Plan: 2008 Heartland Gathering in Chicago Aug 8-10

[LuckyGirl]

May I make a suggestion?

Chicago is home to Intelligentsia Coffee. They roast what I consider to be one of the best espresso blends ever in addition to many other mighty fine coffees.

Maybe we can consider a stop at their main shop or perhaps asking them to talk at our gathering location?

Just something to consider.

Diane

[Alex]

I've long followed the Heartland gathering threads, jealously. The Chicago location has convinced my baseball-loving sweetheart that this is the year to try our best to join in.

Can you put me +1 as possible attendees? We have to work out logistics.

Thanks so much for all your hard work organizing this!

Nina

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As you might already know, the Cubs are at home against St. Louis that weekend. The Friday game is at 1:20; the Sunday time hasn't been determined yet but it probably will be in the afternoon.

[prasantrin]

As you might already know, the Cubs are at home against St. Louis that weekend. The Friday game is at 1:20; the Sunday time hasn't been determined yet but it probably will be in the afternoon.

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i.e. Make your hotel reservations asap! It's probably going to be a packed weekend!

[tino27]

As you might already know, the Cubs are at home against St. Louis that weekend. The Friday game is at 1:20; the Sunday time hasn't been determined yet but it probably will be in the afternoon.

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i.e. Make your hotel reservations asap! It's probably going to be a packed weekend!

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Seriously?

[ronnie_suburban]

As you might already know, the Cubs are at home against St. Louis that weekend. The Friday game is at 1:20; the Sunday time hasn't been determined yet but it probably will be in the afternoon.

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i.e. Make your hotel reservations asap! It's probably going to be a packed weekend!

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Seriously?

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I don't think the Cards being in town will have too big of an impact on lodging across the city. Sure, some rooms -- especially at some downtown locations -- are going to be booked but this is a pretty big city, with lots of hotels, which routinely hosts all sorts of trade shows at which attendance is bigger than the total capacity of Wrigley Field, let alone the few thousand out of towners who are likely to attend these games.

But beyond that, I don't believe that tickets for individual Cubs games have gone on sale yet. So, there may be a few Cards fans who have booked accomodations for that weekend based on the schedule, but it probably isn't too large a number.

=R=

[nsxtasy]

Is anyone going to smuggle in some foie for the shindig?

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There's no need to smuggle. The sale of foie gras is illegal within the city limits, but its possession isn't. And it's not yet clear where the various activities will be located - more specifically, whether they will be in the city or suburbs. So if we have our activities (restaurant dining and shopping) in the suburbs, it's unaffected; and if we do our heartland feast in the city, it's perfectly legal to buy foie gras in the suburbs and bring it into the city. (Many restaurants in the city continue to serve it, too, some more inconspicuously than others.)

I've also observed that the prevalence of foie gras on menus of upscale restaurants in the suburbs has increased since Chicago passed its ordinance.

Edited February 3, 2008 by nsxtasy (log)

[Alchemist]

If anyone want to stay in Wicker Park, The Wicker Park Inn is a quaint little B&B. It is off the main drags so it is quiet even on a Sat. when the area is overrun with barbarians, visgoths, and yahoos. It is a wonderfully different from the the downtown high rise hotels. I like the neighbor hood, it has all the hip ammenties you could possibly need. It fills up fast in the summer, so I would book soon.

Toby

[ronnie_suburban]

DETAILS AND INFORMATION FOR THE eGS HEARTLAND GATHERING - AUGUST 8-10, 2008

What follows is some specific, initial information about the weekend. More details will be filled in later but this should allow people to determine if attending is feasible, make their travel arrangements and get a feel for what's going to take place over the weekend . . .

Full schedule of prospective events for the weekend, subject to final confirmation (exact times to be determined):

THU, 7-AUG:

Thursday evening - Group dinner for early arrivals (location being negotiated)

Thursday, after dinner - Private cocktail party at The Violet Hour hosted by Alchemist

FRI, 8-AUG

Friday day - possible multi-stop food crawl hosted by =R=

Friday day - possible bread-baking demo/workshop hosted by tino27

Friday evening - Group dinner (location being negotiated)

SAT, 9-AUG

Saturday morning - Group shop for Saturday night meal

Saturday, after shopping - 'Grab a lunch' ...a detailed list (with map) of nearby restaurants will be provided

Saturday, early afternoon - Cocktail 101 demo hosted by Alchemist and Chocolate demo hosted by Kerry Beal

Saturday, later afternoon - Group meal prep

Saturday evening - Group meal

SUN, 10-AUG

Sunday, late morning - "Get out of Town" brunch (location being negotiated)

Many details for the above are still being worked out. Additional posts will follow, as things fill in. Please assume that most -- if not all -- of these events will require separate payment. As we get things worked out, we'll ask for people to post here if they plan to attend specific, individual events. Though it's not likely to be an issue, attendance at some individual events will be limited, due to venue capacity issues. In such cases, the capacity will be listed initially with the event and spots will be filled on a 'first come, first served' basis. Should we have more interest than spots, wait lists will be created for those events, with vacated slots to be filled from the list, in the order in which people originally signed up.

