Pilsen is a mecca for vintage shoppers and the plan for this guide is to bounce around to four different shops, each with a different era of fashion and merchandise in mind. But before the shopping spree begins, you'll start the day with chilaquiles and coffee at small countertop diner that's been run by a mother and son team for over 30 years.
This is a classic neighborhood walkabout in West Town. It starts with coffee and shopping at a pandemic-inspired retail/coffee shop. You'll then grab a Filipino breakfast at at a place that's going on 30 years in the neighborhood. After, you'll visit a small art gallery focused on contemporary African and African diaspora art. Finally, it all ends with a few beers at a massive brewery nearby.
Wine and book lovers, especially fans of the two combined, this one's for you. You'll venture to Printer’s Row, a neighborhood near the South Loop that makes walking through its charming tree-lined streets akin to a voyage back in time. As its name indicates, Printer’s Row boasts a history intertwined with literature. With old-world energy and activities to match, this guide includes quintessential stops at a pharmacy-turned-wine-bar, a mom-and-pop-owned bookstore and a jazz club that describes itself as being the place “where jazz lives in Chicago.”
We've got a short trip planned to Southwest Michigan for a quick weekend getaway. You'll layout on dunes along Lake Michigan's coast, drink whiskey while putting on a 30,000-square-foot putting green, get some hiking in, and explore shops along a country highway.
Get your walking shoes ready, because we're going on an old fashioned neighborhood walkabout. The plan for the day is a one mile jaunt through Lincoln Park that's got a bit of an international flare. It starts with Taiwanese bubble tea, then olive oil and lemon drenched Greek chicken and fries, and we end the day at a Chicago apartment building from 1920's that's been converted into an art gallery and cultural center.
The night starts on an empty street surrounded by warehouses where you'll have cocktails inside a bustling taproom while a forklift might be operating in the background. Later into the night, venture to a basement wine bar and restaurant, where the mood is contemporary gothic and the chefs in the small kitchen whip up modern American cuisine, blending an eclectic mix of Caribbean, Asian, and European plates.
We’re traveling to Fullerton Avenue in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood to visit a bowling alley with a rich history as the center of Chicago's punk rock scene in the 90s. Afterward, you'll head to a cheekily named 1920s-style tavern to end the night with well-made cocktails paired with tamales and pizza on the side.
Ask any group of Chicagoans about their favorite taqueria and you'll get different answer from each. For this guide, you're going to eat at a place that just might make the cut on your list of favorites. You'll then walk a few blocks to a laid-back brewery along the Chicago river with a history of experimental beers. The night ends across the street where the next generation of funny people are hanging out and performing improv.
About an hour outside of Chicago, there are thousands of scientists from all over the world working to answer fundamental questions about space, life, and our very own existence. Is time travel possible? Are we living in a multiverse? You know, all the things we think about right before bed. This guide has you driving out to Batavia, IL where you'll be visiting a particle accelerator and physics laboratory that's housed on on a 6,800 acre site. You'll be touring exhibits, learning about neutrinos, and biking all across the site. Here are the details.
This guide has us venturing out into the deep dark abyss, a terrifying hellscape for 20-somethings living in the city. That's right, we're headed to the Chicago suburbs. While it gets a bad rap, we've got a day trip planned that might have you feeling different by the end of it. You'll make your way to Long Grove, IL, about a 40 minute drive northwest of Chicago. It's home to a small downtown with rural farming charm. You'll walk through cobblestone sidewalks, munch on apple cider donuts, rummage through antiques, and have a beer in the woods.
This guide takes us to Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood, where we'll spend the afternoon doing a reverse progressive lunch. We start with dessert and scarfing down a paczki or two; we then grab some tavern-style pizza at an old-school neighborhood pizza place, and then we finish things off in a converted industrial space turned brewery.
Every neighborhood has that one classic Chicago corner bar that everyone loves. For this guide, we're visiting three neighborhoods and their corner dives for an epic night of cheap drinks, pool, and good times. Here are the details.
When most folks think of Japanese cuisine, they think of either sushi or hibachi. This guide features neither. Instead, we start this guide with Osakan street food and a rich bowl of tori paitan ramen. From there, you'll take a quick walk around the block for an order Kakigōri, a Japanese shaved iced, for dessert. We finish the night up with drinks at an underground saké bar. Here are the details.
Twenty-five years ago, on the southern end of the Roscoe Village neighborhood, an eight-block stretch of Belmont Avenue was home to 'Antiques Row.' At its peak, upwards of 30 antique shops and resale markets clustered along this one-mile corridor. Nearly every other shop was an antique shop. The scene then was like a bustling flea market with vintage furniture and knick-knacks pouring out the door and onto the sidewalk. But nothing lasts forever; shops closed or moved one by one, and today there are only a few left standing. You're visiting three antique shops that continue the legacy of Antiques Row, and afterward, we make our way to a local tavern to take stock of our shopping haul. Here are the details.
We're hanging out in Bridgeport and going on a classic neighborhood walkabout. It starts off with coffee at a beloved neighborhood cafe, and then you'll cut across three residential blocks to visit a public art exhibit and gallery. You'll then walk along one of the Bridgeport's main thoroughfares to grab a 3lb burrito at a corner super market. Things end at a rock quarry turned park with spectacular views of downtown.
This guide takes us to Chicago’s Southwest side. We’ll be exploring Little Village, or La Villita as the locals know it. Considered to be one of the city’s largest and most cherished Mexican-American communities, we’ll be getting a small taste of some of the local favorites, along with a peek into a newer establishment that is proud to call this neighborhood home. Here are the details.
This guide takes us to Chicago's Northwest side. We're going to spend the morning hiking through a beautifully preserved nature center with trails covering 46 acres of woodland, wetland, prairie, and savanna. But before any successful hike, we start with a meal. Today, that means Korean pajeon pancakes and bread pudding french toast at a nearby breakfast spot. Here are the details.
For this guide, we're keeping it low-key and spending the afternoon in Ukrainian Village for a Sunday Funday. You'll start the afternoon at a tiny, back alley pizza joint, but with seating at a premium, you'll head down the street to a backyard bar that we all wish we had at our own home. The rest of the afternoon is spent there scarfing down pizza and sipping on house cocktails.
Travel south along the Lakefront Trail and you'll eventually reach the entrance to a South Side palace. Sitting on over 70 acres, this public space, dubbed "a palace for the people," is the focus of this guide. We'll visit a historical landmark and take a stroll through a nature reserve where we uncover stone fire pits overlooking Lake Michigan.
It's the third Friday of the month and that means hundreds of artists in Bridgeport open up their studios to the public. Tonight we're headed to a few different venues that feature a wide range of multi-disciplinary artists with many hosting interactive demonstrations and special events inside their space. Here are the highlights.