We are pleased to announce the ChiLo City Grudge Match: Chicago Edition, taking place on Saturday, September 19.
This is the third event in the ChiLo series and will also serve as the last-chance qualifier for the ANRPC taking place the next day.
The event takes place at Chicagoland Games: Dice Dojo at 5550 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640. Registration begins at 10am and the first round begins at 11am. Registration is $15.
We have a wide selection of prizes including at least 17 letterbox identities made by Chicago’s own Jack Otto (pictures to follow) as well as our new ChiLo tokens created again by Tony Sarkees.
We will be having events during the ANRPC championship taking place on the following day, so don’t be afraid to carpool with someone who has earned a spot for Sunday’s tournament. We will be happy to coordinate shared hotel rooms or find you a couch to crash on if you plan on doing netrunner both days.
Can I just highlight how awesome this is going to be? Because it’s going to be awesome.
Hotels:
If you’re looking for a hip urban place to stay, the Guesthouse is under 2 miles from the venue and seems like a really neat place to stay: http://www.theguesthousehotel.com/
The closest name-brand hotels are probably the ones in Evanston. There’s a Best Western that’s close to the Purple Line, which connects to the Red Line, which is how real live Chicagoans get to the Dice Dojo.
There’s a motel a 15 minute walk from the venue. the Heart O’ Chicago. It’s got incredibly middling reviews but you probably won’t die: http://www.heartochicago.com/
Transportation:
The Dice Dojo is very close to the Bryn Mawr stop on the CTA’s Red Line, so you can get there from anywhere in the city. Farecards are $3 for a single-use card (one ride, plus up to two transfers) or $5 for a rechargeable card (which you can register online to get $5 of fare added, which is good enough for two rides and transfers). I don’t know how much sense the system makes to an outsider but just make sure you board the train going in the right direction.
Food:
The Dice Dojo has a decent number of restaurants nearby. Here’s what you can expect for between-round food:
Ben’s Noodles and Rice: A Thai noodle place. They’re pretty quick as far as noodles go.
Little Vietnam: A really good Vietnamese place, with $5 Banh Mi sandwiches. If you’ve never had a Banh Mi, they’re really good, but be aware that they have jalapenos on them. Biting into them and not expecting that is just part of the experience
Taqueria Uptown: Standard Mexican fare. Tacos, giant oversized burritos, you name it.
Hellas Gyros. Despite the name, this place sells a wide variety of meat-based sandwiches, including hot dogs, hamburgers, and… gyros! They’re not too expensive but service can be a bit slow, so make sure you have 10-15 minutes before heading here.
Apart Pizza: These guys make really fantastic thin-crust pizza. If you don’t want to split a pizza with someone else, this is a great place, since they’ll make single-person pizzas. Seriously, I ate here like once a week in high school, it’s good.
Zanzibar, an upscale sandwich shop with really interesting sandwiches, and also ice cream. Make sure you get the coleslaw, it’s made spicy.
There’s a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Subway if you hate local businesses.
If new things scare you, McDonalds, Chipotle, Popeye’s Chicken, and Sonic (!!!) each have franchises within a short drive as well.
If you’re looking for Chicago specialties, here’s my two favorite nearby places:
Hot “G” Dog, the successor to Hot Doug’s, is a bit over a mile away on Clark. (5009 N Clark St). They’re open until 8 on Saturdays and sell upscale sausages. Kangaroo, alligator, foie gras - it’s pretty amazing.
Ghareeb Nawaz, the best cheap Indian restaurant ever, is about two miles away. (2032 W Devon Ave) They’re a hole-in-the-wall place in the local Indian neighborhood with full entrees priced at $6 and below. Seriously, nothing on the menu is more than $6, and you’ll be taking leftovers home.
After hours, there’s a lot of interesting bars along Clark Street, which is a 10 minute walk away from the Dice Dojo.
Also, we’ll be having our regular Friday Night Netrunner the day before the event at the same place - it’s FREE and starts at 7:30, although people get there as early as 6:30. There’s usually a game night kit, and it’s a great chance to say hi and meet everyone!
Ghareeb Nawaz is legit delicious and indeed quite cheap, but I believe it’s Pakistani, rather than Indian. If you’re picky about that distinction or if you’re willing to drive a bit further west, Uru Swati remains the best Indian food in the city, IMO.
They opened a second location and the wait has gone down considerably. I live less than a mile away and never successfully got a table until the second location opened. Last time I went I got right in. Maybe I was just lucky though.
Really looking forward to this. The magnificent gentleman @Daine is playing conductor to the Couch Connection ™, trying to find a pad for me to crash since I’ll be driving six hours (one way) and traveling alone. Can’t wait to see lots of familiar faces after meeting so many of you in January at Chilo South and more recently at Chicago regionals! I think I’ll come up a day early so I can join in on that GNK.
Really looking forward to bringing the GLC title to Ohio in the event @anon50033301 can’t attend
definitely considering coming by to try to get one of those GLC RPs and make sure the ChiLo crown stays in Ohio. dunno if i can commit a whole weekend to the trip yet, though!
You guys can crash at my apartment in Arlington Heights if you want. It’s about 45 minutes from Dice Dojo with traffic. I’m close to the red line also, but I’ll probably be driving out early to find parking.
oh what, that’s wild! unrelated, i can confirm that @anon50033301 will be showing up. please pay no mind if he appears as a paper mache head impaled on a broomstick. he has given me express instructions to accept his wooden RP card on his behalf, since he will have no pockets or arms or hands to hold onto it himself. thanks in advance for your understanding.
