Weekend Getaway: Chicago, Part One
By J. Wallace
Say what you want to about the midwest, but Chicago is a seriously hip oasis in the middle of the corn and soybean fields that stretch out endlessly along the horizon between Detroit and St. Louis. If you haven’t been to the windy city in a while, check out your frequent flyer miles and plan a trip now that the weather has finally changed from subzero frozen hell to…whatever it’s gonna be this week. GearCrave has the scoop on some hot places to visit. We assume you already know about the Field Museum and the Art Institute, we won’t waste your time there. After the jump, check out part one of two for a weekend getaway to Chicago. In this installment, we’ll show you where to shop and where to party like the locals…
When you get into the streets of Chicago, do not pass go, do not collect $200 in Monopoly money. Just go right down the the Magnificent Mile. Chi-town’s world famous Michigan Avenue is jammed full of excellent high-end shopping, including;
- H&M (840 N. Michigan)
- Hugo Boss (520 N. Michigan)
- Bloomingdales (900 N. Michigan)
- Bulgari (909 N. Michigan)
- Saks 5th Avenue (700 N.Michigan
Once they get done running up their credit cards, some people don’t bother looking past Michigan Avenue, which is for shame since Chicago has one of the hottest music scenes going. We’re not going to send you on a hunt across countless venues, we’re just going to recommend one very nice spot especially for indie rock lovers–Chicago’s Double Door.
The Double Door is the place where you can catch The Mooney Suzuki, Sparklehorse, The Cribs, The Pale Gallery, many more. We caught Gang of Four’s Dave Allen doing a DJ set there some time back, and grooved to the retro-wave fun of Wall Of Voodoo’s Stan Ridgeway. Retro is good.
The Double Door is where it’s at for an intimate indie-rock experience. This lovely little venue is located in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, right down the street from our next stop: Piece Brewery and Pizzeria (part owned by Cheap Trick guitarist Rock Nielson).
One of the highlights of Piece, besides the kick-ass beer collection and unbelievable pizza, is an absolutely must-do: Live Band Karaoke, an ongoing attraction at this great Wicker Park hangout. Every Saturday night at 11PM you can throw back some micro brews and scream your lungs out at the same time. If you visit Chicago on a Saturday, you’ll be hard pressed to pick whether to eat at Piece then try the Double Door, or stay at the pizza joint for the craziness.
The music is fun, but do NOT cheat yourself out of a meal at Piece. Highly recommended, even if you’re only having a liquid dinner. The beer selection, again, is quite ambitious.
After a full day of kicking around the Mag Mile, followed by the musical shenanigans in Wicker Park, you will most likely be ready to call it a day. What a day trip! High class shopping, followed by some down-to-earth dining with an upscale beer selection and loud sounds. Next Friday, we’ll take a different look at Chicago for the ultimate night on the town.
