Chowathon: 10th Anniversary, April 20-21, 2012LINK TO FINAL SCHEDULE:
viewtopic.php?p=413267#p413267Ten years ago, in April 2002, a few of us set out to eat for 24 hours in Chicago restaurants, dives, and horse tracks, some of which we’d talked about on Chowhound. We’re weren’t planning on straight-eating. We just thought we’d go from place to place, trying stuff, encountering new deliciousness, and talking all the way.
It was a period of “delighted discovery,” as my friend Vital Information so aptly put it, and a write-up by Monica Eng in
Chicago Tribune seems to have served as an unintentional recruitment tool for others who probably thought to themselves, “Hey, this looks like my kind of people, my tribe.”
This eating adventure was one of the first bricks in the foundation of our continuing community.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/110535On that first around-the-clock journey were some who are still posting here today. In addition to VI and me, there was ReneG, Seth Zurer, justjoan, zim, atomicman. My friend patoriq was also one of the few who made it to the end (the others being me, VI and ReneG).
All in all, we visited 24 places in 24 hours.
So, ten years after – smarter, stronger, wiser – we’re going to do it again.
Several people (like Pigmon) have expressed doubts they can make the whole day of eating; others feel they can make a few hours and that’d be it; a few others plan to go the distance, no question. At the LTH Trivia Event, Trixie Pea uttered the words that we should probably have embroidered on a banner:
24 or Nothing!However, if you want to come for an hour or two, that’s fantastic. Justjoan suggested maybe showing up at midnight and going until noon. No pressure; come whenever you want.
Any time during that 24-hour stretch, if you’re sitting at home wondering what to eat, you can call me on my cell if you want to find out where we’re at: 708-902-3969
Some of the places we visited are gone or going out (La Milanesa, Ramova, RIP), but others (Matchbox, Freddy’s, etc.) are still going strong.
The beginning and end points of our first odyssey – Manny’s and Berghoff – remain in place. We will start at Manny’s (1141 S. Jefferson) at noon on Friday, April 20th, and we’ll end at Berghoff at noon on April 21st.
Transport remains uncertain. During our first trip, we drove some, then took the train for a while, then people showed up with cars so we drove some again, then ended up on the train. At the moment, logistics are TBD.
Where we go will be semi-planned, and we will certainly try to hit as many of the places that were on the original itinerary, allowing for serendipity to guide us to some new places.
Whether you’ve been an active LTH member or not, if this sounds like something you’d like to do, we’d like to have you along.
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"Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins