It started as a rhetorical question.

I asked my friend, “Would you want a vaccine to become available before the election if it meant Donald Trump would remain president for four more years?”
Her response surprised me. “He’s going to lie about a vaccine in October to try and save his job.”
This really didn’t answer my question, but it got me thinking.

I admit this never crossed my mind. Not even once. I also admit that I can’t believe I was so naive to think that doing this would be beneath him.

Let’s take a look at his history. As POTUS, he’s already tried to get China and the Ukraine involved in rigging the upcoming election. Fact checkers have him with over twenty-thousand lies since he became President. Before becoming the nation’s leader, his entire life was a lie. Trump University, Trump Airlines, Trump Steaks, lying and cheating on all three wives, his history of never paying contractors for work done, taking money from a children’s cancer charity and on and on and on. Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie……

I haven’t even started on how he’s lied about his administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Only a few cases that will be gone shortly, hydroxychloroquine, it’ll disappear during the heat of the summer, BLEACH and on and on and on. Lie, lie, lie, lie….

C’mon…if the dude is going to lie about throwing out a first pitch at a baseball game, imagine what he’ll do when the election is at stake.

Moderna is now in phase three of their clinical trials for a vaccine. The nation’s best medical minds say the earliest part of 2021…and that’s pushing it. And naturally, even though he had absolutely nothing to do with this, Trump and all of his flunkies will be taking all the credit.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the hard work of American scientists, the investigational vaccine developed by NIH and Moderna has reached this Phase 3 trial at record pace.” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

If it really does happen by the end of the year, that would be great for everyone, but maybe not for Donald Trump. For him it has to occur sooner. From the end of December to October is a small stretch. What’s a few months if it means a few million votes? What’s a few months when it gets him another opportunity to spend four more years as a grifter of the American people? What’s another lie among the thousands of previous lies?

His newest revelation lie is only two months away. The Trump vaccine that will save millions of lives is right around the corner. I hear the main ingredient in the vaccine is bleach.

Related Post: Dr. Anthony Fauci throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game is going to piss off Donald Trump

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Abyssinian Guinea Pig brothers Noah and Mason are two-year-old sweet handleable boys looking for a loving guardian.

These boys lived with a family who felt they didn’t have time for them anymore so they relinquished them to Friends of Petraits Rescue.

These nice boys get along with each other nicely, and let me trim their nails. They make adorable whistles, squeals, chirps, squeaks and purring noises-especially when they hear their food coming.

Guinea pigs eat a diet of unlimited Timothy and Orchard hays, limited pellets, and fresh vegetables including romaine, red leaf and green leaf lettuces, cilantro, etc. Guinea pigs, like humans, can’t manufacture their own vitamin C, so they need to supplement with red pepper or other vitamin C rich foods.

Please read up on guinea pig care and diet before adopting by visiting this excellent web site http://www.guinealynx.info/.

They would love a home with people who will handle them daily, keep them well fed, and keep their habitat nice and clean.

If you’re interested in possibly adopting Noah and Mason, please contact [email protected] for an adoption application.

They are being fostered in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.

Their adoption fee of $70 as a pair benefits the Friends of Petraits Rescue. For an additional $100, we’ll include absolutely everything you need to care for them including a huge cage, pellets, hay, litter, hidey huts and water bottles.

And, yes … Friends of Petraits is handling masked, minimum contact, socially distant adoptions during the pandemic.

Greg Hinz  at Crain’s reports:

When I was 17-years-old, we had a new “authentic” Mexican restaurant open its doors. It took my hometown by storm, quickly establishing itself as the third pitcher in my family’s after-church rotation (trailing Arby’s and Fazoli’s). I remember going there for the first time and seeing all of these new menu items. What’s this chimichanga thing? Flautas? Excuse me, waiter, I think this section’s written in Spanish?

I didn’t find out until a semester in New York City that Midwest Mexican food, even the authentic variety, usually meant Tex Mex. And with Tex Mex, the focus is on ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes. Served in either a hard shell or flour tortilla. Compare that to the tacos I tried at this taqueria in Manhattan, these were carnitas, carne asada, barbacoa. Corn tortillas. Onions and cilantro on top. I remember making faces like Phil Rosenthal on Somebody Feed Phil. “These are incredible!” The owner and her daughter smiled at me but also had that look of, “He’s gonna ask if we have some Old El Paso hard shells, isn’t he?”

When I came back to the Midwest, I became the worst kind of Mexican food evangelist. Just a tall white guy on a cilantro ego trip. I don’t know if there’s a snootier way to start a sentence than, “When I was at this taqueria in Manhattan.” Regardless, I was on a mission to find the good stuff right here in the Midwest. And Yelp made it possible. I found a great spot called Margarita’s in Holland, Michigan. Discovered Elvira’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant in Sanford, right by my hometown. Turns out authentic Mexican food was always close to home, you just had to know where to look.

But it wasn’t until I did this same Yelp search right here in Lakeview East when I discovered there’s a whole other level of authentic Mexican Food. This search took me a few blocks north on Broadway to a classy little hole in the wall called Chilam Balam.

Soraya Rendon: From Mexico City to Chicago 

When Soraya Rendon was 17-years-old living in Mexico City, she’d already developed a long-distance love for Chicago. She’d seen shows about Al Capone and pictures of the Sears Tower. She knew this was where she wanted to live.

So she packed her bags and – with a couple hundred dollars to her name – traveled 2,000 miles north to the Windy City. She came by herself and only spoke Spanish. She landed a few minimum-wage jobs first before landing a job working in the Sears Tower. It wasn’t the dream job in the sense of reaching her ultimate goal, but it was this moment of experiencing a taste of the American dream. She was working in the tallest building in Chicago, one that used to just be a photograph.

The song “Non-Stop” from Hamilton could’ve just as easily been written about Soraya. She kept grinding, always working. Always learning. About five years after arriving here, Soraya landed a job as an executive loan officer in the mortgage business.

But that wasn’t the ultimate dream either. She had her sites on 3023 North Broadway. A little garden-level restaurant space in Lakeview East.

Building a Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurant from Scratch

Soraya faced adversity right away opening Chilam Balam at the same time as the 2008 recession. To make it work, she kept working her day job as a loan officer (which also took a hit during this time) to pay the bills.

Soraya has continued to work both jobs and I think she might be the only restaurant owner in Chicago who has one 5-star review that reads like this:

“It is always a great pleasure to work with Ms. Soraya Rendon. I have known Ms. Rendon for over a decade and we have done business together since the start of her mortgage career. Besides being a joy to work with, the efficiency and reliability Soraya provides is always beyond my expectations.”

And this:

“Wow! This has hands down been the best meal I’ve eaten in Chicago! I love tapas restaurants to begin with and this place has some of the best. I went with a friend and we shared 5 tapas- some staple items and some seasonal (which change monthly). We tried the ceviche, memelas, duck carnitas tamal, chicken flautas, and the pork ribs. Everything was truly excellent and so flavorful. My favorite dishes were the memelas (regular menu item) and the duck tamal (seasonal). They were both on another level from a flavor perspective! Absolutely delicious! We also shared the chocolate mousse and the pecan coconut pie for dessert, both of which were also fantastic… We left totally full and extremely satisfied! Think I’ve found my new fave place!”

The food and dining experience has earned Chilam Balam a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand rating. This coveted award is given to restaurants that serve high-quality food at a reasonable price. Chilam Balam is one of only 54 places in Chicago to receive this honor in 2020.

