous "Quarter Meter Plan"... the original pay-per-view!

[chiburb]

99. Maurice Lenell cookies...

Come gather 'round people, a story I'll tell
About a fine baker, Mr. Maurice Lenell
He came here from Sweden to bake and to sell
Those wonderful cookies of Maurice Lenell
One taste will tell that Maurice Lenell
Cookies are just simply...
Good

[bif]

101. Margaries Candy Store

We were in Chi over Thanksgiving and my frined took us to a candy store that was a total time warp. Hadn't changed since the 1950s. I think it was called Margaries or something. What a place.

[Ellen Forradalom]

109. Margies Candies

in the heart of Bucktown at Western & Armitage. Margie died a few years back, I think.

[bif]

113. That was it

Her son runs the place now, and from the looks of it, hasn't changed a thing in 40 or 50 years. A real old-fashioned soda shop.

[Gato Moteado]

102. a few of 'em aren't right.....

>> You eat hot dogs with lettuce, tomato, onion sauerkraut, pickle
>> relish, mustard, hot peppers and cucumber.

actually, on a chicago dog you put only mustard, relish(the bright green kind), chopped onions, tomato wedges, a kosher dill wedge, a couple sport peppers and lastly but not least: a pinch of celery salt.

saurkraut is not a chicago hotdog ingredient, tho in the burbs some places might offer it. don't be fooled. also, some garden-on-a-bun type places might put lettuce and cukes on your dog, but don't confuse these dogs with authentic chicago style hotdogs.

also, never ask for catsup on your chicago dog...you'll be arrested for desecrating a kosher red hot.

> Only Vienna Beef is a real hot dog.

not true. though vienna might be the most advertised, david bergs and sinai 48s are used by many authentic chicago hot dog stands and are preferred by many hotdog afficianados.

******************

Kudos for remembering to mention the real way to play softball....with a 16" ball and no mitt. these 16" balls, found in sproting good stores and drug stores around the city, are known as "clinchers".

******************

on edit: forgot to also mention that big wheels (the plastic tricycles for small children) are also a popular object used to hold one's freshly shoveled parking space in the winter.

[Ellen Forradalom]

104. Thanks for the clarification on authentic Chicago dogs

I've always ordered them 'Everything on it' without stopping to enumerate the ingredients.

Ever notice that when you order everything-on-it you still get asked if you want peppers?

[Ellen Forradalom]

108. The Reader

you might a Chicagoan if:

You met your SO through a Reader matches ad.

You've asked a Reader delivery driver, "Got a loose one?"

You're on a first-name basis with your neighborhood Reader delivery driver.

You've slept with your neighborhood Reader delivery driver.

[RetroLounge]

111. Here's some Chicago thoughts & memories

Nickey Chevrolet sign on the Edens.

Magikist Lips Sign. There was one on the Kennedy too.

WCFL and WLS top 40 lists you would pick up from the record store.

You talk about Steve Dahl's Disco Demolition like it was Woodstock.

Deep Dish Pizza, Subs, Cheesy Beef Sandwiches.

Exit, Octagon, Neos, Cabaret Metro, Club 950, Aragon, Vic, Tuts, Beginnings, Park West, West End, Smart Bar, Haymakers...

Hardrock, Coco and Joe. Suzy Snowflake. Frazier Thomas. Ray Raynor. Romper Room. BJ and Dirty Dragon.

Rib Tips at Leons.

Trips to Maxwell Street with Dad.

Chicago Fest at Navy Pier.

Pink Floyd at Soldier Field.

1985 Bears.

Riding the EL everywhere.

Sven Ghoolie was my friend's older brother.

You know the band Aliotta, Haynes & Jeremiah and their only song.

[chiburb]

116. Nice list...

Nickey with the backwards K...
BJ and DD! Hadn't thought of them in years.
WLS had the " Silver Dollar Survey"... Dick Biondi is still on the radio here, along with Larry Lujack, Tommy Edwards, Herb "Cool Gent" Kent, Ron Britain...
Original SvenGhoulie was Jerry G. Bishop, and HE's back on radio now too.

