chinatown (Chicago, Lee: neighborhood, restaurants, price)

[chicagocubs]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

Do NOT drive their if you have North Carolina plates. Parking is next to impossible.

oh, dear, why? Is parking that bad during the week?

[surlycue]

^^No. Be careful of signage if you intend to park over by the super touristy area near Wentworth and Cermak. Wentworth is all metered and parking shouldn't be too bad during the week but the side streets offer metered parking at the 2 or 3 spots closest to Wentworth and then it turns to 24 hour residential permit parking for locals. Cermak and Archer both have plenty of metered parking available.

If you are looking to park for free I'd check out the block behind China Place that runs kind of parallel to Archer. You can get there from Wentworth or Cermak by swinging behind the Walgreens. That block is permit after 6 pm but pretty free and clear during the day.

[chicagocubs]

Thanks again, everyone.

[mycrows]

Originally Posted by surlycue

...the side streets offer metered parking at the 2 or 3 spots closest to Wentworth and then it turns to 24 hour residential permit parking for locals.

Are you sure about that? I don't drive very much but I believe that I've parked for free on those side streets (23rd, 24th, Princeton, etc) on several occasions and never gotten a ticket. And I'm usually pretty good about checking the signs before I go to park.

Although, I have noticed that the residents there are particularly dedicated to their own residential parking system, a lot of them seem to leave trash in the street to save their spots year round (not just when there's snow on the ground).

[emathias]

Originally Posted by chicagocubs

haven't been there since I was a kid...coming home for a week in November, was thinking of going there (especially since I actually went to China in June). Will be staying in Rolling Meadows. Is it safe to drive there?? Or, do you recommend taking the bus/train. (my car will have NC plates)

I talk about transportation below the food part.

For food in Chinatown, the best Sichuan place is Lao Szechuan, which is on the north side of Archer, where it hits Princeton and Cermak, just across Princeton from the Walgreens. They have plenty of Sichuan food to choose from, as well as dishes from other regions. In the same shopping area, the same owner also has Lao Shanghai and Lao Beijing. My favorite of the three is Lao Beijing, but they're all good. Lao Szechuan does have hotpot (if you're interested in that) but the best hotpot in Chicago for my money is at (english name) Mandarin Kitchen, just across Archer (red awning, next to the bank parking lot).

Ken Kee also has good Cantonese/Hong Kong-style food - it's in the center of that shopping area, by the Chinese Zodiac statues. If you'd rather eat in the older part of Chinatown, I'd recommend Triple Crown (aka Da San Yuan) which has a new location right on Wentworth about 1/2 block to a block south of the gate at Cermak.

For groceries, there are a lot of options. Along Archer, i'd recommend Chinatown Market, which is just across the street from the plaza with the zodiac statues. They have produce and meats and canned and dry goods. There are a few grocery-type places in the half of the shopping area just north of the zodiacs. One is newer and brightly lit. It has frozen items, and some dry goods, and a few traditional medicine type items. Near that is a place that sells mostly dried seafoods and traditional medicines, and then there is Mayflower, which I don't recommend, but also has produce and meats and groceries.

Outside the main part of Chinatown, there are a couple other, larger grocery options. Hong Kong Market, just south of Archer and west of Canal, it's behind an Italian restaurant. And there is one other place, on Canal a little north of Cermak. I don't remember the name, but as you drive north on Canal it would be on your right, just after the river.

For general Asian foods, there are also several other good groceries northwest of downtown. There's a Korean grocery just off the Kennedy on Kimball, there's Mitsuwa (primarily Japanese - excellent place for fish) in Arlington Heights, and somewhere up there, there's the Korean-owned H-Mart.

If you have a group that fits in one car going, it's probably easier, faster (unless you're leaving or arriving during rush hour) and cheaper to drive, even if you ended up paying for parking. It's about an hour to drive from Rolling Meadows, or almost two hours to take public transit. I live carfree in the city, so I'm not normally one to advocate driving, but sometimes it just makes the most sense. And in November, it'd be warmer and more comfortable.

If you do take the train and want to take public transit the whole time, it's probably more convenient (at least coming into town) to switch from the UP-NW Metra line to the Blue Line at Irving Park and take that downtown then switch to the Red Line. It's one more transfer, but you save about 1/2 mile of walking. Or, if you wanted to speed up the trip in, you could take Metra all the way in, then take a taxi from the terminal downtown to Chinatown, which should be around $10 even with four people. Much faster than walking to the Red Line and taking that. On the way back, you can take the Red Line to Roosevelt then switch to the Green Line and take that to Clinton and walk teh two blocks to the terminal, just to get your fill of the "L" and subway :-)

Have fun!

[chicagocubs]

emathias:

THANK YOU!! WOW...this is EXACTLY what I was looking for!! What great info...I will have to print this for the trip.
....and, thanks also for the tips about the other grocery stores in the area. My best friend was trying to dissuade me from going to Chinatown by saying that I could get what I needed (as far as finding ingredients for my new hobby...making Chinese food) from Mitsuwa. She apparently does not know that it is a Japanese store!

This was fantastic...thanks again...and, yes, it will be just myself and my son, so, we can easily get down there in the car. We will just have to plan it around the whole rush hour thing.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by chicagocubs

... My best friend was trying to dissuade me from going to Chinatown by saying that I could get what I needed (as far as finding ingredients for my new hobby...making Chinese food) from Mitsuwa. She apparently does not know that it is a Japanese store! ...

There is some overlap, so depending on what you're cooking you may find what you need at Mitsuwa - it's definitely worth stopping in just to look around if you have time, and the quantity and quality of their fish really is the best I've seen outside of an actual fishmonger's shop.

[chicagocubs]

emathias and everyone:

just gotta say "thanks" again for all of your help regarding this Chinatown adventure. IT WAS AWESOME. ate at that recommended restaurant...very authentic and excellent. Also found my condiments at some of the little grocery shops, that alley-like market thing...looks very much like an alley-like market in Chengdu. Took lots of photos, will post them on my FB page as "China: Second Edition, Chicago-style" hahaha.

Parked without a problem on Archer; was proud of my latent parallel parking skills (don't use 'em much anymore!) and the whole day was just fun! I really felt like I had been transported back to China.

Thanks again to everyone.

[chicagoparamedic]

lao szechuan is no good. overpriced.....There's a reason why you never see Chinese people in there. Try Lee Wing Wah next time

I'm glad your trip was enjoyable!!! China Town is great, I love living here.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by chicagoparamedic

lao szechuan is no good. overpriced.....There's a reason why you never see Chinese people in there. Try Lee Wing Wah next time

I'm glad your trip was enjoyable!!! China Town is great, I love living here.

Lao Szechuan had a low period after they were featured on "Check, Please" and got overwhelmed but they've rebounded. They are the Sichuan restaurant with the broadest menu in Chicago, and there are plenty of Chinese who still eat there - although the reputation from Check, Please means there are lot of non-Chinese eating there relative to the restaurants near it (a good thing, in the broader scope of things, I think). The last time I was there, it was actually for the birthday party of a Chinese friend's twin girls, so I know it's not just whitey eating there.

Also, you live in Chinatown, but didn't mention Lao Szechuan closed due to a fire a couple weeks ago?

That said, Lee Wing Wah isn't bad and if the O.P. hadn't mentioned he was looking for Sichuan food I might have mentioned it. I personally think their Cantonese menu is better than their Szechuan one, though.