From Caribbean to veggie, no such thing as standard fare
Hot dogs? Bor-r-r-ing.
Hamburgers? Ho-hum.
(Sun-Times)
But those who get hungry under the hot sun at some of Chicago's beaches can get more than the standard beach fare. At the 63rd Street Beach, Stella Aniemeka offers jerk chicken -- with a pineapple concoction she calls a Bahama-Mama to wash it down.
Aniemeka, 52, a Nigerian native, opened Stella's Market on the north end of the park's beach house this year. She's already considering doubling the space. Aniemeka, who came to the United States in the late 1970s to attend the University of Illinois-Chicago, previously ran Amechi restaurant at 6240 N. Broadway for 10 years.
With the moist, chopped, bone-in jerk chicken a Caribbean specialty, it seemed a natural for beach food, she says.
"This is where it belongs,'' adds her son, Edward, who helps run the concession with his mother and sister, Charity. A cardboard tray of white meat jerk runs $6. The smoothie-like Bahama-Mama, with "a secret ingredient,'' says her son, is $10.
Aniemeka hopes to use the stand as a steppingstone to a spot at the Taste of Chicago.
While hot dogs and such are available at most beaches, Calumet Beach, on the far South Side at Avenue G, dishes up Mexican fare such as tacos, flautas and seafood tostadas. The North Side's Loyola Beach concession is run by the vegetarian favorite, Heartland Cafe. While it does sell hot dogs -- with or without meat -- Loyola's concession also features veggie dishes like hummus, a paste-like ground-chickpea appetizer, topped with slices of green and red pepper that comes with pita bread for $4.
Full service, sit-down, beach-side restaurants operate at North Avenue and Oak Street, with beer and wine, and the Parrot Cage restaurant in the Shore Shore Cultural Center is open for Sunday brunch and evenings Wednesday through Saturday.
Andrew Herrmann