Da Bears and Eleven City Diner

A true football fan knows how to prep their spirit with adrenaline and stomach with hearty eats. This much was evident with Ally and me as we were fortunate enough to have her father pass along two tickets at Soldier Field in the 10^th row of the 300 level (north end zone) to see the Chicago Bears take on the Washington Redskins in a preseason battle. Anyone who knows me will recall how I was tuned in to this season for the Bears since the heartbreak of losing a promising season with the injuries of Jay Cutler and Matt Forte. Trading up for a number one wide out in Brandon Marshall was a huge step, along with other puzzle pieces players like Eric Weems. The NFL draft was an occasion that I studied for weeks prior to the April 26^th announcements done at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Ally was kind enough to record the entire draft as I had a night class that ran until 9:45. Hands balled up in my lap, my eyes not blinking, I and countless other Bears fans waited to hear “in the 19^th pick of the 1^st round the Chicago Bears pick Shea McClellin, Defensive End, Boise State.” Our first reaction was “Who?”

Patience is needed for greatness and Chicago fans of any sport have waited far too long. These players would make their mark straight away, gradually build talent or fail to keep up with the literal big boys. The same goes for basketball and baseball seeing as these are epitomes of capitalistic sports, there are winners and there are losers, with much more of the latter. I knew I would annoy Ally, as I did, with pointing out the players from Julius Peppers, to McClellin, to 2^nd round draftee Wide Receiver Alshon Jeffery. My mind had to be in the right place in order to enjoy the whole experience. I did that by arriving downtown early and sitting down at the lunch counter of Eleven City Diner at 1112 South Wabash. 

The south loop has changed in significant ways since I left my undergraduate alma matter Columbia College in 2003. In nine years abandoned buildings have been retrofitted, skyscrapers holding luxury condos have risen, but most to my annoyance there are Caribou coffee houses and dozens of new restaurants that never existed in my days at Columbia. At a month shy of thirty-one, I have become that old man, shaking a fist at the hipsters and art students of Columbia by declaring, “You don’t know how good you have it!” 

A smart addition to the south loop, just south of the 1104 south Wabash film building for Columbia College (a building constructed in 1891 by father of skyscrapers William LeBarron Jenny) and a half block north of Roosevelt Road is the NYC Jewish delicatessen inspired Eleven City Diner. Friends of mine have been quite taken with their lunch counter style atmosphere, hearty deli sandwiches,  and the option of breakfast all day which far too many places fail to pull off once noon rolls by. Ally ordered the corned beef and pastrami hash with scrambled eggs. The trimmings of salted meats were pressed into a potato pancake style and served with a layer of eggs on top and out of the world good mandolin sliced potato hash. Feeling in a lunch state of mind, I devoured their “Springer” served on rye bread with piled trimmings of corned beef and pastrami, topped off with Swiss cheese and thousand-island dressing. No bite of the sandwich is complete without a line of Gludens spicy brown mustard. Bears fans alike were enjoying the pre-game chow down throughout Eleven City Diner as should you if you find yourself in the south loop. 

Since Soldier Field underwent much needed major renovations to update the lake shore stadium in 2003 fans have been split with embracing the “Stadium in a Park” or casting a suspicious eye and wondering why an oval, stainless steel space ship has landed in the old Soldier Field. Though in some departments there could be improvements, the overpriced food being one of them, the ambiance of the original neo-classical double-wide columns and the breathtaking views of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan are what make the stadium. Many argue most stadium food is overpriced, as they should, but I find it a brutal reality when the minimum beer price is $9 dollars that if Ally and I didn’t obtain these tickets as a gift, there is no way an average, lower middle class American such as us could enjoy their beloved Chicago Bears. 

Jumbotrons fired up the crowd with nostalgic images of the iconic club as the Bears players took to the field, a roar each time for our superstars in Devin Hester, Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall and Jay Cutler. Taking possession first on the successful coin toss, the Bears wasted no time as QB Cutler through a 41 yard pass to old friend and teammate from Denver Brandon Marshall. On that play drive, as well as the next, the Bears capitalized a down-field push for good yardage with great catches from rookie Alshon Jeffery, Hester, Marshall and pounding runs into the end zone from our top notch number-two running back Michael Bush. Leaning forward I made sure to watch the stoppage power of our defense in DE legend Julius Peppers, the brilliant sack and tackle performance of Israel Idonije, and top draft pick Shea McClellin. I even scouted out the Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, the second pick in the first round, a Heisman Trophy winner and already an advertising presence in the mass market of athletic shoes. All fans of orange and blue, as well as the collection of Redskins fans held their breath for injured players on both sides with Skins Brian Orakpo and Bears players Chris Conte and rookie safety Brandon Hardin whose neck compressed with a bad, head first tackle into the gut of a Redskins tight end. Even in preseason it’s not hard to see why the players want to make as much money as they can in this blood sport.

We had left the stadium with thousands of others, thinking the Bears 3^rd string defense could hold the Redskins. Far too much faith in the team that has since my childhood kept me on the edge of my seat resulted in the Bears blowing their decent lead of 27-17 to be losing in the final minutes of the fourth quarter 31-30. 4^th string quarterback Matt Blanchard (a Lake County Illinois native) led a drive for the Bears in the final two minutes down to deep field goal territory. Nothing-but-consistent kicker Robbie Gold smashed his previous distance record with a 57 yard field goal to seal the game 33-31.  

Walking back to our car on 600 south Wabash hand-in-hand, Ally and I admired the lit up architecture of this beautiful city. Fireworks exploding over Navy Pier and DuSable Harbor sealed the night as we smiled at the Blue Cross building at the north edge of Millennium Park, the windows spelling out ‘GO BEARS!”

 http://www.elevencitydiner.com/