Maciej Kasperowicz is one of the most interesting people I know. He makes his money in the coffee game. He’s a DJ. He was single-handedly keeping several movie theater chains afloat pre-pandemic. He’s a passionate sports fan. He is also awaiting trial on The People Versus Pearl Jam, where he’ll argue the popular grunge outfit sucks in front of a jury of his peers. If you missed it, here’s Maciej’s guest column on the movies of 2019. And be sure to give him a follow on Twitter, if that’s your thing.

DBB: You are in the rare group of people whose movie opinions I respect and cherish. So I ask you this. Who is the Alfred Hitchcock in Bears history? (I am providing no further explanation for that question. It’s on you now.)

Maciej: Look, there’s an easy answer to this. An undeniable, legendary talent through multiple phases of a long career, but a fucking asshole in real life? It’s Ditka. But I wanted a more interesting, if less direct answer, so I started thinking of Mike Brown staring into the backfield from the secondary like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, Singletary bearing down on a ball carrier like the airplane in North by Northwest, the 2018 Bears swarming Jared Goff and his receivers like the birds in The Birds, and Hitchcock’s real time experiment in Rope as a metaphor for that half season of Kordell Stewart (that’s admittedly unfair to both Rope, which I like better than Hitchcock did, and Slash, who at least was an incredibly fun video game quarterback, in different ways).

And then Jay Cutler, fresh off his divorce to a woman whose character on The Hills wasn’t that far from a Hitchcock blonde, started making a crime film on his Instagram stories. Granted, with a line like “Thelma there, while she looks nice and sweet, is a savage with loose morals,” Jay seems to be aiming more for early John Huston than Hitchcock. But who knows where his new art may take him.

DBB: First, what do we laymen coffee drinkers not know about the coffee industry that we should? Second, compare the experiences of a perfect cup of coffee to a exhilarating Bears win.

Read More …

Last year I published a listing of my favorite 100 bars (open or closed) in the world. This year I planned to write an amended list, profiling a few from last year that did not get an extended write-up and bringing some new joints into the mix. But it’s been a weird few months, with most of the world’s great bars closed, and I have decided to go in a different direction. 

In lieu of just being on vacation (which I will be), this space will be dedicated to profiling some new spots that didn’t make last year’s list. Spots that will be in desperate need of your patronage should the world find any kind of normal again.

Crabapples – Buffalo, NY

There’s a roadside pizza joint called Macy’s Place in Buffalo. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere but Josh and I had heard enough praise for their pizza and wings to make the journey worth it. When we got there we found out the wait for food would be 45 minutes. So I asked the girl behind the counter if there was a bar nearby. She sent us to Crabapples.

It looks like it’s some guy’s house. The bartenders stink. There was a fat blowhard in the middle of bar pontificating about god knows what. But when we left after a few Blue Lights, we knew instantly we’d be coming back. It’s that kind of bar. It begs to be revisited if only to see if the bartenders are truly that bad and if the blowhard ever shuts his fucking mouth.

Oh, and Macy’s Place. Get the cup and char extra well done and lemon pepper wings. Walk over and eat it at Crabapples.

Last year I published a listing of my favorite 100 bars (open or closed) in the world. This year I planned to write an amended list, profiling a few from last year that did not get an extended write-up and bringing some new joints into the mix. But it’s been a weird few months, with most of the world’s great bars closed, and I have decided to go in a different direction. 

In lieu of just being on vacation (which I will be), this space will be dedicated to profiling some new spots that didn’t make last year’s list. Spots that will be in desperate need of your patronage should the world find any kind of normal again.

CJ’s Tavern – Spring Lake Heights, NJ

Stumbled into this strip mall bar in NJ to watch Bears vs. Lions last fall. Bears won.

Where can you find $1.50 pints anymore?

Who still does 10 cent wings?

How many bars still have packaged goods and smokes for sale? And lotto on the television screens?

Three of us stayed three and a half hours. Our bill was $27.

I bought a tee shirt.

Last year I published a listing of my favorite 100 bars (open or closed) in the world. This year I planned to write an amended list, profiling a few from last year that did not get an extended write-up and bringing some new joints into the mix. But it’s been a weird few months, with most of the world’s great bars closed, and I have decided to go in a different direction. 

In lieu of just being on vacation (which I will be), this space will be dedicated to profiling some new spots that didn’t make last year’s list. Spots that will be in desperate need of your patronage should the world find any kind of normal again.

The Understudy – London, England

The Understudy would have made a significant dent in the DBB100.

The bar is in the structure of the National Theatre in London and thus it’s full of the types of people you might find at a production of As You Like It in the Owen. London’s old, classic pubs often encourage a sort of distancing because most don’t have bar stools. People sit at tables and that social structure almost prohibits interaction with folks you don’t know. Who the fuck is going to walk up to a random table and say hi?

The Understudy does the opposite. It’s a communal space, both inside and out. It encourages interaction. It’s a spot that felt young and alive. And it’s not surprising that it’s the work of the world’s finest cultural institution.

Stay healthy.

Stay safe.

Don’t drink and drive.

