Chicago. You really can feel the age of this city. The way you may look at someone approaching their “golden years” that, at some point, was glorious. Someone who really lived a life. Excitement and drama, zest and fervor. Someone who worked hard, played harder and someone who was probably mixed up with the wrong crowd and hoped their kids would go “legit” and put family first. Ok, so Chicago feels like Godfather 3…it just kind of made me sad. However, there are still upsides. I mean, every place has them, right? (I don’t mean to offend anyone with what I write. These are just observations from an extreme outside point of view. #dontbemad) Our first redemption of the city was getting to see our dear friend from Ventura and the very early days of CS, David Anthony Marshall. David is an amazing songwriter, a hell of a guitar player and an incredible man. Some of our friends and fans who attended our CA wedding reception were lucky enough to hear him perform a song Jared and I both agree is one of the best songs ever written, we’re jealous we didn’t write it and honored he shared it with us for our union. Please, do yourself a favor and look it up. It’s called “Love Lives”, and you will be better for hearing it. Anyway, we brunched with David and his family at the Growling Rabbit, where Rudy made friends with the owner and used his Jedi mind tricks to convince her to let him take a stuffed rabbit home with us. She named him Andy and he’s now in our family.
There’s never enough time when you’re with someone you love, but this felt extra short. David and his family had a place to go that took a couple hours to get to. So, begrudgingly, we said our goodbyes, got in extra squeezes and lovies, and headed away from the Growling Rabbit.
The “World’s Best Pizza”:
Richard Delaine Monks. Tacoma’s music supporter, electric guitar shredder, and probably single handedly responsible for keeping Joy Teriyaki in business. He has not ever led us astray when recommending food. From Marzanos to Joy, to Old Milwaukee, Richard had been the tour guide to our tastebuds for our time in Tacoma. A self-proclaimed Pizza aficionado, Richard, being from Chicago, claims he knows what is the best pizza around and gives it his own ratings. He is especially particular about the cheese and crust and says, Chicago “deep dish” isn’t pizza at all. A true Chicago pizza has only 3 things. Thin crust, sausage, and cheese. Well, sauce too…but that seems implied. His top Tacoma recommendation for this kind of pizza is “It’s All Greek To Me” on 6th Ave. Having tried it ourselves, we whole-heartedly agree with his assessment: Best in town. Richard said we would be remiss if we were this close to Chicago and did not stop for some pizza. Based on his credentials in Tacoma, we were excited to hear where he directed us for “Best in Chicago”, which would likely qualify for RDM’s “Best in the world (excluding Italy)”. So, I tasked him with the privilege of recommending the one pizza place he would insist on us going to while we were in town. He said we had to go to Marie’s Pizza and Liquors, a pizza joint that you can’t get to you unless you walk through the liquor store. This is particularly funny to me because Richard does not drink. If you would like to see the whole video footage of our time at the pizza place, check it out on our Facebook page. Otherwise, I will sum it up, at the cost of my dear friendship with Richard, in this blog for you.
Crust: thin, flimsy/soggy, burnt on the edge
Cheese: watery and falling off and sort of bland
Sausage: pretty good. Not too greasy or spicy
Sauce: red
Service: great
Atmosphere: what you might imagine for a Chicago pizza place you have to pass through a liquor store to get to.
Richard, you have some ‘splaining to do…
Well, goodbye Chicago. Not our favorite, but people we love love you, so there’s got to be something there. Maybe we just didn’t see it this time around. Next time, maybe we’ll spend some more time and get to know you better. Until then, go Cubs!
Geneva:
The gig was great. Again, the staff loved us and so did the customers. The owner looked like an old mafia boss, but he was kind and only slightly disappointed that we didn’t perform any Johnny Cash. We were asked back, and even given a little extra because we didn’t take our meals (which were included in the pay). Most places don’t do that.
Also, we got a surprise visit from a friend of ours from Tacoma, who now lives out in Wisconsin. She happened to be in the area (about an hour and a half away), and made it all the way out to the show!
