autobio

Christopher Canzoneri was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, the true
home of the hot dog. This would explain why the diet he grew up on
consisted of very little ketchup.

Chris attended Lane Technical High School in Chicago, where instead of
eating the hot lunch in the school cafeteria, he would walk across the street
to Hero’s for the submarine sandwich. It was at Lane where he met his
first love, the submarine sandwich. His second love was the trombone.
Dating was obviously not a priority.

He learned how to play the trombone from the highly celebrated Richard
Schmitt, who also taught him other vital survival skills for the difficult life of
the musician such as knowing where to get the best loaf of rye bread.
Unfortunately, by the time Chris was able to save up enough car fare for
the pilgrimage, the bakery had long since gone out of business.

He attended Northeastern Illinois University to prepare himself for the
career of instrumental music teacher. While student teaching at a North
Shore junior high school, Chris noticed that the weekly potluck salad
luncheons in the faculty lounge were causing him to put on pounds. He
decided that teaching was not good for his health so he embarked upon a
career of real estate title searching, which forced him to log in many miles
on the road in and around Chicago. This did not help matters, especially
when a certain publicly held corporation that sells freshly made glazed
donuts expanded into the Midwest.

Chris has developed a deep appreciation for the finest of art. Among his
favorite works are, the corned beef sandwich from Manny’s coffee shop in
Chicago, the cheeseburger from Charlie Beinlich’s in Northbrook, the
buttermilk hotcakes from Walker Brother’s Original Pancake House in
Wilmette, the lasagna from Rossini’s Ristorante in Niles, and the Wiener
Schnitzel from the Berghoff Restaurant in Chicago.

Although Chris has approached the middle age, he still has hopes and
aspirations. Right now, he hopes to some day soon enjoy a plate of
knoedel and a cold pilsner at The Riverside Restaurant in Riverside,
Illinois. Maybe this weekend!

(Chris and his trombone can also be seen within the ranks of the highly celebrated and internationally
renowned Chicago Grandstand Big Band on a somewhat regular basis at Fitzgerald's in Berwyn, IL,
where they also know how to stack a really good sandwich.)

Copyright 2005 Christopher M. Canzoneri