Last year I published a listing of my favorite 100 bars (open or closed) in the world. This year I planned to write an amended list, profiling a few from last year that did not get an extended write-up and bringing some new joints into the mix. But it’s been a weird few months, with most of the world’s great bars closed, and I have decided to go in a different direction. 

In lieu of just being on vacation (which I will be), this space will be dedicated to profiling some new spots that didn’t make last year’s list. Spots that will be in desperate need of your patronage should the world find any kind of normal again.

The Gantry – Long Island City, New York

I go to bars. A lot of them.

I also go to the movie theater weekly. I also see a lot of plays and live music and go to art galleries and museums. I choose to live in an expensive city and pay too much money for too little space so I can have access to these things.

Then Covid-19 happened.

A few weeks ago I found out from a friend that The Gantry was allowing people to come in and have a drink. Many joints were letting people drink on their sidewalks but I don’t like drinking near bars, I like drinking in them. I walked a few miles to this place. And sure enough, they were. I’ve been back seven times in three weeks.

Discovering a great bar is often about a singular moment. There’s a guy sitting next to you who’s a VP at Subway corporate and knows everything about cheap ham. Somebody plays Oscar Brown Jr’s Somebody Buy Me a Drink just as the sun sets. The bartender used to be a regular on the soap Guiding Light. (All three of these things happened to me at one bar, the legendary Spring Lounge.)

The Gantry’s greatness revealed itself at a moment in time. It was there when I needed it.

Last year I published a listing of my favorite 100 bars (open or closed) in the world. This year I planned to write an amended list, profiling a few from last year that did not get an extended write-up and bringing some new joints into the mix. But it’s been a weird few months, with most of the world’s great bars closed, and I have decided to go in a different direction. 

In lieu of just being on vacation (which I will be), this space will be dedicated to profiling some new spots that didn’t make last year’s list. Spots that will be in desperate need of your patronage should the world find any kind of normal again.

We start in Chicago.

Pippin’s Tavern – Chicago, Illinois

This is the first place I had a drink in Chicago.

This is the first place I had Malört in Chicago.

This is the place I bring people to give them Malört for the first time, and often watch the liquid dribble from their lips shortly after consumption.

One time I was leaving the Billy Goat and told Rick Pearson I was heading to Pippin’s on the way back to my hotel. He responded, “Why would anyone go to that shit hole?”

Exactly.

When deciding not to sell DBB earlier this year I wrote this:

Not only was I not ready to get rid of DBB, I was more inspired than I ever have been to make it better, to be more engaged, to make it more profitable. The charitable component will never go away but it doesn’t have to be the only financial component.

So I sought out companies that I loved, companies that could become part of the fabric of this site. And being that our readership is, to a large part, outside of Chicago, they needed to be either national companies or Chicago-based, but delivering across the country.

Lou Malnati’s checked every box.

The process took a few months but I’m extremely pleased to announce today that Malnati’s is now DBB’s first corporate partner. And I’m using the word “partner” and not “sponsor” on purpose. This is not gonna be a chuck-up-a-banner-ad-and-send-a-monthly-check relationship. I’m going to write about my many experiences at Lou’s and highlight their Tastes of Chicago line. We’re going to do a bunch of giveaways to readers. Lou’s likes DBB and I am a big fan of theirs. So over time we’re going to evolve this relationship in a way that’s both (a) mutually beneficial and (b) integrated in a way that never disrupts getting our content to you, the reader, in a simple and seamless way.

Read More …

Allen Robinson

Why isn’t he extended?

Look to the virus.

Chicago Sun-Times

What happened to this paper?

Lieser ain’t no Jahns.

How are QBs judged

if there is no preseason?

Who wins by default?

Anybody writing good stuff out there? Well certainly!

• If you’re not a subscriber to the Hoge & Jahns podcast there’s very little I can do for you at this point. It’s the only Bears podcast that doesn’t stink on ice. Also, it’s very good, even if it’s stupidly named. (You’re both called Adam! Roll with it! Adam-2-Adam or AdamsBomb or something!) Their interview with safeties coach Sean Desai is relevant and resonant.
• Dan Kaplan for The Athletic is reporting the NFL is set to allow individual NFL franchises set their own capacities for home games. I’ll repeat what I wrote Monday: I don’t see a scenario where there are fans in NFL stadiums come September. But who knows? Things change with this virus weekly.
• This is a two Bears for one story! HaHa Clinton-Dix used to be a bear. Then he wasn’t a bear. So what happened? THE BEARS ATTACKED!
• ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson with a depressing look at poor QB play in Chicago during the Super Bowl era: “According to ESPN.com’s own Quarterback Index, the Bears rank last in the Super Bowl era in terms of QB production (48.3 out of a 100 point scale). During that time, the Bears have started a total of 50 quarterbacks, per ESPN Stats & Information research, the most of any NFL team in that span.”
• Tarik Cohen is coming off his worst season. He’s entering a contract year. And the NFL is facing financial uncertainty for the foreseeable future. JJ Stankevitz breaks down the situation for NBC Sports Chicago.