The "original" Original Joe's restaurant was located in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco and was a favorite old time restaurant of me when I first moved to San Francisco.  After a fire a few years ago, the owners finally re-opened in North Beach on a corner facing Washington Square.  Some of the artifacts of the old restaurant were saved and now grace the exterior and interior of the new restaurant.  It seems the "same" only better!

This desolate corner buffeted by an elevated freeway, littered with trash and and the hopeless smell of the homeless is soon to be transformed into an urban "oasis".  Taking advantage of the surge in popularity of food trucks and outdoor eating, it will provide a central space in the SOMA area for outdoor tasting.  They plan to be open 7 days a week.  Check out their website.

Neon signs are fading from American streets.  As parts of a neon go dark, owners are increasing letting them go until only the painted backdrop is left.  Americans also want "authentic" cuisine and shun the pretend exotic Chinese dishes grandma and grandpa enjoyed.  Are these the last days for this neon sign? 

Chicago Chinatown is a short subway right from downtown Chicago on the Red Line.  Just north of the traditional Chinese gateway leading to the older section of  Chinatown is a mall with shops and resturants.  We had dinner at Ken Kee Restaurant  at 2129-A South China Place. Ken Kee Restaurant serves Hong Kong style food so it was a surprise to see a Szechuan dish prominently featured on the menu.  The photo looked enticing so we tried it.  Szechuan Fish in Spicy Broth is strongly flavored with Szechuan pepper corns, Szechuan red pepper sauce, and chilis.  Wonderful spicy taste, but be warned if you are not used to this dish, it may be an issue for gastro-intestinal tract.  I don't see this dish on their on-line menu, but we saw it on the restaurant menu.

If you want to try it but aren't going to Chicago, I found a recipe on-line here.