Chicago

[jeffyork]

....any suggestions on what to do? Any jams or shops I should visit? Of course, I'll be bringing my mando.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Patrick Sylvest]

Gino's Pizza...comedy at the Improv olympic

[mandogerry]

The Different Strummer on North Lincoln Ave. is a really great music shop operated through the Old Town School of Folk Music. I recently bought my Big Muddy M-4 at the Strummer (via phone and e-mail) with the help of Tony, and they have other mandos in stock, so don't take your wallet.... They also host concerts and carry some nice CD collections of local performers.

And with this info, my mandos and I have ceased lurking on the board. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Jason Holmes]

The Old Town School is definitely a cool place and worth a stop by itself, the Different Strummer store is inside.

Also, down the block from the Old Town School is Costello's Sandwiches, that hosts a jam session on the first and third Sunday every month, from 3:30 PM until it ends. The next one would be November 4th I believe. It's very welcoming, I've met some very nice folks there, and Howard the fellow who hosts it is a super nice guy.

You could also check out the Northern IL Bluegrass Assn. website (www.nibaweb.org I think), as they have a calendar listing of area jam sessions going on at any given time.

And definitely a stuffed or deep dish pizza would round out a trip to Chicago. I like Lou Malnati's, Giordano's, Pizzeria Uno and/or Due, Gino's East, they're all excellent really. I believe that Monday's are still half-price nights at Giordano's. One thing I love about Chicago is all the great food of all different sorts.

[poymando]

Check out this site and the "links" section:
http://www.chicagobluegrass.com/

[Fred Keller]

Set up a lesson with Don Stiernberg. Last I recall he was in the Skokie phone book (as well as on the Cafe from time to time). 2-3 years ago he was amenable to drop-in lessons; probably still is.