Kate planned this one!
Kate, Ed and Max were joined by me, Bill and Jo.
flickr album Greater Grand Crossing 'Hoods
Greater Grand Crossing 'Hoods packet
We met at 5 Loaves Eatery. It was kicking pretty hard on a weekend morning. There was a wait. Bill, Jo and I got there earlier than team Kate/Ed/Max, so we sat for a bit. Apparently, as Kate and Ed were extracting Max from the car, an SUV rolled up, window went down, and a nice gentleman told them that their friends were already waiting for them in the restaurant. You guys, who was that? We didn't talk to any fellow. How did he know that we were all together? He thanked Kate and Ed for patronizing the restaurant, then drove away.
The folks at 5 Loaves were super nice. A couple of kids at the next table taught Max how to do some version of Miss Mary Mack. The fried chicken was maybe the best I've ever had in my life.
The weather on this day wasn't awesome. And the locations of the sites were pretty spread out. So this 'Hoods we conducted mostly by car.
We drove by the Gwendolyn Brooks house first.
Then we started hitting spots that had been bought up by, then re-purposed by, Theaster Gates. He's an artist who's working hard to bring function and purpose and beauty back to some of these empty buildings on the South Side.
We drove by his Archive House and Listening House. They both house small art libraries and host events.
Then we went by his Dorchester Art and Housing Collaborative. Formerly a housing project, now townhomes that house artists.
The Stony Island Arts Bank is technically in South Shore. We visited it previously on THAT 'hoods. Also during an Open House Chicago. BUT, it's a Theaster Gates project. So we were being completionist. It's a former bank that now houses art exhibits, as well as several cool libraries. The day we were there, there was a DJ spinning records from their extensive record collection. It's free. Check it out.
Gates has more projects on the burner. Watch out for future openings.
And we finished up at Lems bbq. This has been on my list for a LONG time. Great, classic, south side bbq. Smoked in the big fish tanks. Order through glass. Pay through bars. It's a machine. The line moved so fast. Know what you want to order before you get to the front! I got a collection of rib tips and sausages to bring home to husband. Just delicious.
Greater Grand Crossing obviously has some vibrancy. There was a sexy bakery called Brown Sugar bakery across from Lems that I'd love to check out. A few other shops and restaurants,etc. But there is also a LOT of vacancy. Thus Theaster Gates and his attempts to create neighborhood pride, solutions, economic opportunities, etc. There's just not a lot of money in Greater Grand Crossing. Here's hoping that better days are on the horizon.
Monday, November 26, 2018
'Hoods #54: Avondale, September 15 2018
I planned 'Hoods Avondale.
I was joined by Bill, Kate, Ed, little Max, Kris, and Jo. Joe was with us at the beginning and end. Odette and Dan joined us with their new baby for breakfast.
Something traumatic happened with my pics. In transitioning pics from my camera to my laptop I seem to have lost a good number of them from early in the day. Fortunately I had posted a FEW to facebook. So those were saved. But the photo documentation of the morning portion of this day is light. I'm bereft. flickr album 'Hoods Avondale
'Hoods Avondale packet
We skipped the Polish Village portion of Avondale cause we'd already 'hoods-ed that.
I forced Bill and Jo to join me for a morning drink at Chief O'Neill's. I'd been there several times for dinner. But always in the winter, somehow. And they have this big, beautiful patio. So I had an Irish coffee and enjoyed the nice day. They were serving some sort of weekend brunch buffet. Which I'd seen advertised on their web site but poo-poo-ed. Cause most buffets are the pits. But this one looked LOVELY. Chocolate fountains and platters of macarons. This would be a great way to entertain out of towners.
A quick look across the street at the Prop Theatr. I saw Julie perform a piece there back in the day. Small. Avant garde.
The Prop is next to Parachute, this trendy Korean spot I desperately want to try.
We then met the rest of the group at Honey Butter Fried Chicken. They're a fave. And we sat on THEIR lovely patio, as well. Nice area for kids to play.
