my old friend jude law rocks hamlet! and loves chicago….

If you follow me on twitter you came with me to nyc to last week for the live Victoria’s secret fashion show (will probably blog about them in next day or so since doing a viewing party of the actual show I saw at the underground on dec. 1st w/ one of the angels!).  anyway, I thought while there, I would check out an old buddy of mine from London, playing hamlet on broadway, the always amazing jude law.

First of all, let me just say that jude rocked the part of hamlet beyond belief! I know this because in high school I couldn’t understand Shakespeare to save my life, and here I was not only understanding everything, I was thoroughly engrossed, entertained, laughing, shocked,.. & just loving it!  Jude stole the show, literally.  I almost was nervous for others because he was so big and present on stage next to the rest… but eventually it all grooved together nicely and I give them all major props.  Show ends dec 6th, better check it fast!

Anyway, the reason I wanted to share my experience here was because when jude invited backstage to hangout after the show, we literally sat in his dressing room raving & laughing about none other than, of all things… chicago!  We have hungout throughout the years in London together but he just cant let go of the days of running around chicago in 2000/2001 with me & our buddy Daniel craig (who you may know as james bond, who happens to be on broadway too with hugh jackman in “a steady rain” which is about, of all things, two chicago cops!), while they were filming “road to perdition” w/ Robert redford and few other greats.  

We were the inseparable 3 amigos walking every random chicago street day & night trying every restaurant, café, store, park,… laughing, joking, telling stories,… raiding my mom’s fridge, playing Frisbee w/jude’s kids during the day, hanging out late at my spots (at that time… the dragonroom, circus, skylight & the bedroom)… just having the best time ever!  Jude couldn’t stop raving about our culture, art, culinary scene, and most of all.. the nice people… it was fun to update him on my new spots sunda, rockit & underground because they were the exact places I told him I always wanted to open… I could see him trying each item in his head as I told him about our menus and stuff.. it was pretty neat.  

Anyway, it just made me really proud to be a part of this city… its just so conducive to building real friendships & everlasting experiences & memories with people from all over the world… and I love that about Chicago… hope you all are taking those opportunities when can… they are all around us… show guests all your fav spots, not just the touristy ones… share your enthusiasm, personality, story & honesty w/ them… and put it all together… and they will never forget us!  Cheers

Midwest Independent Film Festival Presents “The Best of the Midwest Awards!” by guest blogger : jon landan, team rockit ranch

 I fortunately was introduced to “the arts” at a very early age.  While at Francis Parker School right here in the city of Chicago, I was exposed to some of the greatest talents, both in class and around the city, intriguing me so much I even pursued and landed a couple parts in plays like Oliver, Alice in Wonderland and The Music Man!  As I grew older and moved into other interests, I watched & supported friends from all over the city of Chicago work hard to further their artistic careers, taking classes at The Second City, hustling to improve through practice where ever possible, eventually showing that Chicago & the Midwest has some of the most talent in the country as many of the ones I watched over the years made it on to some of the biggest television shows and movies in Hollywood.

I also have enjoyed watching Hollywood come to us!  Recently it seems more than ever that Chicago and the Midwest have been the home to some of the biggest movies in the world from Batman: The Dark Knight to Johnny Depp’s Public Enemies. And if you think about it, these probably would not have been shot in Chicago & the Midwest without all the hard work done over the years by many of our own local independent film makers, actors, directors, crew… who have been drawing attention to our great part of the country for years!  For that, I think it is only right that we give back and support them, not only to continue to push forward, but to show the world how far we can take it and what we are really made of!

This local success, and more importantly their potential to make even a bigger impact on our behalf, has inspired me to get involved with The Midwest Independent Film Festival, the nation’s only film festival solely dedicated to the Midwest film industry, presenting audiences with regionally produced independent cinema. This film festival dedicated to celebrating and strengthening our film community is year round so you can enjoy at anytime, but I must suggest, all should get involved this week and attend the “BMAs!”  It’s a blast!

The “BMAs” are the “Best of The Midwest Awards” and will not only serve as an excellent opportunity for us to contribute to & support our local film industry, but it will be a great way to meet all that have excelled and represented us in the world of film & entertainment, like acclaimed filmmakers Lori Petty, John McNaughton and Steve Jones highlight the list of scheduled attendees!  See who else will be there on the 1st, including cohost for the evening, our CEO, Billy Dec  —  and check out last year’s photo gallery! 

The event will be this Tuesday, December 1st at Rockit Bar & Grill, 22 W. Hubbard, kicking off w/a fun cocktail reception at 7 p.m.  The Best of the Midwest Awards ceremony takes place from 8:00-9:00 p.m.; festivities continue through 10 p.m.  info and ticket/donation are available at www.midwestfilm.org; all proceeds benefit the 2010 Midwest Independent Film Festival…. Let’s support them! (and us!)

chicago’s “rock for kids!”

Join Your Chicago Chefs who Grow, Teach & Feed! by guest blogger : Amanda Downing, Rockit Chef Team

A lot of what goes into being a chef is giving something back to others; usually it is in the obvious form of creating wonderful food for guests to enjoy. Another part, is giving back to our community and Chicago is one of the greatest communities out there. 

There are so many opportunities to give back to the community throughout the year and many where chefs and restaurants take center stage to help support various causes. Some events that myself and Rockit Ranch executive chef James Gottwald and our entire crew have been a part of have been: Meals on Wheels Chicago, Grand Chefs Gala,  Taste of the Nation as well as many events and classes supporting Common Threads.

New to us earlier this year has been the Organic School Project (OSP) where we were invited to a mac and cheese sMACdown, which was a fun community event where local novice cooks competed with local chefs for the Mac daddy title; there was more than enough cheesy noodles to go around. (and we are proud to say, we are the Mac daddys!).  Since then we have been invited to participate in their Fall Harvest Community Dinner happening Friday November 20th from 6-8pm at Leslie Hall (1111 North Wells St). 

This event will be a celebration of the season with a community dinner showcasing the fall’s harvest using all organic products.  Rockit will be serving an organic version of our roasted butternut squash soup.  It will be a fun way to support such a great program where all the funds raised will support the OSP’s Grow, Teach, Feed after school program for children. 

The mission of OSP is to combat childhood obesity and related health epidemics through the Grow Teach Feed model, laying the foundation for urban youth to build sustainable lifestyles. To learn more about their work with over 3,500 kids since their founding in 2005, please visit www.organicschoolproject.org 

To show your support: tickets for the Fall Harvest are $35 for adults through Nov. 13th and $40 thereafter.