The other day we had dinner at Kie Gol Lanee — the one in Logan Square, not the one in Uptown. The name struck me as vaguely Korean, though it's a Mexican restaurant. "Kie Gol Lanee" is the phonetic spelling of Quiegoloani, a small mountain village in the southern highlands of Oaxaca. It means "old stone" in Zapotec.
Dinner was pretty good. I enjoyed the spicy grasshoppers — how often do you get the chance? My wife didn't, though more for the heat than the insect aspect. The pork chop with tamarind sauce over grilled onions had a nice flavor as well. I can't say I'd hurry back, but wasn't sorry we went.
Though what really caught my attention was the yard near where we parked, a block north of Diversey. Someone had put a lot of effort into crafting a variety of robots and beasts. The result somewhere between art and craft. Folk art, I suppose. The robots were angry, the dragon, in full cry. I wondered if I would want to be greeted by this distressed menagerie every time I came home. Probably not. Though I'm not sure I'd ever get around to removing them either. It would take a lot of physical effort to haul the pieces away. Plus the psychic toll of effacing somebody's art. I'm not sure I could do it.
Though what really caught my attention was the yard near where we parked, a block north of Diversey. Someone had put a lot of effort into crafting a variety of robots and beasts. The result somewhere between art and craft. Folk art, I suppose. The robots were angry, the dragon, in full cry. I wondered if I would want to be greeted by this distressed menagerie every time I came home. Probably not. Though I'm not sure I'd ever get around to removing them either. It would take a lot of physical effort to haul the pieces away. Plus the psychic toll of effacing somebody's art. I'm not sure I could do it.
Yuk!
ReplyDeleteThey're wonderful! Someone is having fun with soldering tools!
ReplyDeleteDifferent. Wonder what the reason was that whoever the designer is chose these subjects.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of art is that its for everyone but often only a handful of people truly love it.
ReplyDeleteI like your food content. I do not like, however, bugs. So < shudder >!
ReplyDeleteHeavy metal...in more ways than one...
ReplyDeleteLove the dragon!
ReplyDeleteI tried the grasshoppers at a Seattle Mariners game many years ago. I am sure yours were better but I cannot get over the idea that someone said what if we cooked up some grasshoppers?
ReplyDeleteI think the Mariner's Grasshoppers are one of the best selling items at T-Mobile Park.
DeleteChocolate-covered insects were a food fad in the late 50s and early 60s. The food section at Field's, in Old Orchard, stocked them. Grasshoppers and ants. Looked at the jars as a teen, but never bought any. Don't like bugs. But I did eat dog food (horsemeat) once, and won a bet.
DeleteWhimsy! We need more of it.
ReplyDeleteOh, at first I thought the dragon was a mailbox.
ReplyDeleteContemporary art can be challenging. Just look, enjoy and move on. Some you will like and others not so much
ReplyDeleteI was thinking more along the lines of the first amendment. As in, "I dislike your art installation but will defend to the death your right to display it". Provided its actually in a person's yard, of course.
ReplyDelete