(Yet more) tips-Chicago!

Shows. I'd suggest checking listings with the Chicago Reader online during the week before you arrive. Depending on what you like, you can also check the sites for the Empty Bottle (avant, indie), Schubas (indie, folk, pop), the Abbey Pub (indie, rock), the Fireside Bowl (punk, rock, etc.), the Metro (bigger rock and electronic groups), the Double Door (same as Metro but lower-profile), and others. I'd suggest something but I haven't looked into shows for that period, as I expect to be very busy and possibly out of town for much of it.

Other Stuff. I like the neighborhood around Division and Damen and from there south. This is where Weekend is, this is sort of where Dusty Groove is, and there are a number of interesting bars around. North of there along Milwaukee are a ton of thrift stores and boutiques, but also Myopic (a good used bookstore) and the Wicker Park branch of Reckless Records. (Re: bookstores, by the way -- if you head to the south side for any reason, the Seminary Co-op Bookstore at the University of Chicago is fantastic. I'm not sure what else you'd do down here in Hyde Park, though.) Visit Weekend and Dusty Groove, have lunch at Leo's on Division, check out some shops on Milwaukee, wander south and have dinner down on Chicago (there's a great little Mexican/Italian place called Privata), and spend the night at a show at the Empty Bottle or wandering around the surrounding bars: Lava Lounge is nice, or, if you like wonderful dives, Toomin's Alcohol Abuse Center. If a woman wanders through and offers to sell you brownies, the answer to your mental question is "yes, they are." Are you there through a Monday? At Danny's, a pleasant and massively dark bar on Damen and I think Dickens, they have a weekly low-key DJ thing there called "Play" that's very enjoyable.

If you're spending any time with white people, chances are you'll spend some of it on the north side, along the lake, which is where Chicago sort of "is." (This isn't a dig; that's just the state of things.) This is where your run-of-mill bars and activities are, primarily from the sports bars around Wrigley Field down to the ostensibly more "upscale" clubs in Lincoln Park. (For caricatured of Lincoln Park google the phrase "Lincoln Park Trixie" and visit the parody website.) There's plenty of decent stuff over in that direction: cinemas, theaters, decent bars, small bookstores. The area around Belmont is sort of the cheesed-out Haight-Asbury of Chicago, with lots of thrift stores and head shops and sex shops and small record stores, some of them quite useful. (I sometimes buy sneakers at the Army store next to the train; I'm occasionally amused by the ultra-kitch thrift shopping at Land of the Lost; there's a nice comic book store on Clark a block north of Belmont.) Up toward Wrigley you get decent bars and restaurants, the Metro and Smart Bar, the actually-quite-good club underneath it. (Great Ethiopian food at Addis Abeba, too, just south of Wrigley.)

And see downtown. No, there's not a lot to do down there, unless you really enjoy department store shopping. But the architecture can be pretty great, and there's the fantastic Art Institute, and it's pleasant and impressive for an afternoon. I dunno, is the aquarium open then? Am I the only one who loves aquariums? They have penguins. So does the Lincoln Park Zoo, but I like the aquarium ones better.

I wish I knew more about the film and theater scenes here, particularly theater -- if you're into that, I strongly suggest looking through those Reader listings and finding events, because there are always loads of shows going strong here.

Also clubs. I haven't been clubbing in too long, so don't listen to what I say. But: the Old Gray Lady of Chicago clubs is Crobar, in a serious old-school house kind of way. Right under the Belmont train is Berlin, which is weird and cheesy now but in the best possible way: just this tiny room of shirtless grinding men on platforms and big fun obvious dancepop. More seriously, RedNoFive is good; the Dragon Room is I think still open and was okay last time I was there; I hear mixed things these days about Transit; Red Dog is sucky but then for some reason Felix da Housecat was spinning there a few months back; Funky Buddha Lounge has a nice non-clubbing hangout feel; I hear tell of some new place where every room is a lavish period recreation. The new good clubs that I wouldn't know anything about are all on the west end of the downtown loop stretching off into a formerly industrial zone. If anyone tells you about a great club in the heart of Lincoln Park be frightened. If anyone suggests going out to the strip of bars along Rush and Division be frightened, or at least approach it with the idea that you are going to be laid-back and non-judgmental and just get very drunk and laugh silently at the sheer number of bachelor and bachelorette parties around you and the absolute through-the-roof ludicrous creepy skank factor of the whole experience.

