Best Day Ever: Blair Kamin, Lee Bey team up
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Book cover courtesy of University of Chicago Press
In a Siskel & Ebert-esque matchup, architecture critics Blair Kamin and Lee Bey are hosting a panel at Printers Row Lit Fest this Sunday at 5pm.
State of play: Kamin and Bey covered the architecture beat as rivals at the Tribune and Sun Times, respectively, for years. But this year, they teamed up on a new book titled "Who Is the City For?"
- Bey's pictures accompany 50 of Kamin's Tribune columns from the last decade, including his takes on Trump Tower and Lincoln Yards.
- The hope is to show "that for all of its challenges and inequities, Chicago is still a beautiful and relevant city," Bey says.
The latest: Kamin gave us his Best Day Ever in Chicago, and we'll give you Lee's when the book is released Nov. 16.
🥯 Breakfast: "I'd start at The Bagel, preceded by watching the sunrise over Lake Michigan and going for a swim in the lake. There's nothing like immersing yourself in its vastness — all that water, all that sky! Having burned off several hundred calories with a mile-long open-water swim, I could justify ordering a salami omelet, with a bagel and cream cheese on the side."
🚵 Morning activity: "Despite the swim, I'd still feel guilty about breakfast, so I'd do a long bike ride on the lakefront trail — the perfect way to burn more calories and take in Chicago's majestic skyline."
🥪 Lunch: "I love Manny's — the unpretentious cafeteria atmosphere, the theater of the knife-wielding guys behind the counter, and the motley crowd (cops, politicos, execs, you name it). Normally, I eat a healthy lunch, but today, I'm going for gluttonous glory — a pastrami sandwich, piled high, with a potato pancake on the side."
🛌 Afternoon activity: "Nap, induced by Manny's food coma."
🍽️ Dinner: "North Pond Restaurant is where my wife, Barbara Mahany, and I celebrate special occasions. We revel in the Prairie Style-inspired design, the creative offerings on the menu, the intimate setting and the personalized service."
🎭 Evening activity: "We’d drive up to Glencoe to see a show at the Writers Theatre, attracted by the quality of the productions and the beauty of the theater’s Jeanne Gang design."