The Ukraine in Chicago

I am currently on vacation in Chicago. I'm visiting family and friends. I went to a Ukrainian restaurant that was quite delicious called Tryzub.

I had a pleasant surprise as I reached the threshold of the restaurant.

What on earth could the Ukrainians have against the leader of Russia? I mean why would anybody in the United States have anything against Vladimir Putin?

In case you didn't know that there was a war that Russia is currently waging against Ukraine or that people at the highest orders of US government are allied with Russia, this restaurant definitely lets you know what's going on.

Since it was a sunny day, I decided to sit outside as I waited for my friend to join me. In front of me where a group of women speaking Spanish having a lovely time eating. They were all wearing these blue blankets like a shawl around them. I was a little jealous because it was a little windy that day. I asked them where they got the blankets and explained that they will give them to you if you ask for one.

"Oh good," I said. "I thought this was a bachelorette party."

Apparently my joke was not funny because they did not laugh or giggle.

"What is good on the menu?" I asked. Indeed, it was my first time coming to this restaurant and the first time in a long time that I had spent time in Uki Village.

One person said the salad was great. Another said that the ribeye was delicious. The woman who was facing me explain that she had been coming here for years and that she loves this restaurant. That was a hint to me that you could probably order anything on the menu and have a good meal. So I look at the menu. Oops! It's in Ukrainian! Where is my Ukrainian husband to explain it to me? 🤣

just kidding. But this was a good sign to me. The other good sign was that the woman who worked at the restaurant who seated me looks a lot like my friend, Elle, who is of Ukrainian ancestry. Both this woman and my server had foreign accents that I suspect are Ukrainian origin based on all of the context clues. Together, these signs mean this restaurant is a place that actual Ukrainians come to.

I flipped the menu and behold! It was indeed in English.

There were all sorts of jabs on the menu that made me smile. I had eyes that were bigger than my stomach so I ordered the potato pancakes to share as well as the hunter soup. They were all delicious and I left feeling satisfied. It was also not too heavy, something I would've predicted with food from Eastern Europe.

As we were exiting, we took several pictures, including of the welcome mat. The Ukrainian flag had an interesting signature on it but I had no idea who that person was but my friend Gima and I still took a picture in front of it because hopefully one of you guys can recognize it and give me an idea who this person is.

We took more pictures. My friend Gima will be returning with her husband soon because they've both been wanting to come to this restaurant ever since they saw it on Check Please!

If you look closely, there is yet another picture of Putin.

I think I'm in love with Ukrainians. You have to love the spirit of resistance as well as the random humor of their president, who is a former comedian.

I prefer leaders who dick around a piano over their own country any day.