GWT: UCL Matchweek I

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

They only time I was in Chicago was for work at the end of February 2020. Great timing eh?

I need to go back and give it more attention. It was much better than I thought it would be, I hate most of the midwest

One of the lasting impression was how approachable and nice people were. So unlike what I thought

 

[Savant]

Chicago was the first US city we came too when we immigrated and it is a second home for me, so I'm biased towards it...especially compared to the rest of the midwest...but I also really enjoyed my time in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Definitely more of a town than a megacity like Chicago / SF / Berlin, but there was some great Somali food, I really enjoyed the play we went to see while there, and there were some really cute spots in the area.

Cleveland OTOH, I will hate until the day I die. There is 1 great vietnamese place & 1 awesome ethiopian place, other than that Cleveland can burn like its lake.

I didn’t like Minny and Ohio (everywhere) is the worst state that I have spent extended time in. I kind of want to want to check St. Louis out if I go to a Midwest city I have t been to yet, but besides that I’m really not that motivated to go back to that part of the country. I’m planning Pacific NW next.

 

[cgf]

Chicago has serious issues with segregation...pretty sure we're still one of, if not the most segregated cities in america...the neighborhood tradition had some really ugly ramifications & the city's attempts to break those barriers, haven't always been implemented particularly well...and construction on I294 started before I could form memories, without reaching its conclusion yet.

But the food is pretty awesome (even though I'm not much of a foodie anymore & our china town ain't s***), there's a ton to do around town, it's a good looking city, and folks are generally friendly...but I feel like that's true in most cities. Even NYC, which has this mean-city reputation, is still the city in which I have most often seen people helping random old folks cross the street...and I'm talking bankers dressed like an extra from American psycho, as well as hipster-ass-kids.

 

[cgf]

I didn’t like Minny and Ohio (everywhere) is the worst state that I have spent extended time in. I kind of want to want to check St. Louis out if I go to a Midwest city I have t been to yet, but besides that I’m really not that motivated to go back to that part of the country. I’m planning Pacific NW next.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Minny, but I was only there for a couple of weeks, had low expectations, and great company. So I wouldn't be entirely surprised to find my memories of it are a little rose-tinted.

Haven't been to STL, though some friends of mine have gone down there to party before & had fun; while the furthest north I got on the west coast was wine country.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Well their deep dish pizza wasn’t actually any good lol

 

[les Habs]

Bayern really controlled that match for almost the entirety of it. There was a brief period where your kids made things a little more back & forth for 5-10 minutes with their energy & exuberance, but Upa, Süle & Lucas prevented them crafting any actual danger...and the rest of the match was spent basically entirely in your half, with Bayern applying just constant pressure.

Plus I would disagree about their second goal. Sure, the goal itself came from Lewa knocking in a rebound off the post, but Musiala's move to create space for that shot that came off of the post to Lewa was really nifty.

Yeah, that's what I gathered of the match. Second goal, again putting a shot onto the post is great and that was a nice effort, but could have deflected anywhere. Either way the big takeaway should be Bayern controlling the match as it sounds they did regardless of the scoreline.

I'm back in Chicago atm

I was just down yesterday buying a new car. I like Chicago to some degree, but the traffic is awful. To get anywhere takes forever. I was offered a position to move there through work, but really don't have any interest to live there. Southeastern WI is close enough that I can make a day trip of it. Actually it's not bad if you take the train down and then Uber everywhere.

 

[cgf]

Well their deep dish pizza wasn’t actually any good lol

 

[les Habs]

Well their deep dish pizza wasn’t actually any good lol

Deep dish isn't my thing. I did finally get to try Pequod's though (technically not deep dish) and it was a bit bland. I'd try it again though.

 

[les Habs]

I was very pleasantly surprised by Minny, but I was only there for a couple of weeks, had low expectations, and great company. So I wouldn't be entirely surprised to find my memories of it are a little rose-tinted.

Haven't been to STL, though some friends of mine have gone down there to party before & had fun; while the furthest north I got on the west coast was wine country.

Minneapolis seems like a nice place to live. I've been there many times for work and always kind of enjoyed it. Downtown isn't anything special, but that's often the case in many cities. My colleagues always bemoaned driving if we had to, but I didn't mind the drive at all and driving through WI to get there can be quite scenic especially in Autumn.

 

[cgf]

Yeah, that's what I gathered of the match. Second goal, again putting a shot onto the post is great and that was a nice effort, but could have deflected anywhere. Either way the big takeaway should be Bayern controlling the match as it sounds they did regardless of the scoreline.



I was just down yesterday buying a new car. I like Chicago to some degree, but the traffic is awful. To get anywhere takes forever. I was offered a position to move there through work, but really don't have any interest to live there. Southeastern WI is close enough that I can make a day trip of it. Actually it's not bad if you take the train down and then Uber everywhere.

Having had to go through that traffic every day for the past 3 weeks...and previously, every day when I worked at UIC...I can confirm that our traffic sucks, but I think we're better wrt traffic than NY, LA, SF, Houston, & Atlanta. So at the very least we should be outside of the US's traffic bottom-5

 

[Savant]

Well their deep dish pizza wasn’t actually any good lol

Right but I knew that going into it which helped. I actually ate pretty well there

 

[cgf]

Deep dish isn't my thing. I did finally get to try Pequod's though (technically not deep dish) and it was a bit bland. I'd try it again though.

