Chicago General Tips by dlandt

Favorite Thing: Italian neighborhoods didn't really survive the 90s, maybe not even the 80s. Nevertheless, there are some remnants and you can still shop in Italian stores, eat Italian food, buy Italian fashions and newspapers. The website : http://www.littleitalychicago.com/index.shtml will give you an idea where you can go a lot better than I can make travel tips. Basically, Italian things are clustered in three areas in Chicago, and I would also add in Edison Park as well. We have Little Italy, Heart of Italy, and North Harlem. I encourage you to explore a little and sample things. You might be interested to find that Italian baked goods really aren't as sweet as most others. Post Scriptum If you don't want to get too far from downtown, take a ride west down Grand Avenue, avbout ten or fifteen blocks from downtown, you'll find a good selection of Italian restaurants and stores.

Fondest Memory: Festa Italia

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Favorite Thing: If you asked most people in Chicago, where a Greek neighborhood is, they would almost automatically say, "Greektown". And they are definitely right. Greektown is just a little west of the Loop along Halsted between Madison and Adams. Greektown is an attractive place to eat if you prefer to avoid the snobbiness and expense of downtown, while still maintaining your human dignity. Greektown has a quality to it that is a little preserved, its geared for tourists, and designed to draw people who want Greek things. You can buy Greek wine, drink ouzo, hear Greek music and eat Greek food, even buy Greek candles or books. This web page describes it a little better than I can: http://www.chicagogreektown.com/PAGE2.HTM For those of you who are a bit more adventurous, there is another area I would recommend. Its not as pretty or as fleshed out as Greektown, and a number of Bulgarian places have recently opened there as well, but the area around Lawrence and Rockwell has a number of very interesting places to visit. Nothing there is ultra ultra, but there are some bakeries and restaurants, you can buy food Greek food and wine in the local stores, stuff like that. Its not geared for tourists in even the slightest fashion and I really only recommend it for serious off the beaten path types. This neighborhood is normally quite safe, but exercise some caution late at night.

Fondest Memory: Greekfest

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Favorite Thing: Located at Foster and Clark, Andersonville is an old Swedish, new Persian and reputably lesbian neighborhood. There isn't a whole lot of Swedish stuff left here, a few churches, a bakery, a Swedish-American museum and one or two gift shops. Nevertheless its worth a look. Make sure you see my restaurant tip on Tre Kroner if you want Swedish food.

I'm not too familiar with the Persian and Turkish cuisines or customs, I just know that there are quite a few of these shops and resturants here.

The neighborhood is supposed to be the lesbian area of Chicago, though I would have absolutely no idea where to recommend.

Fondest Memory: Midsommarfest here is a real drag. If you go there be prepared to eat Greek and Vietnamese food, have people try and sell you cell phone service or get you to refinance your home. There is nothing Swedish or Scandinavian about it.

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Favorite Thing: Also known as "my neighborhood", Lincoln Square (not to be confused with Lincoln Park, Lincoln Town, Lincoln Center, Lincon Village, Lincolnwood, or the City of Lincoln) has the rest of what was once a very heavily German neighborhood. There seems to be some concentrated effort to restore or preserve its character and certain places are fixtures. You can visit an apotheke, buy German food or imported goods, as well as shop in stores featuring German eyeglasses or shoes. In autumn, it is common for people to set up a portable stereo and waltz by the fountain dressed in formal wear.

Fondest Memory: This is also where we celebrate Oktoberfest. I'm the one pointing at the camera.

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Favorite Thing: Chicago as a whole has several Polish neighborhoods, some of them quite large. One of hte more famous ones, that you will probably be close to is along Milwaukee Ave. on the North Side. I prefer one on the South Side, both because its cheaper, and because it has a better, though grittier "feel". We call this area Little Poland and it is along Pulaski at Archer and 50th. Make sure you go to the Gilmart, its got a great deli. Zywiec is a Polish beer you should try.

Fondest Memory: When I go to a Polish neighborhood, I usually try to get some of the fresh sausage. Asking for "Polish" sausage, will probably get you a question as to what type. Order "fresh garlic" sausage, and you'll get what you're normally used to. I also recommend rowanda, galupki, and kiczka, but there are many things to try. Quite a few things are just regular consumer items presented in Polish, but if you go to the bars, which are very working class, make sure you try some of the vodka, they should have several different kinds.

One word of caution, in this neighborhood, "dance clubs" are not places to listen to pop rock and bop on the floor. They're something completely different. Although this neighborhood isn't "bad" I would advise you to remember that you are on the South Side of Chicago and to stay alert, don't be too drunk in public etc.

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Favorite Thing: If you like news, this is the local chapter of NPR. For those of you who don't know what this is, its commercial free, mostly talk radio. Its news shows are excellent, but please note, generally considered one of the mainstays of the liberal media.

Fondest Memory: If you're stuck in traffic, this might help alleviate the boredom.

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