Entries Tagged as 'logan bar & grill'

Logan Square Walk

March 8th, 2010 · 6 Comments

On Saturday it was so nice outside, for the first time in many months I went for a walk to enjoy the weather. It felt nice to breathe in the fresh air and to get out in the sun.

I checked on Nice Slice again and didn’t see any exterior changes, so I decided to walk north on California Avenue. Passing by the Roberto Clemente Post Office, I stopped to appreciate how pretty it is. Inside, it’s about as miserable as any post office in the city, but the outside is nice.

From there on I decided to keep taking photos, even though I only had my cell phone with me. This metal fire escape/stairway outside a building on California Avenue is not actually that common in Chicago. It reminded me a lot of New York where almost every building has this type of escape.

I checked on Letizia’s again. No visible progress so far. On to The Boulevard, that’s Logan Boulevard. The day was spring-like, but I’m hesitant to say “spring” because as you can see, still a lot of snow on the ground.

There were lots of puddles where the snow is melting, though. Trees reflected in a puddle here.

A church and some houses on The Boulevard. Chicago’s boulevards are so pretty. Stately houses, manicured lawns. I love how they’re major thoroughfares but there are large patches of green and quiet local streets along side the express boulevard.

There were a lot of people outside walking around, enjoying the sun and fair temperatures.

Few more houses on The Boulevard.

I decided to stop and get some coffee. Letizia’s isn’t open yet, and why go to Starbucks when there are other local options? So, I went to New Wave Coffee.

This is my barista. And look at the pretty mocha he made me. You don’t get that at Starbucks! New Wave serves locally-made Metropolis coffee and in my mocha, Ghirardelli chocolate.

I entered New Wave on Logan Boulevard, but I exited on Milwaukee Avenue. Walking south on Milwaukee you come across the Milshire Hotel. This place has obviously been there forever. I can’t find a lot about it online, but I’m lead to believe that it is not good. All I could find is people saying that only vagrants, hookers and junkies stay there!

When ever Dallas and I pass this place we sing La Isla Bonita.

Discount Mega Mall. It is what it is.

The car wash is a busy place on one of the first spring-like days of the year!

Dallas and I are convinced that our tiny Logan Square Philly’s Best is really just a part of the garage/car wash. It has service entrances on each side!

There’s this place on Milwaukee Avenue called La Casa del Vaquero. It’s hard to see inside the windows because of the glare of the sun, but if you’re ever passing by, take a look. They have all kinds of wacky stuff inside including a stuffed buffalo, horse and ostrich!

The Whistler is another window to watch for. The windows there change all the time and are always really artistic. Always interesting to see how they have them decorated.

I was happy to see that Foto Quetzal still has this awesome photo in their window display.

If you think dead animals in a window was weird, then what do you make of life-sized pirates?

Maybe even weirder? Chicago has its own Statue of Liberty (at Liberty Bank).

Precision Die Cutting. I’ve passed by it a thousand times.

But this time I looked up for some reason and noticed that they have a sign where they say their the “Home of the Whirlypic”… whatever that is! All I can figure out online is that they’re some sort of plastic outdoor ornaments or vehicle antenna ornaments.

Cole’s is a newer bar that has become a neighborhood favorite. They have free music there all the time.

Logan Square Kitchen is a kitchen and venue space that opened within the last year. My friend Ed has checked it out a few times – he’s got a food-related side business.

The talk of the town: Revolution Brewing.

Stopping for a dry cleaning errand at Smart Cleaners.

I can’t remember where it was.. somewhere I lived… the drycleaning hangers always said something like “Back so soon? And fresh as a daisy!”

Cozy Corner, Emilio’s Produce Stand, the California Blue Line stop. This is a busy intersection. And see the rectangle in front of this guy’s face? Sears Tower. We’re not too far from downtown.

Same corner, different view.

Same corner, different view. Love/Hate. Love Foremost, Hate Subway.

Logan Bar & Grill. Love/Hate in a more traditional manner.

My California Blue Line train station. It’s old and rickety but I like it anyway.

The Mexican bakery, Panaderia la Central.

I think it’s so cute that our local taqueria, Taqueria Moran, has St. Patricks Day decorations up right now.

The final stretch home.

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Nice Slice Pizza Coming to Logan Square

January 11th, 2010 · 8 Comments

Near the end of our street, on California Avenue, there are a couple buildings that have been papered up and under construction for ages.. for the entire time we’ve lived in Logan Square. One is just north of Palmer and is where the rumored “fancy Sultan’s Market” is supposed to go. Meaning that the owners of Sultan’s, that everyone loves in Wicker Park, are supposed to be opening Masada, a sit-down middle-eastern restaurant. There has been very little visible progress on this project.

