It's been nearly a week since I packed up all those boxes in Ohio and made my way up north, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Nestled in my Bucktown apartment by Western and Fullerton, I've been spending the last week trying to sort through cardboard, and finalize plans for my upcoming wedding (less than three weeks away!). It's been a hectic past week, which I've mostly spent in my living room trying to get other things done. Though I can feel the city around me, and have sampled a few of the goods, I do oddly feel as though I could have spent the previous week in any city in America.
So this week I'm getting out of the house. Though money is tight, and work still needs to be done, Abby and I have decided to try and see as much of the city we can, so we can finally feel like we're here. We couldn't be more ready.
But where should we go? We've already found the corner bar (brightly featured above), experienced Stanley's (39 cent romaine!), sampled tacos from a grocery store on Western, and had a Chicago dog (though not from Hot Doug's which was closed last week. I was devastated I couldn't have one after I unpacked!).
I'm still looking for a good butcher and a coffee shop worth the walk. If you've got any other recommendations for my Blue Line serviced neighborhood, the future Mrs. K and I would be much appreciative.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I just ran acorss your blog and found it interesting. Great food pictures. Good luck with your arrival in Chicago!
I haven't found any good butcher shops in Bucktown (I'm actually quite close to where you are – Leavitt & Medill), but I can recommend some that are not too far away.
Peoria Packing
1300 W Lake St
This isn't really a butcher shop but it is an interesting place – slabs of meat piled high on plastic tables and all patrons have to wear plastic gloves. It is commodity meat, to be sure, but the prices are low and it is a great place to find all the random bits of pig that are hard to find elsewhere.
Paulina Meat Market
3501 N Lincoln
This is a definite step up in quality. Paulina is very much an old fashioned butcher's shop with an excellent selection of meat. They also cure and smoke their own meats but I haven't tried any of them.
Fox and Obel (401 E Illinois) is another place to get high quality meat but pricey and rather inconvenient to get to from Bucktown.
I've also heard good things about Gepperth's (1964 N Halsted) but I have not been there.
As for Bucktown itself, I can think of only two butchers. One of the live poultry place on Armitage which seems to have limited hours as they are always closed whenever I feel like stopping by. The other is Western Meat Market (1311 N Western) which has an okay selection, but certainly not worth going out of your way for.
Other things in Bucktown:
beef heart kebabs at Rinconcito Sudamericano (1954 W Armitage)
tacos at La Pasidita (take your pick of the three at Division and Ashland)
grilled sweetbreads at El Nandu (2731 W Fullerton)
rib tips at Honey 1 (2241 N Western Ave)
burritos and peculiar shakes at Irazu (1865 N Milwaukee)
great desserts at Hot Chocolate (1747 N Damen)
chicago style hot dogs at the Vienna Beef factory store (2501 N Damen)
It's not quite Bucktown, but Sweets and Savories is fantastic (1534 W Fullerton)
Also not in BT, but equally great is Lula Cafe (2537 N Kedzie)
In case you haven't run across it yet, lthforum.com is a great resource for all things food related in Chicago.
Welcome to the neighborhood!
I lived in Chicago a couple of years ago, and never quite found the butcher I would have liked, though there are some interesting options in Ukranian Village – Western & Augusta area. Also, Bari, the Italian grocery store on Grand + May has great home-made sausages, and fresh meat. D'Amato's – the bakery next door, very crusty Italian bread, and focaccia, which is the closest thing you'll get to good pizza in Chicago. To get there: walk from the Grand stop on the blue line, or bike (probably faster & easier).
For fish, go to Isacson & Sons at Fulton & Halstead – very fresh!
For good coffee just look for any place serving the Intelligentsia brand, I know Red Hen right in the heart of Wicker Park has it…
And for drinking, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how dear to my heart Stella's is (Western + Oakley.)
Ben's mention of Paulina Meat Market is very solid. Go! Go now! From your place, probably the Fullerton bus to the Lincoln bus will be your best bet, but the fine folks at yourcta.com (Travel tab, choose "RTA Trip Planner") will be able to tell you for sure. I'll vouch for Paulina's cured meats, by the way, as well as their smoked stuff.
Ben also mentions Irazu's shakes–try the oatmeal. And if you're really in a shake mood, you can also hit up Margie's, which is very close to your place at Western and Armitage.
The Wicker Park farmer's market, which is not a particularly large one but could still be helpful, is on Sundays starting at 7 AM (and is in Wicker Park, at Damen and Schiller). The Green City Market (http://www.chicagogreencitymarket.org/) is worth a trip on the weekend (or Wednesday mornings, if you're not at work).
