Just A Sip—Or Glimpse—Will Do

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Megan McKinney

 

Are you as exhausted by the cold, nasty winter season and long, lingering Chicago spring as we are?  It’s time to experience a taste of what’s ahead. We go through this long wait every twelve months: we know our beautiful lakefront summer is out there, but we need to experience just a sip of it, or a small glimpse. The real Taste of Chicago won’t arrive until the end of summer, but today we need a few memories, a peek or so.

 

Arnie  Morton, who brought the Taste to us.

 

_{In the late twentieth century, Arnie’s  restaurant in Newberry Plaza was Chicago’s favorite public spot—aside from Crickets—for lunching ladies.}

And we were joined at Arnie’s by many impressive businessmen who came up from downtown offices for Arnie’s lunches. 

  

 

Thus we paid ardent attention to the restaurant’s proprietor, Arnie Morton; we wanted good seating, with possibly an assigned regular table.

 

 

Tucked into a lower floor of the red building within the Newberry Plaza complex was Arnie’s restaurant. And surrounding were other eating, drinking—and even dancing—spots owned by our friend and his family members. 

 

 

Morton’s The Steakhouse was one of the Newberry Plaza fixtures owned by Arnie family members. The chain expanded into more than 70 restaurants around Chicago, nationally—and worldwide.

zazzle.com

Zorine’s, a night club/discotheque in the complex, was named for Arnie’s glamorous wife. And when we learned Arnie was mounting Taste of Chicago, an outdoor July 4, 1980 fest devoted to small portions from various city food vendors, we went.

 

 

That first Taste of Chicago extended for three city blocks just north of the Michigan Avenue Bridge.  One hundred thousand people were expected, but 250,000 showed up that day to sample hot dogs, ribs, Italian ice and a variety of potables.       

 

Two hundred and fifty thousand human beings, count them.

 

At this point in a sluggish spring we crave a Taste of summer in Chicago, a sip, glimpse, or a mere symbol of what it is we all love and enjoy about our great city from June through September.

 

 

Grant Park’s Clarence Buckingham Fountain, modeled on the Latona Fountiain at Versailles, will do very nicely.

 

 

Author photo: Robert F. Carl