I'm not a huge deep dish proponent...probably 2-1 thincrust to deep dish if I went through my Giordano's history...but Lou Malnati's deep dish is a pretty great treat when you just want to feel like a bear getting ready to hibernate.

 

[les Habs]

Having had to go through that traffic every day for the past 3 weeks...and previously, every day when I worked at UIC...I can confirm that our traffic sucks, but I think we're better wrt traffic than NY, LA, SF, Houston, & Atlanta. So at the very least we should be outside of the US's traffic bottom-5

I've only experienced traffic in SF and that was on a coach attending a conference. It wasn't that bad, but might have been mid-day.

For me one of the frustrating things about Chicago isn't just the freeway traffic, but if you want to get off the freeway as well. Say you want to get off the freeway and head towards the lake, well depending on where you are the old bridges across the river are only one lane in each direction and it takes a good 30 minutes even on a Saturday to go less than 10 miles.

I'm not a huge deep dish proponent...probably 2-1 thincrust to deep dish if I went through my Giordano's history...but Lou Malnati's deep dish is a pretty great treat when you just want to feel like a bear getting ready to hibernate.

When we had a Giordano's in Milwaukee I knew the guy who ran it and I got discount every time. I would get the thin crust at least once a week and it was fantastic. Haven't had it in years but would like to try it again. I had a thin crust Lou Malnati's a couple of months back and it was worse than most frozen pizzas. Absolutely horrendous.

In Chicago I've had Roots which I found pretty good. They're mozerella sticks are the best though. There's another place, maybe in the loop or somewhere just west of the freeway and downtown that I want to try. Supposed to very good. These guys are probably a pretty good resource:

https://www.youtube.com/c/numbersixwithcheese/videos

 

[koyvoo]

You guys wouldn’t like Toronto. Busiest highway in the world is the 401 stretch that runs through the city.

 

[cgf]

I've only experienced traffic in SF and that was on a coach attending a conference. It wasn't that bad, but might have been mid-day.

For me one of the frustrating things about Chicago isn't just the freeway traffic, but if you want to get off the freeway as well. Say you want to get off the freeway and head towards the lake, well depending on where you are the old bridges across the river are only one lane in each direction and it takes a good 30 minutes even on a Saturday to go less than 10 miles.



When we had a Giordano's in Milwaukee I knew the guy who ran it and I got discount every time. I would get the thin crust at least once a week and it was fantastic. Haven't had it in years but would like to try it again. I had a thin crust Lou Malnati's a couple of months back and it was worse than most frozen pizzas. Absolutely horrendous.

In Chicago I've had Roots which I found pretty good. They're mozerella sticks are the best though. There's another place, maybe in the loop or somewhere just west of the freeway and downtown that I want to try. Supposed to very good. These guys are probably a pretty good resource:

https://www.youtube.com/c/numbersixwithcheese/videos

I think you are the first person I have ever spoken to who has actually had Lou Malnati's thincrust

Yeah, getting around the city can be problematic if you try to backroads it...especially the closer you get to the core of downtown. There are some streets that move well, but it's rare for sidestreets to actually be the better bet unless there's a blizzard or the highways are flooded lol

E:
As for the bay area, I was there for the better part of a year taking care of my older sister. She lived halfway between Stanford & the Google campus, but I had a cousin living in the hills on the east side of the bay...don't remember the name, but it's the same neighborhood Steph Curry lives in...and when I had to renew her handicapped sticker some quick research informed me that going up to a DMV in wine country would be quicker than the 3-6 hour wait-time at her local DMV.

So I've gotten a good feel for traffic there and the highways during rush hour were even worse.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

You guys wouldn’t like Toronto. Busiest highway in the world is the 401 stretch that runs through the city.

Bite your tongue

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Right but I knew that going into it which helped. I actually ate pretty well there

Couldve gave me a heads up I was expecting something substantial tbh I don’t remember any meal from there

I am a picky eater tho

 

[koyvoo]

Bite your tongue

I know it’s hard to believe when comparing to larger metropolitan areas, but it’s true.

World's record highways

Busiest highway in the world 2021 - Google Search

 

[cgf]

My gf lived right next door to this really good empanada spot in the city when we first started dating years ago. I still have dreams about that chimichurri sauce.

 

[bluesfan94]

I didn’t like Minny and Ohio (everywhere) is the worst state that I have spent extended time in. I kind of want to want to check St. Louis out if I go to a Midwest city I have t been to yet, but besides that I’m really not that motivated to go back to that part of the country. I’m planning Pacific NW next.

If you do come to St. Louis, let me know and I can give you tips/buy you a beer

 

[Savant]

Couldve gave me a heads up I was expecting something substantial tbh I don’t remember any meal from there

I am a picky eater tho

Next time DM me

 

[Savant]

If you do come to St. Louis, let me know and I can give you tips/buy you a beer

Only place I’ve heard of is Amsterdam Tavern. Obviously would want to see a Cardinals game too and get some ribs

 

[bluesfan94]

Only place I’ve heard of is Amsterdam Tavern. Obviously would want to see a Cardinals game too and get some ribs

Yeah Amsterdam is the place to catch the games. Fun atmosphere but if you’re looking for food, eh.

 

[Evilo]

Bite your tongue

Have you moved to Exeter yet?

 

[Evilo]

Speaking of Amsterdam, I plan to bring 50 of my students to an Ajax game next march. Maybe the Feyenoord game.
I DMed Ajax' Twitter and sent a mail to their official adress, but haven't had an answer.
Anyone has a tip to get the tickets on the cheap?