Local Poll II #12 - CHICAGO, CHICAGO! that toddlin' town. (deh da deh da daaaah)

What's yer name/nickname yer going with here:
Rickman Gal
               
Where do you live/what city are you e'splainin?:
Chic-caa-go

What neighborhoods or areas around here do you recommend exploring?
North Side, Roscoe Village (Damen between Belmont and Roscoe, east to Ashland at Belmont), Lakeview (Irving Park and Lincoln all the way to the lake), Lincoln Square (Lincoln Ave and Lawrence), Andersonville (Clark at Lawrence), Wicker Park (Damen at Milwaukee), Bucktown (Damen at Division). Damen is a great long street filled with lots of great neighborhoods, but is a walk to the lake. 2000 W., aka 20 blocks to watery relief.

Any good parks round you for sitting in or wandering through, there, sissy?  
If you have a dog, go to Montrose Harbor dog beach, it is the best for playin with your dog OFF-Leash in the city. Lots of dogs, so make sure your dog is well behaved. Wilson off LSD (editor's note: "LSD" - Lake Shore Drive)go east and follow the dogs.

Other local features or beautiful natural spots to take in:  
the lakefront bike path stretches 20-some odd miles and is great for running and walking, or swimming or throwing Frisbee, I recommend swimming up around the planetarium. It is really a great place to view the city skyline, and bring some quarters, a whole roll, if you can, cause there are meters all over the city, and they only take quarters. Out by the planetarium, there are 24 hour meters.

Any good festivals? When?
Blues Fest, June 10
Lots of free music. In and around Michigan avenue and Buckingham fountain. Live outdoor music dancing too on Michigan Ave all summer.

Best non-stupid on-line/print source(s) for local entertainment info:
Not so silly to get all yer info on Chicago happenings once you are here from the Chicago Reader, a free newspaper found all over the city. Plus, if you like, online restaurant info is best found at metromix.com, it is great for reviews of local places. Plus if you look into checkplease.com, it is a great PBS tv show website for local restaurant reviews. Price ranges are available at both these websites., and Chicagoreader.com also has all its music posted in such a lovely way so you could go check it out for yourself.

Best place(s) to stop in to see inexpensive local music (particularly those that regularly book bands with females):
Of course the best is Heartland Cafe. Its up near Loyola. And you can find the address online. Empty Bottle, Schubas, Gunther Murphys, Griffins. Martyrs, Beat Kitchen. Bottle Lounge, Hideout.

Best place(s) to stop in to dance:
Rockit is a neat bar in the loop, it can get crazy busy on the weekends, but the weekdays, it's a huge dance palace just waiting for your fancy feet. I'm not down with dancing, so I am not a good person to ask for a place to dance. (editor's note: lies, lies! she boogies with the best of em. she can shake her money makah.) ;)

Best place(s) to stop in to get a beer without pretention or hoo-haw:
Rainbow on Damen and Division, photo booth to immortalize your drunken state, while you are outta state.
Horseshoe, good place for rockabilly music on Lincoln and Irving Park.
Gold Star on Division, in lovely Bucktown. Great Jukebox.
Dannys -- a must-go-to Bar. On Dickens and a Damen. Wonderful atmosphere, good quality beer, and djs that play lounge groove music.
Smoking is everywhere, so FYI, none of these bars have a non-smoking or dining section, except for Horseshoe, with BBQ and big ass sodas.

Best place(s) to stop in to get a drink (ideally also without pretention or hoo-haw): 
A drink --- ahh, a margarita, so many cantinas all over this city. Really the ones at Playtido, near Wrigley field are the best. On Clark and School. Martini style. Mmm.
 
Best place(s) to stop in just to stop in while visiting:
Giordanos pizza. Lalos Mexican in the loop.
Free art institute days.

Best secret deals:
Free museums are on Tuesdays in Chicago. Free afternoon music at the Chicago Cultural Center..on Washington and Michigan Ave.  Lincoln Park zoo is free all the time (Fullerton and LSD -- park somewhere west of LSD. entry at the river or 1 block west of Clark). Wednesday is half price wine nite at lots of restaurants in the city. Check metromix.com, for all weekday specials all over the city.

Best jukeboxes:
Gold Star, Lincoln Square Lanes: a great old style bowling alley, without all the highprice glitz or distracting light shows. Cheap lanes and shoes, stiffy drinks. Low brow beer.cash only.

Where can you find Galaga in your town? Or Space Invaders. Or Elvis pinball. Or batting cages? Any other favorite play spots to share?:
Bowling. Lincoln Square Lanes (Lincoln avenue near Lawrence Ave. West side of Western Ave.)
Rainbow has pinball.
Gold Star has Pool.

Best public place to nap and/or picnic:
Napping in any Chicago park is ok by most folks. But I recommend napping in the flower gardens next to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Also, in the botanical gardens when it is cold is a nice place for a warm place with lovely smelling flowers to alert your senses and Wake you up! What are you doing napping in Chicago anyways? Nap in your car.

