The Top 5 Chicago Hot Spots (NOT in Logan Square)
Look, we love hip, up-and-coming neighborhoods just as much as the next guy. But sometimes it seems like the city of Chicago—and its media—are conspiring to keep us in Logan Square every weekend, as we hop from brunch at Lula Cafe to mid-afternoon cocktails and bar food at Billy Sunday to night caps at Weegee’s. So, we’ve put together a list of our five favorite hang-out spots you’ll have to travel outside of Logan Square for.
1. Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar (Bridgeport)
A neighborhood staple (originally established in 1939), the bar/liquor store offers a wide selection of beers on tap and free parking. They also let you order from next door’s Pleasant House Bakery, which, importantly, sample homemade pies with your beer. It doesn’t get better than that.
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| Maria’s in Bridgeport is a classic Chicago neighborhood bar with a modern-day selection of draft beers. |
2. Ed and Jean’s Bar(Bucktown)
If you like your dive bars with darts and apple pie shots (we do!), this 50-year-old neighborhood spot, tucked away down the street from the Map Room, has you covered. A tip from our CIW’s Executive Assistant Extraordinaire: Don’t be on the look-out for an “Ed and Jean’s” sign. We were serious about it being tucked away—this place is marked by two beer label signs, and nothing else.
3. The New 400 Theater (Rogers Park)
It’s hard to beat the newly renovated Logan Theater with its 1950s look, 1990s prices and 2010s technologies. But The New 400 Theater, a first-run theater in far north Rogers Park, is neck and neck. It does have one thing on Logan Theater: They offer the occasional two for five dollars PBR special.
4. The Matchbox(Noble Square)
The Matchbox got its name for good reason: It’s tiny. It’s also lots of fun, with good drinks and a friendly atmosphere where even if you started out as a new customer, it’s soon the place where everybody knows your name.
5. Range (Lincoln Park)
DePaul’s Fraternity Row just took a turn for the hipster with this restaurant that offers everything from beet salads and tortilla soup to hamburgers and…pork doughnuts? We have to admit—we haven’t tried that one, but we’re intrigued.