A Chef from the Midwest

Helping to create the food is Chef Natalie Oswald. Natalie started out baking as a child with her mother and grandmother. Growing up in Toledo, Ohio she decorated cakes at local bakeries and her mother’s kitchen. Friends and neighbors would always stop by to try her food or just watch her create. Already a knowledgeable baker, Oswald decided to pursue a culinary degree at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. She was first introduced to Chicago during her externship at Frontera Grill and Topolobampo. It was here that Natalie really grasped the concepts of traditional Mexican cuisine and the use of local ingredients. When she was young, her mom taught her the basics of gardening but until Frontera, she never really understood the impact of natural organic farming.

Upon graduation from culinary school, Natalie started a pastry chef position in the west loop at Otom restaurant. Here she refined her skills and worked her way up in the Chicago restaurant culture. Three years later, she was asked to help with the pastries at the newly opening Chilam Balam. Given her background in Mexican cuisine, the job soon escalated to a full-time Sous Chef and then Executive Chef position. It is very important to Natalie that her menu continues to showcase local, seasonal ingredients, and ideas.

Natalie and Soraya change up the menu 3x a week so no two trips to Chilam Balam are ever the same.

“Chilam Balam is authentic Mexican food,” Soraya said, describing her restaurant. “Not Tex Mex. This is what you’d have at a nice dinner in Mexico.”

Having what it takes to run a restaurant right now

For anyone interested in opening a restaurant, Soraya’s advice is simple and it’s truer now than ever.

“You have to be ready to work, it’s non-stop.”

Soraya’s brother moved up here as well and helps out as the manager. Her mom has been able to visit around five times since Soraya’s been up here and Soraya goes back to Mexico City every now and then to be with family and find new inspiration for the menu.

For any restaurant that went through the 2008 recession, the owners are all in agreement that the 2020 pandemic has posed a much larger threat to keeping the doors open. For Soraya, she had to layoff her staff, everyone except herself, her brother, and Natalie. The three of them aren’t taking a salary right now. The money that comes in pays for food and bills. Soraya relies on her second job as a loan officer to keep things going.

In so many ways, the transition hasn’t been easy. Just the process of switching to delivery wasn’t an easy one to make for a traditional dine-in restaurant.

“Our food doesn’t really work well as takeout, but we adjusted,” Soraya said. “We made delivery work.”

Chilam Balam has also been participating in the Lakeview East “Dine out on Broadway” series, part of the bigger “Make Way for Dining” initiative launched by Mayor Lightfoot. On these select weekends, Broadway is closed off from Belmont to Surf, and the restaurants like Black & Caspian, Stella’s Diner, and Chilam Balam set up tables on the street. The next time to experience this will be August 7-9 and September 11-13.

When dine-in is available, Soraya stresses the importance of guests keeping their reservations since she can’t seat a full capacity.

“Be patient with us and stick to your reservations,” Soraya said. “If you can’t make it, please cancel ahead of time.”

And despite not taking a salary right now, not being able to fill the restaurant, and not knowing when all of this will end, Soraya keeps grinding.

“We didn’t make the rules, but we’re running by them,” Soraya said.

The road to keeping a restaurant open right now is extremely challenging, but something tells me the person who left Mexico City at 17/18-years-old with a couple hundred dollars to her name and a few pictures of Chicago in her mind is the exact person that has what it takes right now. She’ll keep working and her restaurant will keep serving the Lakeview East neighborhood.

Non-stop.

You can support Chilam Balam by making a dine-in reservation, ordering delivery/takeout, or reaching out via email to setup a giftcard. 

Over the last several months, I’ve been using the Medium Rare blog with a different format, featuring local restaurants around Chicago and the Chicagoland area. These also, from time to time, drift into a little bit of philosophy and stories from my own life. To catch up on some of the posts and read about other great local spots, here they are below:

The Local Baker: Douglas Callegario’s Nourish Foods

Taste of New York Bagels & Deli

• The Wonder of Saying Yes and Letting Go (Part 1)
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Tango Sur

• Chicago, Argentina (Part 1)
• Chicago, Argentina (Kierkegaard intermission)
• Chicago, Argentina (Part 2: The Family Behind Tango Sur)
• Chicago, Argentina (Kierkegaard Finale)

Black & Caspian

• Black & Caspian – Part 1
• Black & Caspian – Part 2

To subscribe to Medium Rare via email, just enter your email address in the box below. See you next week!

