The Career Climb
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Emma Dutton/Chicago LoopsterEntering the job market in these economic times is no easy task. Even the highly-educated young Americans are struggling. How can prospective hard workers stand out from the crowd? What if that still doesn’t lead to jobs? Chicago Loopster is offering a leg-up with advice, potential solutions and a look at the current state of the job market.
#Sh*tGenYSays
Lauren Gold/Chicago LoopsterEvery generation has its trademarks, but our generation is particularly inventive. With new gadgets and technologies cropping up left and right, it’s hard not to get caught up in our own vocabulary words and ways of life. Generation Y, or rather all of us twenty-somethings, are taking over the scene. So true, right?
We are full of abbrevs and timesavers these days, DMing potential contacts on Twitter and BBMing emoticons to our BFFs (wait, the Blackberry is so not cool anymore). Out of the country? Skype me. Don’t know the answer? Google it. We vent about our co-workers via g-chat and flirt simultaneously through texting more often than phone calls. Social media is the only media, as far as we’re concerned.
Grindr Photos/Flickr
We are the meme generation, laughing over cat videos, David After Dentist and Sh*t Girls Say. We blog on Tumblr, photograph on Instagram and shop online for the best deals. We express ourselves through Facebook statuses and trending topics, and we communicate with our favorite celebs by tweeting at them instead of sending in fan mail. Self-expression exists IRL (in real life) and on our profiles…OMG, tag me in that mupload (mobile upload).
We are one of the most educated and ambitious generations yet, according to Examiner.com. We have goals and dream jobs, and we are young enough to believe we can make them happen. We’re open to new ideas, but if you haven’t heard about the latest band on the scene, forget it. Seriously.
We have the latest apps, too. Oh, what’s the name of that new Coldplay song? Let me Shazam it. There’s nothing our smart phones can’t do. Our social circles consist of our combined contacts between LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and maybe even Google+, too. If we’re too far to meet for drinks, we can just FaceTime later. The guys have their bromances, and the girls have their movie nights, livestreamed off of Hulu or Netflix, of course. We are technology and social media mavens, except when the fail whale ruins our Twitter sesh. Ugh, FML.
Sure, we love to go out and meet new people, but it’s just as common to date online, too. We consult Yelp and Urbanspoon to find our favorite bars and restaurants (did you check in on Foursquare?). We find decorating inspiration for our studio apartments on Pinterest and take recipes from baking blogs, not our grandma’s old recipe book.
We manage to check the score, respond to our e-mails and show up to work on time, all while staying up to date on current events and staying in shape at group fitness classes at the gym.
We are gen.y/beta FTW. Wait, BRB for a sec…
Even St. Patty’s beer isn’t this green
Brothers Jesse and Samuel Evans are bringing their New Chicago Beer Co. to the city, and along with it, some new ideas about how to run an energy-sustainable business.
Audrey Thibeau/The Plant ChicagoThe Plant. Home to the New Chicago Beer Co.
The Evans brothers are building a completely sustainable production brewery in the Whiskey Point section of the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago in collaboration with The Plant Chicago, a 93,500 square foot former meatpacking facility that has been converted into a net-zero energy vertical farm.
“We were at a Whole Foods in Evanston having brunch and there wasn’t much to read. But there was this magazine called Mindful Metropolis, which is a conscious community magazine with a lot of yoga and that kind of thing. They had this story about The Plant in the very early days,” Jesse Evans said. “On the caption of the story we saw that they were planning on having breweries. So, we decided to contact them, partially to see who these guys were and partially to try and see if we could be one of the breweries.”
The Evans brothers contacted Executive Director John Edel and took a tour of The Plant.
“When we got to the end of the tour we ended up at this four or five thousand square-foot hall with 18-foot ceilings and he goes ‘this is the brewery.’ We had kind of realized by that point that there wasn’t a brewery in there yet. So we were asking about it and found out that he was looking for the right brewery to move in. So we were like ‘we’re the right brewery’, and that’s really kind of how it started.“
The Plant is still in the process of being built, however, some parts of the structure, such as the vertical farm, are already operational. When complete, one-third of the space will hold aquaponic-growing systems and the other two-thirds will incubate sustainable food businesses by offering low rent, low energy costs, and a licensed shared kitchen.