Bin 36 Wine Cafe, on Milwaukee just south of North Avenue, has Saturday brunch, which can be tricky to find. And there are mimosa and bloody mary flights. Perhaps a little out of your price range for right now, but you might keep it in mind–they have excellent baked eggs.
Bucktown's never been my neighborhood–I'm not hip enough–so I'm sorry I couldn't include more stuff specific to it.
My old neck of the woods! Reading all these comments has made me nostalgic for Chicago–I've been living in Boston since last summer–its the best American food city I've been to. Paulina Market is definitely your best bet for butchers…I never made it to Gepherts because parking is so crappy in Lincoln Park.
In Wicker Park/Bucktown/Ukrainian Village check these places out:
Hot Chocolate (Damen, north of 5 corners)–radical brunch, delicious market cuisine, great beer list, greater desserts
Myopic Books–On Milwaukee right near the Damen/North/Milwaukee intersection–this is a great used book store, but the best part is the large cookbook section, upstairs. There is a lovely little couch in it, right by the window, with a cat always sleeping on it; I have spent hours and hours reading cookbooks with that cat.
The Map Room–my favorite beer bar IN THE WORLD. Killer beer selection, so many things on tap and kind of a local haunt for area chefs and restaurant people. They don't have a kitchen, but they did used to have free BBQ on Sunday afternoons.
Feed–cheepest, tastiest rotisserie chicken in town, delicious sides (just wait till fall for their seasonal bacony brussels sprouts, I'm getting misty just thinking about them…). This place has so much kitsch, it hurts.
Chile Relleno tacos from Pasadita!
Also, get yourself down to Avec and Blackbird over by Randolf when you want tasty dinners…they're both run by the same chef, Avec being the more casual, tapas-y less expensive option. I used to eat dinner at Avec and pop into Blackbird afterwards for dinner.
And in Pilsen, the Nuevo Leon restaurant has the best refried beans in the universe–I never knew refried beans could be so amazing.
I'm certain I'm missing something, but these are what come to mind off the bat.
Have fun in your new home!
Kat
A few places in your neighborhood:
I'll add my vote for Hot Chocolate – It's great, if rather packed.
http://www.hotchocolatechicago.com/
Red Hen Breads has probably the best artisan bread in Chicago. Their baguettes and croissants are especially good.
http://www.redhenbread.com/locate.htm
Violet Hour is great for cocktails. Drinks are rather pricey, but well worth it.
http://chicago.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/review/inside-the-violet-hour/164984/content
Coco Rouge is a great confectionery. I've never had anything bad there.
http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants/restaurant/coco-rouge-east-village-ukrainian-village/146416/content
Paulina Meat Market is definitely worth the trek. Bari is awesome.
Andersonville has a great Middle Eastern grocery store (on Foster) and lots of cool shops, bars and restaurants.
Devon Ave is a treasure trove of
Indian/Paki grocers and restaurants.It also is home to Hashalom, an awesome Isreali restaurant, 2905 W Devon Ave. The eggplant is to die for.
The Sheridan el stop (Red Line)is in the middle of Little Viet Nam. A fascinating Saturday grocery shopping trip.
Pilsen has loads of good Mexican restaurants and the Fiesta del Sol is coming up.
Little Italy on Taylor is a nice neighborhood. La Scarola http://www.lascarola.com/ is fantastic.
I know it's not a restaurant (although there is a decent restaurant there) but you gotta check out Millenium Park and the free Grant Park Music Festival. True gems.
Have fun.
Stop what you are doing and go to Hot Dougs right now. It is amazing.
Paulina Meat Market is the best in the cuty and you can get almost anything there. Peoria Packing is also an experience and a great place to get big cuts of meat for BBQ'ing.
Two great BBQ joints not to be missed are Smoque, which has the best brisket I've ever tried, & Smoke Daddy. The latter is not far from you and has a great atmosphere including live music. It's on a really great stretch of Division which is only getting better.
The best tacos in the city are not far from you either, La Pasadita. It is on Ashland, just south of Division, but it is confusing as there are at least three places with that same name on the block. They are all owned by the same people but make sure you try the larger one on the west side of the street, its the only one where you can get the black salsa, delicious.
I was on it, David. I went Hot Doug's at 10:30 this morning!
We've lived in Bucktown (right near Floyds) for three years. It's SUCH a great neighborhood.
Go to Hot Dougs for SURE! If you go Friday or Saturday they have duck fat french fries, soooo sooooo good.
You should also try Kuma's Corner,not in bucktown either, it's a heavy metal burger place on Belmont and California. They make gourmet burgers, best burgers in the city, hands down.
