Show me your awesome neighborhoods, Chicago!
January 3, 2012 9:48 AM Subscribe
I need advice on awesome Chicago neighborhoods.
The lovely mrs. pdb and I are planning our first-ever trip to Chicago this May (I can't believe I've never been and I'm really excited to check it out). We're noticing that the cost of renting an apartment on VRBO is not all that much different than that of a hotel, so we think we're going that route, but now we need some advice as to where said apartment should be located. To the criteria!
1. Good bars are a must. What's "good", you ask? Excellent question. We're both in our early 40's, we don't really want a "scene"-type bar or the flavor of the month. We don't need swanky gastropub food, but we do want a bar or bars with good tap lists (we're from Portland and thus require good beer). Mostly, we want to be in a neighborhood with solid neighborhood bars rather than a neighborhood with the bar that is the next cool thing.
2. Neither of us are really shoppers, but for those occasions where we want to look at stuff, we would prefer to be in an area with local/independent shops rather than a neighborhood that is predominantly chain stores that we could find anywhere. Bonus points for proximity to such old-school things as good bookstores and record stores.
3. Reasonable proximity (~5 min walk or so) to public transportation and/or Zipcars is a must.
If this sounds like your Chicago neighborhood, or like a neighborhood you know and love, please fill me in!
The lovely mrs. pdb and I are planning our first-ever trip to Chicago this May (I can't believe I've never been and I'm really excited to check it out). We're noticing that the cost of renting an apartment on VRBO is not all that much different than that of a hotel, so we think we're going that route, but now we need some advice as to where said apartment should be located. To the criteria!
1. Good bars are a must. What's "good", you ask? Excellent question. We're both in our early 40's, we don't really want a "scene"-type bar or the flavor of the month. We don't need swanky gastropub food, but we do want a bar or bars with good tap lists (we're from Portland and thus require good beer). Mostly, we want to be in a neighborhood with solid neighborhood bars rather than a neighborhood with the bar that is the next cool thing.
2. Neither of us are really shoppers, but for those occasions where we want to look at stuff, we would prefer to be in an area with local/independent shops rather than a neighborhood that is predominantly chain stores that we could find anywhere. Bonus points for proximity to such old-school things as good bookstores and record stores.
3. Reasonable proximity (~5 min walk or so) to public transportation and/or Zipcars is a must.
If this sounds like your Chicago neighborhood, or like a neighborhood you know and love, please fill me in!
Best answer: I agree with agregoli—Andersonville is awesome, and home to Hopleaf, one of my favorite bars/restaurants ever, with fantastic food and an even better beer list. (The website says it's in Uptown, but I've always thought of it as in Andersonville.) Clark Street is kind of the main Andersonville drag, and has lots of cool shops, coffee stores, etc.
I love Andersonville. If I were going back to Chicago, it's where I'd live, and I have a lot of the same criteria/likes as you. Plus, if you like Sweden, it's got the Swedish American Museum!
posted by good day merlock at 10:14 AM on January 3, 2012
I love Andersonville. If I were going back to Chicago, it's where I'd live, and I have a lot of the same criteria/likes as you. Plus, if you like Sweden, it's got the Swedish American Museum!
posted by good day merlock at 10:14 AM on January 3, 2012
(Oh, and it's super close to the Red Line, which takes you straight to the Loop.)
posted by good day merlock at 10:15 AM on January 3, 2012
posted by good day merlock at 10:15 AM on January 3, 2012
I haven't lived in Chicago for a few years, and I didn't have money when I did, so I won't attempt to tell you much about neighborhoods. (but sure, yeah, Andersonville's a reasonable start) Since you mention good beer, though... Chicago is difficult. I learned to like beer in the 90's in Seattle. Throughout 8 years in Michigan, beer was still my drink of choice, though I was starting to figure out wine a bit. During my 3 years in Chicago, I stopped drinking beer almost entirely (except for Guinness at Irish pubs). I thought it was just the vagaries of being 32 instead of 22. Then we moved to Massachusetts, and all of a sudden I'm drinking beer again. Huh? It all made sense when I read this article about how the (corrupt?) industry prevents sales of anything not associated with one of the major (Busch, Miller) distributers. So, sadly, Chicago is not the place to go to get interesting beer, microbrews, etc. Maybe someone can recommend a bar that specializes in working through those constraints and getting some decent beer, but the average bar? not so much. (that article mentions The Map Room, which I've heard of but never visited)
posted by aimedwander at 10:16 AM on January 3, 2012
posted by aimedwander at 10:16 AM on January 3, 2012
I live in Andersonville, and yes, Hopleaf is amazing. While you're up here, you might want to try Simon's and Lady Gregory as well.