Best inexpensive way in from the airport for travelers who have no one to pick em up, or who wanna spare their hosts the hassle (public transport options
preferred!):
Take the blue line to the loop.it's super easy for anyone to find their way to Addison or Western Ave if they live here, or south of the loop, get off at Harrison. Both are out of the loop mess and the highways. Get off around Washington, if you want to end up in the loop. Off at Damen if you prefer the Wicker Park shopping and live music scene. Both are easy to find again and return back to the airport..$1.75 one way. No transfer needed. But a 7 day pass might suit you if you are here for more than 3 days. Lots of ways to get around north, to lakeview..off at Belmont. Or north north to Andersonville via the #22 clark bus, or  north west to Lincoln Square via the Blue line, off at Western Ave. Or to Roscoe Village via the Damen Bus. Ahh, the Damen Bus. So many wonderful places to get to. Wanna get off the train and go right to the lake? Take the Blue line from the airport, get off at Belmont and take the Belmont bus all the way to the lake. Jump in.

Best bets for lodging:
Find a place to stay with a friend or look on craigs list for a space to sleep.
Cheap hotels, well, I guess you could go on hotels.com, or one of those cheepiehotels.com sites. But I would try the Days INN on Diversey Parkway, it is the best location out of the loop. Near the beach and restaurants and good for walking around. No real hotels in Wicker Park or Bucktown that I can think of.
 
Is public transport available? Do you recommend it? If so, how much is it? If not, how should a visitor get around?
Buy a pass for more than one trip. Even if you put in 10 dollars, thay give you 11 dollars to go towards fares. $20=$22. 30=$33 -- dadadada. Don't just put in $1.75 for one ride. You will get on the train to get around. Cabs cost $2.50 just to get in and 2.25 per mile.

Local book store(s)/music shop(s)/co-ops/otha shops to check out (any feminist bookstores left out there?):
Quimbys on Milwaukee, in Wicker Park. Good for Alt. Magazines and Zines.
Powells, on Lincoln and around Diversey. Great prices on books and lots of them

Locally-run cheap restaurant(s) you dig (yay to veg-friendly and regional flair ones!):
Soul Veg: South Side. 75th and State. It is really good.

Thai: Satay. On Diversey, get the Coconut soup with shrimp.

Mexican: Lalos Big margaritas and nice food. Also -- Taco Burrito Palace #2 on Halsted and Fullerton..open Late NITE and Has the BEST Guacamole and Burritos. It is worth the trip.

Fish/seafood: Most fish, well I guess go get sushi and Kaze on Roscoe or Sushi Murai on Southport and Addison

Breakfast: Orange, on Clark and Belmont, with fruit sushi and doughnut pancakes or Victory Banner in Roscoe Village -- Organic eggs at the latter and veggie sausage!

Diner: Leos Lunch room on Division and about Ashland.

Comfort food: French Fries at the Weiners Circle (Clark and just south of Diversey)..Just swear and yell your way up to the front of the line -- the fries are so greasy and good!

Good salad / salad bar: Riverview -- their salads are good. Roscoe and Damen.

Vegan food?:  Alice and Friends on Broadway -- really good fake meat creations and desserts are vegan & BYOB. Also, avoid Chicago Diner -- over priced and awful. Try chicagovegetarian.com for a good list. A list is on the web for good Vegetarian and Vegan -- just look.

Takeout: go get a pizza to go at Giordanos by the millennium park and eat it in the nicest place you can find.

Pizza: go get a pizza. Most deep dish pizzas take an hour so order before you go. Or order it, and take a walk, pick it up and eat it outside.

Coffee shop with character: Cafe Kopi in Andersonville, with lovely Swedish Bakery across the street

Regional fare: Go get a Viennese hot dog at Gold Coast Dogs, or an Italian beef at Als on Taylor street. You won't regret it.

Yer fav fancier place: go to Rick Bayless' Frontera grill and Topolobampo. They serve lunch, so you can get a taste of the food while the meal won't take a bite out of your wallet.

Those to avoid cause they treat their workers poorly: Aria in the Fairmont hotel.

Others to recommend: Get some custard from any place you walk by. Avoid the cold stone creameries and their corporate 5 dollar scoop of ice cream, and look around for a local business selling some wonderful cheaper priced ice cream.

Cool local activism to look out for: Local end of the month Critical bike mass bike ride. Starts at Daley Plaza. Random protesters like to take their beef right to Buckingham fountain and LSD. And because there is a cross walk traffic is forced to stop and listen to whatever the protesters have to say. Usually hundreds of cars stop at the intersection everyday. So if you like to come to down and start a protest this is the place. 

One road trip outta town you like: Go to Champaign Urbana for local music. It is about 2hours south, and there is 80’s music all over the radio to rock on your way down.

Best/worst time of year to come. Why:
Worst: January -- cold, boring. It gets cold early.
Best: June -- before it gets Really humid. Even May is ok.

Shoes you recommend bringing for a good visit: Sneakers and fancy sandals for nice outings. Do not wear flip fops to the bars -- your feet will stick to the floor.

Quirks of yer town we should know about:
People really like to drive too too fast when they are impatient. So beware of wackos at any time. People are nice. They are not shy about being outgoing and drunk here.

A bit about who you are: I'm Aimee's youngest sister. And I have travelled east and west, and Chicago is all that and a bag of chips. She can fill in the rest.