I may be being very presumptuous in assuming that my tastes in these things will match yours, but eh: can't do much else. I'd offer to buy you a drink, or something, but I probably won't be in town then. Hope you have fun.

Also hstencil to thread to offer differing perspective!

hstencil is so coked out in williamsburg now, he's practically forgotten everything about chicago.

he got a flock of 'gulls cut, wears smudged black eyeliner and listens exclusively to the music from Space Invaders.

you wouldn't even recognize him... i didn't.

*cries*

wax trax, on fullerton st. or certainly near that, in the lincoln park area.

This store has not existed in years.

Nabisco did pretty much an awesome job with recommendations. I'd also recommend Hard Boiled (a record store, Roscoe Village), Soul Vegetarian (restaurant, far South), Thai Village (restaurant, Wicker Park), Rainbo (bar, Wicker Park), GoldStar Bar (bar, Wicker Park), The Velvet Lounge (bar/music
venue, Near South - best jazz club in the world!), The Empty ButtholeEmpty Bottle (bar/music venue, Ukrainian Village), Ethiopian Diamond (restaurant, Uptown), Lakeview Lounge (bar, Uptown - the BEST cover band in the WORLD plays here Thursday-Saturday), Tecalitlan (restaurant, Ukrainian Village), The Signature Room (bar, Michigan Avenue - this is probably the highest bar in the world as it's at the top of the Hancock Building), Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap (bar, Hyde Park - watch U of C students get drunk)...

Okay, that's probably enough for now.

Don't eat at Leo's, it's gross. Multiple health code violations.

Gold Star and Rainbo are right on the same three-block Division strip as all that other stuff I mentioned and are both pretty great. (The brownie-selling tip stands for Gold Star.)

Stencil, do you really come down to Hyde Park for the Woodlawn Tap experience? ("Where low-income blacks drink happily with Nobel Prize winners!") Maybe between this and the Sem Co-op Nordicskillz really should make the trip. (Although you'll want to do this in a car, or at least during the day: public transportation south to Hyde Park can be an absolute bitch, and I say that as someone who used to commute that way from Rogers Park.)

Search: 47th Street.
Destroy(ed): Maxwell Street. FUCK UIC!

If Nordicskillz likes architecture, he could also check out the Robie House (Frank Lloyd Wright) if he's down in Hyde Park.

Sometimes thrifting / combing the mom & pop shops is worth it for record collectors who are coming in from abroad, because you might find things here that are not so easy to get elsewhere.

I love Belmont, actually - it's trendy whereas Wicker Park is more hipster and I don't want to know just how many hipsters there are in the world. But the shopping up and down Belmont is fun. There's a really fun retro store near the corner of Belmont & Broadway that often has fun LPs, too.

There used to be a really fun vinyl-only mom-and-pop store tucked into one of the side streets off Broadway, across the street from Reckless. It's crammed and you can barely move, but I spent hours there. I don't know if it's still there, though. Still, one shopping trip I like to make is east up Belmont and then south on Broadway, if you're into walking.

Jazz Record Mart : you have to get off the L at Grand and head one block south, then one block east and up the stairs. People have a hard time finding it from Michigan Avenue - it's easier to get to it from State Street. It has shitloads of jazz, blues and lots of Latin and "world" stuff if you're into that. Even if you're not, you might find some odd fun thing there.

Yes, Wicker Park SUX on the weekends. Used to take me 20 minutes just to drive from Thai Village back to my place at Division and Noble (and yes, Chicagoans drive everywhere).

If you go by the Chicago Board of Trade (which you should, although I'm not sure if they give tours anymore post-9/11), look for the old Continental Bank building across LaSalle street. I used to work there. Unfortunately, tourists can't go up to the 2nd floor lobby anymore, which is too bad 'cause it's awesome. Also, the Fed's branch in Chicago is on the west side of the street. So if you like finance and architecture, you're set.

Glory Of Love
Chicago

Tonight it's very clear
As we're both lying here
There's so many things i wanna say
I will always love you
I would never leave you alone

Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you cryin'
I don't wanna lose you
I could never make you be alone

I am the man who would fight for your honor
I'll be the hero you're dreamin' of
We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

You keep me standing tall
You helped me through it all
I'm always strong when you're beside me
I have always needed you
I could never make you be alone

I am the man who will fight for your honor
I'll be the hero you been dreamin' of
We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

LIke a knight in shining armor
From a long time ago
Just the time I'd save the day
Take you to my castle far away

I am the man who would fight for your honor
I'll be the hero that you're dreamin' of
Gonna live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the Glory of Love

We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the Glory of Love

We did it all for love...