To the point of "there's no good beer in Chicago", I call bullshit. That article is from 5 years ago, and in the interrim Goose Island has exploded into small-batch craft brewing, several small, great, craft breweries have popped up (I'm looking at you Metropolitan, Half Acre, and Three Floyds), and selection has exploded at the better beer bars like Hopleaf and Map Room.
posted by Oktober at 10:23 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
To the point of "there's no good beer in Chicago", I call bullshit. That article is from 5 years ago, and in the interrim Goose Island has exploded into small-batch craft brewing, several small, great, craft breweries have popped up (I'm looking at you Metropolitan, Half Acre, and Three Floyds), and selection has exploded at the better beer bars like Hopleaf and Map Room.
posted by Oktober at 10:23 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Aimedwander-
Since its been years since you've lived in Chicago, I can inform you that Chicago has MANY excellent bars that have extensive lists, as well as many local breweries as well. Chicago is not remotely 'difficult' when it comes to beer.
posted by Windigo at 10:24 AM on January 3, 2012 [5 favorites]
Since its been years since you've lived in Chicago, I can inform you that Chicago has MANY excellent bars that have extensive lists, as well as many local breweries as well. Chicago is not remotely 'difficult' when it comes to beer.
posted by Windigo at 10:24 AM on January 3, 2012 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Good beer selections off the top of my head-
Hopleaf
Map Room
Bad Apple
Quenchers
Acre
Long Room
(this list is just the first places I can think of)
We also have several fantastic cocktail bars if you enjoy that as well (Aviary, Violet Hour, The Whistler, The Drawing Room).
posted by Windigo at 10:28 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Hopleaf
Map Room
Bad Apple
Quenchers
Acre
Long Room
(this list is just the first places I can think of)
We also have several fantastic cocktail bars if you enjoy that as well (Aviary, Violet Hour, The Whistler, The Drawing Room).
posted by Windigo at 10:28 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I grew up in Andersonville and I loved it. A lot. But I moved out of Andersonville because it became too crowded/trendy when the Starbucks came on the scene. I still like the neighborhood but I don't know that I'd ever live there again.
I moved to Lincoln Square from there and liked it quite a bit. But bang for the buck I think you should check out the area near the Map Room. When I moved back to Chicago briefly a few years ago I landed in Bucktown and loved it. The area I was in was a touch rougher than I was used to, but I really enjoyed it overall. I lived within two blocks of the Western Blue Line stop and walked to the Map Room regularly. And the blue line takes you to and from O'hare as well as downtown. Just sayin'
Unless it's changed a ton in the four years since I lived there Bucktown and Wicker Park are still bastions of Indie Shops left and right. With lots of good indie restaurants thrown in for good measure.
posted by FlamingBore at 10:33 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
I moved to Lincoln Square from there and liked it quite a bit. But bang for the buck I think you should check out the area near the Map Room. When I moved back to Chicago briefly a few years ago I landed in Bucktown and loved it. The area I was in was a touch rougher than I was used to, but I really enjoyed it overall. I lived within two blocks of the Western Blue Line stop and walked to the Map Room regularly. And the blue line takes you to and from O'hare as well as downtown. Just sayin'
Unless it's changed a ton in the four years since I lived there Bucktown and Wicker Park are still bastions of Indie Shops left and right. With lots of good indie restaurants thrown in for good measure.
posted by FlamingBore at 10:33 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Just spent the weekend in Chicago, and hadn't been there for years. I really enjoyed the north side around Wrigleyville/Boystown/Lincoln Park. Lots of great independent shops and tons of restaurants. And it's always a pretty short walk to the Red Line or an express bus, though I'm not quite sure it was 5 minutes.