The Plant plans to create 125 jobs in Chicago’s economically distressed Back of the Yards neighborhood. The new jobs will require no fossil fuel and neither will the building itself. Instead, The Plant will eventually divert over 10,000 tons of food waste from landfills each year to meet all of its heat and power needs.
Audrey Thibeau/The Plant ChicagoThe Plant emits steam not smoke.
“I realized that this is going to be at net carbon zero brewery and that was really exciting to us,” Evans said.
Funded in part by $1.5 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, The Plant will install an anaerobic digestion and a combined heat and power system to operate completely off the grid. Anaerobic digestion is a recycling system that uses bacteria to break down food waste to generate methane gas which, in turn, powers a turbine that generates electricity.
By 2015, the enclosed, odorless anaerobic digester will consume 27 tons of food waste a day including all of the waste produced in the facility and by neighboring food manufacturers.
The New Chicago Beer Co. will be doing their part to keep The Plant running. The brewing kettles used by the Evans brothers will depend on steam instead of burning non-renewable natural gas from the grid. The carbon dioxide from the fermentation process will be captured and transmitted to hydroponic operations. Thanks to this system, the brewery will be able to churn out strong ales, their specialty, with a virtually net-zero cost to the environment.
“We already had a tendency to do things the right way, but we had no idea that the whole system could be this fantastic,” said Evans who was already conscious of sustainability thanks to a spell starting a much smaller professional brewery, Lucky Hand, with his brother in northern California before moving back home to Chicago to be closer to family.
According to Evans, New Chicago will be releasing its first beers over the next couple months. They specialize in what they call strong ales, meaning that the brews contain a slightly higher than usual alcohol content, and will be using local and seasonal ingredients from around the Chicago area. They will also source some ingredients from inside The Plant itself.
New Chicago has recently signed a distribution deal that will make their beers available on draft and in bottles across the city in the coming year.
“Having that alternative energy aspect to our brewery is really kind of something we like to say is to put on the back label,” Evans said. “We don’t want to make it a big deal because if we can do things this way then it’s probably a good idea. It’s the right thing to do.”
Chicago’s ongoing battle with coal
The city’s coal-fired power plants have been the center of controversy for years. From Environmental Protection Agency standards, to the Clean Air Act, to being called out as the city’s largest causes of pollution, where have the last 10 years of Fisk and Crawford taken Chicago? What’s next?
Beat cabin fever: gather around the fire
Emma Dutton/Chicago Loopster“We’ll conspire, as we dream by the fire…” To face unafraid, the plans that we’ve made, I’d recommend some good beers. Looking to warm up and get out of the house? Look no further – here are a few Lakeview bars with fireplaces to fit each situation, whether you want to sing your heart out, get to know a new date or hustle some locals in a game of billiards. Still too cold to venture outside but want some ambiance from the comfort of your computer screen? Check out the videos of each bar’s fireplace.
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Friar Tuck
3010 N. Broadway St., Lakeview
Emma Dutton/Chicago Loopster
Emma Dutton/Chicago LoopsterI walked into Friar Tuck on a Monday night around 11 p.m. to find only the bartender. The cozy dive bar is decked out with holiday lights, and the round, wooden door makes it clear that you’re stepping into another (possibly hobbit-filled) world. Stop in to warm up, because the Friar Tuck world includes a big fireplace surrounded by stools, $5 mini-pitchers, free munchie popcorn, a jukebox, crazy hat Mondays, trivia Tuesdays and karaoke Thursdays.
Emma Dutton/Chicago LoopsterThe place isn’t usually dead, but even if it is, when you stop in to satiate a late-night beer craving, Grant will be at your side (er, behind the bar). He sat down to chat with me that Monday, because he sure wasn’t closing early. He said the regulars usually sit on the other side of the bar, so I’m proposing we start a regular crowd that sits by the warmth (but only until we’re wobbling, because I don’t want anybody falling into the fireplace on my watch).