Saturday's Group Meal Event

This event will take place at the

Immanuel Lutheran Church

616 Lake St

Evanston, IL 60201

(847) 864-4464

The day will begin with shopping at the nearby Evanston Farmers' Market, which is one of the top markets in all of Chicagoland. As we have done in the past, we will meet at the market at a pre-determined time on Saturday morning to do our shopping.

Evanston Farmers Market

Intersection of University Place and Oak Avenue

Evanston, IL 60201

In addition to the Evanston Farmers' Market, there are several excellent food shopping venues for non-market items in and around Evanston. A few of them -- in no particular order -- include:

Foodstuffs

2106 Central St

Evanston, IL 60201

847 328-7704

Whole Foods Market

1640 Chicago Ave

Evanston, IL 60201

847 733-1600

Zier's Prime Meats

813 Ridge Rd

Wilmette, IL 60091

847 251-4000

Burhop's Fish & Seafood

1515 Sheridan Rd

Wilmette, IL 60091

847 256-6400

Bennison's Bakery

1000 Davis St

Evanston, IL 60201

847 328-9434

The Spice House

1941 Central Street

Evanston, IL 60201

847 328-3711

Casteel and Company

2922 Central St

Evanston, IL 60201

847 733-1187

Tag's Bakery

2010 Central Street

Evanston, IL

847 328-1200

Great Harvest Bread Company (although, hopefully, breads for the meal will be provided by tino27 )

2126 Central St

Evanston, IL 60201

847 866-8609

Evanston First Liquors

1019 Davis St

Evanston, IL 60201

847 328-9651

Lodging

Some lodging options, which are relatively near the Saturday venue:

Best Western University Plaza (closest to Saturday's venue)

1501 Sherman Ave.

Evanston, IL 60201

(847) 491-6400

Hotel Orrington (Omni)

1710 Orrington Ave

Evanston, IL 60201

(847) 866-1248

Hilton Garden Inn

1818 Maple Ave

Evanston, IL 60201

(847) 475-6460

The Homestead Hotel

1625 Hinman Ave

Evanston, IL 60201-4570

(847) 475-3300

The Margarita European Inn

1566 Oak Ave

Evanston, IL 60201

(847) 869-2273

Doubletree - Skokie

9599 Skokie Blvd.

Skokie, IL 60077

(847) 679-7000

Comfort Inn - Skokie

9333 Skokie Blvd

Skokie, IL 60077

(847) 679-4200

Extended Stay America Chicago - Skokie

5211 Old Orchard Rd

Skokie, IL 60077

(847) 663-9031

Super 8 Chicago

7300 N Sheridan Rd

Chicago, IL 60626

(773) 973-7440

General Information and links:

Choose Chicago...the official visitors site for Chicago.

Chicago Office of Tourism...comprehensive information from the City of Chicago for tourists and visitors.

Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events...detailed information about special events taking place in Chicago.

Illinois Bureau of Tourism...comprehensive information from the State of Illinois for tourists and visitors.

City of Evanston...tons of information about the City of Evanston, where our Saturday event will take place.

Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Real-time Traffic Web Site...a great resource for gauging travel times, etc.

Regional Transportation Authority...web site for the planning body for the three public transit operators in northeastern Illinois (links to each of those 3 operators' web sites are provided below).

Chicago Transit Authority...Comprehensive information -- including schedules and routes -- about Chicago's public transportation system.

Metra...Comprehensive information -- including schedules and routes -- about city-to-suburbs and inter-suburban rail transportation.

Pace Bus...Comprehensive information -- including schedules and routes -- about city-to-suburbs and inter-suburban bus transportation.

Chicago Neighborhood Map...A detailed map of Chicago's neighborhoods.

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Stay tuned for more details!

=R=

edited to update some of the provided links...thanks to nsxtasy for the tips.

Edited February 5, 2008 by ronnie_suburban (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

Heartland Gathering Main Event - Details and Sign-up

Saturday's Group Meal Event - Capacity is limited to 90 people

This event will take place on Saturday August 9, 2008

Immanuel Lutheran Church

616 Lake St

Evanston, IL 60201

(847) 864-4464

The cost for this event will be $30 per person attending. This all-inclusive fee will cover the following:

Food and beverage shopping/consumption for Saturday evening's meal

Rental and lockup charge at Immanuel Lutheran Church (we are being charged a very friendly rate of $600 for all day use of their kitchen and dining facilities)

Any surplus funds will be donated to the eGullet Society.

The day will begin with shopping at the nearby Evanston Farmers' Market, which is one of the top markets in all of Chicagoland. As we've done in previous years, we'll meet at the market at a pre-determined time on Saturday morning (probably around 9 am CT), where money aggregated from the aforementioned fees will be distributed to attendees to shop for the dish(es) they choose to create for the meal. After shopping, we'll stow our purchases where they'll be safe and later in the day, we'll prep and create a meal for ourselves, after which we'll clean the facility and return it to the condition in which we took it over.