As for bookstores, I really can't recommend Powell's enough. Oh the deals that I found!
posted by erstwhile at 10:35 AM on January 3, 2012
As for bookstores, I really can't recommend Powell's enough. Oh the deals that I found!
posted by erstwhile at 10:35 AM on January 3, 2012
Andersonville is great, but you also might want to check out Lincoln Square. Good bookstores and a record store, plenty of other nice shops, restaurants, a cheap movie theater, The Old Town School of Folk Music, a big library across from a nice park, German bars, close to The Fountainhead for more great beer, and you can fill up your growler at Half Acre. The Ravenswood neighborhood, where we live, has less going on but is a short walk to Lincoln Square.
posted by hydrophonic at 10:39 AM on January 3, 2012
posted by hydrophonic at 10:39 AM on January 3, 2012
Best answer: So, sadly, Chicago is not the place to go to get interesting beer, microbrews, etc.
As someone who lives in Chicago and has for a decade, I assure you that Chicago has a robust beer scene. Breweries in the area include Half Acre, Metropolitan, Two Brothers, and Three Floyds, all of which distribute to tons of neighborhood bars. Revolution Brewing opened up in Logan Square recently, and Piece in Wicker Park also brews its own beer.
If you go with Andersonville, you'll have Hopleaf, as well as In Fine Spirits down the road, and plenty of other bars along Clark Street will have good beer. Lincoln Square is another option for a similar neighborhood. Lots of restaurants and independent shops. It's right off the Brown Line so it should be plenty convenient.
I live in Logan Square, which is a bit more scene-y than Andersonville/Lincoln Square, but it has several good drinking and dining options. Longman & Eagle, one of the best restaurants in the city, is right across the street from the Blue Line station, and it even has a boutique inn on the top floor (check for availability though, it's frequently full.)
posted by evisceratordeath at 10:40 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
As someone who lives in Chicago and has for a decade, I assure you that Chicago has a robust beer scene. Breweries in the area include Half Acre, Metropolitan, Two Brothers, and Three Floyds, all of which distribute to tons of neighborhood bars. Revolution Brewing opened up in Logan Square recently, and Piece in Wicker Park also brews its own beer.
If you go with Andersonville, you'll have Hopleaf, as well as In Fine Spirits down the road, and plenty of other bars along Clark Street will have good beer. Lincoln Square is another option for a similar neighborhood. Lots of restaurants and independent shops. It's right off the Brown Line so it should be plenty convenient.
I live in Logan Square, which is a bit more scene-y than Andersonville/Lincoln Square, but it has several good drinking and dining options. Longman & Eagle, one of the best restaurants in the city, is right across the street from the Blue Line station, and it even has a boutique inn on the top floor (check for availability though, it's frequently full.)
posted by evisceratordeath at 10:40 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
There are tons of great beers here. The only time I'm forced to drink InBev beers are in Lincoln Park/Wrigleyville/Lakeview lately but even those neighborhood surely have a few bars with nice beers. I'll throw in Logan Square. Revolution Brewing is a few steps from the California stop and there are lots of bars serving great beer. Just down the blue line, Wicker Park/Bucktown has tons of indie shops. There's more bars in Wicker Park than Logan, but you'll have to be more discerning about which ones you go to as a bit of the crap bar scene has crept in.
posted by Bunglegirl at 10:44 AM on January 3, 2012
posted by Bunglegirl at 10:44 AM on January 3, 2012
Best answer: I would recommend Lincoln Square due to your "quiet" requirement. It has a lot of overlooked gems beer and shopping wise, that are excellent, but not super crowded like a lot of other neighborhoods.
