CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS - EDGEWATER LOGAN SQUARE WEST LOOP EDISON PARK OAK PARK

CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS – EDGEWATER LOGAN SQUARE WEST LOOP EDISON PARK OAK PARK

EDGEWATER

If it were you you would like that Viet Bistro is full all the time. Chef and owner Dan Nguyen ought to have a chain of these bistros scattered about the city and suburbs.

But there is just the one Viet Bistro. It’s a quaint bar and dining room side-by-side with dim lighting and attractive artwork decorating the walls. Entrées are $20 or less except for an occasional $22 special which is still a good deal.

Dan Nguyen’s name might sound familiar. He was chef and owner of the late great Pasteur which for years was a certified hit among patrons. Pasteur had a nice 10-year-run but when the economy soured Nguyen closed the Broadway location in April 2007 and moved into the smaller Viet Bistro in Edgewater.

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LOGAN SQUARE

Efforts have increased in an effort to convert an unused railroad line into an elevated bike and walking trail through the city’s Northwest Side.

The City of Chicago and the Trust for Public Land have acquired properties for three new parks and trail access ramps along the Canadian Pacific railroad line at Bloomingdale Avenue. One of the parks opened last month in Logan Square. The city has begun seeking proposals for preliminary design work.

Officials are hoping the project dubbed the Bloomingdale Trail might be completed within seven years.

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WEST LOOP

With perks such as free wine crowds filled West Loop art houses during The Chicago Gallery News’ fall season kickoff. The turnout reflected Chicago’s growing art scene said SAIC photo department chair Barbara DeGenevieve.

Barbara takes a moment to see "The New Escapist Promised Land Garden and Recreation Center" by her former student Rashid Johnson. "It’s like my father’s basement has come alive" Johnson said about his1970s-inspired photos. "It’s very much about nostalgia."

Next door at Rhona Hoffman Gallery New York artist Steve Kiester shows off sculptures and pre-Columbianesque ceramic bowls in "Angels in America." His secondhand blazer seamlessly fit in with the brightly colored art. "It’s from South America" he said. "It caught my eye it brought me into the store and it fit."

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EDISON PARK

Four singers are determined to be the next hot ’50s male quartet but are killed on the way to their first major concert. This would seem to be an unlikely scenario for a musical comedy staged in Edison Park but "Forever Plaid" is a favorite to audiences because the Plaids get their chance to perform that concert-posthumously. They sing such enduring hits as "Catch a Falling Star" and "Three Coins in a Fountain."

The John Waldron Arts Center and the James Downing Theatre are staging Stuart Ross’ 1990 musical through Nov. 23 under the direction of Chicagoan Micah Fortenberry.

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OAK PARK

In the sanctuary the Cantonese service has ended and it worshipers have cleared out. The pastor preaches a lively sermon in Mandarin to a new group of worshipers. Still yet another congregation upstairs fills a hall to sing hymns in English accompanied by drums and guitars.

The Sunday school classes are taught in languages that switch between English and Chinese.

One hundred years after it began as a mission to Chicago laundry workers the Chinese Bible Church of Oak Park has found a way to thrive and to serve as three congregations in one: English- Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking.