The Gaslight in Chicago

I have photographed many dozens of restaurants but I was surprised when I entered the Gaslight Restaurant at the Chicago O'Hare Airport Hilton. I felt like I was in some kind of a speakeasy Chicago time-warp. The walls were covered with crushed red velvet fleur de les. The room was filled with a massive chandelier that would have made the Phantom jealous and the black scantily clad waitresses were like an oasis in this utilitarian property.

Ray, the gracious manager greeted me warmly and with curiosity. I felt like I was in Europe again. Above the piano sat a huge black-and-white framed photo of a happy old man surrounded by buxom beauties.

"Who is that guy?" I asked.

"Ever heard of Jimmy Durante?"

I had. I thought he was a boxer. It turns out he was a very famous comedian back in the day. After the photo shoot I decided to come back for a drink.

It was quite full so I sat at a little table right in front of the piano and ordered a Booker's bourbon on the rocks.

The seasoned Piano Man arrived and made fun of himself with the usual sort of viagra jokes and began his set. A few numbers into it he asked me who I wanted to hear.

"Elvis." I replied.

"What song?"

"In the Ghetto" I requested without hesitation.

He stammered for a moment and shook his head, "Oh no. We can't play that song in Chicago."

Fair enough ... On a cold and gray Chicago morning he learns how to steal and he learns how to fight in the ghetto ...

He launched into Suspicious Minds and Ray sent me a free drink. Thanks Ray. There was a blonde waitress here who would make any of the Bond Girls forgettable. I began to wonder who came up with the idea of fishnet stockings anyways? Back to the show.

Before leaving I thanked Ray at the bar for the drink and asked him if he was Polish, his voice sounded exactly like Roman Polanski's. He said he was from Yugoslavia.

I self-consciously left the roof filled with middle-aged Polo shirted business men a little too quickly but I was glad I had taken the time to explore this little den.

A great quote was above the bar, "Work is the curse of the drinking classes."

I saw the quote again a day later on the back of a staff t-shirt at an Irish pub in Indianapolis. The quote is attributed to Oscar Wilde.

I know it's a play on words but with my workload the past few months the words ring a little too true.