The square itself has a lot of really cute shops - Book Cellar for books, Laurie's Planet of Sound for records, and a bunch of cute, hip, and kitschy home decoration doodad stores.
The square itself isn't super awesome for beer, but it is within a mile of the aforementioned Bad Apple, Half Acre, and Fountainhead. Also, Lincoln Square is kind of in the middle of a bunch of transportation options that will get you to awesome beer: take the Damen bus south to head to the Map Room (or take it north/east to get to Andersonville), take the Western bus south to Quenchers, take the Foster bus east to get to Andersonville and Hopleaf.
Books wise, make sure you check out Myopic Books and Quimby's - both in Wicker Park.
Also, here is my ill-conceived attempt at equating Portland and Chicago neighborhoods which have similar vibes:
NE Alberta = Logan Square
NW 23rd = Wicker Park
Belmont/Hawthorne district = Rogers Park
Pearl District = Andersonville
posted by baniak at 10:57 AM on January 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
The square itself has a lot of really cute shops - Book Cellar for books, Laurie's Planet of Sound for records, and a bunch of cute, hip, and kitschy home decoration doodad stores.
The square itself isn't super awesome for beer, but it is within a mile of the aforementioned Bad Apple, Half Acre, and Fountainhead. Also, Lincoln Square is kind of in the middle of a bunch of transportation options that will get you to awesome beer: take the Damen bus south to head to the Map Room (or take it north/east to get to Andersonville), take the Western bus south to Quenchers, take the Foster bus east to get to Andersonville and Hopleaf.
Books wise, make sure you check out Myopic Books and Quimby's - both in Wicker Park.
Also, here is my ill-conceived attempt at equating Portland and Chicago neighborhoods which have similar vibes:
NE Alberta = Logan Square
NW 23rd = Wicker Park
Belmont/Hawthorne district = Rogers Park
Pearl District = Andersonville
posted by baniak at 10:57 AM on January 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
Breweries in the area include Half Acre, Metropolitan, Two Brothers, and Three Floyds, all of which distribute to tons of neighborhood bars. Revolution Brewing opened up in Logan Square recently, and Piece in Wicker Park also brews its own beer.
And don't forget Five Rabbit! Their 5 Lizard is especially awesome.
posted by Windigo at 12:05 PM on January 3, 2012
And don't forget Five Rabbit! Their 5 Lizard is especially awesome.
posted by Windigo at 12:05 PM on January 3, 2012
Roscoe Village is similar to what you're looking for. There's a great little wine-bar and restaurant named Volo that often has an apartment for rent above it, Village Tap and Underbar both have great beer lists, Fountainhead is pretty close, the Brown Line is a 5-10 minute walk and it will take you to Lincoln Square, there is both a N-S and an E-W 24-hour bus line nearby, and both of them have transfer points to 24-hour trains. It's close to Logan Square, Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park... Yeah, I'd go Roscoe.
posted by bryanthecook at 12:10 PM on January 3, 2012
posted by bryanthecook at 12:10 PM on January 3, 2012
And saying that Chicago sucks for beer is just plain ignorant. It's quickly becoming one of the best beer cities in the country. Come back, drink local, stop reading 5 year old articles, and then rethink your statements.
posted by bryanthecook at 12:16 PM on January 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by bryanthecook at 12:16 PM on January 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks all.
erstwhile - I was very confused by your Powell's recommendation at first, as I live in Portland, the home of Powell's; now I see what you were talking about though.
posted by pdb at 12:45 PM on January 3, 2012
erstwhile - I was very confused by your Powell's recommendation at first, as I live in Portland, the home of Powell's; now I see what you were talking about though.
posted by pdb at 12:45 PM on January 3, 2012
I'll just pop in to add that the Powell's in Chicago doesn't hold a candle to that in Portland. I would second Myopic and Quimby's, though there are a lot of random small used bookstores scattered around.
posted by bibbit at 1:53 PM on January 3, 2012
posted by bibbit at 1:53 PM on January 3, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by agregoli at 10:07 AM on January 3, 2012