Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village – Chicago, IL
WICKER PARK
Wicker Park
My last year in Chicago, I lived in Ukrainian Village/Wicker Park. The neighborhood has changed a lot since, but the great spots still remain and some good new spots have sprouted up.
RECKLESS RECORDS
Buy/Sell Counter
Perusing records @ Reckless Records
Reckless Records is your classic record store where you can peruse new and old records/cds for hours.
Note: The John Cusack Movie “High Fidelity” was filmed there.
1533 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL 60622
THE WORMHOLE
Baristas @ Wormhole
The Bar @ Wormhole
When I used to live in this neighborhood, Filter was a big coffee shop on the corner of Milwaukee, North and Damen. There were old couches, random tables, natural light from the huge windows during the day and dim lighting at night. From the windows you can watch the city scenes of Wicker Park. (One day, I saw a random Zombie Parade break out on Milwaukee.) Artists came to draw, students came to study, people came to people watch. Now, that spot is a Bank of America… I hear that Filter reopened down the street on a smaller cleaner scale.
So on my last visit I found The Wormhole in the area. While fun in its own way, The Wormhole reminded me a lot of the old Filter. It had cartooney art, a Dolorean in the front, couches and work tables.
Things that make The Wormhole > Old filter: the hipster baristas made solid coffee, perfect lattes, beautiful designs in the foam, and they were actually really nice.
1462 N Milwaukee, Chicago, IL 60622
BIG STAR
Big Star Patio
Back when I lived down the street, this was Pontiac Cafe. It had a great patio and tasty eats. Pontiac closed (i think) in 2008 and now, its Big Star.
The tacos are good, the drinks are good, and the space is light, airy and overall great. Often there is a wait, but we had drinks (standing) around the bar until something opened up. Totally worth a stop for afternoon drinks.
1531 North Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622
BONGO ROOM
Waiting for brunch @ Bongo Room - Milwaukee Ave.
Bongo Room Interior
Bongo Room is one of my favorite brunch spots. People wait hours for a table. This time around, we got our names in early, walked around and checked in an hour later. The wait at that point was not too bad… haha
Fav Eats: Vegetarian Croissant Sandwich with a side of bacon and a bowl of fruit. If you feel like sweet: Heath Bar banana pancakes or French toast.
1470 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622
I wonder if the two Reckless employees are in a heated debate over whether the Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam album should be in the Pop section of the store instead of the Soul section.
haha – “its the new Belle and Sebastian…”