This is the kind of thing you hate to see restaurant critics do to that special little out-of-the-way dining spot you discovered and don`t want other people to know about because if it becomes too successful, you won`t be able to get in anymore.
You love the place because the food is good and inexpensive, the atmosphere is warm and cozy, and the service is excellent.
You and the other diners who go there are like an extended family and this marvelous little gem of a restaurant is the family secret. Shhhhhhh. Don`t tell anyone. Because if we do and the ”in” crowd descends, we`ll all be ”out.”
Well, I`m about to do it to a favorite place of mine. I`ve already told a few people and I think they`ve told a few more. Now the word goes out to all of you.
Midway Airport.
Shhhhh. Not too loud, please.
This little gem of a field has made travel a pleasure for me for several months now. I didn`t exactly discover it then. I rediscovered it. Midway was the airport of my youth. I lived on the South Side and it was not only the airport closest to home, it was the world`s busiest. A real queen. Many an exciting journey, at least in my mind, began there.
In the intervening years I`ve traveled a great deal but not from Midway. The Southwest Side field not only lost its crown, it had, for all practical purposes, been beheaded. O`Hare became king of the airways. The queen was dead. Long live the king.
Well, Midway wasn`t actually dead, it turns out. Just resting. If not a sleeping giant, a sleeping beauty. At least for this traveler.
What a pleasure to fly in and out of the place. First, let me tell you what you will not encounter:
— Mobs of people. About 3 million passengers annually use Midway compared to O`Hare`s 50 million.
— Long, long walks. No chance that you`ll have to trudge a mile and a half on concourse XYZ to gate 74. There just are not many concourses and gates.
— Standing room only in bars and restaurants. You simply walk in and sit down.
— Runway delays while 42 planes slowly taxi to their takeoff positions in front of yours. Here there is little such runway clutter.
Compared to airports in other major cities, Midway has a peaceful, small- town atmosphere. When I`m there, I always feel like I`m not really in Chicago. South Bend, Ind., maybe, or Davenport, Iowa, but not Chicago.
People tend to stroll, not rush. What a pleasure to start and end your trip without hassle and hubbub. You can go to the East Coast, the West Coast and all kinds of points in between. And, to top it off, for me the cab ride is shorter and cheaper than to the Big One on the Northwest Side.
As I say, I travel a lot and I have been using Midway almost exclusively since my rediscovery last year. Try it. You`ll like it.
But not too many of you, please.