We had a 12:30 appt at Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church. She's over 125 years old. And she feels it. Falling down. Literally leaning. Two congregants met us and toured us around. One was an older gentleman who'd even gone to the Concordia school, back when they still had one. He showed us old pics of himself on the basketball team. Fabulous. But I gotta tell you, pretty depressing joint. Congregation down to, like, 25 members these days. We were getting the hard sell. And the Evangelical branch of the Lutheran church is pretty....conservative. Not my bag. But it was nice that they let us in on a day when the church is closed, took time out of their day to tour us around. They'd even gotten us some waters and cookies. Adorable.
We walked by the Art Colony and Music Factory. They offer spaces for artists and musicians to work, and have an open house once a month that I should probably check out.
Metropolitan Brewing has a really cute space right on the river. Super industrial. Outdoor spaces. Though they weren't set up for seating on this day. It was JAMMING. Very busy. I gotta tell you, loved the atmosphere. Didn't love the beer.
Walked by Andy's Music store, which was closed. Apparently very eclectic hours. But known for thorough inventory of instruments.
We stopped for a drink at the Beer Temple. They have some of the most rare beers available in town. I had a Scratch beer on tap. Just not gonna find that anywhere else. And their little takeaway store is chock full of treasures.
At Bucket O Blood Books and Records I bought a DM manual for a Dungeons and Dragons game from 1983. Ed bought some records. Gotta support small businesses, right?
Olde Chicago Antiques was a cool warehouse space filled to the brim with cool furniture and bric-a-brak (is that how you spell that?). But Kris spotted some sort of pro-Trump paraphernalia on his way out. Soured the experience a bit.
Lots of walking under the expressway. There was an expansive tent city set up under one overhang. Some nice-ish murals.
We hadn't had a drink in about 3 minutes (except Ed, who'd stashed a roady from the Temple in the stroller) so we stopped at Revolution Brewery and taproom for a taste. They were holding free brewery tours. But we opted, instead, to sit and sip.
At this point Jo and Kate and Ed and Max bowed out. Bill and I hopped into Joe and Kris's car.
We drove to the greatly diminished Avondale Neighborhood Park. It was chopped up pretty good when they built that expressway.
From there we called in a pick up order from Pisolino's. Apparently owned by a family member of O'Fame, an old Italian favorite of ours. We got some pizzas to go. Tasty.
And with that, Avondale 'Hoods concluded.
A few weeks later husband and I had a double date with Kate and Ed back in Avondale.
We had dinner at the Avondale Tap. It was $5 burger night. Really great, actually. Rain drove us off the patio right there at the end of our meal. So we finished up in the back room, where they were setting up their weekly Dungeons and Dragons meet-up. Big maps were being spread out across large tables. Loved it. Husband geeked out a bit with one of the DMs.
Then we walked down to Sleeping Village. It's a really cool bar with great inside and outdoor spaces. Offering interesting beers. And an event space in the back. We saw a live taping of the Allusionist Podcast.
Look, here's the thing about Avondale. It has a lot of great places to drink. A few good places to eat. But with the expressway cutting through its center, and population movement over the years, there's not much of a cohesive personality to the neighborhood. No real ethnic identity (except for the Polish Village portion). No real economic center, or architectural tendency. It's pretty all over the place. Hard to, like, get a FEEL of Avondale. Know what I mean?
I was joined by Bill, Kate, Ed, little Max, Kris, and Jo. Joe was with us at the beginning and end. Odette and Dan joined us with their new baby for breakfast.
Something traumatic happened with my pics. In transitioning pics from my camera to my laptop I seem to have lost a good number of them from early in the day. Fortunately I had posted a FEW to facebook. So those were saved. But the photo documentation of the morning portion of this day is light. I'm bereft. flickr album 'Hoods Avondale
'Hoods Avondale packet
We skipped the Polish Village portion of Avondale cause we'd already 'hoods-ed that.