For bars in the hood,go to Danny's for SURE. It's on Damen and Dickens, its cash only, the DJ spins great music, and its a very chill crowd.
If you love falafel, go to Sultans Market on North, next to the six points.
Cafe Vella under the Western stop has amazing crepes (get the fig and goat cheese).
And if you're in the mood for a nice dinner that isn't going to cost you Blackbird prices, go to Think on Western. My husband and I try to eat at nice resturants once very month or so, Think is a BYO, the food is amazing and it's very romantic (we went there for our last "date" before we got married).
Bucktown is filled with awesome places, these are all just the tip.
Milk & Honey on Division is good for brunch, and for fancy-ish French Fusion: check out Bonsoiree on west Armitage.
Not on the Blue Line, but if you like Stanley's, I highly recommend Family Fruit Market in Portage Park for fresh produce.
+1 for Paulina Meat Market and The Map Room (if you've got a beer geek hidden within ya).
Anything that you can not find on hand at Paulina they will gladly order for you, for example the Pancheta (which was influenced by your blog by the way) was ordered fresh (well the pork belly anyhow..usually they only carry frozen but i wanted fresh). The selection goes all the way up to one-off items like veal bones for marrow, cut to size and ready to roast for a delicious appetizer!
On the drinking tip you definetely can not beat the map room. Chicago has 2 of the nations best beer joints, one being the Map Room and the other being the Hopleaf up in Andersonnvile.
Cheers!
Brian
I just want to tell you about a Moroccan restaurant in Chicago. I live in Milwaukee, but many years ago I studied in Morocco. I can't tell you how hard it has been to find a decent Moroccan restaurant anywhere I personally have lived, since.
Anyhoo, I met a cab driver one day in Milwaukee, and lo and behold! He had a Moroccan accent. I closed my eyes, said a little prayer and then asked: is there anywhere you know of in the midwest that makes authentic Moroccan food, which you get excited about?
And he said, oh yes! It's called Andalous, and it is in Chicago.
So I asked, with both fingers crossed: do they make a decent Chicken in preserved lemon and olive?
Guess what!!! They do! So find your way there. Andalous.com Alleluja!!!
Wow, I can't think you all enough. These are great suggestions. I will have a taco from La Pasadita very soon.
Welcome to the hood. I'm on ride on the 49 down from you. I'll assume that your corner bar is Quenchers, and if it is, you need to have their tater tot pizza stat.
As the person above said, the Paulina Meat market is good. I work in a restaurant and we buy our sausages from them.
Coffee shops are a tough thing since it's all Starbucks. There's a Julius Meinl on Southport, but that's not a walk.
Chicago restaurants I lurve:
Hopleaf
Eleven City Diner
Brasserie Jo
Crofton on Wells
Bandera
Boka
Francesca's Forno
Pho Xi Tang (aka Tank Noodle)
Toast
A La Turka
Emperor's Choice in China Town (they to American Chinese food, but it's consistent, solid, and open late–they do also have an 'acquired tastes' menu though which is more traditional)
Joy Yee
Meritage
Piece
Sticky Rice
Cho Sun Ok
Sayat Nova
Karyn's Cooked (vegan, but excellent)
Artopolis
The Golden Nugget at Clark and Diversey.
Tank Noodle is great. So is Tank, in Lincoln Square, for creative sushi rolls. Also in Lincoln Square – Rosed Thai, which my Thai friends say is the most authentic in Chicago. And my fave for Korean is San Chae Dol Sot on Lawrence in Albany Park.
Chicago…I love it.
I used to live in the "region" of Indiana and would visit the city as often as I could. Salam @ 4636 N. Kedzie was always a part of any trip to the city. It's a hole in the wall, but excellent middle eastern food at low low prices. It's a bit out of your way but worth the trip and adventure.
Welcome to Chicago! I live in the suburbs so unfortunately I don't have too many recommendations near you but I'm moving to the city quite soon! Yay Chicago food bloggers!
Can I come home now? You all are making me crave for my hometown. I live in Florida now, and there's nothing like the great butchers and little shops that make Chicago great down here. I will say though– we have fish mongers that are outstanding in knowledge and service though.
I heard a grass fed meat shop is opening in bucktown soon – i really hope that is the case b/c we are seriously lacking in grocery options! olivias is great – but we need a meat shop! or somewhere to buy single cuts and smaller amounts. Also grass fed and good for you stuff! BUcktown definitely isnt lacking in restaurants.
I am trying hot chocolate for the FIRST time this weekend. I was searing about it and from what i read, you guys love it. Anything anyone recommends on the menu as a must try?!
Thanks!
feebee45