To dine “Al Trunko” sim­ply means to dine off the trunk (or hood) of one’s car. Typ­i­cally this is a means of neces­sity when din­ing at estab­lish­ments that do not pro­vide appro­pri­ate accom­mo­da­tions (though noth­ing is stop­ping you from eat­ing off your car if its a sunny day or you are just not in the mood to pay gra­tu­ity). The term “Al Trunko” was coined some­time in the mid-2000s– likely over sty­ro­foam trays of South Side BBQ– by the com­mu­nity of Chicago– based food chat site, LTHForum.com, of which Eric (screen name “Jefe”) is an active member.

Join us on Sat­ur­day, Sep­tem­ber 27th for a tour of native South Side del­i­ca­cies, enjoyed Al Trunko in their nat­ural habi­tat. The tour will meet on the near north­west side and head down panoramic S. West­ern Ave. to kick off the day right with a Mother-in-law at Fat John­nies (as seen on Anthony Bordain’s No Reser­va­tions). We will then head to the pic­turesque Mount Green­wood neigh­bor­hood on the city’s far south­west side for a taste of Eric’s favorite child­hood Ital­ian Beef at Pop’s. The tour will con­clude over­look­ing scenic Mar­quette Park for a sam­ple of the fabled Jim Shoe from the neighborhood’s fine Super Sub establishment.

Meet at Eck­hart Park on Noble St., just north of Chicago Ave. Tour will depart from there. Car­pool­ing is encour­aged. Please bring $15–$20 for chow. Please note: it is highly advised to pack an Al Trunko Sur­vival Kit as detailed in the schematic below.

ABOUT ERIC MAY
Eric May, a lifelong native of Chicagoland, has an enduring commitment to the intersections of art, food and community. As the head chef at Saugatuck, Michigan’’s Ox-Bow School of Art and Artist Residency, May has helped to nourish and support artists for a decade and a half. As the director and founder of Noble Square’s Roots & Culture Contemporary Art Center, he has organized exhibitions, screenings, performances and, of course, culinary programming, since 2006. His work is often engaged with the aesthetics and poethics of food as a new way to think and talk through the particular ways that it shapes culture and the communities surrounding it. Often partnering with other chefs, artists and artist-run spaces, May’s work highlights food’s particular hold over the cultural imaginary. He earned his BFA from the SAIC and his MFA from the Northwestern.

ABOUT TRUNK SHOW
TRUNK SHOW is a mobile exhibition space often located near Chicago’s Eckhart Park. Following in the rich tradition of Chicago’s apartment, alternative and creative exhibition spaces, Trunk Show is committed to challenging exhibition forms through its unique program. We feature monthly solo shows for which artists are commissioned to design a limited edition bumper sticker. The sticker lives, rides along with, and helps propel the medium beat up 1999 forest green Ford Taurus owned by Raven Falquez Munsell and Jesse Malmed. In addition to the month-long exhibitions, the editioned bumper stickers are sold (from the trunk) for a collector-friendly price and by annual subscription (we’re now taking subscribers for our second season of programming September 2014 to August 2015). Openings follow a nomadic, symbiotic logic and include a public affixing, radio jams, and road snacks. Newcity named it The Best New Gallery on a Car Bumper.

Upcoming artists include Kelly Lloyd, Michael Milano, Philip von Zweck and Lilli Carré.

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Tags: al trunko dining, bumper stickers, caravan opening, Eric May, fat johnnie's, pop's, super sub, trunk show