Need tips, might come back..AGAIN!!! (Chicago, Oak Park: sales, crime rate, home)

[MoItaly]

Hello, friends of Chicago!

It is not sure, but there is a possibility for me to come back to Chicago in the week of Thanksgiving, the last week of November.
How was the weather in recent years around that time? Is it already freezing cold?

Also, if I come this back again this year, this time it will be only my wife and I, no friends, so we can go back to continue our "discovery" of Chicago.

Beside Pilsen, a place that I haven't seen yet, someone here mentioned Logan Square. I might be confusing that with some other "square" in CHI, but isn't Logan Square kind of sketchy? (again, never been, but I am sure I read in this forum something of that tone).

If someone could give me a few tips on LS and a few things to do/see around there, that would be great.

If we are back, we plan to spend some time at Art Institute and Field Museum, as it has been 4 years already since we visited them and I love them both. Other than that, assuming that it will be pretty cold and maybe rainy, we might not walk as much as we usually do in CHI and my wife wants to spend some time in some stores and I am planning of going to Green Mill, Andy's and some other places for live music in the night.

Another thing that I am sure someone here will know. 4 years ago, my wife and I ended up by chance in a place (huge) where they had all kind of things (fancy-ish) for the house. I believed we were near the Loop and maybe around Dearborn (?). It was a really big place, we spent a couple of hours in there and I remember that as soon as we walked in, they were having some type of cooking show.
Any idea of what this place could be? I can't find it and my wife would like to go back.

Finally, for our visit, I am looking to discover/stop in some new areas.

Often when we go to Andersonville, we come back with the bus, I think the 22, all the way to Near North. The bus rides along Clark and I saw at several stops, areas with plenty of bars, irish pubs etc.. If you would suggest to stop along this route in a bar or restaurant or anything that comes to mind, where would that be?

And the other idea would be to venture south, but I hear a lot about how dangerous the south side is, so anybody has any tips for something to go see (anything, might be restaurant, bar, museum or just a street to walk) south of the Printer's Row? I believe the southernmost point I went to in CHI is the MSI in Hyde Park.

Thanks in advance for any tip, comment.

[Attrill]

In terms of weather you could get anything from mid 50's and sunny to mid 20's and snowing. Be prepared for that and you'll be fine. It can get cold, but not arctic cold at that point in the year. Most likely you'll get highs in the low 40's during the day and lows in upper 20's.

The home furnishings place was most likely the Merchandise Mart.

Logan Square is a really large area, and most places you'd be interested in going to are fine. As long as you're along the main drags (Milwaukee, Logan Blvd, Kedzie, Western) it's fine. I walk all over the place with my 7 year old daughter and the worst things we've had to deal with are bikers and joggers who don't watch where they're going.

I'd approach Logan Square as part of larger Blue Line/Milwaukee exploration of Chicago. Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Logan Square are all along Milwaukee Ave. as you head out of the Loop. You could easily spend 2 or 3 days just checking areas along the Blue Line.

For Logan Square some good restaurants are Longman & Eagle, Lula's, Yusho, and Telegraph.Revolution brewing has solid food and great beers. I know you like neighborhood Italian places - Buona Terra is an excellent one. There are also a number of really good Cuban places, but I'm not sure if it would make sense for you to check those out. About a dozen new places are scheduled to open between now and then, so check back later for more info.

There's some shopping in Logan Square, but Wicker Park and Bucktown have many more shops. Wolfbait is a pretty nice Chicago-centric shop.

Some other places to check out would be the Logan Theater, Quencher's, Fireside Bowl, the Bob Inn, Rosa's, Scofflaw, Parson's, Honey One, Nandu... there's a lot.

There's a lot more, but that's a good place to start. If you can reserve one of the cheap rooms at Longman and Eagle it's definitely worth doing. My wife and I stay there a few times every year and really like it.

[marothisu]

The Logan Square neighborhood (Logan Square is also a large Community Area and there's a "Logan Square" neighborhood contained within it) is not sketchy except in a few places but I wouldn't be worried about it at all. Right now it's a decent mix of different types of people - families, artsy/hipster types, some yuppies, etc. You get here on the Blue Line to O'Hare and get off at one of a few stops (Logan Square stop for the main "square.")

For food types of things, there are places like Longman & Eagle, which is Michelin starred restaurant and affordable (i.e. $15-$22 probably for an entree). There are no reservations here either. Other good restaurants/bars in this general area are Lula Cafe, Revolution Brewing, 90 Miles Cuban Cafe, JAM, Buona Terra (Italian), Belly Shack, Scofflaw, Owen & Engine, Fat Rice, Telegraph, L'Patron Tacos, Wasabi, Parsons Chicken, Polanco, The Whistler
Rosa's Lounge (Jazz/Blues), Billy Sunday, etc



I would recommend of course checking out Wicker Park which is a few stops closer to the Loop on the Blue Line to O'Hare at either the Damen O'Hare stop or the Division stop (Damen O'Hare has more activity). Some of my suggestions for food/bar. The Violet Hour (takes no reservations - very nice cocktail lounge), Schwa (Michelin starred), Piece Pizza, Birchwood Kitchen, Mindy's Hot Chocolate, Big Star, The Southern, Enoteca Roma, Carriage House, Folklore, Taxim, Rodan, Antique Taco, Cafe Absinthe, Emporium (Arcade bar if you're into old arcade games), etc

Also around there is also shopping - Bucktown, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village (south of Wicker Park area), Logan Square, etc. A lot of more independent fashion designers and a few more well known (i.e. Steve Madden). Some good bookstores and record stores too (i.e. Myopic Books and Reckless Records).

Also north of Logan Square is Avondale which has some good stuff in it too like Hot Doug's, which is a sausage/hot dog place that was rated as one of the 50 best restaurants in the world once upon a time. I'd recommend getting there either 30 minutes before open and waiting or an hour before closing. The lines/waits can be long at the wrong times. Also places like Yusho, Joong Boo Market (Korean market but they have a food area with some real good and cheap soups)

[jdiddy]

Leticia's Fiore is another good casual Italian spot in Logan square

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by marothisu

The Logan Square neighborhood (Logan Square is also a large Community Area and there's a "Logan Square" neighborhood contained within it) is not sketchy except in a few places but I wouldn't be worried about it at all.

I would still recommend some caution in Logan Square. There's still a decent amount of crime there, and some gang activity as well off the beaten path. I'd compare it to Edgewater or Uptown in terms of the level of caution required (pretty unlikely that something will happen, but don't be stupid). Whereas in many gentrified areas of Chicago you can be really really stupid about your personal safety with low risk of consequences (still not recommended, though--as things can happen anywhere in Chicago).

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I would still recommend some caution in Logan Square. There's still a decent amount of crime there, and some gang activity as well off the beaten path. I'd compare it to Edgewater or Uptown in terms of the level of caution required (pretty unlikely that something will happen, but don't be stupid). Whereas in many gentrified areas of Chicago you can be really really stupid about your personal safety with low risk of consequences (still not recommended, though--as things can happen anywhere in Chicago).

Sure, this is true. However if the OP were to stay around the Square for example, I don't think they have anything to worry about.

[MoItaly]

Thanks Attrill, I think it was Merchandise Mart.

Now that I read about Logan Square and people mentioned some streets, I think I was close in my first trip (almost close) and I did part of Wicker Park. That time I walked north on La Salle from the Loop up to Division, then west to Milwaukee and north until I think North Street (which then here I was told I went through the old cabrini-Green area.

Great info, I'll put them together in a Word docs and keep with me.

I am not really planning on staying around the square as Logan Square won't be the anchor of this trip. I just want to add it to my CHI experience, but I plan to spend a day in that area, I will probably stay somewhere more central.

One thing: Rosa's Lounge is a place I would like to go for sure. I will be using public transportation, is it okay to do that at night from Logan Square?

Guys, help me out, I really like to know this city better. if you would use streets to draw boundaries where how would you define Wicker park, Logan square and Bucktown boundaries?
Do these neighborhoods all have Milwaukee as the common denominator?

I am thinking if I take the Blue Line to Logan and walk south on Milwaukee, I should go through all 3 neighborhoods, right?

Stupid question: any trip you would suggest by taking the green, pink or orange lines? Just asking because...I never took those lines and wanted to try them...I know, it's a little stupid...

[chirack]

The south side past about 35th street and the west side past about western ave. are both much more rough areas of the city that I wouldn’t recommend a tourist go to except for certain spots/locations. This makes much of the areas that the western leg of the blue line, much of the green line and much more of the pink line some what no go areas.

The Green line ends in Oak Park a nice burb of Chicago and if you are into Frank Lloyd Wright, Oak Park has architecture tours. Other than that I can’t think of anything a tourist would want in Oak Park but Lincx(the moderator on this board) likes this burb a lot. Another spot nice but DANGEROUS is the GarfieldPark Conservatory if you are into plants. The Conservatory itself is safe but the area it is in has a high crime rate (i.e. don’t wonder about and don’t look like tourists and be aware that you will stand out a bit just for not being Black).

The Pink line serves the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum which you may find interesting; again in this area don’t look like a tourist(however this area is safer than the Conservatory but still not really a tourist spot and tourist spots in Chicago tend to have more police about to ensure safety.).

The western part of the blue line parallels these lines and goes further out but can’t think of much besides Greek town it would be handy to get to and if you are staying downtown a bus will likely be a better option to Greek town.

Orange line heads to Midway airport can not think of anything in that area that would of interest to a tourist. These areas are not dangerous, just boring for a tourist.

The south leg of the Red line is currently down to lay new tracks and might be down when you come, the south leg of the Green line Parallels it and the red line is running on the green’s track past Roosevelt, so you might use it to get to Chinatown(via it and a shuttlebus). There won’t be a game but you won’t be far from U.S. Cellular field where the White Soxs play.

Also Thanksgiving is a major U.S. Holiday on that Thursday not much beside maybe shopping will be open that day. The next Friday is called Black Friday because it is when many stores turn a profit (i.e. Red ink equals unprofitable) and on that day the stores will be CHOAS! There will be good sales but the crowds and craziness might be enough to cause you to board the next plane back home. Just to give you a warning. I don't go shopping on this day but just a heads up.

[MoItaly]

Thank you for the tips, Chirack.

[marothisu]

Have you been to the West Loop yet? There's a bunch of good restaurant (and some very highly rated) in that area i.e. around Randolph, Lake, Fulton Market, etc streets. You can use the Green Line to get there (just a few stops). As far as the Pink Line goes, you can use it to get to Pilsen. Orange Line goes to midway the outside-ish areas of Bridgeport too near the freeway.