Billy Goat Tavern

I'm ashamed to admit I have never been a Saturday Night Live fan. I don't know why. I just was never into the John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd kind of comedy. Steve Martin I loved, but SNL wasn't my cup of tea.

Thirty years later, I found myself standing in front of Billy Goat Tavern on Navy Pier in Chicago, really not understanding the significance of the place, but knowing that I had to eat there and have my picture taken because I have a couple of goats in my backyard who would be highly upset if I blew the opportunity.

I had no idea what to expect when I approached the counter to order a cheeseburger, and was actually taken aback by the seemingly lack of customer service. There was no, "Hello, welcome to Billy Goat Tavern, may I take your order?" Instead it was just "slam, bam, thank ya' ma'am, NEXT!"

"Okay," I thought, "well at least I got a photo in front of the sign."

And then, all too late, I did my research on the place.

The "Curse of the Billy Goat" I already knew thanks to Chuck Brodsky's song, The Curse of the Billy Goat, but I had no idea the tavern was the setting for one of Belushi and Aykroyd's famous skits. And that the "lack of customer service" just made the place that much better!

When I go back to Chicago, and I WILL go back, Billy Goat Tavern is definitely going to be on my list of places to experience. And not at Navy Pier, but at the original location on lower Michigan Avenue.

And this time I'll "get it."