monzyummylunch

The Bite!

Some smart (very smart), longtime readers of this blog predicted that we would finally reveal a certain...well, you know, on the day before Monz takes the keys to the blog. And they'd have been right, but Sunday the Political Editor (PE) was listening to radio replay of Face the Nation and heard Bob Schiefer relate the following advice from the late Jack Valenti and the dovetailness to Monz' lunch report is too much for us not to share.

Valenti (who had many a yummy lunch in his long life):

Jack knew everybody and a little about everything — most of all human
nature — and he once gave me a tip on tipping: "Give a guy a little
extra and he'll say 'thanks,' double the usual tip and he'll remember
your name."

Monz:

Over to Plato's corner for a turkey sub. Decent but salty.
The people who work there are very nice and fun to buy lunch from.

That's the Monz for you: just as helpful and doesn't steal your ****! Take it away Monz!

Smelly Jelly Belly!The editors fanned out across Chicago this weekend to give can shakers raising money for Misericordia's Candy Days. We must say the candy has made a comeback. Some years ago it hit it's prime, with pure milk chocolate lolipops from Fannie Mae. Then it went to some anonymous stuff a la Lions Club generic life savors(tm). The last couple years it's been Jelly Bellies, but rather than the standard variety pack, this year they gave out special mix bags: fruit salad or fudge sunday (chocolate and vanilla jelly beans) It washes away the bad memories of the generic years, just as Monz headed back to Bistro 17 "for takeout -- another turkey club to wash the memory of Jeff's away."

One more blogday before Monz takes over! What will he blog?!

Subliminal Yummy Lunch!

We receive email here at myl saying that we're too critical of other bloggers, particularly those who blog about food or have names closeto Monz'. We must protest. The editors are happy to give credit where credit is due. For example, take a look at this blog (this is our favorite permalink, but check out the whole thing). Surely, this is a stellar example of how culinary blogging should be done. We salute them!

And we really salute Monz' lunch of two hot dogs at the CSC (no yuns = yums) The CSC switches from coke to pepsi, Monz goes with the diet flow.

Yum Police!
Another MYL first! Our field reporters phone-in photographic evidence of yet more choadas invoking the venerable term (click on photo for better view). We suggest you call them up and ask them if their cuisine has clinical test results to back up invoking the venerated venerable, let alone twice. Then, if they sound genuine, visit and put them to your own taste test. We trust you! Then let us know the results. If they fail, you could call them again and page Seymore Butts!

Monz saw more of Bistro 17, as a visiting associate of Mrs. Monz was up north. Turkey Club, putting Jeff's to shame (see early archives for more!)

"If It's a Fight They Want, Well, We Aim to Please!"

No, that's not a monzquote, but it might as well be, as the foolish opposing counsel don't capitulate in honorable settlement and now must prepare to battle next week. Unrelated to that, we phoned a jovial, loquatious Monz, who informed us of his ribeye steak sandwich at Waukegan's Bacci.

"A Hard Day's Lunch"!

Monz, having spent all morning in court, heads back to Plato's for a turkey sub and more of their delicious chili. Monz pronounced this "A Hard Day's Lunch." The Legal Editor (LE) took this as...we don't know, some sort of instruction to find a related theme. LE, sometimes lunch is "just" lunch!

Waukegan State of Mind!
The Features Editor (FE) was checking out today's front page news and the photo got him thinking about... Checkers, a drive through burger joint which abandoned Chicago but apparently did not abandon Waukegan (though under a new, similar, needlessly-changed name).

Monz did not abandon us either, though today's lunch was a tough decision between Louie's or Bistro 17, winding up going to The Place for a footlog Monday Special...on Friday. But a change is blowin' in the wind...

Get You Some!

Spring is here and love is in the air. Oh, if it were so! With Satanic Spanish Swindlers Selling Sexual Aphrodesiacs, you might give up. Un momento, por favor! We have it on the highest authority that if you try a new place for lunch, say, Plato's Corner in downtown Waukegan, and try a simple pleasure like 2 hot dogs with everything except, say, onions, and of course add a yummy side like a small chilli, you might find true love. You might even return.

