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Posted by Val on June 25th, 2010 at 10:40 am | Permalink | No Comments » |
Here are some more photos from the awesomeness that is Novelty Golf:
Site: Novelty Golf
Location: 3650 West Devon Ave. Lincolnwood IL. 60712
Cost: See website for current prices.
Hours: Open 7 days a week, April through October, 10 am till midnight (Memorial Day thru Labor Day )
Date: June 12, 2010
Novelty Golf: Part 2 | No Comments » |
Posted by Val on June 23rd, 2010 at 10:11 am | Permalink | No Comments » |
It’s the summer of 2010 and you’re watching television and this commercial comes on your HD flat screen TV…
and you might wonder if you’ve skipped 20 or so years back in time.
Or, if you’re like me, you think “OMG I HAVE TO GO.”
Luckily last weekend a friend was visiting and with no prompting from myself he suggested we go to this golf course he heard about…my friends may just know me too well.
Novelty Golf opened in Lincolnwood, Illinois (just North of Chicago) in 1949, and really, it doesn’t look like much has changed since (except maybe the prices).
There are two courses to choose from and each hole has a different surprise…from an Eiffel Tower to a giant chicken to Frankenstein to a dinosaur to a giant boot!
The best part? You have to operate your own obstacles! Some of the windmill-like tricks you had to push a button to get working…and others had a foot pedal you had to pump yourself! It was amazing.
Each course is 18 holes, but at the end you get to play a special bonus pinball-like “19th hole” to try to win a free game. Alas, I did not win…but that certainly will not keep me from going back.
Afterwards we headed over to the on-premise Bunny Hutch for some snacks. While I didn’t try their new egg rolls, I did get some tasty mozzarella sticks and a milkshake (I gave up drinking soda a few weeks ago…so my milkshake drinking has gone way up).
If you’re in the Chicago area it’s a really great way to spend the day. While we only had time for one round, there is a discount to play both courses, and they also have games and batting cages.
Site: Novelty Golf
Location: 3650 West Devon Ave. Lincolnwood IL. 60712
Cost: See website for current prices.
Hours: Open 7 days a week, April through October, 10 am till midnight (Memorial Day thru Labor Day )
Date: June 12, 2010
Novelty Golf | No Comments » |
Posted by Val on June 14th, 2010 at 9:13 am | Permalink | 3 Comments » |
One of the best foods in the world: ribs. My favorite “sport” in the world: competitive eating. Combine the two and you’ve got a deliciously messy afternoon in Chicago.
Friday was opening day of this year’s Ribfest Chicago and the festival was tipped off with a professional ribs eating contest. By this time last year I had already seen four eating contests so I was anxious to get my season rolling!
Six o’clock rolled around and tin trays of barbecued slabs were placed across the table. The RibMania trophy was placed front and center. And each of the contestants were announced, from fellow fans to Ribfest junkies. Then the number 26th ranked Ben Taylor. The number 8 ranked Erik “The Red” Denmark. Chicago North sider and number 10 ranked Tim “Gravy” Brown. And Chicago South sider and number 4 ranked Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti.
While just a few miles away at Wrigley the Sox were facing the cubs in the Crosstown Classic we had right there our own “crosstown chowdown.”
The eaters took their places ready to dig in and the audience counted down for them to start chewing.
The contest was crazy. Each food and each eater has a different technique. For ribs, while some of the locals seemed to eat them bone by own as, well, most normal sane people would eat a rib, the pros seemed to combine pulling them from the bone with their teeth and stripping them with their hands and taking handfuls of the meat into their mouths.
It was a crazy, messy contest, and while my eyes were definitely on Pat and Tim and Erik, you had to look at Ben who seemed to be living up to his moniker of “Wolf”
Trays and trays of ribs went down. And the eight minute clock ticked away as each eater tried to keep up the momentum and get more and more down.
Seconds shy of eight minutes we counted down, and everyone stuffed that last bit in. And then we waited while trays were weighed.
And then the results…
In third: Erik “The Red’ Denmark…
In second, in a bit of an upset, so much so that it even seemed to surprise him: Ben “The Wolf” Taylor…
In first: Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti (making it two wins for the South side that day thank you very much White Sox).
Oh, and I got ribsauce on my brand new shoes :-( I should probably know better than to wear new shoes in the splash zone of a ribs eating contest…
After the contest my friend and I stuck around Ribfest for a bit. We watched some Mucca Pazza (an amazing local “circus-punk marching band”).
And we shared some ribs (from PitchFork and Browntrout) which were all delicious.
Really, any festival that revolves around food is A-OK in my book. And Chicago, and the rest of the country, are full of them in the summer! What festivals do you look forward to each year?
Ribfest Chicago and the RibMania Ribs Eating Contest | 3 Comments » |
Posted by Val on June 3rd, 2010 at 8:37 am | Permalink | 1 Comment » |
Even though they did lose last night, the Blackhawks are certainly the team of the moment here in the Windy City. And yesterday I showed you the Picasso to prove it. But, believe it or not, there was a time where our baseball teams were actually doing well as well…and at the time, way back when in 2008, that Picasso donned one of the most bizarre hats I’ve ever seen: a half White Sox, half Cubs baseball cap.
Site: Chicago Picasso
Location: Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St, Chicago, IL
Cost: Free to see
Hours: Always visible
Date: April 11, 2008
Cubs/Sox Picasso | 1 Comment » |
Posted by Val on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 am | Permalink | 2 Comments » |
I am sure that this is well within Picasso’s original artistic vision…
There are many statues in many cities that locals decorate for different locations (such as Waiting for the Interurban in Seattle), but I will never get over the fact that the Chicago Picasso is often donning a hat for whichever of our sports teams is currently actually doing well. And while no one can actually agree on what the statue represents (I personally think it looks like a dog), the whole city right now seems to agree on one thing: GO BLACKHAWKS!
Site: Chicago Picasso
Location: Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St, Chicago, IL
Cost: Free to see
Hours: Always visible
Date: June 1, 2010
Blackhawks Picasso | 2 Comments » |
