Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 43

Chicago (Tribune Friday, June 10, 1983 Section 3 7 -iSiFJVr tr frost Open your back door and discover Chicago's Riviera MOVIES: "WarGames," an entertaining thriller about a teenage video game freak who almost starts World War III, at outlying theaters. THEATER: "Megafun," a lively Improvlsatlonal comedy revue, all weekend at Piper's Alley Theater. nearby Union Pier was largely Jewish By Ron Grossman perhaps because those two groups men IHCAGO'S OWN Riviera lies be divided the Lawndale neighborhood be- yond the steel mills and oil re- tween them. Grand Beach was as Irish fineries of northwestern Indiana, as Bridgeport or Beverlv. and Lakeside sireicning in a glorious arc around me was tne summer nome tor many univer- curve oi Ldice micmgan.

me laxesnore sitv ot cmcaeo lacuitv esne- JAZZ: Sphere, the quartet that pays tribute to the music of Thelonious Monk, at the Jazz Showcase. is dotted with spectacular sand dune ciallv after Harold Swift, the formations, the likes of which are found chairman of its board. few places on Earth. Back in from the plunked down a magnificent lake, there are wooded patches and estate there. Bethenay Beach wetlands that haven't changed much was a Swedish community.

since the Indians' days. Even the professions had ter- A lot of Chicagoans have forgotten this ritorial representation in the natural playground at our back door, but sand dunes. So many shrinks LAST CHANCE: Recommended shows closing this weekend: "Hello, Dolly!" and "Texas Pipe Dreams." For details see the Weekend Guide, page 12. a generation ago some neighborhoods took their holidays in Beverly Shores 4w istsasmi wuuia we virtually uepopuiaiea sum- mat tne institute tor rsycnoanaiysis fsvcho mer as families were transplanted to the must have been tempted to hold its resort communities along Lake Michi- August meeting on the beach there. Pining out ean's southern and eastern shores But recreational styles change and Women and children would take ud resi- neoDle move on.

Bertha Zhnril. who's 101 tm uence tor tne season in au sorts ot years old, ran the first resort in union cabins, cottages and resorts while their Pier with a kitchen that nut out kuael The best steak in Chicago: Two prime contenders menfolk commuted out from the city on and kishke and other Jewish specialties, weekends. Each Friday afternoon, ev- She recalls that in the town's heyday she eryone would leave the beach early and had some 30 rivals for the trade of troop down to the South Shore Line's families trying to escape the summer station to greet husbands and fathers as heat of the tenements of the West Side they got off the big, orange interurban and Albany Park. Not a single one of cars. those resorts is still operating.

ai we time, you couia nave virtually Dllf redrawn the city's ethnic map around lMM.a2 ty ethnic map Lake Michigan. Lake Michiean the bottom of New Buf- neignrjornooas, so is in sanu uune Continued on following page falo was predominantly Bohemian, while By Paul A. Camp MTI: Jii rii.S SO FTER SEVERAL HOURS of exacting research the night before a white-water canoe run down Pennsylvania's Pine Creek that Ik research involving visits to all the important local bars seeking advice on how to get through Owassee, the most difficult rapid on the river McCann, my long time dining and canoeing partner, suggested that dinner at tne Steak House might be in order. The Steak House in Wellsboro, is known for its black diamond steak, a generous marinated sirloin that "would bring tears to even Arnie Morton's eyes," McCann assured. Of course, he ordered that steak but encouraged me to order the sirloin for two, given what he correctly assessed as my dire need for food to stave off the effects of our research.

After I'd wolfed down appetizers and salad, the biggest chunk of sirloin I'd ever seen not still on a side of beef was delivered to the table overhanging a En KM-Mm Morton's Steak: 1050 N. State St. in Newberry Plaza, 266-4820 Hours: dinner only p.m. weeknlghte, 5-mldnlght 5-1 closed Sun. Price range: Dinner (or two Including appetizer or soup, entree, dessert, tax and tip: $85.

Credit cards: American Express, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa. Reservations: Accepted until 7 p.m., afterward first come first served. Eli's the Place for Steak Steak: 215 E. Chicago 642-1393 Hours: lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.n. dinner 4-11 p.m.

daily. Price range: Dinner for two Including appetizer or soup, entree, dessert, tax and tip: $60. Credit cards: American Express, Carte Blanche, Diners Club. Reservations: 7K7 Extraordinary Excellent Good Fair Poor The rating reflects the reviewer's opinion of the food In relation to price compared with similar taurants in the Chicago area. views are based on no fewer than two visits; more visits are made when necessary.

The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by The Tribune. Mmtrttion by John Schmalier Movies Action galore saves weak 'Octopussy' script By Gene Siskel Movie critic it -kit IWENTY-ONE years and 12 films Mini-review: Great stunt and gadgets, after "Dr. NO, the James Bond Olraotad by John Olwi; MrMnptoy by Owrg Mm Donald film series is still going strong I'ZLJJ! Octopussy," starring Roger Moore TOft iSSS;" STX-, as Agent 007, and with the appropriately ETgSS. UnHd Mr iiuea iNever oay never Again, starring the cast Sean Connery as Bond, 12 years after he ia.

