After talking awhile, I asked Deta if I could watch her make her trademark burek's and she cheerfully agreed and brought me into her small, country style kitchen. She explained the process as she went along and in between instructions she quietly, almost inaudibly chanted, "See, this is my pita. This is my pita." It was her mantra.



Here's how she makes her burek's.
Roll out the dough.


Spread the meat, cheese, spinach or potatoe filling along the edge and cut out the center.















Enclose the filling in a tube of dough.














And place the tube in the small metal pan and cook for twenty minutes or so.













Her experience in Rogers Park and the ties she has to all the people she's met has changed her plans somewhat. She originally wanted to just retire soon and move back to her country permanantly, moving back into the house she left over 10 years ago. But she has so many freinds here now and she has such an admiration for our country and the opportunities it provides, she thinks she'll spend half the year here during the warmer months.

There are lots of stories behind the storefronts in our town. People who work really hard and contribute in their unique way to the colorful fabric that is Rogers Park. I chose to write about Deta and Stanley because they were so different from one another; Deta is quiet and unassuming, almost shy but proud of her children and her accomplishments. Stanley, on the other hand has an outgoing personality that can hardly be contained in his six foot frame. Yet, as different as their personalities are, they share a similar history and the same journey. The immigrants' journey.

And in a year where the word "immigrant" is spoken in almost vulgar tones, here are two such people who traveled from another country to our neighborhood, have worked hard and invested in our neighborhood and are making a difference in this corner of Rogers Park.

Deta's Cafe is located at
7555 North Ridge
773 973 1505

Gary Fuschi

Tasty Sub: Gone for Good?

Many of our commercial corridors seem to share at least one thing in common: a business or building that is owned and operated by people who do not seem to care, that are magnets for troublemakers and whose owners stubbornly refuse to clean up their act despite the negative imapact their businesses have on the surrounding neighborhood.

Morse Ave. has the now infamous "Block building" whose owner has steadfastly refused to attend CAPS meetings and properly monitor his tenants. Howard Street has Eddy's Food Mart, who until this spring was a central location for almost everything illegal on Howard. .
This western stretch of Howard Street from Clark to Ridge is unfortunately, no different in this regard because this struggling commecial corridor is home to Tasty Sub.

Mention the words"Tasty Sub" in this part of Rogers Park, to people who are genuinely concerned about their neighborhood and facial expressions range from the furrowed brow to downright eye-popping anger. Tasty Sub is and has been a problem business for years. and a thorn in the side of both residents and police.

The shopkeepers I spoke to when I was researching the area for this series had nothing good to say about Tasty Sub, it's food, the management and the persistant negative impact this business continues to have on an area that is desperately trying to shed the image of an unsafe business district. Many wondered out loud how the business "might be removed" or "forced to shut down," describing Tasty Sub as the "last domino" that needs to fall.

Tomorrow at 7PM, The Zoning and Land Use Advisory Committee meets to discuss several new and old items on the Agenda. According to the 49th Ward website posting, the building that Tasty Sub is located in, is scheduled to be demolished and "Gus Rizakos and his architect, Irene Zemenides, will present the proposal to build a four-story 25 unit, mixed use building containing three storefront spaces" in it's place. They are also seeking a Zoning Amendment from B1-2 to B1-3, for the 2001 West Howard Street building.

Obviously, the $64 thousand dollar question is.
"Will Tasty Sub return to occupy one of those storefront spaces once the building is complete, or is Tasty Sub Gone for Good?"
This proposal is sure to meet with lots of interest from area neighbors and business owners alike.

Gary Fuschi