Wicker Park
Wicker Park is one of those areas of the city where you can always just kill a great deal of time and just experience life. It has gotten a bit more fufu unfortunately and rents have increased, which have caused some of the artists and musicians in the area to go to other more affordable places like Logan Square but it still has it’s culture including art and music and literature. It’s also one of the places in the city in which chains do very poorly. There is a Starbucks, Burger King, and a Chipotle here, which I have made sure not to show. I’m an idealist when it comes to photography sometimes. Easily accessible, it is right off of the Damen blue line el stop. If you are downtown, get on the blue line going towards O’Hare. If you are at O’Hare, you can only go towards the downtown area anyways.
Also, much of the area of Wicker Park (and Bucktown) was featured in the film High Fidelity.
There are quite a few upscale clothing stores and salons in the area…independently owned places unlike downtown.
see above. This is on North Avenue.
Sound Gallery on North Avenue is the first store on the left in this sequence. This place only sells vinyl and has a generally good stock. Sometimes, they have cult classic movies playing in the background. They have turn tables set up to listen to records and they have bowls and things made out of records….some kitchy type things but not too much overkill.
Closeup of the Sound Gallery store front. It’s really laid back and open here. I would recommend this place.
Quite a few cool coffee shops and places to eat along North Avenue (Damen and Milwaukee as well)
Let me take a moment to talk about Sweet Thang. (on North Ave) There is just no better place for quiche that I have found in this city and the pastries are I swear out of this world. If you do know French, there is a woman from Cannes who works there and can obviously speak it to you. It’s a cozy little place with reasonable prices and great coffee. I swear if I actually lived in Wicker Park, I would probably weigh 900 pounds. (It might be worth it though, seriously!)
This is a very nice and friendly laid back independent bike shop on North.
more of North Avenue.
The side of the outdoor seating area for Las Palmas on North Avenue, a more upscale Mexican restaurant I have heard is good (it’s just that I already sort of have my own favorites, you see)
Milwaukee Avenue. You can see the banner for Earwax (it’s brightly colored yellow, red, and blue). I love Earwax (as in, the restaurant). Don’t let the name deter you. It has a great selection of veggie and vegan friendly foods and some good video and dvd finds downstairs. They also have great outdoor seating in the summer. In High Fidelity, there is a scene in the original Earwax before they relocated across the street in which Rob is infatuated with Charlie during his college days.
More than any of these pictures, this one makes me want to move to Wicker Park right away. I’m not sure why exactly and I just can’t do it. I wouldn’t feel safe enough and it’s too far from the beach/Lake Michigan. I just can’t but this picture makes me want to.
The famed Double Door. It is staying open. It’s very close to the el right at the intersection of North, Milwaukee and Damen. It was sort of magical the first time I have seen it. We’ve seen a great many bands there including: The Kaiser Chiefs, Idlewild, The Wedding Present, Steven Malkmus, The Shins, Frank Black, Slooooooan, The Dears, Graham Coxon, and more.
A view of Milwaukee that includes the Double Door.
The Subterranean Club is right around the corner from the Double Door and is where we have seen many local bands as well as The Hidden Cameras.
The backs of Rodan (a restaurant) and Reckless as seen from the el.
long shot of Milwaukee with Reckless Records storefront included.
Reckless Records up close. Now, let me just mention something about Reckless…don’t go in there expecting to find anything specific…it is safe to say you may find a few rare and reasonably priced gems, though but be prepared to look throughout the store scavenging. They do not stock their store adequately period so when you find something great, you’ve truly earned it. Now also, some of the guys that work here are nice but it’s no Dr. Wax on Berwyn (right off of the Berwyn red line el stop) where I truly call home. I mean, I literally go in every Sat. sometimes just to talk to those three guys that work there and if for some reason Cinchel and I don’t make it in, they worry we’ve died. There’s no place like home. clicks heels three times On second thought, I don’t wear heels. I wear converse.
I’ve started buying most of my clothes at Ragstock on Milwaukee because it’s affordable (more money to spend on records!) and I found out Urban Outfitters supports republicans and my conscience has my body hostage.
I don’t buy new books hardly ever. I think the last new book I bought is when Douglas Coupland’s Eleanor Rigby came out (I make exceptions for Coupland, okay? It’s only fair.) Myopic is one of my favorite places to buy used books in the city and they have some great stuff. Be aware they also keep new books and favored used books that often get stolen right by the counter.And put books you decide not to buy back on the shelves because every time they have to restock something, they raise the price by a dollar. Don’t make it harder on the rest of us.