If you need a piece of Chicago (the rock band) history, I guess you could go hang out at DePaul, or even Demon Dogs.

The only Manhattan neighborhood I can think of that's that bad on weekends is Soho.

Soho is much worse! Infinitely worse! St. Mark's Place seems much worse, too, as do plenty of other portions of the East Village that I wouldn't remember the names of.

The weird thing is that crowds of that sort can seem worse in Chicago simply because of Chicago's unimpressed air of rejection: a massive annoying New York throng will be better dressed and seem more exciting than the idea that oh, it's Chicago, I'm unimpressed and just want all of these blonde women with state school marketing degrees to not be directly in my way.

Well, that, and Chicagoans/Midwesterners move MUCH slower than the average NooYakker. Like herds of bleating cattle. Which is why Soho sucks on the weekend (full of Midwestern tourists).

Flash Taco? Why would you wanna go there when there's like a billion better places close by. Namely, Tecalitlan.

I did see Flash Taco get robbed once.

What I value most is a bar with comfy seating, a great jukebox, and nary a live band in sight. A place to talk, in other words. Where would I be most likely to run into a fellow ILMer for rich, tasty beer and a debate about the merits of Elvis Costello's most recent work?

August in Chicago can be brutal. Like, upwards of 100 degrees. Hopefully it won't be too bad on the day you move or you might fall victim to heatstroke (it almost happened to me). You probably have until mid October to buy a nice thick coat, a hat, a scarf, and a few pairs of mittens.

From what I've heard, now is the time to stay the hell away from Wicker Park.

Wicker Park . . . well it's been steadily gentrifying for about 15 years, and the new development has exploded in the past 5 -- as a result there are a lot of new fancy clubs and restaurants and botiques etc., and the rents and traffic have gone way up as well. Wicker Park and the accompanying neighborhoods like Bucktown and Ukranian Village (none of these 'hoods being too well-defined really) are nice places to live overall but certain corners are extremely noisy and yeah, it'll be more expensive than where I'm at. And being able to live in Wicker Park might depend on your ability to tolerate the -- I'm not sure what to call them, I would say "yuppies" but the real yuppies live in Lincoln Park and (increasingly) Lakeview. Maybe Mr. Stencil can unleash the invective? And Nabisco can enumerate the positives and negatives with more authority.

Other north-east side 'hoods to consider if you don't have a car: on the blue line: Logan Square (west on Fullerton), Humboldt Park (still a bit sketchy in places) . . . on the red line: Edgewater (along the red line, just north of Uptown and comparable in most respects) and Rogers Park (the farthest-north 'hood in the city; still a bit crime-ridden but great deals can be found along the lake).

On the brown line are Lincoln Square and Ravenswood and Albany Park. Lincoln Square is gentrifying fast and the rents are increasing accordingly but it's still affordable. There's a pretty stretch of Lincoln Ave. there--near the Old Town School of Folk Music--but there's not actually much to do, yet (in my opinion); it used to be a German neighborhood so naturally there are one or two good German bars. Ravenswood is a vast, mostly low-key mostly middle-class residential neighborhood, a nice quiet place to live if you're near an L stop. Albany Park is a working-class neighborhood which hasn't changed much in 50 years, although the ethnic groups living there have. A lot of it is pretty far from the trains but there are a few brown line stops. I mention Albany Park because it has somehow managed to be overlooked by the hipsters, and it's extremely affordable. You won't be anywhere near any especially good bars or stores, though. You're unlikely to find Albany Park apartments in the Reader. In fact, in general it's best to walk around and look for "for rent" signs. That's true in most of these places; there are high vacancy rates and a lot of small-time working-class homeowners who don't bother to advertise in the papers.

As Mr. Diamond notes, increasing numbers of young educated white people living in temporary poverty are braving the south side these days, especially Pilsen (historical Mexican neighborhood, still mostly a working-class and sometimes-poor place but changing).

If you get a job downtown, any of these places will afford pretty easy access to work. But if you work elsewhere, it's important to note (as Nabisco mentioned) that it can be difficult getting from, say, Wicker Park to Andersonville quickly.

