So we are in a temporary, furnished apartment while we have some serious work done on the house. We decided to take this as an opportunity to live in a neighborhood in which we wouldn’t otherwise live: Old Town. One of the interesting architectural features of the neighborhood is the number of old worker’s cottages (all of which have been expanded and spruceified, of course) from the period just after the 1871 fire. It’s a quaint yet very urban neighborhood, with leafy streets, good restaurants, and good proximity to Lincoln Park and the lake.
Last night we did what we considered to be our rite of passage into Old Town: we had a ribs dinner at the Twin Anchors pub. If you are ever visiting Chicago, you should eat there if you are a ribs connoisseur. The sauce is slightly sweet, a little vinegary, but definitely tomato-based with a touch of cloves and cinnamon. Yum-dilly-icious! And the history and atmosphere of the place is great — it’s an old Prohibition-era speakeasy, as is my favorite bar (although here’s a better picture of the exterior).
Twin Anchors and Green Mill: two of the best places you can possibly find in this city. If you haven’t, make sure to hit Green Mill for their Holiday Poetry Slam. The guy who organizes does a long piece on Christmas that’s become a Chicago institution. And if you’re up there, try Moody’s for an amazing burger.
And, from a friend that used to live in New Mexico, try Adobo Grill (part of the complex that houses Second City) for “the BEST margaritas”. I’m more of the bourbon type, so I can’t vouch.
Though, for ribs, I’m still partial to Smoke Daddy.
While you’re living in OT, don’t miss an opportunity to include a visit, as part of your passagiata, to the City’s best(?)Italian Lemonade stand, Tom & Wendy’s, at Armitage and Clifton. While it looks newish, it sits on the site of an old Italian grocery store, where my grandparents used to take me to get, you guessed it, homemade Ilalian lemonade.