Chicago Party Returns -Chicagoans in LA sure miss those “sanguages”.

Sep 23, 2009

Chicago Party Returns -Chicagoans in LA sure miss those “sanguages”.

Categories: Day Tripping, Diva-Colored Glasses, Diva-liscious, Do As The Locals Do, Featured, Miscellaneous, Night Life Diva, Spa Diva, The 411 Diva

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By Angela Rocco DeCarlo

Santa Monica, CA 9-21-09
Chicagoans living in exile in Southern California may not miss the weather, but we sure do miss the foods – pizza, hot dogs, Italian beef & “sanguages”.

That’s why there were 300 people, connected with the entertainment/media industry, packed into Chicago restaurateur Jerrod & RJ Melman’s new eatery, “La Grande Orange” in Santa Monica, CA. Rich Melman speared headed the original Chicago “Windy City West” parties beginning 22 years ago. This party, with AT & T sponsorship, along with many other entities; including United Airlines, Chicago Sun-Times, Columbia College and the Illinois office which assists filmmakers, promised Lou Malnati pizza, Portillo’s Italian beef, with sweet peppers, Eli’s cheesecake and other assorted treats, which caused party goers to fast for at least two days prior to the party.
The logjam at the kitchen where none-other-than-Mark Malnati was hand-making luscious Lou Malnati pizzas was prodigious. Nonetheless, I got what I came for with a bonus…three pieces, of Malnati pizza and the opportunity to let Mark Malnati know what fans we are of his products. Whenever we’re in Chicago we take an insulated bag to Lou Malnati’s restaurant near the airport, and load up on frozen pizzas. We horde these tastes of home carefully, never serving them to guests unless we feel they are “Malnati worthy”.
The event was Melmanesque - lavish, yet down-home style with friendly service and generous hospitality. Letting people hang out in the kitchen with Mark Malnati was a stroke of genius, branding the party true Chicago style.
The entrance to the party was glammed up with a velvet rope, “Orange Carpet” walkway, very chic. The original parties’ networking opportunities were much more casual. People met, talked, deals were struck over a bite of hamburger without fanfare. Today, marketing holds a larger role in every enterprise.
There were no tickets. To qualify as a guest one had to be invited by a member of the host committee. Each host invited 20 guests – personal friends ( or parents, in our case ) in the industry so that there was a sense of community unusual for such a large party.
After chowing down all that free food – and drink if you were so inclined – departing guests received an orange themed packet which contained gifts cards to Orange, Lou Malnati’s and Hub 51 in Chicago. I confess, I felt guilty to go home with a goodie bag after being fed my favorite foods for free.
Tonight’s party erased the “indigestion” of a bogus Chicago party at an auto museum a couple of years ago, run by a Chicago guy who didn’t live up to standards and promises. Boy, did he hear about the lack of food and snooty atmosphere.
The standards were set beginning 22 years ago, when Ginny Weissman, Tribune TV Week editor, and her group ran Windy City West parties for ten years. The only purpose, as perennial emcee Tom Dreesen liked to boast, was for Chicagoans to “hangout” and eat hometown foods. The venue back then was Rich Melman’s iconic diner Ed Debevic’s, Beverly Hills.I can still taste those yummy mini milk shakes and hamburgers. It was all about the foods. And Chicago friends. That was it. No charity collection. No superfluous awards. Just lots of familiar faces eating their way through treats unavailable in California.
It was the party to hang with the likes of TV star Steve Allen, writer Studs Turkel, comedian Shelley Berman, magicians Gay and Harry Blackstone, Jr., TV soap writers Bob Bell and Lee Phillips, actress Marilu Henner, vegetarian, whom I recall declined to even stand in front of the Italian beef as I interviewing her, though she ate most everything else.
At tonight’s party most of the faces were new to this veteran party-goer aside from Ginny Weissman; actor, Joe Mantegna; actress Nia Vardalos; comedian Mark DeCarlo; comic Tom Dreesen; actor Danny Breen; producer, Gay Blackstone; Dick Butkus and actresses Meagan Cavanagh and Yeni Alvarez.
With Rich Melman and Mark Malnati the party lived up to standards. I still can’t get over that Mark Malnati personally made the pizzas for us all. For Chicago pizza buffs that’s like having Da Vinci paint your portrait.
Tom Dreesen introduced various luminaries such as Dick Butkus and folks from Columbia College made a few comments, but for the most part it was about foods and friends.
The La Grande Orange is a casual style eatery on a corner location on Main St., Santa Monica. Dozens of young attractive women served the foods with care and warmth. It looks like the old Windy City West party has been reborn with a new name, and extensive sponsorship…Chicago Link Event. But the important things – the favorite hometown foods and convivial atmosphere were unchanged.
Nobody does it better than Chicagoans.