Michael Hinko Jr

 "I think coffee is one of the best things about being alive."                                                                                           - Steven Wright   As he often does, Steven Wright hit the nail on the head. Drinking coffee is so much fun, the best way to start the day. But it has to be good coffee. Certain cultures get this; the Italians, for sure. Americans were very late to the game.  When I started looking for craft roasters in 1970s Chicago, there were few choices. Steve Siefer and Peter Longo's Coffee and Tea Exchange roasted the best beans, in my opinion. When they started roasting in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, some, but not all, residents were delighted. A few people...

  I took the L down to Jackson and walked east to Buckingham Fountain. Such a great fountain and a familiar sight. Next I walked to Marshall Field to see the Tiffany ceiling. Beautiful, and from a different era. Then I continued on to the public buildings and their associated sculptures; Dubuffet, Miro, Picasso. I was standing by the Picasso (now a favorite slide and skateboard ramp) when a tour group gathered next to me. I decided to listen in, and then I mingled with the group and joined their walking tour. I gathered the theme of the tour was Chicago's famous crooks; mobsters, crooked politicians, serial killers. The guide put on a pretty good show and projected his banter over the din of the city. He used a nasally Chicago accent - Chi-cah-go, cah-fee shop. Whether this was his own or an actor's portrayal, I don't know. But it was effective. The stories were sometimes engaging and pointed. At other times they only vaguely applied to the walking stops. But it was an ente...