TVs in Chicago Restaurants - WTF!!??

Am I the only person who doesn't want to watch grown men grope each other while eating quality Neapolitan pizza?

Seriously. What's up with all the TVs in Chicago restaurants. Do we really need to reinforce the stereotype that we are starchy Midwesterners who can't be expected to leave our precious TVs for more than a few hours? Is this symptomatic of the broader trend of the Tuscon-ification of Chicago? Is it because the entire goddamn Northside, which used to be full of diverse, working-class neighborhoods, is basically now a wasteland of Hawkeyes fans? As a native-born Chicagoan who plans an eventual return, "I'm mad as hell, and I can't take it anymore!!!!"

I hear you man. If i walk into another South Asian joint on Devon or Orleans and see Al Jazeera blastin' or a fooball match or Bollywood or cricket I'm gonna go off. Same for the K-Pop and Vietnamese versions of "America's Got Talent." And more soccer booming in all the Balkan places. And the Mexican places, with the TV turned to 11 for "goooooooooool!!!!!!" and telenovelas.... This town needs to turn the damn TV off!!!!!

But seriously, those TVs are like Chicago's version of the letter grades other cities give out. Walk into an otherwise appealing spot, look at what's on the TV, then reassess.

Some venues in Chicago make excellent use of the TVs. Club Lago (classic cinema and art stuff, played at a considerate volume) and Delilah's (weird shit) come to mind immediately.

As someone who works in a TV rich environment, Barn & Company, I am better able than most to tune them out, I simply don't notice. I mention this as I had to call and double check, though I was 95% certain, there were no, none, nada, television sets at Spacca Napoli, where I enjoyed a stellar lunch last Friday.

No TVs at Rainbow Thai either, where I find myself often. OK, very often.

Spacca Napoli
1769 W. Sunnyside
Chicago
773-878-2420

Habibi, when you return, avoid the Hawkeye haven discuss in Mike G's "How To Ruin Your Restaurant With TV, Part 2"

I've noticed this too. There are places (bars and restaurants) with no TVs or ones with TVs that aren't playing stupid crap, but it is still pretty annoying.

On the other hand, there were, um, vivid (yeah, that's the word) Russian music videos at the LTH lunch at late GNR Chaihanna, and I was given good authority that the way to find good cheap eats in Lisbon was to look for soccer on widescreens.

JeffB wrote:...South Asian joint on Devon or Orleans and see Al Jazeera blastin' ... Bollywood or cricket... K-Pop and Vietnamese versions of "America's Got Talent... soccer booming in all the Balkan places. And the Mexican places, with the TV turned to 11 for "goooooooooool!!!!!!" and telenovelas...

I have to disagree with this. Sure, I've been to many places where the TV was totally unnecessary and even annoying, but sometimes it sets a nice tone. I personally love watching cricket at Ghareeb Nawaz, and especially K-pop at Dancen or Yeowoosai. When the TV feels appropriate, to me it adds to the character of a place, allows you to step into another world for a while. This would even apply to american pizza taverns. I'm the last person to choose to watch sports, but last time I was at Pequod's I think i actually mentioned how I loved how american pizza places all have that similar feel to them which I like, part of which is due to the TVs.

I find televisions in restaurants incredibly vulgar. I will avoid restaurants with televisions (strictly, if I cannot escape from them) and seek out restaurants and bars that are not contaminated. Even lounges and cocktail bars have them now. It's ridiculous and one of very few things I do not like about Chicago.

I despise televisions in restaurants and bars, but there are two that i thought used them well. Godzilla Sushi in SF used to have a stack or 4or 5 on either corner of the sushi bar all playing Japanese monster movies. And Cafe Matorano, the pinky ring capital of S.Fla used mob films in much the same way. Goodfellas, The Godfather etc... Whenever Fredo was in the canoe about to get wacked, they'd turn it up, blast him, and turn it back down again.

Scary that many can't face not watching tv or playing on a cellphone during a meal. I've been to dinners where 5 out of 6 pp were engaging their phones @ the same time while i watched. To me that's pathetic (besides rude).

