Cars to Cows

I saw these cows grazing in a strip of mechanic shops on Western Ave. at Ardmore. They are no doubt a bit of road flair meant to draw customers to Max's Italian Beef, an old school Chicago beef joint. I love the creative reuse of oil barrels and complete cow essence that comes through despite holes, rust, and a perch on old washtubs. These are amazing and definitely worth checking out! Also, the cows are just a hop skip to Devon St. where you can get some great Indian food if you're not into beef.

As long as you're up in Roger's Park, you might as well make a day of it and continue the tour of outlandish restaurant art. So head east on Devon to SuperDawg drive-in at the corner of Milwaukee and Devon. The drive-in is topped by giant plaster statues of a male and female hot dog, presumably Mr. and Mrs. Superdawg, and real Chicago icons. They have a sort of Fred Flinstone-if-he-was-a-hot-dog look that is more than worth a visit. Plus, people love the 50's style drive through, massive shakes, and of course, the superdawgs. So much weird art, so little time...

Intuit and Henry Darger: Grandaddy of Weird

It wouldn't be fair to start with anyone else but Henry Darger, the big kahuna of the bizarre and Chicago native. He was a reclusive man, fiercely religious who led a humdrum life as a workaday custodian. At night, he wrote and drew absolute tomes of work, one giant story, with four main characters: The Vivian Girls, now forever crystallized in popular culture as a hit indie band. Blah. Anyways, Darger wrote and illustrated crazy adventures from their lives, running away from soldiers and frolicking amongst naked girls with penises. A recreation of his room is free for viewing and open to the public at Intuit: The Center for Outsider and Intuitive Art on Milwaukee Ave., south of Chicago. http://art.org/ They also have a cool exhibit with some crazy folk art needlepoints from the 70's (think satin pools and embroidered bikinis) through the end of the month. Check it out!

Also, stop by the sliver of a bar, the Matchbox, just north of Intuit on Milwaukee, after your visit. It's not called the Matchbox for nothing, it's just a bar and a foot of room behind it, but the gimlets are amazing! House infused gin or vodka, sugar-rimmed, highly alcoholic, and far too delicious. The bartenders give you everything in the shaker, so watch out! However, there are no menus, so you have to ask for the house specials. They also have a fine beer selection and a strange mix of folks. A perfect cap to a Darger viewing.