Richard Knapp and Erick Sherman playing a little diddy for YG and myself in Chicago. I was fortunate enough to spend three days with these fine gentlemen when I visited the city.They were spectacular hosts. Lauren and I were treated like royalty.

Once in the city, we drove to a small neighborhood called “Pilsen” which is a predominently Mexican part of Chicago. I’ve been referring to it as ‘lil Mexico’ whenever I try to explain it to people. White people are definitely a minority in this part of Chicago. Spanish is spoken more than english and mariachi music dances in the streets. Finding a parking space in Pilsen was hit or miss depending on the time of day. If you don’t know how to parallel park, you shouldn’t drive in Chicago. Parallel parking is the only type of parking in Chicago. I don’t think we parked any other way the entire time we were there.

When we arrived at Erick and Richard’s place we were greeted with open arms. I remember thinking that the apartment building didn’t look like much from the outside but the inside was sweet. We were tired when we got there so we took a good dose of slack after unpacking our bags. Soon after, our tummies started to rumble with the vibrations of hunger. I suggested we get pizza but was met with glances of confusion. hehe. I thought that pizza was everywhere in Chicago but apparently it’s not. Instead, we opted for some authentic Mexican food. After all, we are smack in the middle of ‘lil Mexico.’ We met up with YG who was going to join us on our dinner outing. MMMmmmm mexican food.

Somehow Lauren and I ended up ordering the same thing. Chicken Fajitas. It was a ridiculous amount of food. One order could have easily fed both of us but for some reason I didn’t hear her order it so I got the same thing. Our table was filled to capacity with plates and tortilla holders. It was ridiculous. YG ordered something that looked like baby poop.

Later that night we went to a place called “Q4″ which was like an art gallery that doubled as an underground music venue. Erick, Richard, and Maggie were playing at an open mic night there. It was $3 to get in OR 3 cans of food. We were carrying a sack of canned foods so that we wouldn’t have to pay as much. I think this is the first time that I’ve paid an admission in canned goods, ha!

Getting in was tricky because Lauren had forgotten her ID and they were checking everyone at the door. Somehow Lauren and I caused a small burst of confusion with our canned goods and were able to get her past the door guys without being hassled for her ID. She was sweating bullets because she didn’t think she was going to get in. We were like ninjas and shit.

Open mic night @ Q4 is an interesting mix of talent and atmosphere. It’s hard to explain. Smoke, Rap, Poetry, Drums, Pianos, Guitars, Hipsters, Gangsters, Dreadlocks, Polo Shirts, Flip Flops, Boots, Murals, Smoke, 40oz, Booty Dancing, Runway Dancing, and etc… It’s a very diverse place. I was diggin it. I filmed a few of the acts but I didn’t have enough battery power to get them all. As the night came to an end we went back to the apartment in Pilsen and played Halo.
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:::Day Two:::
Slept really well. Richard is a badass and let Lauren and I sleep in his bed while he took the couch. Bonus points for being a badass host!

For breakfast we went to ‘The White Palace’ and I instantly fell in love with the place. It was a diner that had been featured on the Food Network. The food was effin’ amazing. I got a Chorizo Omelette and it was phenomenal. Lauren got the french toast which was amazing. Just thinking about this place makes me want to go back again. After we ate, we did a bit of walking around. We walked to the Whole Foods grocery store to check it out because Richard just applied for a job there. The grocery store was 100% badass. Everything you could possibly want PLUS a live band playing in the produce section. WTF!? Only in Chicago I guess.

Lauren and I decided that we should do some tourist shit while we were in Chicago so we went to the Shedd Aquarium. Parking was $18 and tickets were $27 each. The Aquarium was very dissappointing. I was expecting a lot more from an aquarium in Chicago. There were WAY too many people there and it made everything less awesome. The majority of the fish were fresh-water which I found boring. Hell, half of the fish could have been found in pet stores in Muncie. Had we known that it was going to be so lame we probably would have saved our $$ for something better. The most exciting part of the entire Aquarium was when we walked around the outside of the building which overlooked the lake. That part didn’t even cost anything! We walked for a couple of miles and took some pictures. We bought ‘chicago style’ hot dogs and gorged our faces. We weren’t impressed with the tourist side of Chicago. It’s fake and lame. Pilsen was much more fun because it had reality on its side.

After leaving the aquarium we started thinking about what we wanted for dinner. People are always talking about Chicago-Style deep dish pizzas and how they are amazing so we decided to give it a shot. Gino’s is what was recommended to us so we called up Richard for directions. Had we known how much of a hassle this was going to be, we probably would have decided on something else for dinner. Gino’s was located in the middle of downtown Chicago. We just happened to be downtown at 6PM on a Friday. Traffic and madness was everywhere and no parking in sight! I placed our order @ Gino’s but they said it was a 45-minute wait so Lauren and I had to drive around in all the madness of Chicago for 30+ minutes while we waited. Lauren became possessed by the Chicago traffic demons and began driving like a maniac. We eventually got our pizza and made it back to Pilsen. The pizza was a small but costed $25 and weighed close to 10 pounds. I’m not going to lie… It was delicious. However, I don’t know if it’s really worth the price we paid for it.

After pizza, Richard and I made a beer run. We went to a Jewel-Osco store because we were told they had cheap booze. The door alarm sounded when we walked in and again when we left. No one seemed to notice or care. When we got back to the apartment some friends of Richard came over. They were pretty swank and entertaining. We all watched Pootie Tang while getting our drink on. Richard and the ladies went out for food while Lauren and I stayed in. We were beat and didn’t feel like moving.

:::Day Three:::
Woke up and got our breakfast on @ The White Palace. Delicious as usual. Walked to the base of the Sears Tower. We saw some bums sleeping under an overpass as we made our trek. Lauren took a bunch of cool pictures that I’ll put in a future post. We took some videos of the illustrious 12-gauge. Packed up our shit and hit the road.

The drive home was far less pleasant. Rainy and disgusting. We stopped to get gas outside of Chicago so it would be cheaper. Got some Moutain Dew to stay awake. Should have opted for Red Bull because Mountain Dew fucks with my stomach. We made it back home in 3.2 hours.
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That pretty much sums up our trip to Chicago. I’d like to thank Erick and Richard for being such outstanding hosts and showing us a great time. Also, I would like to thank Maggie for letting us smoke her belongings and raid her apartment. Oh, and YG for being the same perverted bastard he was back in Muncie.