Jazzfood wrote:I despise televisions in restaurants and bars, but there are two that i thought used them well. Godzilla Sushi in SF used to have a stack or 4or 5 on either corner of the sushi bar all playing Japanese monster movies. And Cafe Matorano, the pinky ring capital of S.Fla used mob films in much the same way. Goodfellas, The Godfather etc... Whenever Fredo was in the canoe about to get wacked, they'd turn it up, blast him, and turn it back down again.

Scary that many can't face not watching tv or playing on a cellphone during a meal. I've been to dinners where 5 out of 6 pp were engaging their phones @ the same time while i watched. To me that's pathetic (besides rude).

At Autre Monde, because one of the owners also owns the wonderful Horrorbiles vintage sci-fi & horror memorabilia store, they used to run old black-and-white sci-fi and horror movies, and I, for one, 1) thought it was excellent that you could have the visuals without having to actually attend to a story line (it was kind of like moving and amusing wallpaper) and 2) appreciated the cognitive dissonance the visuals created in a relatively swank place.

I love a good visual and when used in a more artistic manner, I can @ least deal w/them but for me 99.9% are just an electronic intrusion that force your eye to them regardless if you want to watch or are interested. God forbid you should be present and in the moment eating w/a friend.

JeffB wrote:I hear you man. If i walk into another South Asian joint on Devon or Orleans and see Al Jazeera blastin' or a fooball match or Bollywood or cricket I'm gonna go off. Same for the K-Pop and Vietnamese versions of "America's Got Talent." And more soccer booming in all the Balkan places. And the Mexican places, with the TV turned to 11 for "goooooooooool!!!!!!" and telenovelas.... This town needs to turn the damn TV off!!!!!

Yeah you've got me here. I don't mind watching a little Nollywood when I'm eating fufu and okra soup, or a little Arabic-language Al-Jazeera with my kibbe mosul. The TVs I've encountered in "ethnic" places however tend to be set to lower volumes, are far less numerous (meaning that there is usually exactly one TV, if that, per dining room), and seem to offer the patrons something that they might not be able to get elsewhere - a taste of their home culture while they take a break from driving a cab, working construction, staying up all night manning a liquor store, etc. Of course I'm painting with a broad brush, not every "ethnic" restaurant is Ghareeb Nawaz or Palace Gate.

I'm just f'ing sick of having sports and/or CNN shoved down my throat whenever I walk into a neighborhood bar/restaurant in Chicago. Don't worry, many neighborhoods in NY suffer from the same ailment, so I'm convinced its a gentrifying/yuppie thing.

Habibi wrote:so I'm convinced its a gentrifying/yuppie thing.

It's actually a customer service...or so it is perceived. Customer satisfaction is supposedly higher, in part because perceived wait times are less, when there's a television going, even if its playing commercials or some crap -- that's why, at Chase bank, they have video-like screens that basically just project Chase-related images. When you're waiting, the theory goes, the wait seems shorter if you're looking at "television."

David Hammond wrote:

Habibi wrote:so I'm convinced its a gentrifying/yuppie thing.

It's actually a customer service...or so it is perceived. Customer satisfaction is supposedly higher, in part because perceived wait times are less, when there's a television going, even if its playing commercials or some crap -- that's why, at Chase bank, they have video-like screens that basically just project Chase-related images. When you're waiting, the theory goes, the wait seems shorter if you're looking at "television."

No disrespect. I'm sure you're correct. But, I find it pathetic that time goes faster when you don't have to be burdened with the thought of your companions or your meal.

The bar at DMK (the last several times I've been there) does television right. The pictures are always offbeat old movies of one kind or another (sometimes ten years old, sometimes fifty) but with the sound off. The sound instead comes from whatever iTunes mix they've got going. This creates interesting juxtapositions to drink by.

laikom wrote:

JeffB wrote:...South Asian joint on Devon or Orleans and see Al Jazeera blastin' ... Bollywood or cricket... K-Pop and Vietnamese versions of "America's Got Talent... soccer booming in all the Balkan places. And the Mexican places, with the TV turned to 11 for "goooooooooool!!!!!!" and telenovelas...

