Entries Tagged as 'wicker park'

A bit of Brooklyn in Wicker Park

September 15th, 2011 · No Comments

Brooklyn Industries. More on the artists who did this mural.

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Crust

August 5th, 2011 · No Comments

I had a coupon for Crust so Jess and Sara and I went out for dinner one night. I’d never been there before but Jess and Sara had. To start, we split the baby beet salad (organic poached baby beets, avocado, pink grapefruit, extra virgin olive oil). Then we split two pizzas: The Forestierre had bechemel, woodland mushrooms, roasted peppers and fontina cheese. The Basilico had tomato sauce, bechamel, mozzarella, fontina, provolone, parmigiano reggiano, and fresh basil.

Oh, and we also tried the Lambrusco, which was a sparkling red. I’d never had a sparkling red before and I liked that too. It wasn’t like it was bubbling all over the place like a champagne, it just had a slight, light fizz to it.

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Juko Nails

August 3rd, 2011 · No Comments

Juko Nails has been located on Division Street at about Hoyne for many years. I’ve been past it a ton of times, especially back when I used to live just off Division. It wasn’t until I bought a Groupon that I actually visited the salon.

For $20 ($40 value), I got a manicure and pedicure. I loved the look of the salon. Very trendy and contemporary. And better yet, as soon as I was seated I was offered red or white wine. Yes, please! I had at least 2 glasses of wine that night, increasing the value of my Groupon even more! I also thought the salon was very diverse. Both the people working there and the clients were of all races, sexes, ages. Many salons in Chicago have Asian workers who do not speak English and you just get really used to the non-verbal cues, nods, nudges. But here, my technicians all spoke English and would say “ok, right foot” and I’d almost not respond because I’m so used to just getting the nudge! It was kind of refreshing, actually.

As I was leaving, the owner came over to help me into my shoes and spray my toes with that spray that helps the polish dry. She made sure that I knew about their guarantee – Manicures are guaranteed for 3 days and pedicures for 7 days! I never heard of a nail salon doing this! If any chips, smudges, etc happen in that time, just go back and they’ll fix it.

Also, just before I walked out the door it started to really downpour! The owner asked me if I had an umbrella, and I did, but she said if I didn’t she was going to offer me one. Not sure how that works, but I thought it was awesome for her to offer it.

Overall, I really liked this salon. I’m kind of bummed that it’s not super convenient because even their regular prices are pretty good.

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Red Hen Bread

July 22nd, 2011 · No Comments

I picked up a Groupon for Red Hen Bread because it’s nearby my gym and a bus stop a spend a lot of time standing at. I thought I’d just swing by one night when I finished the gym and get an awesome discounted sandwich. Problem: Red Hen closes at 6 and I’m never out of the gym by then. So, it took me a while but I finally used the Groupon on a day I did not go to the gym. I got the caprese sandwich and an iced coffee. The sandwich was good, but my bread was kind of hard to chew. I ended up eating the parts separately to compensate.

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The Bedford

July 18th, 2011 · No Comments


The Bedford Vault

A few months ago Dallas and I met up with some friends at The Bedford in Wicker Park. This place is nearby my first apartment in Chicago, but when I lived there the building was an MB Bank. Now the bank part on the street level is a CVS and the basement of the bank is a restaurant and bar called The Bedford.


Todd

We didn’t eat at The Bedford, we just had drinks. The cool thing is that the bank vault and safe deposit boxes are still intact. We sat in the lounge and were surrounded by hundreds of safe deposit boxes. It was pretty cool. And neat to see the vault door just behind us.


The Bedford Bathroom

I was drinking white wine that night. Other people were drinking fancy cocktails. I think everyone liked their drinks. I for sure liked the setting. Even the bathroom was gorgeous. I’d go back and try the food, but I’d for sure go back to show off a cool cocktail lounge to out-of-town guests. Check out this Thrillist video of the interior and you can get a better feeling for the space:

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