So, if you travel in my circles, you probably know about Hot Doug's, the encased meats emporium located in Chicago. (Punk rock gourmet sausages, the first person fined for violating Chicago's foie gras ban, cheap and good veggie dogs named after Howard Devoto, etc.) Kuma's Corner is located only a few blocks away, does a very similar thing, only with burgers. It's worth a trip out there (the neighborhood is apparently "Humboldt Park", and it's my friends Johnny and Jen's stomping grouns) to grab some: huge and delicious burgers, friendly tattooed waitrons, good booze, and a bill that runs about fifteen bucks a person with drinks for lunch.
It's hard to say how much of the metal bar theme is an affectation (the tit-baring girlie-in-leather drawings on the wall, probably; the jukebox, probably not; naming burgers things like the Mastodon and the Neurosis, who can say? But I vote "awesome"), but it is frigging awesome. I had the Mötörhead, a yummy Greek salad-on-a-burger concoction with with tzadziki, feta cheese, and olives; Red had Iron Maiden, with avocado, cherry peppers, pepper jack, and chipotle mayo. You can substitute a chicken breast or, to be cool like us, a veggieburger for the meat on anything. The fries were pretty good, not the best I've ever had, but the pretzel rolls they came on were incredibly tasty, and the variety of offerings really is impressive. I was sad nobody ordered the Slayer, a cardiac arrester of a meal — a burger, no bun, topped with chili, cheese, peppers, and onions, resting on a bed of fries. Also non-burger options (the three-year-old in our party got to eat some mac 'n' cheese) and a quite decent beer menu (lots of Belgian offerings, Cleveland's Great Lakes, I believe some varieties of current favorite American brewery Bell's), although I had a very good bloody Mary instead. I'm totally sold on this place.
While in Chicago (Hot Doug's! Julius Meinl! Kuma's Corner! yadda yadda) this weekend, three separate people commented on my Green Lantern t-shirt, a fine joke gift ("you have my address") once given to me by Red.
- Some guy who passed me as I walked through the loop; I overheard him saying to his girlfriend "mumble mumble Lantern mumble mumble Justice League".
- A tall shopgirl at Nordstrom's. She gave me a once-over followed by a "I like your shirt." I assume she was hot for guys vulnerable to the color yellow.
- On the El, a homeless man missing his front teeth. "Green Lantern was my favorite superhero." (He also liked Shazam.) Sadly, I had to dash off the train one stop into his spiel – he pronounced himself the Masked Homeless Man's secret identity. He was clearly building up to a larger point about how people treat a big, black homeless guy, but now I'll never know what his powers were.