Pump It Up!

We at myl are mortified that the following story was burried in a Saturday newscycle. Who listens to the news on Saturday?

Chest compression — not mouth-to-mouth resuscitation — seems to be the key in helping someone recover from cardiac arrest, according to new research that further bolsters advice from heart experts. A study in Japan showed that people were more likely to recover without brain damage if rescuers focused on chest compressions rather than rescue breaths, and some experts advised dropping the mouth-to-mouth part of CPR altogether. The study was published in Friday's issue of the medical journal The Lancet.

More than a year ago, the American Heart Association revised CPR guidelines to put more emphasis on chest presses, urging 30 instead of 15 for every two breaths given. Stopping chest compressions to blow air into the lungs of someone who is unresponsive detracts from the more important task of keeping blood moving to provide oxygen and nourishment to the brain and heart.

Another big advantage to dropping the rescue breaths: It could make bystanders more willing to provide CPR in the first place. Many are unwilling to do the mouth-to-mouth part and become flummoxed and fearful of getting the ratio right in an emergency.

So there you go: prevent a catastrophe, just like the CSC prevented a catastrophe by substituting Italian beef when they ran out of ranch chicken salad. Yes, Monz' lunch was saved by substitution.

Out with the Old, In with the New!
That Monz! At the McHenry County Courthouse, Monz makes time for an exquisite lunch [do you think we're kidding] of stuffed turkey breast [admit it, that sounds good!] he brought from home. He also brought an apple but didn't eat it. Late starting time but worth the wait -- we just wish they had kept the old courthouse a while longer.

Monz, Not Monzy!

It's time to clear something up to stray googlers and people to foolish not to know a good Monz when they see one: this is not the Monz! Not that we mean any offense (though please, blogging since 1998? We're guessing cut-and-paste backdated diary is more like it!) Nowhere on this site will you find a lunch as yummy as a plate of Chicken lo mein and hot sour soup at Fongs (Mrs. Monz making a return visit!)

Meanest. Email. Ever!

Monz girds up for his band's hot gig tonight at a north burb pub renown for its burgers and beer with a lunch of two chicago style hot dogs, no onions, and a small chocolate shake, from Fratello's. But not before a parting shot to the EIC, whose attempt to follow Monz' munificient advice didn't work out quite as planned.

Don't be blamin' me, Playa'! ! I told you to call her and ask her out, not to goof out! If she doesn't call, I advise you to sign up . . . for Lunch!!

(Monz' reference to Lunch is a nod to a certain culinary-centric dating service which frequently confuses lunch with dinner, or so we're told):

Wrath of Monz!

As the editors were furiously working on preparations for tomorrow's never-before-seen on MYL feature, they were chastened by the following email entitled "Punishment Lunch":

BLT (no mayo) and chili from the CSC. The punishment is for YOU for the dismissive dittolunch!

Thank you sir, may we have another!

OnoMONZopoeia!

Dittolunch.

Approximately a decade ago, the EIC registered with a certain religious-based online dating service, which has since undergone some changes in their business model and matchmaking practices. Years ago the EIC would get emails on ocassion from women he presumed were enamored with his deceptively prestigious job description (his moonlighting job that is -- the EIC would never trade on the good will of MYL just for...you know). These went nowhere fast, especially when a picture was insisted upon (and delivered).

Yesterday the EIC was stunned to receive an email sent through the service in response to his hasn't-been-changed-in-years profile. It apparently said he's an avid newspaper and magazine reader, for the email simply consisted of a question of which of the two Chicago dailies he preferred, as well as similar questions about newsweeklies and glossy celeb mags. Alas, the Social Editor (SE) is vacationing in Aruba this week and is unavailable for consult, so the EIC answered the best he could. Now Monz has been known to opine on such situations, however, he does it with sounds more often then words. Monz is at band practice, so we can only imagine the advice he would give!

