what is animal collective and where’s the best school cafeteria food in chicago?

the most important question you should ask when you hire someone to help your child is who is animal collectiv?

when eastman was a freshman, he struggled in math class.  his teacher recommended that i hire a math tutor.  oddly enough, the math teacher’s ethics forbade him from recommending himself for a tutor but he could recommend another teacher in new trier’s math department.  and for a little more than a hundred dollars an hour, eastman could be tutored at school for his math class.  the teacher was quite adamant that a parent should only hire a tutor from the high school’s math department because that way the tutor would be familiar with the course material.  i felt like i was being played like a cincinnati spinster at the blackjack table in monte carlo.

so i put an ad in craig’s list hoping to find a tutor who would come to the house and who would help eastman with quizzes and tests.  i got almost a hundred responses in a single day and i invited one of them, jim morski (f2fb #120), to the house.  i admit it–it was the fact that he wrote his reply to me in full sentences that got me.

after jim left, eastman swore he would work with no other tutor because jim knew who animal collective was.

“it’s his favorite band!”  eastman declared.  “he saw them in concert!”

eastman did well that year in math, much to the surprise and chagrin of his teacher.  every monday, jim would stop by the house for an hour although sometimes during finals week he would make it twice.  i was very grateful.  and i recommended him to others.  in fact, if you want to hire a math tutor, there is no finer than jim. and that’s what makes him perfect to be THE math professor at Kendall College in chicago.

i went there recently to have lunch in their cafeteria.  i expected mac and cheese in warming trays, day old shrink wrapped chocolate chip cookies, and everything with ketchup.  instead. .. .

jim ushered me in to a fine restaurant where steve the maitre d’ showed me to  a table  with a view of the kitchen.  the chef sent out an amusee of breaded scallop with candied red onion.  the fresh faced waiter recommended an appetizer of duck sausage with breaded leek.  jim had brought me to the finest restaurant in chicago that just so happens to be kendall college’s cafeteria run entirely by students.*  for a very modest price, the food and service are outstanding.  it’s located at 900 n. north branch and you can make reservations by calling the dining room at 312-752-2328.  tell them jim morski–whoops, professor jim morski–sent you and you want his faculty discount!

*although kendall has a range of programs, most of jim’s students will go on to run their own restaurants, get a corporate job with a high end chain, or will work in private clubs.

aw, jim, i’m happy you’ll ask!

so the next time you interview somebody, you might want to ask about something not entirely related to the issue at hand.  eastman thinks jim is cool, therefore math is cool, therefore math isn’t such hard work.

so i have to ask you: