Scott VanDenPlas

About a week ago, I was traveling down Ashland near where we live. We have a lot of new restaurants in our neighborhood, so we try to keep our eyes open for new things to try. I recently ate a Piccolo and Jerry’s, both of which I enjoyed. Neither experience prepared me for what I was about to witness.

I noticed a sign…. dare I say the king of signs? It had a slogan that I will never forget.

Hank’s : Where Middle Eastern Meets Mexico.

I was really hoping for some insane fusion cuisine, but after reading the lone review on yelp, I realized that I merely had a choice between Mexican food, Middle Eastern food, and grocery shopping… no falafel burrito, but still very promising. We went there, and the review is correct, the food is made super fresh right there on the spot. Beth got a vegetarian torta(mexican.. check!), I got the falafel sandwich(middle eastern.. check!), and Adam got a chicken caesar wrap (uh..) wrapped in a pita (oh! middle eastern.. check!) w/ a side of guacamole (self-fusioned, go Adam).

The food did take some time to come, but was good. Right before I was about to eat, a homeless woman came in and asked us to buy her food because she didn’t have any shoes or socks (I guess besides the ones she was wearing). She then spit all over my food. Needless to say, I did not buy her anything.

So I had to reorder my sandwich, but whatever, it was tasty even without the homeless woman spit all over it. I give Hanks’ 346 out of 498 stars.

Saw this come across in a museumwide email today… it is happening the day after we open our brand new maps exhibit and sounds really fascinating.

I’m planning on being here for it, anyone else interested?

Check it out:

DARWIN AT THE FIELD MUSEUM: NOVEMBER 3, 2007

The Field Museum will host a one-day symposium on Darwin and his Theory of Evolution. The symposium celebrates the temporary exhibit on Darwin, his life and his science, currently on display at the Museum. World-class experts from the United States and Great Britain will explore Darwin’s place in the history of biology, the philosophical dimensions of Darwin’s theory of evolution, evolutionary innovation in the plant and animal kingdoms, microevolutionary processes in lizards and birds (Darwin’s finches), problems of co-evolution, the evolution of the HIV virus, and the origin of man.

WHEN: Saturday, November 3, 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM.

WHERE: James Simpson Theatre, West Entrance, The Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL

ADMISSION IS FREE – THE SYMPOSIUM IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
For more information call (312) 665-7621

9:00 – 9:10 AM Welcoming Remarks

9:10 – 9:40 AM
ROBERT J. RICHARDS, University of Chicago
Darwin’s Place in the History of Biology

9:40 – 10:10 AM
RASMUS WINTHER, University of California-Santa Cruz
Philosophical Dimensions of Darwinism

10:10 – 10:40 AM Coffee Break

10:40 – 11:10 AM
ANDREW SMITH, The Natural History Museum, London
Fossils and Phylogeny

11:10 – 11:40 AM
PETER CRANE, University of Chicago
The Evolution of Carnivores from Plants

11:40 – 12:10 AM
NEIL SHUBIN, The Field Museum
The Origin of Tetrapod Limbs

12:10 – 2:00 PM Lunch Break

2:00 – 2:30 PM
JONATHAN LOSOS, Harvard University (MCZ)
Evolution in Action: Caribbean Island Lizards

2:30 – 3:00 PM
TREVOR PRICE, University of Chicago
Evolution in Action: Darwin’s Finches

3:00 – 3:30 PM
DANIEL BROOKS, University of Toronto
Darwin and Co-Evolution: Emphasizing the Nature of the Organism in Studies of Multi-Species Associations

3:30 – 4:00 PM Coffee Break

4:00 – 4:30 PM
DAVID HILLIS, University of Texas, Austin
The HIV Epidemic: Tracking an Evolutionary Process

4: 30 – 5:00 PM
ROBERT MARTIN, The Field Museum
The Origin of Man