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Kafka is a great little wine shop that used to be walking distance from my place, and I took advantage of it's convenient location. Now, I am on a different part of town, and with little to no...
Kafka is a great little wine shop that used to be walking distance from my place, and I took advantage of it's convenient location. Now, I am on a different part of town, and with little to no reason to venture up to Lakeview, I miss Kafka. They don't carry the big names or the supermarket brands. They concentrate on bottle that are usually under $20; they may carry something special here and there, but Kafka is good for the casual bottle for Tuesday night dinner. The shopkeepers are knowledgeable, but not brilliant, and some are more enthusiastic and helpful than others. Take you time here, as you will probably find many things you will want to try, and to rush yourself would be a pity.
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I wouldn't normally bother with writing about a chain, but this Caribou Coffee is pleasant, clean, and totally queer. It's in Boystown, on the corner of Cornelia and Halsted, so it fits the...
I wouldn't normally bother with writing about a chain, but this Caribou Coffee is pleasant, clean, and totally queer. It's in Boystown, on the corner of Cornelia and Halsted, so it fits the neighborhood. The coffee is good, and corporate, so you usually know what you will get, and you know, sometimes that is a good thing, because a lot of people can still screw up a latte. The staff is friendly, though sometimes the flirting slows down the service (sorry, I am a girl, so I feel left out). But I really can't complain, they are speedy enough for this crazy fast-paced world we live in. And it's really the only coffeehouse in this small area, considering it is so close to Wrigley, and most people are looking for beer, not espresso.
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Right off of the Blue Line's Damen Stop is the wonderful Flash Taco. Whenever I am coming home from O'Hare after a trip, I usually get off the train just to stop at Flash, and now they finally...
Right off of the Blue Line's Damen Stop is the wonderful Flash Taco. Whenever I am coming home from O'Hare after a trip, I usually get off the train just to stop at Flash, and now they finally deliver, in conjunction with UnderDog, which is also good, I am just not much of a hotdog fan, so I go to Flash much more often. They are not the most authentic, real mexican or so they say, offering the lettuce and tomatoes and cheese, instead of just onions and cilantro, like the authentic joints. But whatever, I really like lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. And they are open late, which is so nice.
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Green Zebra is miminalist in decor, but chock full of ingredients when it comes to the dishes. This restaurant caters to vegetarians, though it does offer a selection or two of either a fish or a...
Green Zebra is miminalist in decor, but chock full of ingredients when it comes to the dishes. This restaurant caters to vegetarians, though it does offer a selection or two of either a fish or a poultry. I did a tasting menu, that was a fun to discover, but offered few gems. Everything was good (especially a dish with egg and lentils), perhaps borderline great, but just not anything that I would want to seek out to consume again. Green Zebra is more about the experience and the self-righteousness you can only get from saying that you are a regular at a place like this. Needless to say, I don't know anyone who is a regular here. The prices are deceiving; they look cheap enough, but everything is small, so you have to order several courses, which adds up over time, especially when you factor in drinks. Green Zebra is a bit too smug for my taste, but I did enjoy it, once.
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It may not be close to a golf course, but the Chipp Inn is this golfer's favourite bar. My favourite thing about it: They put golf on the tiny TV set that hangs above the bar. Well, it's tiny...
It may not be close to a golf course, but the Chipp Inn is this golfer's favourite bar. My favourite thing about it: They put golf on the tiny TV set that hangs above the bar. Well, it's tiny compared to today's standard. But my other favourite thing is the Grab Bag Beer. Such obscure beer, it's an aluminum adventure everytime. And it's something crazy like a dollar a beer. There is a pool table, a small bar, maybe four tables, so it's definitely not roomy, and can get really smokey at times, but I like it any way. There always seem to be some regular or another hanging around to make friends with, you know, after a couple. Oh, and don't forget to bring some singles for the jukebox, because everyone loves Journey when you're drunk.
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Right there in that Wicker Park-Bucktown triangle is wonderful, wonderful Reckless Records. As one who prefers music that is a bit more independent than the typical American Idol, it is so nice to...