Heh.

That's the area that I meant by "Uptown"; since that name has a bit of a stigma now, all the other areas that were once Uptown are more often called other things, like Buena Park and Andersonville. My mom grew up in the '50s around Winnemac and Clark, and it was just called Uptown. She doesn't recall once hearing the word "Andersonville" even though most of her schoolmates were Swedish-American.

Any part of the far southwest and northwest sides should be pretty dependably unhip, but also far out of the reach of the train. (I'm certain those two things are related.)

Yes, it may be cool by then, but not cold enough for winter wear, just a jacket.
You most likely won't need a hat and gloves, along w/a very thick coat, until after Thanksgiving.

My ex-gf used to live in Uptown (Marine and Foster) and her parents still do. Her block and the ones adjoining to the south are filled with upper-middle class condos, but they are generally an island surrounded by, um, less inviting areas. Her parents seem to like the area, but I've run into some shady characters walking to my car at night.

Re: Wicker Park. It's gone from the good kind of hipster neighborhood to a slightly more annoying upscale-boutique neighborhood, but that's still a pretty small portion of it (along North, Milwaukee, down to Division) and it's pretty avoidable -- certain strips are packed on summer weekends with, sure, yuppie types. There's still loads of good stuff around, though. All you really need to do is to make sure you're just a few blocks off the beaten path -- namely, if you're south of Division you could go a long time without even really noticing the less appealing elements. And rent-wise there's still a giant dividing line along Western: you can say Wicker Park is gentrified in appearance, but walk a couple blocks to the other side of Western and you can rent a two-story four-bedroom house for $800.

Museum of Surgical Science

Note, I haven't been here. But it looks cool.

and there's good Indian food up on Devon? (not far from where I'm staying)

Bhabi's Kitchen is my favorite and it is just off Devon. Jaymc would probably disagree with me, but he doesn't count because he doesn't eat meat.

I'm gonna try to catch a performrance of August: Osage County

There's great Indian food on Devon Street, and just walking around it (around Devon/Western) is an experience in itself. (Tiffinis my favorite.)

I'd second what Nick said about walking through the Chicago Cultural Center. Even if there isn't a particular exhibition there, it's a beautiful building (it used to be the main public library in Chicago, and now it has the gigantic empty rooms). It's also across the street from Millenium Park, which can be a fun add-on to visiting the Art Institute -- all three of these attractions are a few blocks from each other. Hottix -- mentioned on the Chicago thread as a place to get half-priced theater tickets -- is also near there, at Randolph between Michigan and Wabash.

Bhabi's Kitchen is my favorite and it is just off Devon. Jaymc would probably disagree with me, but he doesn't count because he doesn't eat meat.

I liked Bhabi's Kitchen a lot, what are you talking about. Hema's Kitchen is also a good bet, and they're right across the street from each other.

As far as restaurants near Steppenwolf, I like Adobo Grill as well.

I kid, I kid.

xpost I've only been to its Wicker Park location, but I assume the food and experience is roughly the same.

Oh, and early or late Monday doesn't matter to me, I can't make it that night, anyway.

my favorite place on Devon is Sabri Nehari, but you have to be a meat-eater. it's technically Pakistani, also.

I am a carnivore. Crab curry wd be a treat.

jmc, maybe you could meet me for a drink right before or after S'wolf on Tues, then.

I wouldn't be able to make a late weekday FAP due to my oft-mentioned 5 a.m. wake-up time for work.

Before Steppenwolf would be best. What time is the show?

also: sabri nehari is muslim owned so no byob and the service is just okay. tiffin is a good bet if you want a slightly nicer dining experience. though I think they have a bar so they might not do byob. and I've only been to Bhabi's Kitchen once, but it was good.

play is 7:30, john. Maybe I should try to eat at 5.

n/a, I thought you'd be leaving town to avoid sharing the air w/ me!

We could have a drink at the Old Town Ale House.

You going to see August too, Morbs? I'm gonna try to go Friday. I'll send you a quick review.

I don't think we ever settled on a location for our drankin', jaymc.

Actually, strike that. Old Town Ale House is close to Second City, but probably not close enough to Steppenwolf.