Check out more reviews and info on Yelp
Do you have a favorite memory from Friar Tuck? Is your picture up on their wall? Tell us on Twitter! @ChicagoLoopster with #friartuck or post your comments below. - 2
D.O.C. Wine Bar
2602 North Clark Street, Lincoln Park
Emma Dutton/Chicago Loopster
Emma Dutton/Chicago LoopsterWhether you’re out with the girls or with a date you need to impress, D.O.C. wine bar is the perfect place to warm up on a cold night. The bartender told me they’re busy almost every night in the winter. The dark wood vaulted ceilings make it feel like a ski lodge, where you can sip wine and munch on cheeses (or other delicious, wine-friendly menu items) from the couch and comfy chairs in front of the fireplace. Waiters and bartenders groove to the funky, Motown date music with a welcoming attitude.
Emma Dutton/Chicago LoopsterThe wine list is so long I got bored before making it to the end, and on Monday, bottles under $100 are half price. On Tuesdays, wine flights feature three samples and are only 10 bucks. The menu has cheese flights, too, if you need some sustenance. The bartender said it’s common to find some “no school on Friday” DePaul kids at D.O.C. on Thursdays, but it’s cozy enough that I’d go on any night. The semi-mod entrance, the round windows and bar overhang are a bit odd, but it almost feels as if the bar is hugging me when I walk in, and everybody needs more hugs during winter.
Check out D.O.C.’s website, or more reviews on Yelp.
Do you have a favorite memory from D.O.C. Wine Bar? What’s the best on their menu? Tell us on Twitter! @ChicagoLoopster with #DOCWine or post your comments below. - 3
Ten Cat Tavern
3931 N Ashland Ave, North Lakeview
Emma Dutton/Chicago Loopster
Emma Dutton/Chicago LoopsterTen Cat Tavern looks more like an art gallery from the outside than a bar, and the interior decorations, too, are much more beautiful than I expect from a dark little spot like this one. Walking past the art in the window display, the bar, a mermaid booth, a few pool tables and some old school pin ball machines, I arrive at the back room. Reminiscent of old smoking rooms with red, regal chairs and dark wood, the room has a fireplace and can be rented out for private parties. It seats about 15 comfortably, and Charles, the bartender, mentioned plans for Sunday game nights in the future. Maybe Candy Land, he said.
Emma Dutton/Chicago LoopsterDuring week days, the bar is host to a couple of pool leagues, and locals and their cute pets play unorganized games with a few bucks out on the table, too. The older crowd was very friendly, and I even met Comet, the dog who lives upstairs. The tap hosts a wide, delicious range of beers including Anchor Porter, Guinness and Half Acre’s Over Ale, plus Stella Artois if you’re looking for something lighter. If this is a dive bar, it’s the most elegant I’ve ever seen, and I wouldn’t hesitate to get some friends together for drinks by the hearth.
Click here to see more reviews and info on Yelp.
Do you have a favorite memory from Ten Cat Tavern? Are you there right now? Tell us on Twitter! @ChicagoLoopster with #tencat or post your comments below.
How bad is this winter, anyway?
Alma Bahman/Chicago LoopsterBetween now and early spring, Chicago would have to see almost 43 inches of snow to have the same amount it had last winter. But that’s unlikely, said Richard Castro, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Chicago office.
After getting more than 50 inches of snowfall for four consecutive years, why was Chicago’s first real snow day halfway into the season?
The mildness comes from two weather systems: La Niña and the Arctic Oscillation.
At its very basic, La Niña is a polar jet stream from the Pacific Ocean that causes chilly winters. La Niña allows cold air to drop south into the Midwest, Castro said. “But there’s been a very persistent feature above Alaska that’s keeping cold air from dropping down here.”
Alma Bahman/Chicago LoopsterThe National Weather Service has been keeping weather records since 1885. Here are a few other weather milestones the city reached since.
That feature: Arctic Oscillation, which refers to pressure patterns over the Arctic and has two phases, positive and negative.
Castro said it’s in a positive phase this year. This means less pressure at the polar region, which moves storms toward the north.
