Excerpts: Introduction

So here's my scoop. I work for the City of Chicago—as an electrician to be exact. You might have seen me out on the road before, or at least one of my co-workers. We drive around the city all day in those dark blue and baby blue vans and trucks with the words City of Chicago, Department of Streets and Sanitation notched alongside the doors. If you haven't seen us on the road, perhaps you've seen one of us parked in an alley during break with a newspaper stuffed in front of our face. Streets and San workers like to read newspapers. It helps move the day along.

Now, sure, we get our work done every day, and we also stay up on current events with all the newspaper reading we do, but ask any Streets and San guy what he truly enjoys most; go ahead and ask him what he looks forward to every day, and the answer will be—lunch. That's right—lunch. Any reasonably intelligent Streets and San guy—and some say those can be far and few between—will map out his day according to where he wants to eat lunch.

Now, let's make one very important thing clear from the get-go. I've been driving these city streets for many a year now, and as such, I know where some of the best food joints in the City of Chicago are. No, I'm not talking about those expensive, high-falootin' places. Not at all. Any clown with a paisley tie wrapped around his throat can show you those. When Streets and San workers head to lunch, we don't go to many white tablecloth joints. Sure, you'll find a few of those in here, but if that's what you're looking exclusively for, then your nose is in the wrong book. See, essentially, Streets and San guys are bargain hunters, and we're not real big on fighting off high cholesterol, either. In the following pages, you will find some of our favorite eating spots, places where you will not only get a good bite to eat at a good price, but places where you can also taste some of the culture that our neighborhoods have to offer at the very same time. Enjoy and eat big.

**A note about the structure and organization of the eateries in this book: there is none. I'm a firm believer in letting the potato chips fall where they may. If you're looking for a place to eat in a specific area of the City, check out the Location Guide in the Index (pp. 116-117).

Ratings:
Every lunch spot in this book has received one of the following ratings:

**** .......... Excellent
***1/2 .......... Very Good
*** .......... Good

If a place puts out grub that falls below three stars, then you won't find it in this book. Being a true blue Streets and San man, I only recommend eateries that match my work habits. Get the picture?

Prices:
Every meal in this book can be had for less than $10 (except for the few that are noted); most can be had for under $7.50; and some for under $5. That way you'll have plenty of leftover cash for your kids' college fund or to get your wife some new lingerie for your anniversary. Ah yes, there's almost nothing that can match the sight of a lovely lady waiting on a bed dressed in the lingerie you just bought for her, unless, of course, it's a lovely, hot meal or sandwich from one of the eateries in this here book.