Author Archives: Nik Bronder

Upstate New York

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Julie and I were in Upstate New York a couple weeks back for a wedding and we managed to hit a couple of spots. On the list was the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum which as fate would have it was closed due to the Government Shutdown of 2013. Since all Presidential Libraries are considered National Parks they’ve all been shuttered. Including the Martin Van Buren House which we also happened to drive by. We decided to go up to the FDR House anyways and make our ways around the grounds. Besides driving past the barricades we didn’t have any issues getting around.

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Directly across from the FDR House is the Hyde Park Brewing Company. For a Thursday afternoon the place was completely empty due to the FDR House being closed. The bartender explained how a good portion of the tour groups stop in for lunch and drinks after seeing the house. I enjoyed their Black Lager the Von Schtupps.

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We also checked out the Poughkeepsie Bridge which has been turned into the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park. Similar to a Rails To Trails, the bridge has been converted to a footbridge for walking, running and biking across. We made it about halfway over before we decided to head back. The bridge is considered one of the longest footbridges in the world.

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The next day we spent the better part of the afternoon at Keegan Ales in Kingston. They had a decent beer selection and are known out East for their Mother’s Milk stout. We were supposed to make it back here after the rehearsal dinner but that didn’t pan out. I believe there’s decent live music most nights.

Side Notes:

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* We rented a Chevy Spark for the day and I believe it is the worst car ever made. The one positive I can say about is that the Bluetooth connection worked. Other than that, it was a horrible experience. The car in total weighs about 37lbs. The dash board is full of sensors telling you all kinds of things are not working when in fact they are. For example the Flat Tire sensor or the Gas Gauge, neither of these were anywhere near accurate. When we returned the car the rental place kept insisting I fill the gas tank until the final bar showed on the display. Meanwhile the pump was spitting out gasoline because the tank was full.

In summary the car felt like it was disposable.

Benihana: Be The Chef

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This past Christmas I received a gift card for the ‘Be The Chef‘ experience at Benihana from my brother Charlie. The Be The Chef experience consists of taking a training session at Benihana and then cooking for four guests. Since there isn’t a Benihana in Chicago it’s been a challenge to make this work as it consists of nearly back to back trips out to Wheeling, Illinois.

This past Sunday I went for the training session having really no idea what it would entail. When I called to schedule and asked how long it would take, I was told it depended on how good I cook. Ominous.

The training took about an hour and consisted of me breaking one bowl. The dinner went a little better than the training as you can see in the video. My left shoulder feels like I played in a 32 round air hockey tournament. My trainer Chef Rick was patient to say the least. At one point he ran to the kitchen to get me spare egg.

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As you can see from the photograph above Dan was a little worried about my cooking skills but he does have all his fingers in tact.

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* This is the waiver I had to sign.
** For the dinner we took the Metra train out to Wheeling and of course accidently boarded the quiet train with a couple of roadies. Union Station at 4:45pm during a weekday is absolutely terrifying. The experience all but seals the deal that I will never move to the suburbs.

A Day in Bridgeport

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This past Saturday (the final Saturday before Football Season) Julie and I decided to spend the day in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. We jumped on the Halsted bus and headed South for the better part of an hour. If you’ve spent some time on the CTA buses during non-rush hour times they’re relatively convenient. Our plan was to have breakfast, stop at a root beer factory and then hit up one of the better beer bars in the city while eating meat pies.

Mission accomplished.

Nana
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Our first stop in Bridgeport was at Nana for breakfast. I can’t recall where I read about this place but it seemed good from the website. The food was great. I could probably just live off of their empanadas. We weren’t sure if there’d be a long wait or not, but we were seated right away. Julie and I definitely plan to check out their dinner some time.

Filbert’s Root Beer
Just stopped at Filbert's Old Time Root Beer and was given an impromptu tour -Untitled
After breakfast we grabbed the 35th Street bus and headed over to Filbert’s Old Time Draft Root Beer on Ashland Avenue. Filbert’s is a locally owned soda production facility that caters to a lot of restaurants and local food markets throughout the city. One of the managers gave us an impromptu tour and a couple of free bottles for the road. I had actually had some of their root beer on draft earlier in the year at Paulina Meat Market’s tent during Sausage Fest.

Maria’s Packaged Goods
UntitledOne hell of a day at @Marias_Bar in Bridgeport w/ @julierubes -UntitledUntitledUntitledUntitled
Maria’s Packaged Good was pretty much the anchor of this little trip. When we started we were just looking for places within walking distance or a short bus ride from Maria’s. When we arrived they were just opening up and were preparing for some kind of Charter School fundraiser.

For a little background on Maria’s, the place is a liquor store in the front and a bar in the back. I think this used to be a somewhat common occurrence in Chicago. The liquor store in the front has a great selection of six packs and an entire wall of 22oz bombers including a lot of 3 Floyds bottles. The bar in the back has an equally good selection of drafts.

Combining the beer selection with the food options next door makes this one of the best bars in the city.

Pleasant House Bakery
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Please House Bakery is located directly next door to Maria’s and I believe is BYOB. You can also order food there and they will deliver it to you at the bar in Maria’s which is what we did. Julie and I shared the Steak & Ale Pie and it was unreal. I can’t image going to Maria’s and not eating a meat pie from Pleasant House ever again.

Skylark
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Skylark is probably a mile north of Bridgeport but it definitely was on the way home so it warranted a stop. Huge beer selection, by far the largest dive bar I’ve ever been in. From the outside the place looks much shadier than it is. We actually walked past the entrance at first thinking there’s no way that the place was open.

Greekfest
I just rocked Greet Fest. By far the best neighborhood festival -Untitled
On our way back home we stopped at Greekfest for a bite to eat. As Street Festivals go, Greekfest was one of the best. No ‘Suggested Donation’/shakedown. A lot of vendors actually had something to do with Greek food instead of just random fair stuff.

Sidenotes:
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* Good Luck Auto Repair.  I would like to help out with Good Luck Auto Repair’s marketing plan but according to Yelp they’re doing just fine.
Things just got interesting in Bridgeport -
** While at Maria’s a couple in drag stopped by to take a photograph in front of the bar. I think they own a costume shop or something. It all seemed perfectly normal at the time.