Right there in that Wicker Park-Bucktown triangle is wonderful, wonderful Reckless Records. As one who prefers music that is a bit more independent than the typical American Idol, it is so nice to have a record shop with the obscure, and a staff that is well-versed in that obscurity. Although, they are usually too cool to really sell you on something, they are pleasant enough, and they won't bother you unless you bother them, which I like. You can't help but spend considerable time thunmbing through the used selections as well as the new stuff. Whatever you're little heart may desire, as long as it is not too mainstream, but they carry that stuff, too, I mean, you have to make money, right?
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Home Depot
Category:
Building Supplies & Materials
1232 W North Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60622
(773) 486-9200
No matter how many times I go into this Home Depot, I can never find what it is that I am looking for unless it's paint or toilets. It's infuriating because of the lack of logic, and I guess I need...
No matter how many times I go into this Home Depot, I can never find what it is that I am looking for unless it's paint or toilets. It's infuriating because of the lack of logic, and I guess I need a little logic in my Home depots. This one just bothers me, and I usually look forward to going to Home Depot, even if I have no good godly idea why I am there. Normally, I find my home and hardware stores soothing, but I find no peace at this store. No service either, they only seem to get me more lost. I drive over to the Home Depot on Clybourn when I need something from this chain, because it is really hard to find everything I need from the Ace on Ashland.
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I really like the Logan Square Auditorium, it takes me back to the Fifties, but in a grimier part of a town like Detroit or Philadelphia, but instead of it being the Fifties when the Auditorium may...
I really like the Logan Square Auditorium, it takes me back to the Fifties, but in a grimier part of a town like Detroit or Philadelphia, but instead of it being the Fifties when the Auditorium may have been "newer", it is 2006, and the place is that permanently dingy white colour used to brighten the place up. Anyway, you have to go upstairs to get to this smaller-sized music hall that brings in various acts (e.g. I saw Electric Six, maybe that's why I think of Detroit...) There is a small bar in the back of the room, on the other side of the way one enters, but it's slow, so plan accordingly. The acoustics are not good, but not tremendously bad, and you get what you pay for, which is a sad statement considered today's concert industry, but Logan Square Aud is fun, low-key, cheap, and really, really smoky.
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Del Toro
Category:
Food & Dining
1520 N. Damen
Chicago, Illinois 60601
(773) 252-1500
I pulled myself up onto the small "pommelhorse" bar stool, and after thumbing through the two pages of the menu, to find there was little to nothing I wanted to order. Same with the wine list, but...
I pulled myself up onto the small "pommelhorse" bar stool, and after thumbing through the two pages of the menu, to find there was little to nothing I wanted to order. Same with the wine list, but I did find a delightful, crisp white that did was perfect for the fried chick peas and the proscuitto I did end up ordering. I would've ordered more, nay I wanted to order more, but nothing else really jumped out at me, so I chose to make Del Toro my starter for the evening. The place is beautiful inside, regardless of the lack of choices, and there are only a few, maybe around ten to fifteen tapas, with a maybe five or six larger portions. What I did have, I found very good, so maybe I just wasn't in the mood that day. Did I mention that it's really pretty inside? It is, with dramatic red lighting in the back area that creates a nice illusion of depth. There is a lounge area, that goes in a completely different direction in decor, but also visually interesting. I enjoyed the room and the space of Del Toro, and for someone like me, space is important. But to sum this up, Del Toro is good, but it may be hard to order, unless you find that one thing you have been craving all day. The prices are a mid-range, so you can always just pop in for a drink and a light tapas after work, or before your evening begins.
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A tiny, tiny little wee bar on the corner of Ogden and Milwaukee is just what you need every now and then, or more so, depending on your liver's capacity. They offer the necessary, and then they...
A tiny, tiny little wee bar on the corner of Ogden and Milwaukee is just what you need every now and then, or more so, depending on your liver's capacity. They offer the necessary, and then they offer the unique. The unique being cocktails made with good, old-fashioned albumen, that's right, egg whites. I mean, who uses egg whites any more? And yet, the proof is in the pudding. The bartenders are sometimes inattentive, but it must get so boring paying attention to drunks all night, I don't blame them. The bartender's are however nice, and when you get a martini, you get everything in the shaker. Which maybe I don't need, but I always want it. Check out whatever the special is, it's usually tasty, even if it may not sound that way. The Matchbox is described by it's moniker, so be forewarned. I don't remember tables, maybe one in the back somewhere, but it really is just a bar, with not more than twenty seats...but then that may be being generous.
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