Top Ten Lists
Lists of value judgments are always a favorite, and this time of year provides plenty of them. My own Top Ten List won’t be published until tomorrow, but it will be my Top Ten Obsessions of 2010. It will be like today’s list but exponentially more awesome. Until then, here are my favorite lists of the recent past:
GQ's Top Ten New Restaurants in America – I love GQ’s food writing as well as anyone’s, and I take their word on almost anything. I knew before reading this list that Longman & Eagle would be on it, but still managed some giddiness when I saw it spelled out. L&E is the Logan Square bar that no one will stop talking about, which opened earlier this year 2 ½ blocks from my old apartment. The whiskey list is pretty intimidating, and frankly most of the food intimidates me just the same, but I’m still a groupie. It’s also the home of the urban lumberjack - all the guys who work there wear plaid and have beards. You’ll think you’re being served by the Brawny man. Quintessential Logan Square.
XRT's Top Ten Live Performances of 2010– One of the best radio stations in the country does a phenomenal job of promoting live music and getting the best performances from the most talented acts around. And they hold on to it - their live archives have recordings from the birth of the station, including performances from the Grateful Dead. This year’s list of their favorite performances includes a great set by Mumford and Sons, a feel-good number by Peoria band Back Yard Tire Fire (whom I’ve really come to love) and some videos of Everest that look like Guitar Heaven. There are some notable performances from this year that seem to be missing, but these videos are all pretty great. I even like Chelsea Dagger again…
This Video by Volkswagen/The Fun Theory
There’s no way to watch this and not think back ruefully at all the times you emerged from a subway tunnel on boring old concrete stairs. I want.
Addendum: This is awesome.
Just found this What's Your State Good At list (with fun pictures!) and had to add it. I've known about Arkansas' rice production, but seeing Illinois represented by a gun sure does make me proud. I love the neutrality here - if you're lucky enough to be in Vermont, you're the smartest in the nation! If you live in Nevada, congrats on all the teen pregnancies and meth use. Rhode Island is clearly the best place to party, but Oregon is the most bi-curious. So if that's your kind of party... I just feel sad for the states who rank number 1 in potential. Snooze. What fun is being the hottest if you're not getting any?
Right across from the Regal a new gastropub opened called Owen and Engine that everyone is now freaking out about.
ReplyDeleteWe've got some serious food cred for being a totally crappy part of the city.