At i nt a i OotOOUUV qu me roie. never oay never Again Kami) Loot jeunMn huge oval blatter. Having carefully planned his strategy, McCann rushed into my speechless moment with, "bet you the price of this dinner and our after-dinner drinks that you can't eat it all." Trapped. There was nothing to do but make the bet and attack the steak. McCann had underestimated his opponent's prowess, however.

Some time and several pounds of sirloin for two, one pretty decent strawberry shortcake and a number of rounds of afteMiinner drinks later, McCann had paid for his miscalculation. OF COURSE, McCann does not easily forget defeat. So it was no surprise when he asked recently why there had been no columns about some of the great steak houses in Chicago. "What's the matter," he chided, "lost your taste for steak since that night with the black diamond?" It was a good point. With all of the attention paid to healthful eating and nouvelle cuisine in recent years, steak houses haven't received as much attention as they once did.

Yet a great steak makes for some very good eating, and great steak houses are very much a tradition in Chicago. In part that tradition springs from the city's stockyard heritage, in part from the Midwestern love affair with beef and in part from the demands of the convention trade business tycoons still crave their red meat. Conventions are a curse and a blessing for restaurants and their customers. The additional business is welcomed by most restaurants, but during busy convention weeks it can be nearly impossible for to get into one of Chicago's top steak houses. Waits can be long; so diners are ushered into the bar to stand among the polyester three-piece-suit types who are either trying to drown the sorrows of the day or celebrate its triumphs.

Either way the wait is usually unpleasant. WHEN RESERVATIONS are accented at Morton's, the efficient system minimizes waits even in the busiest of convention weeks, but after 7 p.m. it's catch as catch can. Morton's isn't the easiest place in the world to find. Located inside Newberry Plaza behind a none too obviously marked wooden door, the room is large and pleasant with its Art Deco Continued on page IS Is due for Christmas release, Connery Krtwm wybom having been talked out of "retirement" eiBn with a $5 million salary plus IS percent of V.V.V.V.V.V.llV.biimood unyn the producers' gross receipts.

But "Octopussy" is with us now, opening nationwide Friday, and it is sur But in "Octopussy," the title character is a pushover, and thus we have only one real villain left the general and he's a minor figure. This turn needs an evil international mastermind like Blofeld. And yet "Octopussy" is rarely boring. Consider what it throws at us: a one-man jet plane that can squeeze through the narrowest of openings, a 100 mile-an-hour rickshaw, a fountain pen that contains industrial strength acid, a strongman who tries repeatedly to slice and dice Bond with a yo-yolike buzz saw and a couple of classic fight sequences during a circus and on a train roaring through West Germany. All of this action and gimmickry sue- cessfully blunts a script that is weak on characterization and long on male chauvinism.

For my money, Roger Moore is not James Bond. He's a smug guy in a dinner jacket. The Bond role, Tor me, will always belong to Sean Connery. His good humor seems more genuine. And so it's hard not to speculate how much better "Octopussy" would be with Connery, and it's also hard to wait until Christmas for "Never Say Never Again." Film note: In a recent review I had the wrong bombshell in Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." Martin's sexy costar was Rachel Ward, not Kathleen Turner.

prisingly entertaining surprising De- cause in his previous five Bond at aDDear- ances Roeer Moore has come across as a feneral who wants to destroy any detente etween Russia and the United States. As you might expect. Octopussy is easier for Bond to handle than the general. She's a regular roundheels. Only her partner in crime Louis Jordan offers any resistance.

Maybe Maud Adams didn't want to play a villain; whatever the reason, the blandness of her character hurts the movie. BY COMPARISON, consider the role of Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger," which along with "From Russia with Love" is one of the two best Bond films ever made. Pussy Galore Honor Blackman was tough as nails and so was Goldfinger stiff. In "Octopussy" Moore relaxes a bit and, just as important, his role is subordinated to the film's many and extremely exciting action scenes. "Octopussy" has the most sustained excitement in a Bond film since "You Only 'Live Twice." The story this time is needlessly tricky.

It begins with the death of Agent 009 and continues with Bond having to save the free world by neutralizing two enemies: the ridiculously named Jewel smuggler Octopussy played by the beautifuIMaud Adams ana a mad dog of a Soviet Roger Moore: A smug James Bond. THIS IS THE LAST PAV OF SCHOOL, RIGHT? 1 WOULDN'T YOtA JN0UL. I WAS AFRAID THIS WOULD I. 4 i IT Smilo Sign at reducing saTon: "Thinner sanctum." -Quo' 1 Coming Saturday The alien characters in "Return of the Jedi" are spectacular, but the difficulties in building them were more than technical. We'll interview one of the film's top critter creators.

Also, we'll round up a week's worth of soap opera action. SUDDENLY l'A VWIDWAKEM lifw..