Hidden Gems

Chicago Bagel Authority
Ask anyone who’s lived in Chicago for a while, and they can certainly name you a few of their favorite restaurants for dinner. Probably more than a few, like a handful or better. But ask those same people to come up with an equal number of quality breakfast or sandwich places, and they’re unlikely to rattle them off quite so easily.

Well, I’ve found a favorite that deserves to be on my short list of the latter. It’s the Chicago Bagel Authority (953 W. Armitage) in the heart of Lincoln Park near the corner of Armitage and Sheffield.

It reminds me of the kind of place that was a perfect late-morning cure for a hangover in college. The kind that has so many good sandwich and bagel options that you end up changing your mind three times in line. The kind that has enough interesting pictures and offbeat decorations on the walls to stare at for an hour.

Sure, it’s got charm, not to mention a great seating area outside and a swell location, but the steamed sandwiches and bagels are the primary draw here — and there are a lot to choose from, with several interesting names.

A few of my favorite choices: the Tonya Harding Club with turkey, ham, bacon, colby and swiss on a plain bagel; the Country Breakfast with ham, scrambled egg and swiss on a bialy; Mikey’s Munch with roast beef, pepperjack, lettuce, tomato, avocado and peppercorn dressing on an “everything” bagel.

Other interesting name choices include the Slick Willy, Donkey Punch, Spaulding’s Choice, Hoosier Daddy and the Urban Gardener.

Whether your preference is ham, turkey, veggie, pepperoni, chicken salad, meatballs, corned beef or something else, chances are they’ve got it on a tasty steamed sandwich with a wide variety of all the fixings. If you’re not big on bagels, you can also order your sandwiches on pitas, low-carb wraps or on white or wheat subs.

Carry-outs and delivery are available. Check them out online at www.chicagobagelauthority.com. They made my list. What about yours?

— Trent Modglin

Drinking Liberally
If you watched the 2004 presidential election unfold on television, you might recall Illinois being the first “blue state” on the electoral map. With Haymarket Square, Upton Sinclair, Weather Underground and the Daley dynasty’s Democratic machine, Chicago has a political tradition bluer than a smurf. The Second City is famous for its party scene, too. The most well-established social group for the anti-establishment crowd is “Drinking Liberally,” a national organization with 212 chapters in 44 states.

The local chapter meets Wednesdays at The Spot (4437 N. Broadway) from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Unlike Western Europe, the pub/bar scene in America usually discourages discoursing on political issues. That’s where Drinking Liberally, “promoting democracy one pint at a time,” comes in. In addition to sports and popular culture, current events and sociopolitical issues are all on the table here.

The liberal, conservative and apolitical are all equally invited to engage in a light and friendly discussion. It’s not exactly “Hardball with Chris Matthews.”

“Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher,” says host Lorin Klugman. “You don’t need to be a policy expert, and this isn’t a book club — just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it’s not taboo to talk politics.”

For those who want to take action beyond conversation, the free event is also a fantastic resource for learning more about activist groups.

Check out the blog at http://www.drinkingliberally.org for more information.

— Paul M. Banks

“Cool Globes:Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet”
On Friday, June 1, “Hizzoner” mayor Richard Daley the Younger stated: “People make a difference. You need a cooperative business community working together to lead by example.”

Daley’s eco-initiatives include green roofs on skycapers and hybrid city buses. Now, his green résumé includes unveiling an outdoor art exhibit. “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet” uses the medium of public art to inspire individuals and organizations to take action against global warming. Each of the five-foot-in-diameter globes has been designed by a local, national or international artist to represent a potential solution to global warming. The website (www.coolglobes.org) allows visitors the opportunity to pledge to implement one or more of the solutions depicted on the globes into their daily lives or business operations to curb global warming.

“Cool Globes” will run along the lakefront at the north end of the Field Museum until September. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has heard Mayor Daley’s claims that Chicago is America’s greenest city and is trying to best him in pro-environmental policies. Affluent global corporations have tremendous influence on American environmental policy, and many big business leaders want to be part of the solution.

“The reason I wanted corporate involvement was because the corporate community has to be involved or we won’t solve it,” said project founder Wendy Abrams. “I wanted to inspire other corporations. Exelon is doing good things on energy conservation and investing in renewable energy. Toyota, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Abbott and others are all doing great things. The more the public applauds them for being green, the more other companies will follow.”

Every day, more companies strive to make our corporatocracy green. If Gordon Gekko, the Michael Douglas character in the movie “Wall Street,” were a real person, he would make his investment company eco-friendly. Two proposed partial solutions to global warming focus on economic policy: carbon tax or cap-and-trade. The latter solution, favored by leading green politicians Tony Blair and Arnold Schwarzenegger, is represented in globe No. 38, created by Rob Colvin and sponsored by Infinium Capital Management. Two of my favorite globes utilized tiny toy cars: No. 22 “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” (sponsored by General Iron Industries) made entirely of Matchbox cars, and No. 35 “Share a Ride” is covered in HotWheels.

We face a serious, multifacted problem, but this exhibit explains how we can solve the climate crisis together; it also reminds me of my favorite James Bond theme song: “The World is Not (Cool) Enough, but it (Chicago) is such a perfect place to start.”

— Paul M. Banks

Click here for more Hidden Gems