Chicago: insider tips​

Transcript: Chicago insider tips​

Chicago is a vibrant metropolis, celebrated for its iconic skyline, deep-dish pizzaPizza mit dickem Hefeteigboden und hohem Teigrand​deep-dish pizza and rich jazz and blues heritageErbe; hier: Geschichte​heritage. nestledangeschmiegt, eingebettet​Nestled along the shores of Lake Michigan, it to boaststolz auf etw. sein​boasts a blend of cultural attractions and architectural marvelWunderwerk​marvels. To get some insider tips on the so-called Windy City, we talked to Chicago native Josh Grotto. Josh is an artist and designer and has exhibited work in solo and group shows in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. We first asked Josh how he got into the art scene in Chicago.​

So, I got into the art scene in Chicago, really, as a kid growing up doing graffiti. I never had really considered myself an artist but was attracted to graffiti at a very young age, and that really got me into typography and painting and the rest is kind of history.​

So, in Josh’s opinion, what makes Chicago different from other American cities?​

Chicago is different from most American cities mostly because of its people. I believe the weather really shapes the kind of people that we are, being that we have such an extreme summer and winter. I feel like that to breedhervorbringen, bilden​breeds character, you know, when you have to face the super über-cold (ifml.)superkalt, eisig​über-cold and the super-hot summer. I feel like Chicago people are more authentic than other places, maybe a bit more honest, which makes them seem less friendly but they’re good people, I think, for the most part.​

What’s a typical Chicagoan like?​

The way I recognize a fellow Chicagoan out in the world is they might be a little more on the heftykernig, nicht zimperlich​hefty side, just due to the diethier: Ernährungsweise​diet that we keep here in Chicago. They probably have a bit of a dark side, I would say. Not in a, you know, kind of gloomydüster, bedrückend​gloomy way, but just you know, again, it’s really a real and grittyhart, rau​gritty place. You know, they’re going to tell you what they think right of the bat (US ifml.)prompt, ohne Umschweife​right off the bat. And they’re not going to sugarcoat sth.etw. beschönigen​sugarcoat things.​

In the next part of the interview, Josh talks about his favourite thing to eat in Chicago.​

The best thing to eat in Chicago is a be a tough one (ifml.)gar nicht so einfach sein​tough one because we have so many delicious sorts of local cuisine that you can’t find anywhere else. It’s all bad for you. But if I had to pick one, I would just... I’ve got to go with the Chicago hot dog. It’s a to steamdünsten, brühen​steamed hot dog, usually with a steamed bunBrötchen​bun and poppy seedsMohn​poppy seeds, mustardSenf​mustard, that really green sort of fake relish, hot peppersPeperoni​hot peppers – I like it with hot peppers, the giardinieraeingelegtes Gemüse​giardiniera even sometimes – and it’s usually pretty cheap and you need at least two of them.​

What is the art scene like in Chicago?​

So, I think that Chicago has a really diversevielschichtig​diverse creative and art scene. There’s a big design community here. A lot of sort of boutique graphic design studios that have really sprung up in the last 10 to 20 years. So that’s thriveaufblühen, erfolgreich sein​thriving. I believe the fine artsbildende Künste​fine arts has become more and more important in Chicago. I mean, there’s always been a scene in Chicago. The first that comes to mind is, like, the Hairy Who, from the 1960s and ’70s. But I think recently, as cities like New York and Los Angeles get so expensive, Chicago becomes more of an ideal place to do art because it is so liveable. We also have the Chicago Expo every year, which brings galleries from all over the world here to see. And then, obviously, amazing museums like the Art Institute of Chicago and the MCA [Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago].​

What does Josh think first-time visitors to the city find most inspiring?​

I think we have a world-class architecture city, especially if you’re able to view it from the river on one of those great architecture tours. [It] may sound a bit cliche, but it’s really something that I still enjoy doing even though I’ve done it hundreds of times.​

How has Chicago changed over the years?​

I’ve seen Chicago change dramatically since I was a kid. It’s gotten, in my opinion, a lot nicer. It’s gotten a lot less neighborhood centricauf ... fixiert​centric I think, though, which is sort of the downsideNachteil, Kehrseite​downside of that. You kind of have these areas in Chicago now that you could really have in any city, which in the past growing up, it really wasn’t like that, but I’ve also seen it kind of get cleaned up. It’s a lot safer than it was many years ago. And, yeah, Chicago’s in a good place right now.​

Finally, Josh walks us through his recommendations for a perfect day in Chicago. You should know that a “teamster” in American English is a truck driver. And the Cubs and the White Sox are the two Major League Baseball teams in Chicago. Naturally, there is a long-standing rivalryRivalität​rivalry between the two.​

I think, like, an ideal day in Chicago would be number one, maybe start the day out at Manny’s Deli, which is a kind of old-school, cafeteria-style Chicago place [where] you’ll see a lot of, like, teamsters and every presidential candidate that comes through Chicago. It’s just you get a really good vibeAtmosphäre​vibe of that kind of working part of the city. I think, again, the architecture boat tour is something that you just can’t miss if you come to Chicago. Depending on the season, I would say riding a bike [along] the lake is a great way to take ineinen Eindruck gewinnen​take in the city. Especially going south on the bike path in Chicago, it’s just really beautiful, and you can get away from some of the crowds if you go south. And then I think like, again depending on weather, a Cubs game is a great way to experience Chicago, even a Sox game. You know, if you could do both, that would be an interesting juxtapositionNebeneinander​juxtaposition and then obviously, I think you got to get, you know, a traditional Chicago-style hot dog. And then, you know, maybe end at one of the many, you know, amazing more high-endgehoben​high-end food places that we have now, restaurants and such.​