Please post below if you plan to attend this specific event and if so, how many will be in your party.

Thanks!

=R=

[NancyH]

Heartland Gathering Main Event - Details and Sign-up

Saturday's Group Meal Event - Capacity is limited to 90 people

Please post below if you plan to attend this specific event and if so, how many will be in your party.

Thanks!

=R=

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NancyH +1

[torakris]

Count me in for the Saturday dinner! (just me )

[edsel]

Heartland Gathering Main Event - Details and Sign-up

Please post below if you plan to attend this specific event and if so, how many will be in your party.

Thanks!

=R=

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Count me in, too!

[LuckyGirl]

Please put me down for a total of four people for the group prep and dinner.

Diane

[Alchemist]

Alchemist for one.

[CaliPoutine]

Me for Saturday and possibly plus 1.

[Alex]

I'll be arriving Thursday morning, so I'm (just me) in for everything from Thursday through Saturday, and probably Sunday.

Thanks again for taking the time and energy to do all this planning, Ronnie. Great job!

Edited February 5, 2008 by Alex (log)

[tammylc]

I'm in. Hopefully for everything, but certainly for dinner.

[jesteinf]

In for 2.

[nsxtasy]

Two, for everything.

[LuckyGirl]

Ronnie,

Are the Thursday, Friday and Saturday dinners likely to all be downtown or will they be in different parts of town? I am trying to decide if we would be better staying in the Evanston area or downtown.

Thanks,

Diane

[ronnie_suburban]

NancyH +1

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Count me in for the Saturday dinner! (just me  )

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Count me in, too!

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Please put me down for a total of four people for the group prep and dinner.

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Alchemist for one.

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Me for Saturday and possibly plus 1.

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I'll be arriving Thursday morning, so I'm (just me) in for everything from Thursday through Saturday, and probably Sunday.

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I'm in.

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In for 2.

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Two

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w00t! It's a partay

=R= +2

NancyH +1

torakris

edsel

LuckyGirl +3

Alchemist

CaliPoutine +1*

Alex

tammylc

jesteinf +1

nsxtasy +1

-20- (19 definite, 1 probable)

I realize that a couple of you responded that you'll be at everything -- which is excellent -- but rather than track all that here, we'll put up a post like this for each event and ask for separate replies for each one. So, please stay tuned to the thread for further details about the rest of the weekend.

'Probables' are totally fine for now and will be for as long as we we're not at capacity on this event. If we get to the point where capacity is being reached, I'll ask all the probables to give more firm estimations about their attendance.

=R=

[ronnie_suburban]

Ronnie,

Are the Thursday, Friday and Saturday dinners likely to all be downtown or will they be in different parts of town? I am trying to decide if we would be better staying in the Evanston area or downtown.

Thanks,

Diane

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I wish I knew but it's just too early to tell at this point. It's pretty likely that neither the Thursday nor Friday night meals will be in Evanston, though.

I think that downtown and/or the north side are the likely venues for those 2 nights but it's not 100% certain yet. In either case, it's not a far trip from the Loop (downtown) to Evanston, probably about 30 minutes traveling via Lake Shore Drive.

That said, I hope to post details very shortly about the Thursday night meal which -- if the current plans work out -- would be a lot of fun.

=R=

[CaliPoutine]

Is there public transporation to Evanston from downtown?( assuming we choose to stay downtown).

We're( Kerry Beal) and I are probably going to take the train to Chicago from Port Huron so we won't have a car. Do you think we'll be ok for the long weekend without one?

btw, can you add Kerry to the Saturday night event? I know for sure she's coming!!

Edited February 5, 2008 by CaliPoutine (log)

[jesteinf]

You can get to Evanston using the El (the venue is pretty close to the Dempster stop on the Purple line), but it's also a pretty easy cab ride if you're staying in the Loop or River North.

[nsxtasy]

Is there public transporation to Evanston from downtown?( assuming we choose to stay downtown).

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Josh mentioned the el, which can take anywhere from 35 minutes (in commuting times, when you can take one train all the way) to 50-70 minutes at other times (you have to change trains at Howard, so waiting times can vary). There is also a Metra commuter train that runs more or less hourly from the west side of the Loop to Evanston (Davis St) in about 20 minutes. Josh also mentioned cabs, which will take about 25 minutes in non-commuting times; I'm guessing $25 or so with tip.

You might want to see the full, detailed schedule of activities and venues, once it's finalized, before deciding where to stay. While downtown Chicago has the most hotels, there may be other properties that are more convenient to the event venues.

We're( Kerry Beal) and I are probably going to take the train to Chicago from Port Huron so we won't have a car.  Do you think we'll be ok for the long weekend without one?

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Well, the other venues have not been specified yet, so it's hard to say for sure. The Chicago area has excellent public transportation that goes pretty much everywhere; however, it can take longer to get places than driving, particularly on weekends and at off hours.

My guess is that you'll do okay without a car. Not only is public transportation an option, but (based on observation at last year's gathering) there are often plenty of other attendees who will be happy to give you rides from one venue to another.

Edited February 5, 2008 by nsxtasy (log)