I have to disagree with this. Sure, I've been to many places where the TV was totally unnecessary and even annoying, but sometimes it sets a nice tone. I personally love watching cricket at Ghareeb Nawaz, and especially K-pop at Dancen or Yeowoosai. When the TV feels appropriate, to me it adds to the character of a place, allows you to step into another world for a while. This would even apply to american pizza taverns. I'm the last person to choose to watch sports, but last time I was at Pequod's I think i actually mentioned how I loved how american pizza places all have that similar feel to them which I like, part of which is due to the TVs.

Hey Abottt! I'm Costello over here. Thanks for the straight man response.

But really, that shiz is blasting at many Mexican and Pakistani spots.

I hate the Big Ten Bar. On record for a long time, but TVs are neighborhood fare. Nearly all community diners, pubs and taverns have a screen for Blackhawks, Real Madrid or tiddlywinks. The more modest places in NY sans video want you to pay and scram. They are not above TV.

I mean, if I can't watch Berlin Alexanderplatz (extended version, not the skimpy original TV release) while eating my poutine then what the hell did I fight in Korea for, you know?

I find other cultures more interesting than our own, so I can handle tv @ Kahn or Lao Hunan easier.

Ok, I take it back, they're an abomination.

I had dinner at Emerson's Ale House in Mount Prospect (nee Michael's), and twelve screens showing the Hawks home opener made the meal almost intolerable, due to the United Center-level sound system.

Thing is . . . it's just not the same TV without clouds of cigarette smoke on the side.

While I'd prefer a no-TV environment in restaurants, my pet peeve is primarily with the TVs that seem to be watched by staff as much as the patrons. For whatever reason, I find that Vietnamese restaurants are particular offenders. It drives me crazy when I know my food should be ready, the the host/proprietor/server is too busy watching TV to bring it to me.

TVs with no sound (hey, that's why they invented closed captions)- OK.

TV sound - a bothersome and unavoidable imposition.

What I find really weird is how kids will automatically focus on a vid screen in any environment. Look around a restaurant with TVs and check out the children. No matter how small or obscured the vid is, kids will immediately lock onto it with a zombie stare, like they are caught in a tractor beam. It doesn't matter what is being shown either. They will watch a stock market commentary with the same intensity as a cartoon or music video. It is as if anything is better than reality. Once they are caught in the gravitational pull of the video, it is nearly impossible to break the lock. If I had kids, I would be furious if I paid good money for a family night out, just to have the kids lost in the same TV dimension as at home. I have a friend who always makes his kids sit with their backs to the TV screens, just so they will interact with their dining companions. I have to say though, as somebody who dines alone frequently, I often find myself feigning interest in some foreign language broadcast. I would never do it if I was in a group. In the case of ethnic places that are tuned to Al Jazeera or other foreign language TV channels, I think the TV adds a feeling of community to the homesick immigrants that dine there. In many cases the customers may not have access to those channels elsewhere, but the TV also gives people a starting point for conversations about events in their countries of origin.

d4v3 wrote:What I find really weird is how kids will automatically focus on a vid screen in any environment. Look around a restaurant with TVs and check out the children. No matter how small or obscured the vid is, kids will immediately lock onto it with a zombie stare, like they are caught in a tractor beam. It doesn't matter what is being shown either. They will watch a stock market commentary with the same intensity as a cartoon or music video. It is as if anything is better than reality. Once they are caught in the gravitational pull of the video, it is nearly impossible to break the lock.

In other words, they're like adults with cellphones.

I think you better avoid Next when they start their television themed menu.

I don't usually mind the TV being on, especially if I want to eat and watch whatever sporting event is on. Having the Hawks, Bulls, and Bears being top teams all at the same time is awesome and enhances the meal. But there are exceptions of course. I am able to ignore the TVs if I don't want to watch anyway, so I don't really have a problem with them.

TV or not TV? That is the question. I am sure it comes down to the bottom line. There are probably fewer people who would blow off a restaurant because it has TVs than people who would change plans because an establishment is sans-telly. At least the pro-TV people are more vocal about their choices, while the anti-TV crowd are more likely to suffer in silence.

I don't like them because *I* get caught in that tractor beam. There I am with my companions, lost looking at the shiny.