One of my favorite entries in William Safire’s Sustaining Book, “On Language,”  is the entry about pet peeves. He presents a list of readers’ least favorite words and follows with his own surprising one. Here are my favorite parts:

— “The pet peeve of Helen Landrim of Whiting, N.J., is the disappearing ‘ing’ sound. ‘Whatever has happened to “ing,” as in “going” or “wanting”?’ she asks ‘These words have been almost invariably “gonna” and “wanna.” She’s right” (Safire continues), “and if were gonna make a big deal out of the vanishing ‘g,’ I wanna put in my objection to the ominous ‘Ommina’ (for ‘I’m going to’) and its New York variant “Ongana.”  (The book is 40 years old, and I think the vanishin’ is almost finished.)

— “The Unicorn Hunters, a group of linguists at Lake Superior State College in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., are reported to take umbrage (good word, umbrage — from ‘shady’) at the term ‘self-addressed’ — ‘We banned “self-addressed” some time ago, asserts Professor W.T. Rabe, ‘because that implies that the envelope wrote an address on itself.'”

Safire ends the list this way:

— “My own pet peeve is the phrase ‘pet peeve.’ Doesn’t anybody have any other kind of peeve? Alliteration is dandy — as the perpetrator of ‘nattering nabobs of negativism,’ I cannot denigrate alliterators — but can’t we try ‘favorite fury’ or ‘preferred provocation’?

“One of these days, ongana get a dog and name him ‘Peeve,’ so I can introduce him to friends in the ecstasy of exasperation with ‘This is my pet, Peeve.” (There’s no word on whether Safire followed through on this idea.)

I’m going to alternate favorite fury and ecstasy of exasperation for a while and see which feels better.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook.

Save me from an ecstasy of exasperation — subscribe today! Type your e-mail address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam-free, and you can opt out at any time.

When I got an email from SiriusXM saying there was a new Beastie Boys station coming, I was not expecting it to be this life-changing. But, I feel like I’m missing valuable information, every time I’m not in the car or on the app.

For instance, I can’t change the station in the car, it’s that good. There are interviews, remixes, and live cuts that you don’t want to miss. Then, when exiting the car, and heading into the house, I have to continue my listening experience on the app. It’s like the Howard Stern show, you don’t want to miss anything.

There are all of these songs that you’ve forgotten about, and songs that you haven’t heard. It’s addicting, and the tidbits in between will have you coming back.

Here’s another example, I completely forgot this song “Alive” existed until I heard it on the station. I had to Shazam the track to see what record it was on. In turn, this helps Spotify sharpen my algorithms and playlists when I find and like the song, which is another great benefit of this amazing station.

“Get hip, get hip. Don’t slip you knuckleheads.”

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Here’s the lead paragraph of a story in the Los Angeles Times:

PORTLAND, Ore. — The nightly standoffs in downtown Portland between protesters and federal agents continued early Sunday, with several dozen agents in camouflage deploying tear gas and other munitions as they waded into the streets beyond the federal courthouse to push back demonstrators who authorities said had breached a fence. [Emphasis added.]

Do these stormers look like protestors? Are they standing innocently, or attacking?

The Los Angeles Times isn’t alone in this propaganda-qua-reporting. It’s showing up all the time. But the media aren’t willing to recognize that even the rioters themselves have eschewed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s strategy of non-violent protest. They say non-violence is ineffective–another glaring sign that they don’t know history. The non-violent civil rights movement accomplished one of the nation’s greatest reforms and cultural change.

What will the rioters’ violence achieve? The re-election of Donald Trump.