The Beat Cop's Guide to Chicago Eats

When the Beat Cop pauses from taking a bite out of crime, he takes a bite out of donuts, polish sausage, fried chicken, enchiladas, and omelettes...Lake Claremont Press's 2004 award-winner, The Streets & San Man's Guide to Chicago Eats, delivered tongue-in-cheek style and food-in-mouth expertise by a certified expert of the City of Chicago's Department of Lunch: streets & sanitation department electrician Dennis Foley.Now, Sgt. David J. Haynes of the Chicago Police Department, and his partner-in-crime, blogger Christopher Garlington, want to take on Foley's street-level guide to the best mom-and-pop food bargains in Chicago with their follow-up:The Beat Cop's Guide to Chicago Eats. "We're funnier, better-looking, and have the street smarts, girth, and weaponry to meet him in any alley, taqueria, or rib joint." He's no chef, food writer, or restaurateur. A former marine, Sgt. Haynes has spent the past 15 years dodging bullets and chasing down gang bangers on the city's West Side, running Chicago's first ever Homeland Security Task Force, and supervising squads in the 19th District at Belmont and Western. During those years, one of his most daunting tasks--and indeed one of the most important ones--was to get lunch.Laugh if you want to. Getting lunch for 20 hungry cops who have been riding around in the freezing Chicago winter or blistering summer heat requires a remarkable degree of diplomacy, grit, and street savvy. Seriously, these folks are armed! They're out there putting their lives on the line hour by hour; and when their stomachs are growling, they're not calling for a Big Mac. They want real food--good food--the kind of food that makes them forget about the mean streets of Chi-Town for half an hour. They want Italian beefs, stuffed pizza, and catfish nuggets; they want ribs, red hots, and pulled pork sandwiches.Navigating this volatile terrain has become second nature to Sgt. Haynes. His knowledge of local eateries comes hard-earned from years on the beat and years of fierce debate with other cops. Haynes's understanding of the best places to get lunch in Chicago makes for an unprecedented blue-collar guide to the best food in the Windy City. You know we're not talking white tablecloths and Perrier.The cafes and counters in this book are the places where locals go to get a sandwich. They're the places that cater church suppers. Go to one of these joints and you'll sit shoulder to shoulder with pipe fitters, bricklayers, yardmen, sanitation removal engineers, pimps, organized crime leaders, and cabbies.And cops. Because first and foremost, this book is about where cops eat. On any given day at any of these restaurants, you'll find yourself eating with some of the 11,000 men and women who help keep our city safe. This book is dedicated to them."The idea," says Haynes, "is to get in, get a good meal, and get out before your lunch break ends for under ten bucks." Peppered with outrageous stories from working cops, Chicago cop lore, and even a few recipes, The Beat Cop's Guide takes you on a gustatory journey through all five CPD areas, including some of the toughest neighborhoods in the nation.The Beat Cop's Guide to Chicago Eats comes at a time when Chicagoans really need it. The economy is in a slump like never before. Times are tough. Money is tight. The Beat Cop doesn't just direct you to a great meal for eight bucks--he's secured you your very own police discount. The book retails at $15.95 and includes $34 in coupons. It's like being buddies with your alderman.

Sgt. David J. "Biscuit" Haynes is a lifelong resident of Chicago, leaving only for four years to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. Haynes has spent the past 15 years as a proud member of the Chicago Police Department, working some of the toughest neighborhoods on Chicago’s West Side, running Chicago’s first ever Homeland Security Task Force, and supervising squads in the 19th District at Belmont and Western. He and his wife Anne have three children. Haynes is an Italian beef aficionado, active in ward politics, and smokes a JFR with a Connecticut wrapper. He makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever and has mastered the preparation of all the breakfast foods.Christopher "The Bull" Garlington is a blogger and author, known for his stories of raising highly intelligent (devious) children published on the blog Death by Children. His articles have appeared in the Daily Herald, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Parent, Orlando Magazine, Florida Magazine, Exito!, Catholic Digest, and the Orlando Weekly. His fiction has appeared in Another Realm, Bathhouse, South Lit, and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, of which he is most proud. Garlington writes from his home in Chicago. He smokes a La Gloria Cubana Seri R maduro, drinks Belgian ales, and makes a mean Gumbo.Together Haynes and Garlington have hosted the radio program The Dave & Chris Show! since 2007, during which they cultivate and maintain a long-standing argument about…everything. From politics and video games to the importance of cool nicknames and secret societies, they cover it on their live weekly broadcast from cigar stores, bars, and other manly locales around Chicago. Their show first aired on WJJG and is now broadcast online at Blog Talk Radio.

Sgt. David J. Haynes is a lifelong resident of Chicago who has spent the past 15 years as a proud member of the Chicago Police Department, working some of the toughest neighborhoods on Chicago’s West Side, running Chicago’s first-ever Homeland Security Task Force, and supervising squads in the 19th District at Belmont and Western. Christopher Garlington is an author and a blogger for Death by Children. His articles have appeared in Catholic Digest, Chicago Parent, the Chicago Tribune, and the Daily Herald. They have been hosting the radio program The Dave & Chris Show! together since 2007. They both live in Chicago.

Sgt. David J. "Biscuit" Haynes is a lifelong resident of Chicago, leaving only for four years to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. Haynes has spent the past 15 years as a proud member of the Chicago Police Department, working some of the toughest neighborhoods on Chicago's West Side, running Chicago's first ever Homeland Security Task Force, and supervising squads in the 19th District at Belmont and Western. Haynes is an Italian beef aficionado, active in ward politics, and smokes a JFR with a Connecticut wrapper. He makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever and has mastered the preparation of all the breakfast foods.

Christopher "The Bull" Garlington is a blogger and author, known for his stories of raising highly intelligent (devious) children published on the blog Death by Children. His articles have appeared in the Daily Herald, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Parent, Orlando Magazine, Florida Magazine, Exito!, Catholic Digest, and the Orlando Weekly. Garlington writes from his home in Chicago. He smokes a La Gloria Cubana Seri R maduro, drinks Belgian ales, and makes a mean Gumbo.

Together Haynes and Garlington have hosted the radio program The Dave & Chris Show! since 2007, during which they cultivate and maintain a long-standing argument about…everything. From politics and video games to the importance of cool nicknames and secret societies, they cover it on their live weekly broadcast from cigar stores, bars, and other manly locales around Chicago. Their show first aired on WJJG and is now broadcast online at Blog Talk Radio.