Nov 21, 2023

Chicago Bath House aka Red Square Bath House Road Trip From MN

 Unfortunately, Minnesota does not have a Bath House-- at least not a Slavic type with different saunas, steam room, cold plunge and a restaurant with food and drinks. Searching on the map, Chicago is the closest location with multiple such bath houses. Our sauna crew talked about taking a trip to Chicago to enjoy some bath houses for over a year. This year, it finally came to fruition. 

Last weekend, 5 of us piled into a car and drove 6 hours to Illinois. Our goal was to spend the weekend eating good food and trying different bath houses. One such place was the Chicago Bath House, formerly known as the Red Square Bath House. Talking to one of the staff members, the place has quite a history. Originally started in 1906, it even saw Al Capone and Rev Jesse Jackson prior to changing owners and becoming Red Square Bath House. 

Upon paying the cover price, you go down to the changing rooms where you're given towels, slippers and a robe. There are male and female locker rooms/areas. The male side has segregated sauna, cold plunge, steam room and hot tub. Not sure what the female side has :) There is a common rest area that is coed as well as a coed 200F dry sauna. Drinks and snacks can be ordered from upstairs bar via a landline in the room and they are brought down and charged to your account. There's a large selection of beer on tap and in bottles.

After enjoying a few rounds of saunas, hot tub, steam and the skin piercing cold plunge, we were ready to eat. Putting on our robes, we went upstairs to the restaurant. The restaurant serves many great Slavic dishes, both hot and cold. The food was surprisingly tastier than at a lot of standalone restaurants. The staff was great and the cold tap beer hit the spot. They also serve beet infused vodka they make themselves-- a must try!

After a delicious dinner, it was back downstairs for a few more rounds of heat. The men's area also has a hall with loungers, where we enjoyed just laying and watching TV, relaxing after sauna and dinner. Finally, after showering and changing back to street clothes, it was back upstairs for fresh brewed hot tea to end the night as the bath house closed at 12am.

This is my second time visiting the Chicago Bath House and I've enjoyed it every time. Having visited 2 more places that weekend, I would say that this bath house is my favorite and most authentic. It's also clean and has everything I expect in a bath house like this.

Bath House Chicago - Spa - Restaurant - Sauna - Tan - 773-227-2284

Chicago Bath House | Chicago IL | Facebook

Share your thoughts below in the comments of the bath houses you've visited and would recommend. Any idea why northern MN or even MI does not have such a bath house that's a closer drive then Chicago? I look forward to hearing from you!






Oct 7, 2023

How to take your sauna to the next level!

 You've done saunas for years. This is not your first rodeo. You get it nice and warm. Put your favorite aroma oils in the water bucket. Go in and get comfortable on the bench, with your favorite music playing. Throw a few ladles of that great smelling water on the rocks and enjoy. You're in your best sauna. But, are you really?

Have you ever had anyone in the sauna whip out their towel and start spinning it to circulate the air around? All of the sudden, the air gets hotter, the aroma scent thicker, and the sauna feeling much much better! The formal history of it, I guess, is that it's a ritual. The formal name, Aufguss. From German meaning "infusion" as the following site explains:

https://chelsea.lenordik.com/en/2021/10/what-is-aufguss/

If you've read the blog post from the link above, there are professionals that do the towel spinning. They're called the Aufgussmister. But, no need to be that technical, this is your private sauna after all. However, if you don't feel like spinning your sweat-soaked towel around and adding aroma you don't intend, there are sauna accessories that can be purchased online that will help you achieve that next level sauna.


https://www.etsy.com/listing/1576365793/sauna-twister-for-aufguss-to-distribute



Next time you go for sauna, give Aufguss a try. Then, come back and comment below with your thoughts.



Nov 14, 2022

Bread stuffing-- sauna finger food

 This is a snack that's really quick to make and is very delicious. You can create your own stuffing at home from any bread you like. However, I decided to buy the pre-made stuffing bread at the store for a whopping $2.99. 

Once you have the bread, sprinkle a good amount of salt (I like salty stuff with my beer). Add olive oil and garlic paste. Mix well. I think it tastes a little better when it sits in the refrigerator for a bit and soaks in the flavors.

This is a great finger food snack that's easily sharable in the sauna. Having made it last week, I can tell you it goes fast!

Bread stuffing with salt, olive oil and garlic.
Bread stuffing with salt, olive oil and garlic.


Oct 8, 2022

Uzbek Plov/Pilaf warms the sauna

 Uzbek plov/pilaf is like the Spanish Paella or the Indian Biryani in a sense that it is loved and argued about who has the best recipe. I've never been to Uzbekistan to try the plov at the source. I have visited Uzbek restaurants and have tried my friends' cooking. Although they all taste different, the common thread is, you can't stop at just one serving! The dish fills you and warms you up and so it is perfect for sauna. As always, the journey is as fun as the destination, so the process of preparing and making the dish is very enjoyable. 

Sauté the onions and meat.
Sauté the onions and meat.

Add lots of carrots!
Add lots of carrots!

Add back meat, rice, spices, whole garlic, serrano pepper and water.
Add back meat, rice, spices, whole garlic, serrano pepper and water.

Cook until rice is ready.
Cook until rice is ready.

Mix and share with sauna friends!
Mix and share with sauna friends!


Aug 2, 2022

Chimney Sweeping and Soot Cleaning

 Searching through my previous posts, it seems that the last time the chimney was cleaned was in 2018. Today, I finally got around to doing the dreaded dirty deed. Running the stove consistently once per week for 4 years, I think it was time.

The two things I hate about sweeping the chimney are:

1. Climbing up on the roof.

2. Taking the pipes apart and putting them back together.

This year, I figured I try and make it easier and sweep from the inside. Since the pipes need to be taken apart going from the stove to the ceiling anyway, as I need to catch the debris, sweeping from the inside was worth a try. This part was definitely a win. Worked just fine and got the pipes clean. No need to be on the roof.

The separating of the pipes is of course a pain. Partially, because they rust due to humidity. However, my biggest PITA is the top pipe that slides on the collar pipe near the ceiling. It's a very tight fit. To get it to slide, you need to put WD-40 or something slippery on it. The problem is that after a few twists, WD-40 dries up and you're stuck with the pipe being too far in and it doesn't want to move. This is even worse in reverse, when trying to put the pipes back.

Once I was able to separate the pipes and get them out of the way, here's what I found:

Soot inside the stove.
Soot inside the stove.

Soot inside one of the pipes.
Soot inside one of the pipes.

Soot inside the dampener pipe.
Soot inside the dampener pipe.

Soot inside the collar pipe in the ceiling.
Soot inside the collar pipe in the ceiling.

Some collected soot along the way.
Some collected soot along the way.

As much of a pain as this was and always is, I'm glad I got the cleaning done. Now I can enjoy a few more years of sauna without worrying about a fire or inefficiency of the burn.

Do you have any tips that you've picked up which make this job easier? Especially removing the pipes. Please share in the comments.