I would very much like to be one of those people – who have original works by amazingly talented artists in their homes and sleep on big piles of money.

Unfortunately, I am not one of those people – but it doesn’t mean that I can’t get enough of art.

Fortunately, that’s where the twice yearly School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Art Sale comes in. The sale is put on BY the students – who get to sell their own work and keep 85% of the profits. (The other 15% is retained by the school in order to pay for the production costs of the Art Sale.)

This event allows the students to effectively learn how to brand themselves, sell and price their products, and interact with buyers.

In a nutshell, it’s a fantastic event that allows Chicagoans to support local art students and discover some amazing talent.

The SAIC Spring Art Sale

• Friday, April 9, 2010 from 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

• Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

• Location:  MacLean Center Ballroom, 112 South Michigan Avenue

• Cost: Free!

photo credit: arndog

schwa

[shwah}
–noun Phonetics.

1. the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, however spelled, as the sound of a in alone and sofa, e in system, i in easily, o in gallop, u in circus.
2. the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.
3. a seriously amazing restaurant in Wicker Park, run by hilarious, creative, generous men who understand their food, their clientele, and what it means to truly have some “Christmas Spirit”.

All three definitions are accurate, but the third one is especially pertinent. Especially since we all learned about the first two in grade school and then forgot about them entirely until right now this second when I reminded you.

And then I more or less forgot about the whole concept of schwas for about eighteen years when my boyfriend told me that he wanted to go to Schwa (the restaurant) for his birthday. So I called for a reservation towards the end of November, maybe around the 24th, and left a message on their machine.

They got back to me in December. Not because they hated my message and not because they suck at phones, but because they are a small restaurant. And when I say “small restaurant”, I mean that there are literally twelve tables in the whole place, so getting a reservation is not the easiest thing because they’re trying to fill their restaurant to the best of their ability.

Anyway – they got back to me on a Saturday morning in December and I missed the call. So I swore repeatedly and called them back immediately.

They got back to me the following Wednesday and asked me if I’d like to come in that night. I immediately accepted and then called my boyfriend to let him know (it was his birthday present, after all) and we spent the next hour or so being incredibly giggly and excited about going.

Quail Egg Ravioli with Shaved White Truffle at Schwa

I say “the next hour or so” because the boys at Schwa called me back and were incredibly apologetic when they told me that the City of Chicago would be doing some work on the pipes or something out in front of their building and would be shutting off their water to do so. So we would NOT be able to experience the wonders of Schwa that night because of some public works nonsense. To make up for the inconvenience, the boys at Schwa offered me my pick of days and times to go for dinner – and considering I’d waited for two weeks for them to get back to me in the first place, this was an incredible gesture.

So I rescheduled for the following Wednesday and broke the news to the boyfriend.

The following Tuesday, Schwa called to reconfirm my reservation and offer some wine advice (they’re BYOB) to my giddy self. That same day, I lost my job. My boyfriend told me that I should cancel the reservation and save my money for things like groceries and so on and I was apprehensive because it’s his birthday present and I’d budgeted for it and really wanted to go.

But the next day I called to cancel because he’s right. And they’re sympathetic – maybe a little moreso than usual because we’ve been playing phone tag for a month and they kind of know me by now. So I canceled and they were nice about it and I went along my merry way.

Five minutes later, my phone rang. It was Schwa.
And they wanted us to come for dinner anyway. And they were going to pay for it.

And then I cried because I am a sap and because that kind of extreme kindness and generosity are so rare these days. And because things like this only happen in the movies.

So we went. And I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful it was. All ten courses were perfect and inspired (standouts included an apple pie soup, ravioli with shaved truffles, brown butter, and a quail egg, and deconstructed peanut butter and jelly with homemade root beer and black pepper ice cream for dessert). There are no waiters – the chefs bring you your food and then tell you about it in a way that is personable, charming, and comes across like your smartassed friends telling you about the amazing food they just made that they’re genuinely proud of.

I can’t say enough good things about Schwa. The food’s amazing. The guys who run the place are great chefs who come up with fantastic, inventive dishes. Thank you, Schwa. Thank you for an incredible night and your generosity.

I’ll be telling people about how awesome you are until I’m blue in the face.

I’ve never been what you’d call a particularly wealthy person. Ever. There’s never been an instance that I can think of in my life where I can say I was literally rolling around on a big pile of money. But that doesn’t mean I can’t eat like I’m the kind of person who has a lot of money – right? And there’s no reason that I can’t have an amazing night out that’s as fantastic as IF I had a ton of money – right?

But the point I’m driving at here is that I like to go out. I like to eat an obscene amount of really tasty food. And sometimes I can justify spending a lot of dollars, but a lot of times I can’t. Since Chicago is such an insanely food-and-drink-driven down, it can be a little overwhelming just to pick a place for dinner.

So. I am here to help you with that – by offering an expensive option, a mid-range option, and a cheap option for various kinds of meals and occasions.

Today’s Occasion: Important Person In Your Life’s Birthday

Expensive Option: Tru
Remember that one time when you were made of money?
That was fun, wasn’t it?

Or maybe you weren’t made of money, but you’d budgeted for this event (and it is an event) and decided to be treated as though you were made of money and eat the best food you’ve ever had in your life that managed to be all kinds of fancy and refined while still coming off as a steak-and-potatoes kind of meal. You’ll eat things you’ve never had before, and some amazing spins on intensely rich classics that manage to taste completely different than anything you’ve ever had.