Since 2000, Chicago had comparatively cold winters as well as mild ones, but it’s not that unusual.
“It’s all over the map,” Castro said. “It fits the theme as how variable the weather patterns can be in this part of the country.”
To get more details, read Castro’s article about this year’s mild winter.
Alma Bahman/Chicago LoopsterSince 2000, Chicago has seen colder and colder winters. Data from the National Weather Service.
Alma Bahman/Chicago LoopsterIn the past 11 years, 2009 had the coldest season low. The only other year that comes close is 2001. Data from the National Weather Service.
Alma Bahman/Chicago LoopsterSave for a few crests and valleys, snowfall steadily increased since 2000, particularly since 2006. Data from the National Weather Service.
10 Culturally Comforting Soups
Your fingers are slightly frozen and mouth slightly parched from the cold dry air outside. As is the perennial wintry problem of living in Chicago. You can take refuge at home, but then you may miss out on six months of the culturally diverse food sprinkled throughout the city.
Solution: cultural-infused soup at home.
Chicago winter never seems as treacherous with a smooth heat-radiating bowl in your hands. Or even better the slow sipping of a steaming flavor-infused soup on your couch under a fleece blanket. Below are some easy make-at-home recipes that celebrate the city’s penchant for both never-ending winters and cultural flair. So try one out and spice up an otherwise frosty grey evening.
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Sante Fe Soup
Kathryn Ferrara/Chicago LoopsterClick on the photo to see a step-by-step guide on how to make Sante Fe soup
The ultimate definition of hearty. This Tex Mex soup is chock full of corn, tomatoes and beans. And the best part? It takes 10 minutes max to throw it all together. Click on the photo to the right to access a slideshow showing you how to make this easy dish.
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Irish Potato Soup
Beketchai/FlickrTake everything that is good about a warm buttery baked potato, complete with sour cream and bacon, and then put it in a soup. So much more satisfying than the chilled salads your supposedly dieting friends are enjoying. Did I say bacon?
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Italian Wedding Soup
Alice Carrier/FlickrDon’t worry, no one has to get married with this dish. It was named after the seeming perfect union between the soup’s green veggies and meat. While you can make it with a variety of meats, the most common Italian-American version is with meatballs.
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Japanese Egg Drop Soup
Laura Padgett/FlickrThis light soup goes well with almost any meal. So if you’re looking for comfort but light on the hearty, this one might be for you.
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Finnish Beer Soup
Stu Spivack/FlickrYes, beer soup. It may seem a bit suspect with mixing beer, cheese and cinnamon, but it’s a common and well-liked dish in the Nordic countries, including Finland and Sweden where it’s called biersuppe.
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Mexican Taco Soup
Collin Harvey/FlickrThe best part of this soup are the bits of tortilla that turn into small corn dumplings when submerged in this zesty meal.
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Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup
avlxyz/FlickrA twist on the original. A spicy twist. The trademarks of this soup are the chicken (obviously) and the varied seasonings, including garlic, tahini, ginger and chili-garlic sauce. This is the soup to go far if you want a lot of punch in each bite. And who can say no to Asian noodles?
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French Onion Soup
Jeremy Keith/FlickrThis one has been around for a long while, but it’s just as irresistible. Probably because it has the trifecta of French culinary goodness: cheese, butter and baguettes.
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Hungarian Beef Stew
Kathryn Ferrara/Chicago LoopsterWhile technically not a soup, this dish has all the makings of a comfort dish. And a filling one at that with its chunky meat, potatoes and noodles. If you’re looking for something similar but a thinner, try to traditional Hungarian goulash dish.
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Greek Avgolemono Soup
avlxyz/FlickrEgg-lemon. That’s what that long word means in case you were wondering. With just four main ingredients, this just may be the easiest one of the bunch.
What’s your favorite comfort soup? Did we miss any?
Let us know by commenting below or @ChicagoLoopster with #comfortfood.
Safe home on holidays
Are you ready to enjoy your holidays? Before leaving your home make sure you follow some basic safety tips so you can relax 100% while you are away.
