Exploring Chicago & Suburbs 
Entertainment, dining, parks, recreation, businesses and anything else I feel is worthy of writing about in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
There are currently 27 blog entries related to this category.
The New Invaders to Play at Taste of Orland Park on Sunday, the 7th
Friday, August 5th, 2011 at 5:09pm. 289 Views, 0 Comments.
You might have seen The New Invaders at The Taste of Orland Park back in 2005, but the band is different today. Jay Goeppner is the new lead singer and there has been a recent addition of Rick Mallin on keyboards. Rick is singer Melody Mallin's Dad! Rick has been in different bands, the most recent was The Runaways.
Jay Goeppner has brought new life to this 60's-early 70's rock band. Jay still performs with the Beatle Brothers and was with Instant Karma Band. He has played with many other bands, including back-up for Cheap Trick. Look for Jay's bio on The New Invaders website to see all of the famous people Jay has worked with.
The band will be playing on Sunday, the 7th, at 4:00-6:00, opening for American English. Come early to
…Osteria Ottimo, Favorite Restaurant in Orland Park
Friday, January 21st, 2011 at 1:09pm. 1030 Views, 0 Comments.
I don't consider myself a food critic - as long as I don't have to cook it and clean up after, I'm pretty happy. I will 
admit as I've aged my palette has become a bit choosier and I've actually stopped going to some restaurants if I don't like what I ordered or if the service was bad.
I've never been attracted to Italian restaurants as I usually don't order pasta and if I do, I prefer a sweeter sauce than many Italian restaurants make. My favorite pasta/meat sauce is bolognese, which some restaurants do not make the way it should be (with carrots, which gives it a deep flavor). I love it when I find a place that makes it correctly.
One weekend evening my husband and I were driving around looking for a place without a long wait. We ran into
…Tiger Woods at Cog Hill in Lemont
Sunday, September 12th, 2010 at 8:37pm. 546 Views, 0 Comments.
Tiger Woods was in the house! Today was the end of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf Course in Lemont, IL. 70 PGA Tour players, including Tiger Woods, attended for a $7 million purse. I could see the blimp floating above Cog Hill on my way home from a wedding downtown.
Lemont residents were aware of the ensuing traffic and took other routes. My husband forgot about it and got stuck in some heavy traffic on Route 83 on his way back from one of his gigs (he plays in a band).
Tiger tied for 15th place. The winner was 26 year old Dustin Johnson, who faced some bad golfing this summer, although he did win in Pebble Beach this past February.
Cog Hill Golf and Country Club is located at 12294 Archer Avenue,Lemont, IL 60439-6711
Homer Glen Festival
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 2:54pm. 1040 Views, 0 Comments.
It was great timing to be able to attend this year's Homer Glen Parade and Festival since we'll be moving to our Homer Glen home soon. My husband's old band (he doesn't play with them much anymore as he is in a different band) played last year and this year. I missed last year's festival so was happy to be able to make it this year, although I didn't see the parade.
I thought that attendance was light but my friend told me it was twice as many people as last year's event. It will hopefully grow larger year after year.
Someone mentioned that there was a wolf on display so I went looking. Before finding the wolf I stopped by a petting area with some interesting looking alpacas (I thought they were llamas), goats and a pony.
Behind
…Valentine's Day at The Batory Buffet
Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 10:50am. 613 Views, 0 Comments.
I wouldn't have remembered, but last Valentine's Day was also snowy and cold. I looked up my last Valentine's Day in Chicago Suburbs post to see what I wrote about. Can't remember what I did, though.
My husband asked me to think about where I wanted to go on Valentine's Day. Not one regular restaurant popped up in my mind (only visions of waiting an hour to get seated no matter where we went). I hate waiting in restaurants.
Then I thought about the places I really love. Places my friends would not accompany me to (well, they did once for my birthday and complained loud and clear). I love Polish buffets. My first choice was Bobaks in Chicago but I gave a second choice of The Batory Buffet, a Chicago Ridge restaurant located at 10135 S.
…Bengston's Pumpkin Farm
Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 1:08pm. 675 Views, 0 Comments.
My favorite holiday is Halloween so I needed to get something on this blog about it. There are many pumpkin farms in Northern IL and although I have a very long list, I decided just to mention those located in the southwest suburbs since that is where I work. The photo is a carved pumpkin on display at Benstons's Pumpkin Farm located at 13341 W. 151st St., Homer Glen, IL 60491. The phone number is 708-301-3276. Hours are 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and free parking is offered.
There is much more than pumpkins at this farm so give yourself time to enjoy all of the offerings which include a petting zoo, pig races, the Haunted Fun Barn, pony and train rides, cow milking and more! You can get a coupon and find out more on Bengston's web site…
Say Good-bye to Swallow Cliff Toboggan Slides
Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 9:12am. 922 Views, 0 Comments.
Photo originally uploaded by PaulEisenberg
Let me first say that I have never had fun on the Swallow Cliff Toboggan Slides located in Palos Township. A friend of mine broke her back on them in the '60s and the truth is, I don't think I'd be interested even if that didn't happen. I'm afraid of heights and fast rides. But I've used that excuse about my friend ever since.
My son Chad & I wound up at the Toboggan Slides walking a trail at Horseshoe Lake located in Palos Park over the summer this year. Because I've never been on the cliffs I couldn't remember exactly where they were located. Running into them during a trail walk was like finding an old treasure.
Sadly, that treasure, dangerous or not, will be leaving us. Cook County
What's the Best Chicago Suburb?
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 6:01pm. 1511 Views, 0 Comments.
I have been asked recently, on more than one occasion, what is the best place to live in the Chicagoland area or what is the best area of Chicago or the best suburbs. That is a loaded question!
Real estate agents should not answer such questions but guide a potential buyer to do their own homework. This also gives me the impetus to provide even more information on my website about the areas I work in. I believe buyers should be able to make a decision on where to live based on their personal preferences. But we cannot force our preferences, or opinions, on buyers. We could be accused of "steering," which basically means promoting areas based on ethnic or racial groups. This could result in punishment of paying hefty fines and even
…Pegasus Restaurant in Chicago
Thursday, September 7th, 2006 at 2:55pm. 521 Views, 0 Comments.
Last night my husband and I met with 4 other friends for dinner at Pegasus Restaurant in Chicago's Greektown area. For the week we had the plans made I thought we were meeting at the Parthenon and kept questioning my husband when we were the first to arrive. I wasn't sure until I got inside that I had eaten lunch here about 7 years ago.
It is not the largest restaurant in the Greektown area but it is very comfortable and cute. There is a large menu and it was difficult to make one choice. I ordered the baked Grecian chicken and chose it over the roasted because it was getting late and I didn't want to wait an extra 15 minutes for the cooking time. I was very happy with my choice.
I only tried one of the appetizers that was ordered
…Field Museum King Tut Tour
Wednesday, September 6th, 2006 at 10:25am. 1110 Views, 2 Comments.
On Labor Day my family and I visited the Field Museum to see the King Tut exhibit. We started out going to see Da Vinci's inventions at the Museum of Science and Industry but it was sold out. Photo at right is courtesy of MHarrsch.
I had seen the King Tut exhibit in the early 90's and it was pretty impressive. It was a real tour with tomb-like walls. In fact, I got a little claustrophobic on the spiral staircase built to get to the upper level.
I was disappointed with this exhibit. It was mainly smaller artifacts in glass cases. In fact, some of the display prior to entering the actual exhibit (the free stuff), was just as interesting, if not more. Without paying for the tour (I believe general admission is $12.00 and with the tour
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