Hip Chicago: A weekend in Wicker Park

Our Local Expert Says:

Super cute and cozy stay that will give you the local flavor of one of Chicago's hippest neighborhoods.

Description:

The Wicker Park Inn offers high quality yet affordable accommodations in Chicago's "trendy" Wicker Park neighborhood just minutes from Downtown. The Inn is located on a quiet, tree-lined street of turn-of-the-century row houses only a short walk from great restaurants, vintage and boutique shops, cafes, art galleries, and nightlife. Each of our five charming guestrooms has a private bathroom, telephone, satellite TV, wireless internet, and many other amenities. We also have 2 apartments ideal for long-term or family travel as each has a full kitchen, private bathroom, private entrance, and same B&B amenities. Conveniently located near Chicago's subway train, a visit to the Wicker Park Inn does not require the rental of a car. The train runs from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to downtown. Access from Chicago's Midway Airport is equally convenient via the CTA Orange and Blue Lines. Indeed, the Wicker Park Inn B&B is an ideal base for exploring all of Chicago's sights. All major attractions are a short train, bus, or taxi ride away.

As seen on

Description:

Formerly Earwax Records, this café is one of Wicker Park's standard places to meet and greet for the moody hipster with a book to read or music to discuss. The closest you get to eclectic is present here, right down to the lack of air conditioning in the summer, which makes the place so hot the wax will run out your ears. Decent, cheap food, strong coffee and alternative atmosphere (complete with murals of circus freaks) complement the not-so-comically rude service. The coffee shop also features a video rental store with some decent selections.

Description:

This gallery's focus is unusual gift items for the home and office. Try a set of insect tumblers 12-ounce drinking glasses. Each hand-painted glass by Regina Maniaci depicts a different insect. Or pick up a miniature "comfort chair," hand painted with inspirational sayings such as "surrender to love" or "celebrate life". Each foot-high chair is an original creation by craftsman Lou Sparks-Smith. The gallery features the work of other artists including painter James Michalopoulos.

Description:

On the cutting edge of creative ideas, this gallery space offers such curiosities as its recent "Many Lisas" show, which incorporated paintings, sculpture, photography, video and other compositions by area artists solicited to reinterpret da Vinci's "La gioconda." The gallery attempt to give artists greater opportunity to explore the social and cultural aspects of visual arts. Fun and interesting, this place is a must-see on any gallery walk. Visitors should call first, though...hours are by appointment only when an exhibit is not scheduled.

Description:

Owners Mark and Laura Blasingame have made this place into an expression of their love for world travel, and the free buffet every Tuesday night, served to reflect the cuisine of a different country every week, is only the first indication of that love. The walls are lined with bookshelves housing a variety of atlases and travel guides, Internet connections are available to help plan your next world voyage, and perhaps most importantly, the draught beer list includes a variety of exciting imports (including Belgians like St. Feuillien, Achouffe and Urthel). On Fridays, enjoy live blues and on Saturday, live jazz. There is no cover charge for either night. See website for details on the quarterly "Cafe Scientifique" lecture/discussion series.

Description:

Silver Cloud is Bucktown's headquarters for classic comfort food and cocktails. In the mood to eat outside? Silver Cloud is the perfect Memorial Day option. Bring your friends and get the best of both worlds with Silver Cloud's 5 Burger Specials (which include Silver Cloud's staple Veggie Burger, Your Basic Burger and the Brie Burger) and prime outdoor patio spot in Bucktown. The full bar includes a great lineup of micro-brewed beers, wines by the bottle and glass.

Our Local Expert Says:

This tucked away dive bar draws a varied line up and is generally packed with locals looking for a crazy dance party. Generally you will find plaid-wearing "cool kids."

Description:

This friendly tavern's OLD STYLE BEER sign shines like a beacon, guiding roots-music fans through the grimy industrial neighborhood that surrounds it. The owners' beer-can collection and some "celebrity" memorabilia are on display in the front room. In back, local musicians play country, rock, and bluesy tunes on a small stage backed by an impressive stuffed sailfish. It's no-frills, all right, but the Hideout also books some of the best lineups of folk and "alt country" bands in the city, including Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco), Kelly Hogan, and the New Duncan Imperials.

