Macy's on State Street - Chicago, IL

The Marshall Field's Store (now called Macy's on State Street) takes up an entire city block in Chicago's Loop. It is one of three Macy's flagship stores. Currently it is the second largest store in the world with 12 stories (or more in some parts of the store). This was the first department store with an escalator and the first with a bridal registry.

There are several atria in the store. The one on the left is 13 stories in the northwest part of the store. The other two are in the central atrium with escalators and elevators. There is a fountain at the bottom.

A Tiffany & Co. mosaic dome caps a 5-story atrium in the southwest corner. The Tiffany Dome is over 6,000 square feet. It is the first iridescent glass dome and it continues to be the largest glass mosaic of its kind. It took over a year and a half to make.

The store is all decked out for the holidays. There are lights, ornaments, and other decorations in every department through the store. The 3-story tree on the left is in the Walnut Room on the 7th floor. The Walnut Room is a restaurant where many shoppers dress up for a special occassion dining experience. The exterior is also decorated with horns attached the entire block along State Street.

The store windows along State Street each have a display that tells a story. It seems that many people of all ages have a holiday tradition of walking along the street and looking at the windows.

If you want to know more about the store, take audio or video tours from the store's webpage.

Cafe Levain - Minneapolis, MN

Cafe Levain (4762 Chicago Ave South) is located in the back of a bakery. They take the time and make an effort to create a pleasant dining experience with creative and inventive food combinations. Overall the food is "home cooking" but with a contemporary twist.

While waiting for the entrees, they serve tasty, chewy bread with butter and pesto aioli. (see photo) This was good enough that I nearly didn't need dinner!

The atmosphere is elegant but casual. There are no white tablecloths, just white paper on the tables. Cafe Levain is only open for dinner so it is subdued without bright lights or loud noises. We went at 5pm (opening time) so there were only a few patrons. If you attend, be forewarned that prices are more than Subway or McDonald's. Appetizers are about $10, entrees about $20, sides about $5, and desserts range from $5 to $10.

Here is the food we enjoyed... note the pictures were taken after some food had been eaten.

Dayboat Scallops . . . (left)
Red Lentils / Mirepoix / Fischer Farms Bacon / Dijon

Local Mushrooms (side)
Shallot / Garlic / Chive / Parsley / Lemon

Roasted Kadejan Farms Chicken Breast . . . (right)
Thyme-Sage Brine / Fingerlings / Roasted Chicken Jus / Lemon

Cabbage (not pictured)
Char / Sweet-Sour Apple / Raw Apple / Dijon

Food: ****

Ambience: *****

Service: ****
(out of 5 stars)

Wow Bao - Chicago, IL

Wow Bao (Three locations: 835 North Michigan Ave./1 West Wacker Blvd./175 West Jackson Blvd.) is one of my favorite places to stop for a quick lunch or light snack in Chicago. I often get the Combo with a cool Thai salad and two bao (usually bbq pork, chicken, or coconut custard). If you don't know, a bao is a steamed "dumpling" or "bun" that is stuffed with meat or another filling. The service is fast and friendly. The food is always fresh and tasty. The ambience, however, varies by location. The North Michigan location is on the ground level of Water Tower Place with no seating nearby. Diners can take their order to go or head up the escalators and sit at a table in the atrium area. The tables are often busy and not always clean. The Wacker location has a nice seating area that is casual and comfortable. If you're near Wow Bao, stop in! Let me know what you think.

Food: ****
Ambience: depends on location
Service: ****
(out of 5 stars)

Obama Rally - Chicago, IL

Attending the Election Night Obama rally in Grant Park, Chicago, was a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience. (Yes, I know that sounds cliche!) But I don't anticipate being in attendance at an election night celebration with the new president again.

If you wish to see professionally filmed footage of the evening, check out CNN. If you want to see better quality video of someone who was at the event, click here (this videographer was several yards in front of me). If you want to see what my camera phone captured in the moment, I've included it below!

Although I was within view of the stage where President-elect Obama was speaking (I did get tickets to the event!), I wasn't the man on whose shoulder Oprah cried. Instead, you can see the view I had from far back in the field. I didn't think it was worth pushing to the front (or even the middle) to get a better view. After all, I was across the room from then-Senator Obama when he visited my workplace a couple years ago.

Tens of thousands of people were on the ball fields for the rally. Each one had to leave! Here is a scene from the exit.

The biggest impact I felt from the event is that the people in attendance there seemed to me to be "America" - The United States of America. Of course, the demographics reflected the demographics of Chicago and the state of Illinois, but it seemed clear to me that "everyone" was there - rich and poor, old and young, white and black, Hispanic and Asian, working people and students, etc. (This is in contrast with the demographics of another political gathering). To paraphrase the next First Lady, it gave me reason to be proud of the US considering its ugly past and the improbability that, even 35 years ago when I was born, the US would have an African American president - especially one with a "funny name." Now the harder task begins for the President-elect and the rest of the country: working together to make progress on the country's - and the world's - most important issues.

Campaign Songs

Presidential campaigns have long used music as part of their strategy to persuade voters to favor them. Music is also played at rallies while people await the candidate's arrival, as the candidate takes the stage, or after the speech has ended. Here are some songs from this and previous year's presidential campaign as reported by various sources on the web. (Click on the link to hear the song.)

• America (Neil Diamond) - Michael Dukakis '88
• Born in the USA (Bruce Springstein) - Ronald Reagan '84
• Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac) - Bill Clinton '92
• God Bless the USA (Lee Greenwood) - Ronald Reagan '84
• Only in America (Brooks & Dunn) - Barack Obama, John McCain, George W. Bush '04
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Stevie Wonder) - Barack Obama
• Take a Chance on Me (ABBA) - John McCain
• Yes We Can (will.i.am et al.) - Barack Obama

This list is by no means comprehensive. Do you have others to add?

Note the youtube selections were chosen for the music, not the visual imagery.