Manifest Exhibitions
Run by SAIC graduates Josh Reames and Amber Thomas, this quaint and cold underground space in Logan Square has been the talk of the town. So what’s so special about it? Respected artists like Richard Hull, Eric Lebofsky, Jeff Parrott and Tyson Reeder have graced its walls—but it’s the affordable prices that have everyone excited.
Manifest Exhibitions
2950 North Allen
manifestexhibitions.
Best of Chicago 2011
The Boiler Room
This industrial-themed Logan Square pizza restaurant is a steampunk’s dream watering hole. The bar’s large television screens are housed inside what appears to be parts from locomotive engines. There’s brass, wood and whiskey (on tap). Their aesthetic isn’t replicated anywhere in the city—and that goes double for their bathrooms, even if they were built to look like CTA train cars.
The Boiler Room
2210 North California
(773)276-5625
boilerroomlogansquare.com
Best of Chicago 2011
The Owl
Logan Square nightlife has reached a tipping point with the opening of this giant 5am drinking complex. As the latest addition to the already-great Milwaukee Avenue tavern corridor—which includes The Boiler Room, Revolution Brewing, Cole’s, The Whistler and more—The Owl seals the neighborhood’s fate as a libation destination. This multi-room bar is surprisingly comfy for such a huge space, featuring plush couches, warm woodwork, mirrored walls, a dance floor and even a working fountain. An extensive craft-beer list and a kick-ass jukebox, featuring everything from Siouxsie to Sharon Jones, means your late-night session at the Owl is sure to be a hoot.
The Owl
2521 North Milwaukee
(773)235-5300
owlbarchicago.com
Audience choice:
Haymarket Pub & Brewery
737 West Randolph
(312)638-0700
haymarketbrewing.com
Best of Chicago 2011
Longman & Eagle
All over town this year, horseradish, dubbed the 2011 “Herb of the Year” by the International Herb Association, showed off in recipes. The downstate Illinois town of Collinsville even hosted an International Horseradish Festival. While the festival has, actually, been held for more than twenty-two years, there’s big news about horseradish: It has a sweet side. Horseradish ice cream, anyone? At Michelin-starred Longman & Eagle, the recent popularity of the spicy root collided with another trend: savory flavored marshmallows. For his ever-evolving menu, Chef Jared Wentworth toasted the horseradish marshmallow campfire-style (including a burnt tip), and served it alongside sous vide-prepared beef tongue.
Longman & Eagle
2657 North Kedzie
(773)276-7110
longmanandeagle.com
Best of Chicago 2011
Bucket O’ Blood Books and Records
Logan Square’s newly opened Bucket O’ Blood Books and Records is the city’s only specialized shop of sci-fi and horror books. Shelves of paperbacks line walls decorated with medical prints akin to a Gray’s Anatomy text. The quaint shop offers an inviting atmosphere where shoppers can also peruse vinyl. The store, run by Marc Ruvolo (proprietor of local record label Johann’s Face) puts his influences on his sleeve with this venture. His DIY aspect is still as vibrant when booking events and in-stores. Don’t let the name deter you, this is exactly the store Chicago’s lit scene needs.
2307 North Milwaukee
(773)715-5901
bucketoblood.com
Best of Chicago 2010
Cole’s (Best new bar)
This low-key watering hole, recently opened in Logan Square’s burgeoning Milwaukee Avenue bar district, is just what the strip needed: a scruffy, laid-back yin to the stylish, bustling yang of the Whistler and Revolution Brewing. It’s everything you’d want in a neighborhood tap. Homey, ramshackle surroundings—check. Interesting, reasonably priced draft-beer selection–check. Friendly bartenders and good-natured, chatty owner—check. Nice little stage and sound system for local musicians and stand-up performers–check. What’s not to like?
2338 North Milwaukee
(773)276-5802
coleschicago.blogspot.com
Vertigo Sky Lounge (Best new nightclub)
We’re still not over the Dana Hotel and Spa’s answer to the Signature Lounge: Vertigo. With a view that rivals our favorite Hancock space and a younger, hipper crowd, Vertigo is the perfect spot to sip a martini, to see and be seen. An ice bar keeps things interesting in even the most frigid of temperatures and cushy black chairs and couches keep guests cozy. Just like with the Signature Lounge, however, the bar’s biggest draw has got to be its bathrooms. Unisex sinks and a giant chalkboard offer singles the perfect opportunity to check one another out and leave their mark on this nightclub in the sky.
2 West Erie
(312)202-6060
danahotelandspa.com/rooftop-lounge
Audience choice:
Longman & Eagle
2657 North Kedzie
(773)276-7110
longmanandeagle.com
The other Cozy Corner
The beloved Logan Square breakfast stop at California and Milwaukee serves fantastic omelettes, pancakes and skillets, but anyone who’s ventured to the charming restaurant has discovered it’s way too small. The wait on a weekend can be up to an hour, even if just for two diners willing to sit at the counter. But if you absolutely must have your Cozy Corner eats to mop up your hangover, a walk over to Diversey and a bus ride west to Kostner finds you at the restaurant’s other location. Same homestyle breakfast, same reasonable prices, but a bigger space and, best of all, no wait.
4356 West Diversey
(773)777-3500
cozycornerrestaurant.net
Best of Chicago 2009
The Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival
This unexpected result of the housing-market crisis, took place from July 31 to August 2, when Logan Square artists set up canvases and makeshift galleries in the empty storefronts lining Milwaukee Avenue. Over the course of the weekend, shop windows once blackened like gap-tooth smiles were alight with colored canvases and big screen prints for sale. Rock music blared at the Centennial Monument, children held balloon animals, restaurants dished out treats. But by August 3, the economy reclaimed the street. Stores were dark once again, windows barred behind rusted gates; the festival was nothing more than a rosy dream of what might have been.
Best of Chicago 2009
The Polish Store
The Polish Store is a four-store emporium of everything, you guessed it, Polish. Besides giant flags on the windows and the roof, the aisles of the Polish store are filled with hats, coats, clocks, sweatshirts, bags, key chains, watches, socks, t-shirts, shorts, towels and even a thong adorned with the Polish flag, a giant red eagle on a white background. Beyond flags, there is culture, as one of the four sections sells Polish-language DVDs, Polish rock, rap, folk and classical CDs, as well as books ranging from cookbooks to biographies of Hillary Clinton, Sylvia Plath and Pope John Paul II, translated into Polish. Another section of the store deals with Polish phone cards and gadgets for switching Polish electronics from the European high-voltage round plugs to the American squares receptacles. The Polish Store is also in the heart of Chicago’s Belmont and Milwaukee Avenue Polish enclave—within two blocks are The Red Apple, Stanley’s Sausage, Andy’s Deli, The Star Polska Restaurant and a red-and-white neon sign advertising The Podalskie Club, a bar that must have been frozen in time from the days of Nelson Algren.
3063 North Milwaukee
(773) 478-0752
Best of Chicago 2009
New Wave Coffee
With its colorful checkered floor tiles and framed vinyl album covers, New Wave is a throwback to the decade of excess. A plethora of tables, chairs, couches and desks encompass the large space allowing students to hook up their MacBooks to free WiFi and type late into the night. Music from Elliott Smith and Ween pumps through the speakers while baristas serve up kitschy sandwiches like “The MacGyver” and brew bottomless coffee for the red-eyed set.
3103 West Logan/2557 North Milwaukee
(773)489-0646
newwavecoffee.com
Best of Chicago 2009