Alfred, if the weather is nice on Sunday, a beer garden would be ideal. I was also thinking of somewhere Wicker Park-ish, since I was thinking about checking out the street festival down there this weekend. Let me think about it (or if anyone else has suggestions, feel free to proffer them).

Happy Village?

Sure, I've never been there but have heard good things.

how close is this to downtown?

I'm going downstate this weekend with my parents for a family reunion, but if we get back to town in time I'm hoping to take them to Steppenwolf on Sunday night.

sorry Alfred, I would've come to Chi a day earlier if I knew I was gonna miss ya...

jmc, since time is of the essence, there's a place near Steppenwolf called the Black Duck Tavern? (also, be forewarned, I have no cellphone)

Alfred, it's three miles or so. If you feel like taking public transportation, you could walk from your hotel 0.25 mile north to Chicago Ave., take the bus 2.5 miles west to Wolcott, and then walk north on Wolcott another 0.25 mile. You might prefer a cab, though, I dunno.

The Black Duck is a nice bar -- can get loud on weekend nights, but comfortable a-bit-upscale place.

This is all confusing. Someone make an itinerary and tell me where to go. I'll met anyone.

The Black Duck works for me.

Jeff:

We are meeting Alfred on Sunday afternoon. Nick suggested Happy Village.

Dr. Morbius is only in town for two days and is going to the Cubs game on Monday and the Steppenwolf show on Tuesday. I can only really meet up with him on early Tuesday evening, so it looks like we are going to Black Duck Tavern. But I think some other people were going to try to meet him before the Cubs game on Monday, maybe?

I am planning (?) on doing my main drinking on Monday at place TBD, this Tuesday thing is just a quick one to accommodate the busy Mr CUnn1n6h4m.

I may NOT be going to Cubs game. I have no ticket yet, and I would rather meet some of you Monday instead if you can't drink lateish (or if game goes 18 innings). I have Kevin and Jesse's digits.

i'm also available for 10 a.m. drinking.

well, how about 2pm Monday as soon as I get settled?

(also, Monday Cubs game is a 6pm start, so no, ppl couldn't meet me before, which is why it looks like I'm blowing it off. Besides paying $42 for a bleacher seat.)

anyway, this is kinda the wrong thread for FAPpage.

hey this is a bit desperate but...its enough to drag me out of ILX retirement....

my friend washed up in chicago today on a greyhound from toronto and he's got no where to stay. any one wanna be insanely accommodating and help him out?!?!?! hes keen to visit places of chicago house legend, or maybe just hang out and drink cocktails. hes not a psycho, just a techno geek, and travelling round the states after living in montreal for a bit. dunno why he hasnt sorted anything out for chicago but htere you are.

to check hes real you can clock his flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benedict_w/

Can anyone recommend either a cheap motel or youth hostel with private rooms? It doesn't have to be nice, just not completely disgusting or ridiculously out of the way.

out of the way from where?

super-cas inquiry here, but tell me about the wild onion. any reason not to stay in the loop/south loop - dead at night? is skipping comiskey really missing anything, socioculture-wise?

any reason not to stay in the loop/south loop - dead at night?

Dead at night, but any hotel room you can afford in the city is a good one.

is skipping comiskey really missing anything, socioculture-wise?

Since Comiskey is non-existent, I'd say no. Go for Wrigley. Also Wrigley's close to me, and a gabbneb-kenan summit might be fun. :)

Except I don't much care about going to a Cubs game. Maybe a beer? When will you be around?

I just realized... Gabbneb is back, you guys!

i meant nu-comiskey. my impression is wrigley is a better ballpark and where to go for opo, but the white sox have the more interesting crowd. like i said, casual inquiry - no plans yet.

where's the best place to check out the skyline at night?

top of the cock

what about from street level?

is around/after memorial day a good time for a first-timer? it rains a lot in may, huh? mid-late october might be another option, but is subject to convention- rather than holiday-pricing.

what about from street level?

Museum Campus/Planetarium. For example.

is skipping comiskey really missing anything, socioculture-wise?

oh fuck off

A nice change of pace from the top of the 'Cock is the bar at the top of the W hotel on Lakeshore Drive. It's lower, so the view is more amidst the buildings of downtown and westerly areas. The drinks are priced like normal, not like the 'Cock ones.

I don't know anything about hotel pricing, but aside from that, May seems like as good a time as any to visit. It's not like monsoon season or anything - just spring rains.

cool, thanks