[RetroLounge]

120. Original SvenGhoulie was Jerry G. Bishop

That's right. I think the later one was Rich Koz, hosted creature Features, had a rubber chicken and green face paint and a top hat, right?

Nickey with the backwards K! Yup, Nickey Novas, etc.

[JohnKleeb]

124. If youre one of my best friends on DU :)

:hi: Why havent you posted yet in this thread? Remember I am getting that Vienna Beef if I come.
Hey Chicagoans btw if you see any guys wearing basketball shirts that say Herndon, thats my school's varsity b-ball team.

[RetroLounge]

128. Lake Shore Drive

Aliotta, Haynes, and Jeremiah - Lake Shore Drive

There’s a road I’d like to tell you about, lives in my home town
Lake Shore Drive the road is called and it’ll take you up or down
From rags on up to riches fifteen minutes you can fly
Pretty blue lights along the way, help you right on by
And the blue lights shining with a heavenly grace, help you right on by

And there ain’t no road just like it
Anywhere I found
Running south on Lake Shore Drive heading into town
Just slippin’ on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound

And it starts up north from Hollywood, water on the driving side
Concrete mountains rearing up, throwing shadows just about five
Sometimes you can smell the green if your mind is feeling fine
There ain’t no finer place to be, than running Lake Shore Drive
And there’s no peace of mind, or place you see, than riding on Lake Shore Drive

And there ain’t no road just like it
Anywhere I found
Running south on Lake Shore drive heading into town
Just slicking on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound

And it’s Friday night and you’re looking clean
To early to start the rounds
A ten minute ride from the Gold Coast back make sure you’re pleasure bound
And it’s four o’clock in the morning and all of the people have gone away
Just you and your mind and Lake Shore Drive, tomorrow is another day
And the sunshine’s fine in the morning time, tomorrow is another day

And there ain’t no road just like it
Anywhere I found
Running south on Lake Shore drive heading into town
Just snaking on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound

[Logansquare]

144. That's right--LSD isn't just a hallucinogen!

.

[Beaker]

131. Tomzack! Tomzack! Tomzack Dodge! ...

4747 south pulaski?

[Ellen Forradalom]

133. Any time is ready time

at Al Piemonte Ford!

[Beaker]

134. 57-27 South Ash-land Av-en-ue...

at Ferrell Hicks!

[XNASA]

136. This is Linn Burton for certain, your TV Ford man.....

..for Burt Weinman Ford, 3535 N. Ashland Avenue.

[Ellen Forradalom]

137. I'll make it worth your while at Weil Cadillac

in Libertyville, a beautiful place in the country!

[Nailzberg]

139. "Rockabye your baby!" Harry Schmurler, the singing Ford dealer

Now spend the rest of the day getting that out of your heads.

[Seggie]

143. Howard Pont-i-ac, Elmhurst!

On Grand Avenue!

[Ellen Forradalom]

162. Celozzi-Ettleson Chevrolet

Where you always save more money!

[Beaker]

138. A-room zoom zoom...a-room zoom zoom...

gilly-gilly-gilly-ya sa sa(?)

when I was a kid, I didn't realize that tiny tov and the Magic Door was a jewish kids show- it was just the only kids show on on sunday morning.

[Ellen Forradalom]

140. ....still more.....

You may be a Chicagoan if..

You wield clout.

Everyone on your block is a Democrat.

You know your alderman's going rates.

You conduct all your business at the currency exchange.

[RetroLounge]

141. You may be a Chicagoan if..

You know what goes inside a Pierogi.

You know the difference between a Thuringer, a Brat and a Polish.

You've been to Sam and Hy's for Lox and Bagels.

You know where the Red, Blue and Green lines go.

Evanston Express and Skokie Swift have meaning.

You've shopped at Old Orchard, Golf Mill, The Brickyard, and/or Randhurst and Woodfield is for tourists.

You never drive anywhere outside the city without Toll Money.

You've bought Albums at Wax Traxx.

