Adventures in Chicago: Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods
Posted by lia1031 on June 7, 2009
Continuing my hobby of city exploring, I visited the Wicker Park and Bucktown areas a few days ago.
Getting to Wicker Park: Take the Blue Line to Damen.
Part 1: Brunch at The Bongo Room
Banana Nestle crunch white chocolate cream pancakes at The Bongo Room
Where: 1470 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Cost: About $10-15ish
More information: http://www.centerstagechicago.com/restaurants/room12.html
The Bongo Room will immediately become your favorite brunch spot. The restaurant has your standard breakfast and lunch foods of eggs and sandwiches, but the pancake and French toast options go far beyond the ordinary. I ate the banana Nestle crunch white chocolate cream pancakes, pictured here after I couldn’t eat another bite. (Half of me wanted to finish the gigantic plate just so the pancakes didn’t win the battle; but the other half of me remembered that I somehow need to fit into the nice dresses I’ve bought recently.) The menu changes seasonally, but in the past I’ve had chocolate tower French toast, white chocolate berry pancakes and white chocolate caramel pretzel-covered pancakes. This place definitely makes you wonder where you draw the line between breakfast and dessert, but it’s completely worth it.
Part 2: Exploring the areas
The T-Shirt Deli
Where: Damen and Milwaukee avenues
Cost: Free for window shopping
The streets around the Damen ‘L’ station are fun and interesting for the explorer inside of you. Milwaukee Avenue is full of kitchy thrift stores, clothing stores you’ve never heard of and nice restaurants. Damen Avenue has higher-end designer stores, as well as chain restaurants like Chipotle and Potbelly.
Unique stores included Grasshopper 510, full of gifts made of recycled items, and the T-Shirt Deli, a store for designing and ordering your own T-shirts in a room that looks like a deli (pictured).
Part 3: Miko’s Italian Ice
Banana with chocolate chips Italian ice at Miko's Italian Ice
Where: 1846 N. Damen Ave.
Cost: $2-5
More information: http://www.mikositalianice.com
Chicago is full of great ice cream, frozen yogurt and gelato, but when it comes to Italian ice, I’ve noticed a significant void. This made me especially pleased to discover Miko’s Italian Ice, a mostly outdoor place to get a great cold treat. Flavors range from lemon to strawberry to kiwi to chocolate, and mixing flavors is encouraged. I had the banana with chocolate chips (yes, it was a day full of bananas for me), which was definitely refreshing. I paid just $2 to get it in the “baby” size, which was just the right amount.
The only thing that would have made it better is if the weather had been a bit hotter — but still, even in a chilly Chicago day in late May, the Italian ice hit the spot after a few hours of exploring.
Part 4: What’s next?
I’ve seen Old Town, Rush Street, the Gold Coast, and now Wicker Park and Bucktown. Where would you like to see me travel next?
