More diversions...

When I'm feeling blue, and my nose runs, and it seems like spring will never arrive, where do I find comfort? The Fish Keg! (Where else?) Friday night I picked up some fried shrimp from the Fish Keg, whose shrimp I have been enjoying for thrity years. Mmmm.... to me, this is the very definition of comfort food. In all the years I've been going there, it has not changed, and the shrimp, packed in a brown paper bag, has never disappointed. This small, no-frills carryout is a rock of stability on the north side of Chicago. (You can read a review here.)

As long as I'm on the subject of food, another one of my favorite places is just a short distance away, not far from the Jarvis Red Line stop: Romanian Kosher Sausage Company. Its nondescript brick building at the corner of Touhy and Clark does little to invite the passerby. But try their salami, bologna, or knockwurst; you'll be hard pressed to find better. Some of the big supermarket chains around Chicago carry Romanian products, but the Rogers Park store has the best, most reliable selection.