On the other hand, the other building right next to it, just south of Lyndale, has shown a lot of progress recently. This is where Lavanderia Moran, the Mexican laundromat, used to be. I assume this was somehow related to Taqueria Moran, our favorite taqueria, which is only a few buildings away. I don’t know why the laundromat closed, but if the taqueria closes any time soon we’re gonna have to go after someone. Love that place.

I never knew what was planned for the space, but the other day I saw some people drawing teaser cartoons outside of it and started doing my research.

Looks like it’s Nice Slice Pizza Bar, brought to you by the owners of Logan Bar and Grill (just a few storefronts up the street), Simone’s (in Pilsen), Northside (in Wicker Park), to name a few. It will be nice to have another nearby bar and restaurant, but you know, I’m not a huge fan of Logan Bar & Grill’s food. I’ll give Nice Slice a chance and hope they can make a good pizza. Especially if they serve pizza late night. There are very few late-night eats in Logan Square that we’ve discovered. Plus, another bar/restaurant nearby has to be good for our condo’s market value right?

FYI, Metromix says that an artist named Ryan Doherty is doing the cartoon teasers. Currently, the last strip has been painted over white. I assume a new one will be going up soon.

Now…. when is Revolution Brewery opening? That’s the one we’re REALLY excited for!

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Pretending Bar Nachos Are Steak At The Ritz

January 11th, 2009 · 9 Comments

logan_bar_and_grill
Logan Bar & Grill, Logan Square, Chicago

Last night Dallas and I got all decked out – new suit for him, new dress and heels for me – to go to his belated company holiday party at the Four Seasons Ritz-Carlton downtown. Cocktails began at 6 p.m. and dinner was to start at 7:30. We figured we’d arrive at about 6:30 or 7:00, in time for dinner, but not showing up right as it was starting.

At 6:00 we called for Yellow Cab. I was on hold forever, but when got through eventually. I got a call back about 10 minutes later saying that our cab would be there in 7 minutes. Great! I put my coat and scarf on and waited. 20 minutes later I was on the phone to the cab company complaining that the cab never showed up. I was put on hold forever and then told our cab was 3 minutes away. 20 minutes later the cab never arrived and I was on the phone with the cab company again. Long story short, we waited over an hour for any cab to come and get us and none did. By that time it was past 7:00 and even if a cab showed up that second we wouldn’t make it to the party in time for dinner. I called the cab company one last time so I could give them a piece of my mind and tell them how they ruined our night and how I was never going to use their service again. The dispatcher blamed the cab drivers for never showing up and the weather (it snowed for 2 days straight) for causing them to be so busy. She said that they had the orders logged and for some reason the cabs just never showed up at our place. Fine. I still yelled at her though, and I felt kind of bad because it wasn’t her fault, but she’s the face of the company and someone needed to be told.

The other part of this cab problem is that where we live now we can’t really just walk out on the street and get a cab like we used to in every other neighborhood we lived in. The times that we have tried have been futile so we are completely dependent on calling for a cab, which obviously doesn’t always work out, especially if the weather is bad. We were going to call two companies to make sure one showed up, but last time we got a cab we were talking to the cab driver and he told us how cab drivers will kind of blacklist you if you do it and they both show up, so now we’re hesitant to call multiple places for a pick up. Still, if the option is risk the ire of a driver or ruin your plans, I think we’ll take the risk.

In the end Dallas and I changed out of our fancy clothes and went to our neighborhood bar. We drank a couple beers, had a bean dip/nacho appetizer and ate dinner salads. We sat by the warm fireplace and watched the snow. It was cozy and warm. We talked a lot and watched the Cardinals upset the Panthers. A perfectly nice night, but not steak at the Ritz.

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Yes We Can

November 5th, 2008 · 4 Comments

Logan Bar & Grill is just around the corner from our new place and since we don’t have our TV hooked up yet, we planned on eating dinner there and watching election coverage on all their TVs and then going home and streaming video from the internet. There was no way we could go home. The bar was filled with people so excited to be watching history in the making. I didn’t want to miss anything and there was such an electricity in the air that I wanted to be out somewhere, not just sitting at home surrounded by dust and boxes. Ed came by and watched with us, since we all live in the same neighborhood now. I was so happy when Obama was announced the winner. Head exploding. I’m so proud that Barack and his family are from Chicago and Hawaii. So moved by his acceptance speech. I, along with everyone else, have so much hope for the next presidential term or two. I’m so proud of our country today.

We might not have been in Grant Park, like many we knew were, but I think there was celebration no matter where you were in Chicago. At the bar people were cheering like crazy, cars were driving by blaring their horns. Everyone was so happy. The front door/windows were open because it was such a nice night and people were lined up on the sidewalk watching and listening to Obama’s acceptance speech. These are just photos of TV, but I want to remember where I was and what it felt like when our country made history and finally made a positive decision for its future.

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