Best of...

Live music in Chicago - The Hideout. Catch Robbie Fulks every Monday night.

Best live theatre - Neo Futurarium at Foster and Ashland in Chicago. Catch the main show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind or any show for that matter. Buy their t-shirts and hope you go on a night when they order out for free pizza for the entire audience.

Best military deployment - Tie between basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Operation Joint Endeavor in Taszar/Kaposvar, Hungary.

Best rock concert and also the best weekend spent on $50 - 1995. Rolling Stones at Strahov Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic. All food, all drinks, all transportation from Germany and back. Plus the two beautiful women who showed me around Prague. And no they weren't hookers.

Best Burger - You can't get it anymore but for a time it was and remains #1. To get it you had to make the trek up the 250+ steps to the top of Mount Baldhead in Saugatuck, Michigan, down the sand dune, up the sand dune and out to Lake Michigan. Spend 4 hours in the sun and surf and the ripping waves. Fall asleep on the beach and then get hungry. Head up the wooden steps and up the to the concession stand. With the sun beating down on your back, the taste of sand, sweat and suntan lotion in your mouth, order the cheeseburger. One for you and one for someone else. Either your kid or just grab somebody else to share because you can't really enjoy it without sharing just how good it tastes. Kuma's Corner on Belmont in Chicago is on the verge but hasn't made it yet.

Best proliferation of a food chain that is actually comforting - Einstein Brother's Bagels now serving at the Southport, Belmont and Diversey L stops.

Best writing assignment - You might think getting to cover the Bill Clinton arrival at Taszar, Hungary along with sharing a flatbed with Dan Rather or covering the Bill Clinton arrival at the Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P.Hill, Virginia. But in actuality it was opportunity to write a regular column for the long ago military newspaper American Endeavor. The freedom to have creativity in a command situation was unbelievable. I thank my Staff Sergeant and Captain for giving me the opportunity.