Posts by Alan Carter

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Bistro 1 West a welcome addition to St. Charles dining scene West Suburbs Bistro 1 West has been open since mid-December, but had it's grand opening kick off a couple of days ago. It's located at 1 West Illinois St., St.
SOFA 2010, the premiere fine craft exhibition of the year Magnificent Mile/Streeterville This year's edition of SOFA (Sculpture, Object, and Functional Art) was a bit smaller than last year
Art Chicago, 2010- You have to go. Whew!!! Oh, man. Wha??
Chicago Boat, RV, and Outdoor show Chicago My wife, the lovely and usually level-headed Penny, has proposed that it would be the bee's knees to have an RV to putter around the country in when we put ourselves out to pasture in a few years.
Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival- a blue chip feast Logan Square I WENT TO THE CHICAGO BLUEGRASS AND BLUES FESTIVAL SATURDAY AND DUDE IT WAS AWWWSSSOOOMMMEE!!!
City Gate Grille- a little sizzle in the 'burbs West Suburbs City Gate Grille is the latest dining option to open in the western fringes of Naperville. The restaurant is located in CityGate Center, a mixed use development just north of the IL.
SOFA Chicago- See this show! Near North
Chicago Gourmet- a celebration of food and wine If anyone ever needed proof that Chicago is one of the world's
Onesti Dinner Club- a Chazzy night in the burbs Chazz Palminteri dropped by the Onesti Dinner Club in west suburban St. Charles tonight to help kick off their updated menu and bring some publicity to the upscale restaurant. Mr. Palminteri, fresh off a 2 week Chicago run of his one-man show "A Bronx Tale", and a friend of owner Ron Onesti, seemed a bit subdued during his brief appearance, undoubtedly due to the rigors of live performance, but it didn't really matter because the joint was jumpin'.
A foray into 4 stars in the ‘burbs Sometimes you just want to be pampered, and a new luxury boutique hotel in the western suburbs is doing its best to spoil you rotten. The Hotel Arista, which opened in September, offers high end accommodations and dining in the land of strip malls and big box retailers.
Chicago Sinfonietta MLK concert As I watched the inauguration of President Barak Obama, a thought came to mind regarding the previous night's Chicago Sinfonietta annual Martin Luther King concert.
One of a Kind show at Merchandise Mart By Alan Carter This last weekend, Dec. 4-7, the Merchandise Mart in Chicago hosted the annual One-of-a-Kind show. 500 artists jammed onto the 8th floor plus another 50 on the 7th made for an exhausting and occasionally frustrating excursion in holiday shopping.
No couch potatoes for this SOFA by Alan Carter This was quite a week for Chicago. On Tuesday, the city hosted the celebratory rally for President-elect Barak Obama. This weekend one of the world's premiere art events was held at Navy Pier. SOFA is the acronym for the rather awkwardly named Sculpure, Obect, and Functional Art Exhibit, now in its 15th year in Chicago.
Barrington Concours d'Elegance car show at Arlington Park By Alan Carter Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights was home to a different kind of horsepower this weekend as it hosted the 2nd annual Barrington Concours d'Elegance, a showcase for classic antique cars and motorcycles. This was a car show the same way Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew was just another race horse. A truly remarkable collection of 100 vintage autos and bikes was on dislplay, proudly reflecting decades of creative design and technology.
Ravinia- where’s the CSO? Ravinia. That wondrous music park in Highland Park just north of Chicago. It's very name evokes an almost fairy tail setting. For decades it's been the summer home of the magnificent Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Where else could you sit under the stars, drink in hand and hear the powerful CSO thunder through Mahler or delicately lace its way through Mozart? At 10 bucks a pop for lawn seating, it's a true bargain and a perfect way to spend a summer evening. You could even buy a 10 ticket pass, called Classical Grass, and hear them for even less.
Bicycles part 2- an epiphany of sorts I've been riding my bike for around 7 weeks now, pedaling around 20 to 25 miles a day, weather permitting, except for weekends. I have to stock up on nachos and beer sometime, after all. I've gotten pretty comfortable with it and haven't had any major problems. One minor spill, but that was just to satisfy the guy at the bike store who told me there are 2 kinds of riders- those that have fallen and those that will. I guess now I'm part of that fraternity.
Alan Carter Studio West Suburbs
Art fair do's and don'ts Now that the art fair season is in full bloom, it’s time to talk about how to get the most out of them. I speak from some experience. For more than 20 years I exhibited my paintings at
Straight talk about Gay restaurants Our daughter lives in an area of Chicago called Lakeview, one of the many "official" neighborhoods of the city. It's a vibrant place, from Lake Michigan beaches and harbors to historic brownstones and shopping districts. It's also the epicenter of the gay population in Chicago.
Jeff Koons- the emperor's new clothes The Museum of Contemporary
Bicycles- my new frontier I bought a bicycle last week. I was starting (starting?) to chunk out a little and felt I needed to do something about it. I had been thinking about it for some time, slowly convincing myself to buy into the whole get-out-of-the-house-exercise-go-green-won't-this-be-fun mindset. I'm fairly gullible this way and can talk myself into all kinds of trouble. Still, this seemed like a good idea so I forged ahead and started looking.
Don't let the big bugs bite The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL is hosting an exhibition of giant bug sculptures by artist David Rogers. The dozen insects are made of several different woods and have a realistic but non-threatening look about them that kids especially will like. And they are big. A spider web 12 feet tall and a 1,200 pound praying mantis are just 2 examples of the scale of the creatures.
Cougars and thoroughbreds- what's the difference Last week, the runner up in the Kentucky Derby, a filly named Eight Belles had to be euthanized after breaking both front legs following her second place finish. Several days before, a wild cougar found roaming the streets of Chicago was shot and killed by the police. One would think the public outcry over both events would be equally strong, but such was not the case.
Artropolis Art Fair review Writing about a weekend art show is a little like talking about yesterday's great sunset- by the time you read about it, it's past and you can't see what it was really like.
Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper at the Art Institute The current show at the Art Institute in Chicago is a study in contrasts. Winslow Homer was of the Victorian era, active in the late 1800’s and early 1900s. Edward Hopper worked from the early 1900’s until the late 50’s.