[gabrielM]

Hey guys, this November I'm going to Chicago and wanted to know if anyone can help me out with a few things. I've seen a few members on here from Chicago & maybe some of you have visited there as well. I'm looking for good things to do/see that aren't the usual touristy things. Looking online usually gives you those types of things. Anyhow, here are the few questions I have:

Is there a specific independent community? Not sure if anyone's been to Atlanta, but I'm looking for something similar to Little Five Points. Where they'd have several stores with trinkets & random stuff, vintage/thrift stores, coffee shops, book stores, bars, & restaurants.

What's the best record store there? I'm into bands like Brand New, Curisve, FOB, etc.

Anything in particular you'd say I can't miss when I go to Chicago? Something interesting, insightful, cool, whatever.

I'm buying a city pass which has a bunch of stuff I pretty much want to do as well.

Lastly, I've read that the November weather in Chicago can vary. Anyone have a little more of a specific prediction? Should I expect snow? I'll be there November 14-19.

Thanks so much for any help, guys

[gabrielM]

No help? :(

[chokeychicken]

Kuma's Corner. Make time to eat here. It's a metal hamburger joint where they only play metal music and every burger is named after a metal band. It is THE best burger in the country, hands down. There's always a line and it's always worth it.

[Regards]

Get pizza, check out Shed, check out the Digital Bean, check out Solider Field if you're into football. I'm blanking on all of the food places I loved while I was there...

Where in Chicago will you be, and why are you going? November will be chilly, pack warm.

Edit: Portillos is one the the places I loved to eat.

[llwilliamsll]

Hot Dougs, Lou Malnati's, Pick Me Up, Chicago Diner (last two are mainly veggie so you might want to check a menu before going).
Wicker Park/Bucktown might have that independent community you're looking for. Wrigglyville isn't a bad area as they have some thrift stores and such. Just avoid the bars on Clark if you want to avoid the "bro" crowd. Roger's Park if you're looking for Indian food or a diverse area.

Field Museum, the Art Institute, and the Shedd are nice.

etc etc.

I'm sure you can search function Chicago, and get ample amounts of threads with more ideas.

[gabrielM]

Originally Posted by chokeychicken

Kuma's Corner. Make time to eat here. It's a metal hamburger joint where they only play metal music and every burger is named after a metal band. It is THE best burger in the country, hands down. There's always a line and it's always worth it.

this sounds really cool. lol. i'm going to look into it asap. thanks so much!

Originally Posted by Regards

Get pizza, check out Shed, check out the Digital Bean, check out Solider Field if you're into football. I'm blanking on all of the food places I loved while I was there...

Where in Chicago will you be, and why are you going? November will be chilly, pack warm.

Edit: Portillos is one the the places I loved to eat.

well i'm staying in the loop/downtown area and just going for vacation. i try to see 2-3 states a year. and yea, i'm definitely going to try the pizza. any recommendations on where the best pizza is? and what is the digital bean? i looked it up and didn't find much. i know about the bean itself but not sure about the digital part. and i love football but the ol' girlfriend isn't a fan lol. is snow a possibility in mid-november? also, thanks so much for responding.

Originally Posted by llwilliamsll

Hot Dougs, Lou Malnati's, Pick Me Up, Chicago Diner (last two are mainly veggie so you might want to check a menu before going).
Wicker Park/Bucktown might have that independent community you're looking for. Wrigglyville isn't a bad area as they have some thrift stores and such. Just avoid the bars on Clark if you want to avoid the "bro" crowd. Roger's Park if you're looking for Indian food or a diverse area.

Field Museum, the Art Institute, and the Shedd are nice.

etc etc.

I'm sure you can search function Chicago, and get ample amounts of threads with more ideas.

i had heard about hot dougs because i found it on yelp. shit looks intense. it was definitely on my list of places to eat. i'm definitely going to look up the others and the communities you mentioned. the shedd, field museum, and art institute are also on my list of things to do and are also part of the citypass which seems like a great deal.


thanks so much for answering guys. i appreciate and i'm going to research those suggestions right now. hopefully i get some more responses.

[Gaugzilla]

Whatever you do, don't beef with Chief Keef while in Chi City.

[You Vandal]

Originally Posted by chokeychicken

Kuma's Corner. Make time to eat here. It's a metal hamburger joint where they only play metal music and every burger is named after a metal band. It is THE best burger in the country, hands down. There's always a line and it's always worth it.

The burgers are pretty good, but the place is overrated IMO. They stuff too many people in there, service kinda sucks and having to wait so long is a pain.

[You Vandal]

Originally Posted by Gaugzilla

Whatever you do, don't beef with Chief Keef while in Chi City.

Best advice a person can give you.

[You Vandal]

I live in Wicker Park, so most of my suggestions are going to come from that area.

Check out Milwaukee Ave between Ashland and Damen - it has a ton of shops/restaurants/bars that I think you will like. Reckless Records is on this strip, awesome record store. If you are into books, make sure to stop into Myopic Books. Its covered floor to ceiling with books. It used to be a jewelry store and the mystery section is housed in the old vault in the basement. Awesome place.

For coffee, go to Wormhole. They have an entire Delorean (car from Back to the Future) in the shop. Good coffee too.

Food - check out Antique Taco. It is better than the much-hyped Big Star - though you can't go wrong there either. A few doors down from Antique Taco is a bar called The Emporium. The walls are lined with arcade machines from the 80's-90's. It gets backed later in the night so if you dont want to deal with the crowds go earlier.

I could go on and on - let me know if you have any more specific questions.

[Wake Up]

food: Xoco + Crisp + Jake Melnicks

just sayin

[thesafeword]

heads up parts of chicago smell like shit like you'll be walking downtown and it will hit you and yeah

[gabrielM]

Originally Posted by You Vandal

I live in Wicker Park, so most of my suggestions are going to come from that area.

Check out Milwaukee Ave between Ashland and Damen - it has a ton of shops/restaurants/bars that I think you will like. Reckless Records is on this strip, awesome record store. If you are into books, make sure to stop into Myopic Books. Its covered floor to ceiling with books. It used to be a jewelry store and the mystery section is housed in the old vault in the basement. Awesome place.

For coffee, go to Wormhole. They have an entire Delorean (car from Back to the Future) in the shop. Good coffee too.

Food - check out Antique Taco. It is better than the much-hyped Big Star - though you can't go wrong there either. A few doors down from Antique Taco is a bar called The Emporium. The walls are lined with arcade machines from the 80's-90's. It gets backed later in the night so if you dont want to deal with the crowds go earlier.

I could go on and on - let me know if you have any more specific questions.

this is awesome. the bookstore sounds so cool and so does the coffee shop. i will check them out for sure. since you live there, do you think it will snow when i'm there? also, do you know any good comic book stores?

[You Vandal]

Originally Posted by gabrielM

this is awesome. the bookstore sounds so cool and so does the coffee shop. i will check them out for sure. since you live there, do you think it will snow when i'm there? also, do you know any good comic book stores?

Snow - I'm going to say no, but you can never know for sure. It will probably be pretty cold though.

I've never been to any comic book stores, but I've passed by a few. Challengers Comics on Western looks pretty nice from the outside and I've heard good things about a place called Brainstorm. You might want to check those two out.

[Eckel]

I will be in Chicago this weekend for the Riot Fest. Anyone around?
201-772-6826