I recommend the Chef’s Collection – because going to a place like this isn’t something you do very often. So you might as well go balls out. Total food bill for two people getting the Chef’s Collection is $290.

Mid-Range Option: The Publican
Pig, Shellfish, Beers: The Publican in a nutshell. Community dining, locally farmed ingredients, and perfect cuts of meat – all thrown into a place that manages to magically be dim and bright, open and intimate, classy and casual – all at once.

You eat with your hands. You eat pork rinds of all things, with your hands, and they taste like heaven. You make friends with the other people at your table, and you discuss the different things you’ve all ordered and marvel over the extensive (and I do mean extensive) beer list.

Try the trio of three hams and the pork rinds as appetizers and finish with the waffle for dessert. Total food bill with those three and two entrees will run you about $75 for two.

Inexpensive Option The Bluebird
Technically this is a “gastropub”. Even more technically this place is “awesome.” It’s quiet, it’s intimate, it’s got high ceilings and exposed brick and dim lighting and an inventive and varied menu that will have you eating rabbit and thinking about how it’s not nearly as gamy as you’d imagined rabbit to be and then suddenly you’ve eaten all of it.

There’s also the “pub” aspect of the place, which is second to none in terms of quality and selection. But don’t let the gorgeous gorgeous bar fool you – this isn’t the kind of place you’d go to to make poor decisions. The Bluebird has more class than just about every other booze-serving establishment I’ve ever been in.

An appetizer and two entrees will run you about $45 – which, for someone who’s important to you, isn’t a total bank breaker.

Photo credit: JOE_M500 and Stringbot

I haven’t owned a car since high school. I haven’t needed one. It’s been nice, because the combined cost of gas and insurance would render me much poorer than I had previously imagined.

In college, my campus had an awesome public transportation system, and everything you ever needed to do was within a mile of where you were so if there wasn’t a bus coming within the next five minutes, you could always walk and get there in the same amount of time.

In Chicago – we have the CTA, with eight train lines and over a hundred bus routes. And if you’re coming in from the ‘burbs, there are a number of Metra lines that will get you into the Loop. I’ve lived in Chicago Proper since 2007 and have never owned a car during that time. But sometimes…I need a car.

Sometimes, I need to pick someone up from Midway at a time later than the Orange Line runs. If I want to take my weird little dog to the beach – I can’t walk her there – it’s much too far away. And it’s not unheard of for me to buy more groceries than can fit in my hands. There’s no way I’m going to go to Petco on the bus and carry a 40lb bag of dog food home in my hands. And sometimes I need to go to Target and blow through my entire paycheck in items that are larger than I can personally carry on the Addison bus – like a new floor rug.

Don’t judge me.

For instances like these – I depend on ZipCar. And my roommate is a huge fan of its more eco-friendly (and local non-profit business) counterpart, I-Go. Both are hourly car rental companies that allow their members to reserve a car for a few hours, or a whole day. They have a variety of membership plans that vary in cost based on how much driving an individual plans to do, and include basic insurance for all drivers. Also included? – gas. And that little i- thinger that lets you drive on the tollway without having to search for $3.50 in change or however much it costs to drive on the Kennedy these days.

My friend and I rented a Honda Element from I-Go last year to move his furniture and it was huge enough to hold a couch, relatively inexpensive, and when we realized we’d need the car for more time than we had reserved it, all it took was a phone call to the office and we bought ourselves more time with it.

As I mentioned earlier, I-Go is a local, not-for-profit organization that stocks its fleet with environmentally friendly cars that get amazing gas mileage or are hybrid. They’re placed all over the city and are well-maintained and generally inexpensive.

I’ve been using ZipCar since November of 2008 and have had exactly zero problems with renting a car or with any of the cars I’ve rented. Nicer still, ZipCar is a national organization – so if I ever find myself in Philly or Atlanta, I can sign up to rent a car THERE too at a much cheaper rate than if I called a more traditional rental company. Also, ZipCar stocks a much larger variety of cars – which is kind of nice if you had intended to go out and purchase a particular car back in the day when you actually had disposable income – instead of having legit payments on this car that you wanted to own in the first place, you can just borrow it when you need it and never have to pay for its gas.

Also, here’s an anecdote about how ZipCar saved me from my own idiocy this weekend:

I rented a car to go play in the suburbs and run errands, and when I returned it to its designated spot, I left my house keys inside the damn car and failed to realize this until arriving at my house. And then I had a stroke because that’s what I do when it’s 30 degrees out and I’m locked out of my house because I should probably have all the important things in my life stapled to my person and I have failed to do so.

So I got on the phone to ZipCar and they informed me that the car I had just left had been rented out, but that the current renter of the car had found my keys and left them in the glovebox.

Long story short, the representatives at ZipCar were sympathetic to my idiocy and entirely willing to help me get into the car so that I could then get into my house. And I was and am thankful, because it was later on a Sunday, and I could have easily been out of luck in a big way. So…thanks for saving my butt, ZipCar. I owe you one.

So. To live in Chicago, you don’t need a car. There is absolutely no reason for you to own a vehicle and have to pay for plates, city stickers, parking permits, gas, and insurance in this city. Especially with the wealth of public transportation we have here. But in the event that you need to borrow a car, you’ve got options. And that’s awesome.