What "Advice" Would Monz Give the EIC in This Situation?
	Ooooh!
	Heh! Heh!
	Unnh! Unnh!
	Uhhhh!
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Late and Live with the Monz!
Just as we were about to go to press with...nothing!...Monz calls!

"Ham sandwich made with ham leftover from Easter, on weird bread. (What do you mean "weird bread"?) Monz (aside to one of his dogs: "Go, H, Go!") and an apple. (But what was the weird bread?) Dude, I don't know, some sort of weird, ethnicy Easter bread."

Monz Knew!

What a way to kick of the week: Monz meets up with Spay at Fong's, Mrs. Monz joining in later. Monz orderes pad thai, the yumminess didn't match the spicyness.

Several years ago the EIC presented Mark Monz with a gift he thought Monz would appreciate: an autographed copy of an old Roger Ebert Movie Guide (purchased at Chicago's famed Newberry Library used book sale). Last we heard, rodents were masticating this tome. Flash forward to 2007. Is it true a certain Chicago-based movie critic has had a lotof time on his hands while recovering from illness? Could a certain newspaper url show up in the web metrics for
this blog? Could said critic have a remarkably similar book coming out? HmmmMMM!

Punditsphere, Monz Style!
The Political Editor (PE) is one of those types who hangs out in the pundit blogosphere for entertainment. Thus he knows what the "Jessica Valenti Breast Conspiracy" is. When we first heard this term we exclaimed - in unison - "The Jessica Valenti what?!"

It refers to a comment made by Wisco law professor Ann Althouse, who says she is generally liberal but broke with the Democrats on national defense issues and voted for President Bush in 2004. She wrote that Valenti had no right to call herself a feminist given her "pose" in front of Bill Clinton as seen in the above photo. In a now political junkie-iconic interview on Robert Wright's wonderful Bloggingheads Althouse kinda lost it at the mention of the subject. We recommend the original (the fireworks start at about the 5 minute mark) but the youtube gist of it is below.

Monz' court holiday calendar was undependable today, so he turned to a tried and true lunch to restore balance to the universe. Footlong turkey and ham on wheat.

Clark McDerment!

Dateline Chicago: After watching the Legal Editor (LE) participate as a judge at a perstigious moot court event, the editors piled into cabs, drove home, and fell asleep in complete deriliction of their duties. Monz forgave them and reported his lunch consisted of more of Mrs. Monz' ham, but on a hard french roll from a different source than that which came before. Monz' ham sandwich was accompanied by an apple.

Hamming It Up!

While we await word on Monz' largest organ (poll open two more days), Mrs. Monz cooks up some yummy ham, providing Monz a ham sandwich on a french roll (and apple). Tomorrow the Legal Editors (LE) will be a moot court judge, peppering first year law students about a fake case about a cop who questions a nervous-nelly gang-tatooed speeder who looked like he was carrying a gun in his pocket but it turned out just to be a cap. Was the search reasonable? Did he get sufficient miranda rights? The LE will be asking the key question his fellow judges will be too intimdated by the bench memo to ask: was the accused given lunch? If not, cruel and unusual punishment to one presumed to be innocent!

Broken English Spoken Fluently Here!

The EIC walks home from famous Chicago Austrian resturant (perfect place for a Jewish lad during Passover, but evs...). EIC checks answering machine. It's Monz! It's uninteligible! Monz sounds happy though! But there was more Monz this evening, as EIC volunteered Monz for meeting with a young would-be attorney to tell him all about life as an exciting Lake County attorney. Thanks Monz, and please commentblog that lunch!

Ink Is the Word!
Ink has played a seminal role in Monz' life. From his love of reading, to his love of writing, to his shining inspiration for a screenplay by the Literary Editor (LE) entitled...Ink! So it was innevitable that Monz ask us to run the following poll, but only after telling you today's lunch: today's special from "The Place," extra large, ok but homecooked lunches to come.

Should the Monz Get a Tattoo?
	Yes!
	No!
Free polls from Pollhost.com