I forced Bill and Jo to join me for a morning drink at Chief O'Neill's. I'd been there several times for dinner. But always in the winter, somehow. And they have this big, beautiful patio. So I had an Irish coffee and enjoyed the nice day. They were serving some sort of weekend brunch buffet. Which I'd seen advertised on their web site but poo-poo-ed. Cause most buffets are the pits. But this one looked LOVELY. Chocolate fountains and platters of macarons. This would be a great way to entertain out of towners.
A quick look across the street at the Prop Theatr. I saw Julie perform a piece there back in the day. Small. Avant garde.
The Prop is next to Parachute, this trendy Korean spot I desperately want to try.
We then met the rest of the group at Honey Butter Fried Chicken. They're a fave. And we sat on THEIR lovely patio, as well. Nice area for kids to play.
We had a 12:30 appt at Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church. She's over 125 years old. And she feels it. Falling down. Literally leaning. Two congregants met us and toured us around. One was an older gentleman who'd even gone to the Concordia school, back when they still had one. He showed us old pics of himself on the basketball team. Fabulous. But I gotta tell you, pretty depressing joint. Congregation down to, like, 25 members these days. We were getting the hard sell. And the Evangelical branch of the Lutheran church is pretty....conservative. Not my bag. But it was nice that they let us in on a day when the church is closed, took time out of their day to tour us around. They'd even gotten us some waters and cookies. Adorable.
We walked by the Art Colony and Music Factory. They offer spaces for artists and musicians to work, and have an open house once a month that I should probably check out.
Metropolitan Brewing has a really cute space right on the river. Super industrial. Outdoor spaces. Though they weren't set up for seating on this day. It was JAMMING. Very busy. I gotta tell you, loved the atmosphere. Didn't love the beer.
Walked by Andy's Music store, which was closed. Apparently very eclectic hours. But known for thorough inventory of instruments.
We stopped for a drink at the Beer Temple. They have some of the most rare beers available in town. I had a Scratch beer on tap. Just not gonna find that anywhere else. And their little takeaway store is chock full of treasures.
At Bucket O Blood Books and Records I bought a DM manual for a Dungeons and Dragons game from 1983. Ed bought some records. Gotta support small businesses, right?
Olde Chicago Antiques was a cool warehouse space filled to the brim with cool furniture and bric-a-brak (is that how you spell that?). But Kris spotted some sort of pro-Trump paraphernalia on his way out. Soured the experience a bit.
Lots of walking under the expressway. There was an expansive tent city set up under one overhang. Some nice-ish murals.
We hadn't had a drink in about 3 minutes (except Ed, who'd stashed a roady from the Temple in the stroller) so we stopped at Revolution Brewery and taproom for a taste. They were holding free brewery tours. But we opted, instead, to sit and sip.
At this point Jo and Kate and Ed and Max bowed out. Bill and I hopped into Joe and Kris's car.
We drove to the greatly diminished Avondale Neighborhood Park. It was chopped up pretty good when they built that expressway.
From there we called in a pick up order from Pisolino's. Apparently owned by a family member of O'Fame, an old Italian favorite of ours. We got some pizzas to go. Tasty.
And with that, Avondale 'Hoods concluded.
A few weeks later husband and I had a double date with Kate and Ed back in Avondale.
We had dinner at the Avondale Tap. It was $5 burger night. Really great, actually. Rain drove us off the patio right there at the end of our meal. So we finished up in the back room, where they were setting up their weekly Dungeons and Dragons meet-up. Big maps were being spread out across large tables. Loved it. Husband geeked out a bit with one of the DMs.
Then we walked down to Sleeping Village. It's a really cool bar with great inside and outdoor spaces. Offering interesting beers. And an event space in the back. We saw a live taping of the Allusionist Podcast.
Look, here's the thing about Avondale. It has a lot of great places to drink. A few good places to eat. But with the expressway cutting through its center, and population movement over the years, there's not much of a cohesive personality to the neighborhood. No real ethnic identity (except for the Polish Village portion). No real economic center, or architectural tendency. It's pretty all over the place. Hard to, like, get a FEEL of Avondale. Know what I mean?
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