Our Local Expert Says:

This is a small, friendly and cheap dive bar that brings great bands, drawing a "cool hipster" crowd for its dark and gritty atmosphere.

Description:

This alternative-rock club in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood is a haven for young arty scenesters drawn here for camaraderie, obscure bands, and cheap beer. Offerings are diverse, with experimental jazz on Wednesday, and other nights given over to a DJ's underground improvisations.

Description:

This is perhaps the most authentic rock and roll venue in Chicago. You should call ahead to find out what the charge is. Performances are held on a medium-sized stage on the main floor. Not much dancing happens here, though there is room for it, and acts tend to be of the strictly rock and roll variety. Big name acts are known to favor this club, including the Rolling Stones, as well as lesser-known virtuoso acts, such as the Magnetic Fields. If music is not your gig, head downstairs to the poolroom or hang out in the second-story seating area and sip beers while watching the crowd glide by.

Description:

During the summer Leitzia's sidewalk cafe and back garden are ready for you. You can also sip some vino or a cold Weiss beer outdoors, with the addition of the Enoteca.

Description:

Ah, the Russian bath. Treat yourself to some real old world creature comforts here, without the bank breaking expense of a contemporary salon. For a reasonable entrance fee, patrons are given use of a large, luxurious whirlpool, cold pool and granite stone heat room, even oak leaf brooms. The menu of professional Swedish massage services, which are excellent after steaming the pores clean for an hour or so, cost extra. Locker room lunch counters serve salads and sandwiches that are deliciously crisp and fresh.

Description:

Just like the name suggests, this is a place for a hearty breakfast and other wholesome meals. The pleasant, warm-toned interior is always filled with the divine aroma of freshly baked muffins and cakes. Plenty of light, petite white-leathered chairs, and a handwritten menu on the wall rule the ambience. Choose from Thyme-crusted Roast Beef, spicy Tortilla with Chorizo, Couscous with Roasted Vegetables, cookies, sweets, pastries, bread pudding, and lots of coffee. This is a good place to take your kids, and also to meet single parents.

Description:

Piece proves to deep-dish-loving Chicagoans that thin-crust pizza deserves respect. A casual, welcoming hangout, Piece makes a good lunch stop for families with older kids; at night it becomes a convivial scene full of young singles sipping one of the restaurant's seasonal microbrew beers. The large, airy dining room -- a former garage that's been outfitted with dark wood tables and ceiling beams -- is flooded with light from the expansive skylights overhead; even when it's crowded (as it gets on weekend evenings), the soaring space above keeps the place from feeling claustrophobic.

Piece offers a selection of salads and sandwiches on satisfyingly crusty bread, but pizza in the style of New Haven, Connecticut (hometown of one of the owners), is the house specialty. Pick from three styles -- plain (tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and garlic), red (tomato sauce and mozzarella), or white (olive oil, garlic, and mozzarella), then add on your favorite toppings. Sausage and/or spinach work well with the plain or red, but the adventurous should sample a more offbeat choice: clam and bacon on white pizza.

Our Local Expert Says:

Super cute and cozy stay that will give you the local flavor of one of Chicago's hippest neighborhoods.

Description:

The Wicker Park Inn offers high quality yet affordable accommodations in Chicago's "trendy" Wicker Park neighborhood just minutes from Downtown. The Inn is located on a quiet, tree-lined street of turn-of-the-century row houses only a short walk from great restaurants, vintage and boutique shops, cafes, art galleries, and nightlife. Each of our five charming guestrooms has a private bathroom, telephone, satellite TV, wireless internet, and many other amenities. We also have 2 apartments ideal for long-term or family travel as each has a full kitchen, private bathroom, private entrance, and same B&B amenities. Conveniently located near Chicago's subway train, a visit to the Wicker Park Inn does not require the rental of a car. The train runs from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to downtown. Access from Chicago's Midway Airport is equally convenient via the CTA Orange and Blue Lines. Indeed, the Wicker Park Inn B&B is an ideal base for exploring all of Chicago's sights. All major attractions are a short train, bus, or taxi ride away.

As seen on