Another "I'm moving to Chicago...." thread, but different.... (Lincoln: condos, house) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

pjrhubart · 01-16-2011, 08:58 PM

I want to be near good food. REAL food. Fresh, SEASONAL food. Tried to grow stuff myself, we'd starve.

I found Green City Market. THAT is what I want. But we can't afford Lincoln Park. My husband is thinking western areas -- Portage Park, etc. Any suggestions for neighborhoods in between? Have 2 little kids, 2 dogs so need some green space, and no parking hassles. Other than that, I really just don't want to have to rely on Jewel for my food!

Any foodies out there can make some suggestions for how to be near good, real food w/o living in Lincoln Park, and w/o growing my own and raising chickens?

Our house budget is under $400K.

Thanks!

chet everett · 01-16-2011, 09:50 PM

All the good restaurants have very high quality suppliers, if food is so vitally important to you you'd do well to get in with that crowd. Some also do the CSA stuff, though frankly the limitations of midwestern weather and crops strike me as big negative if you go that route, and if you really want to preserve the bounty of summer with home canning and freezing that is darned time consuming.

There are dozens maybe hundreds of independent produce stores that sorta cater to the ethnic crowd if your goal is to keep your money from ending up in SuperValu. They arr located all over.

$400k goes pretty far in Portage Park, and even in Lincoln Park I have seen a few places that were three flats and now are condos -- you might be ale to find a decent 3brd/2ba that might work...

Also look for similar setups in other north side locations, like Ravenswoods, North Center, Lakeview and Eoscoe Village, with the distressed market, especially with town homes and condos, is wider than ever between single family detached.

If the kids are little enough and you time to get your ducks in a row you could probably even use the foodie network to get tied into the whole parents / magnet school network too..

Pretty tough row to hoe, but easier than raising chickens, and less mess to deal with day-to-day.

surlycue · 01-18-2011, 01:50 PM

I prefer Logan Square's outdoor market to Green City any day. All the same local, organic food for half the cost and a fraction of the pretension. There are several farmer's markets around the city that do a fair job. Lincoln Square's is pretty nice and would meet your dog and kid needs.

Attrill · 01-19-2011, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surlycue

I prefer Logan Square's outdoor market to Green City any day. All the same local, organic food for half the cost and a fraction of the pretension. There are several farmer's markets around the city that do a fair job. Lincoln Square's is pretty nice and would meet your dog and kid needs.

Agreed - Logan Square also has the only other market that is open year round (it moves to the lobby of the Congress theater in the winter). Choices at both markets is smaller in the winter.

If you want a year round market you basically have two choices - Lincoln Park or Logan Square. It isn't hard to find a SFH in Logan Square for $400,000. Lincoln Park is obviously much more expensive.

James_Carmona · 01-19-2011, 04:57 AM

Yukk, I hate Logan Square, Lincoln Park is alot better. But it might be a little bit more expensive, I'm not sure... It matters what parts of Logan Square you look into.

quigboto · 01-19-2011, 09:07 AM

Speaking of fresh food in Logan Square, has anybody tried the Dill Pickle Co-Op there? Seems like that place would meet a lot of needs one would have from a farmer's market/fresh market type place.

Attrill · 01-19-2011, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quigboto

Speaking of fresh food in Logan Square, has anybody tried the Dill Pickle Co-Op there? Seems like that place would meet a lot of needs one would have from a farmer's market/fresh market type place.

I know some friends who've used it and like it a lot. Empty Bottle has also started doing weekend farmers markets, although their schedule seems a little erratic. Logan Square has seen a lot of good food places open in the last few years: Provenance, La Boulangerie, Letizia's, Logan Square Kitchen.

quigboto · 01-19-2011, 05:47 PM

I absolutely have to check out La Boulangerie. My wife and I took a cooking class with Chef Vincent and he is a great guy (and an awesome chef)

pjrhubart · 01-21-2011, 06:24 PM

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the feedback. I know raising chickens is the new trend, but my two pitties would definitely make that difficult!! It would be like a combo dog-c*ckfight. LOL -- NOT FUNNY!! But kinda.

Anyway, thanks!!

GooberGuy · 01-21-2011, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjrhubart

I want to be near good food. REAL food. Fresh, SEASONAL food. Tried to grow stuff myself, we'd starve.

I found Green City Market. THAT is what I want. But we can't afford Lincoln Park. My husband is thinking western areas -- Portage Park, etc. Any suggestions for neighborhoods in between? Have 2 little kids, 2 dogs so need some green space, and no parking hassles. Other than that, I really just don't want to have to rely on Jewel for my food!

Any foodies out there can make some suggestions for how to be near good, real food w/o living in Lincoln Park, and w/o growing my own and raising chickens?

Our house budget is under $400K.

Thanks!

Try Rogers Park.