[Gato Moteado]

142. here are some i just came up with.....

you're probably from chicago if:

you say the word "garage" as a one-syllable word, pronounced "grahj".

you store everything in your grahj, and there's no room left for your car so you park it on the street.

the word milwaukee is a two-syllable word, pronounced "mwaukee".

you know that mwaukee (milwaukee) avenue intersects elston avenue twice.

you have called someone a "jagoff" at least once in your life.

you drink "pop", not soda.

you use "you guys" to refer to a group of friends whether they are male or female.

instead of saying "he says" or "he said" you say "he goes".

on opening day you skip school or work, get on the 152 addison bus and brave the cold weather in da bleachers at wrigley.

you want to yank the lights out of wrigley because baseball was meant to be played in the sunshine.

you remember going to blackhawks games at the old chicago stadium and you despise the owners that tore that old high holy temple of hockey down and replaced it with the corporate, sterile united center.

you call soldier field "soldier's field".

as a beer drinker you have impeccable taste and will only drink "old style" or "special export".

you can find the guy that looks like he's urinating and also the frog on an old style can.

you know the meaning of "sweet, hot and wet" and when to use it.

when you need groceries you go to "da jewels".

when you're sick you go to "da doctor's".

you remember when steve dahl was a morning jock on WDAI.

you know what "the voice of labor" was.

you argued with your friends over which radio station was better: WCFL or WLS. (of course WCFL was the coolest station in town at the time)

you knew who wally phillips and roy leonard were and you listened to them every day.

you knew who orion samuelson was and impatiently waited for his boring farm report to be over so you could watch ray rayner.

you know who dr. lester fisher was.

you know that sinbad the gorilla and ziggy the elephant were not cartoon characters.

you know what alewives are and you know what they smell like.

you know how to set up a smelt net.

you pronounce "smelt" as "schmelt".

you know where the "horseshoe" is.

you know who the "earl of old town" is.

you used to start off the day with mike royko's column.

you were proud the day mike royko told the sun-times and rupert murdoch to go to hell.

you remember the chicago daily news.

you remember the chicago today.

you can unfold and read the chicago tribune even while standing in the middle of a crowded "L" train.

you've heard all the stories about the homeless guy who peed on the third rail.

you've "hopped the turnstyles" at least once in your life to catch an "L" train.

you played "pinners" when you were a kid.

you played "fast pitch" at the nearest public grammar school yard.

you remember when "rubbers" were not birth control devices but rather were the rubber baseballs you bought at the rexall drug store to play fast pitch with.

you know what a "gangway" is.

you played sports like softball and touch football in the middle of the street or in the alley.

you played a game called "500" with a clincher and a baseball bat.

you only set foot in the burbs if you absolutely have to.

you know what a "paddy wagon" is and might have even ridden in one.

[kath]

157. mmmm, the baked Apple Pancake at Walker Brothers!!!

<wipes drool off keyboard>

[pstokely]

163. ever been to this Mall

http://deadmalls.com/malls/dixie_square_mall.html

[XNASA]

177. Oh yes. It was open when I was in High School.

And is only about 2 miles from where I grew up.

Did we already have this discussion once before??

[windy2000]

164. You really know you're from Chicago

If you're freezing your can off tonight!

[Ellen Forradalom]

165. In that case you might also be from Minneapolis!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=611408&mesg_id=611408

[bearfan454]

166. kick

[davsand]

168. Other Chicago things:

You may have a love of Chicago if...


You know who Uncle Lar and Snotnosed Lil Tommy were.
You've ever been to both the Cubby Bear and the Gingerman.
You ever brought home a Dog Stool from a party the night before.
You know why Broadway is significant.
You know what street number the Belmont is at on the inner drive.
You know what the inner drive is.
You were ever at Rosa's.

Laura

[Gato Moteado]

170. some good ones

i assume a dog stool is an old style. i've heard it referred to as dog style. and, of course, vitamin O. i loved the stuff. got some recently in chicago and it doesn't taste the same any more.

the gingerman on clark just north of addison was a great bar. i used to go there when i lived on clark and foster.

[ProfessorGAC]

171. You Forgot The Celery Salt On The Hotdog

Other than that, this would be a good Chicagoland test. (Oh yeah, and you're from here if you use the term "Chicagoland".)
The Professor

[Gato Moteado]

176. i never forget the celery salt on a chicago dog....

....and i know it must be served on a rosen's "mary ann" poppy seed bun which has been steamed perfectly. otherwise, it's dog food.