Weekend in Chicago: how to find a few things

May 27, 2007 11:00 PM

I'm going to Chicago in June for a weekend. Where should I go to find the following:

• Cool neighborhood with coffee shops where I can get a copy of Illinois Entertainer and Chicago Reader
• Best music equipment store in Chicago or northern suburbs (I'm staying in exciting Itasca)
• Something unique and fun to do on a Sunday afternoon

posted by 4midori to travel & transportation (12 comments total)

I was in Chicago a while ago for a few days, and had a great time in the Wicker Park neighborhood near the Damen Blue Line El stop, along Milwaukee Avenue. Lots of cool little coffee shops/bars/cafes, thrift shopping, a few book/music stores...I'm not a local, though, so I imagine that some Chicago MeFite might show up and let you know more. One coffee shop in particular, on a lot right between North and Milwaukee in the east side of the kinda triangly intersection where they meet, was pretty reasonably priced and had some cool sandwiches/pastries/etc and at least the Chicago Reader, but I don't recall the name.

Additionally, further up Milwaukee Avenue, say between Central Park Ave and Belmont Ave, you'll find "Polish Village," a pretty cool Polish community, with shops, bakeries, grocery stores, and a really nice church with Polish-language art inside nearby on West George Street - you can see the steeple/dome thing from a bit of a way away; we didn't know it was there and sort of walked down an alley until we got there. Here's a list of similar-style buildings.
posted by mdonley at 11:25 PM on May 27, 2007

Aha! The Polish neighborhood is actually called Jackowo, and the church in question is Saint Hyacinth's Basilica, on West Wolfram Street (we must have gone in the back door or something). More here.
posted by mdonley at 11:28 PM on May 27, 2007

Unique and fun - dine at Ed Debevic's.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:50 AM on May 28, 2007

The coffee shop mentioned above is Filter. It's pretty decent. If you walk South-east on Milwaukee from there, you'll see books and records.

Ed Debevic's is stupid - if you want to fight with your wait staff go to the Weiner Circle on Clark late at night.

I like the Lincoln Square neighborhood, at Lincoln and Western. There is an el stop, and if you walk down Lincoln from there, there are some great restaurants and other things to see.
posted by mike_bling at 3:04 AM on May 28, 2007

Gand Music and Sound in Northfield, about 20-30 minutes north of the city, is a phenomenal music store. I don't know about any actually in the city, though I'm sure there are plenty.
posted by likedoomsday at 4:29 AM on May 28, 2007

Regarding the Chicago Reader - check outside El stops. Also, many, many cafes and diners have the Reader widely available (even Einstein's has them).
posted by cajo at 6:55 AM on May 28, 2007

which weekend? june 15-16 has a greek fest at a church in elmhurst that's pretty cool. decent food, dancing and liquor.

it's also the weekend of the highland games in oak brook. this mefi will be at both, though the friday night lineup for the hghland games looks pretty cool, if you're into celtic rock.

just east of itasca is wood dale, and home to a surprising amount of polish immigrants. helen's deli on irving park road is about as close as you can get to a milwaukee avenue deli i in the burbs. a bit further east, over the tracks is a pretty good polish buffet resturant. sorry, i don't remember the name, but it's pretty easy to find.

there's a decent guitar store on st. charles road in villa park, between ardmore and villa avenues. sorry i can't remember the name right now.

all of what i have mentioned is a short drive from itasca.

there are probably some other cool festivals locally but they vary by the weekend. also, enjoy the cicadas.
posted by lester at 7:16 AM on May 28, 2007

Chcago Music Exchange, they have a few thousand guitars hanging on the walls.
posted by lee at 7:40 AM on May 28, 2007

By far, the coolest thing to do on a Sunday afternoon (late afternoon/early evening) is the Uptown Poetry Slam at the Green Mill.
posted by scblackman at 7:41 AM on May 28, 2007

Mike - that is your opinion.
posted by IndigoRain at 4:05 PM on May 28, 2007

The Reader comes out on Thursday afternoons (although it's dated for Friday, and music listings and such start for Friday). Drop-off times vary, and many locations run out by Friday evening, so you may have to poke around. Look for yellow newspaper boxes outside of el/subway stops. If it's mid-week and and you need a showtime or movie listing, look for a copy of New City.

Illinois Entertainer will be at any instrument store and most record stores.

The Reader has listings of street festivals, and Time Out Chicago has listings for what's coming up in June. Like lester says, there's usually at least one every weekend. Quality of the music varies (third-rate jam bands seem to be popular), but there are some very good offerings. (Hint: Blues Fest is June 7-10.)
posted by hydrophonic at 4:39 PM on May 28, 2007

Thanks to all for their comments and suggestions. I will print and go forth.
posted by 4midori at 9:34 PM on May 28, 2007