Did I mention that Myopic almost always has great music playing and is open late…as in like 1am I believe? That’s important in case you get a late night craving for a used book.
The inside of Myopic and the kitty that lives there. Not very friendly, unfortunately. She’s sort of one of those cats that barely tolerates human existence. I liked their other cat, Cat, better but he passed on a couple of years ago.
more of a longview of Milwaukee.
This is close to the huge intersection of Milwaukee, Damen, and North right by the el. Many artists set up work spaces in this building and every fall, there is a festival known as Around the Coyote in which their spaces are opened up as galleries where you can buy art.
If you want cheap Mexican food, Flash is your place. I have many many fond memories of Flash. It’s also open late at night after shows.
Around the intersection of Damen, Milwaukee and North in which you can also see the el stop. Damen is also a road worth taking a look at and has some nice, more upscale restaurants that we just never end up going to but if you like that type of thing… (It’s just that I’d rather spend the money on records is all)
I like this independent photo place and it’s the only one I know of in the city. Half & Half has especially tasty frappes and fruit smoothies. It’s probably about three trillion times better than Starbucks and I’m not just saying that, okay? I really truly mean it.
Now here’s a place on the other side of North that any lover of falafel should go to immediately. It’s gourmet food for like three bucks. I also recommend their Jerusalem salad and their (I am gonna try my best to spell this) zatter fatia. It’s like pure heaven, people….mmmm…... Did I mention it’s three bucks? That means you’ll have more money left over for records. It’s all about priorities.
This is on North Ave. on the way to two of my fav. restaurants going towards Western.
Ah…this is one of the best places for thai food in the city. It’s a bit of a walk down North from the el towards Western Ave. but it’s well worth it. Friendly atmosphere (I should also mention one of the waiters looks like a slightly more emaciated Beck), always great music playing, independent art, and may I recommend the Tamarind Curry with tofu? mmmm….also Khee Mao with crispy noodles is their second best dish imo. I always feel so comfortable here. Yes, I have driven half an hour across the city just to eat at Thai Lagoon. You would too, people, trust me.
The Handlebar…right across the street from Thai Lagoon….sometimes, I spend crucial moments agonizing over which one to go to. Let me tell you something. If you are in the mood for West African Nut Stew or such sweet plantains ala Black Beans Maduro or Sesame Noodles and you want to drink alchohol, the Handlebar is your place. The music is also always great here and the food is very reasonable. They specialize in vegetarian and vegan foods but they also have seafood.
I would be remiss in talking about this area if I didn’t mention Stanley’s fruit and vegetable market. They have both organic and conventional foods for such great prices (in this picture, one of the workers is de-coring organic pineapples and putting them out for 99 cents a piece.) Now, at Stanley’s the music is generally hit or miss. They usually have variety type of radio songs piped in and I have often caught myself singing and dancing while inspecting peppers and peaches. That’s okay, though, right? It is a long walk down North Avenue away from the el to get to Stanley’s. It’s really more of a vehicle venture.
Last but certainly not least….here’s, in fact, Wicker Park.
(now playing: Odawas: Vitamin City ep)
October 10th, 2005 at 8:09 pm
[...] When people think of Chicago, they usually tend to think of the high rises and skyscrapers. Because, when you visit and stay downtown, that is all you see. But there’s another side of Chicago and that is it’s neighborhoods. I’ve posted a few pictures of neighborhoods already: Andersonville (the Swedish area of the city that is only a couple of miles away), and Wicker Park and here’s truly what I see when I walk around the few blocks of my own neighborhood-north,south, and west. If I go East, I see skyscrapers because I live close to the lake and the beach. [...]
November 30th, 2005 at 7:55 pm
[...] But, recently, I went to the Cheetah gym in Wicker Park on North Avenue because I was working in the area and my parents were flying in at O’Hare so it would have been impossible to drive all the way back home and then back that way in time. It was a whole new experience. Instead of the metal lockers in the locker room, there were these beautiful wooden ones. The locker room sinks were a cross between woks and silver lily pads and there was a little dish by the sinks dotted with peppermint candies. The shower door looked like a door to a sauna and on the stairwell there hung a brown furry thing which I wasn’t sure was a rug or a modern art piece. [...]