Half Acre...Or Always A Good Idea

I think that the best way to spend a Sunday is in the following way:

1. Wake up (I suppose this should just be assumed...however you know what they say about that right?). But the great thing about Sunday is that you get to wake up late! 
2. Put on the most comfortable clothes that one owns. In my case this would be a pair of sweat pants with holes and paint all over them. But since I do have some amount of pride, I don't wear them out of the house. So I guess put on the second most comfortable clothes that you own. 
3. Go eat Brunch. Sunday is all about the 'Brunch'. Now I usually think that brunch is bullshit. I love breakfast AND I love lunch and don't want to be shortchanged. But due to #1 on the list, I am part of the brunch crowd on Sunday's. 
4. Go back home and read or watch TV or clean or go shopping or go to a movie. Really the world is your oyster! Go crazy do all of the above!  
5. Now...go get a beer. Seriously...do it. There is something so great about day drinking on a Sunday. Forget about the trepidation of work on Monday and just make the day an absolute non-productive, relaxing day 

My favorite bit of Chicago has always been Lincoln Square. I like to think this is because it was the first neighborhood I lived in when I moved here in 2006. It just feels like home. The neighborhood has had most everything I have needed while living here (I still call it home after all these years). I have the local movie theater, the great sausage shop, great restaurants and some passable bars.

Lincoln Square is not what I could call a hip neighborhood. There are more strollers than there are fixed gear bikes, there are more sports bars than there are dive bars, and though there are some great restaurants, none of them are DESTINATIONS. All of this changed last year. The Half Acre Brewery has been in Lincoln Square for a number of years. It has always produced a great craft beer and it was great to go there and get a growler to take along for the road. But you really had to know what you wanted when you went in and commit to it. Which meant I didn't go a lot (it is hard for me to make a 64oz. commitment).

(That is the Space IPA on the left and the Pony Pilsner on the right)

 

Now that the tap room as opened, well it is a game changer. Not just because I can now say I have tried most of the beers that are produced next door, but LINCOLN SQUARE has a hip hang out! Seriously I walked in yesterday and felt like I was in Logan Square! The beers are fairly cheap ($5 a pint, and $2-3 for 5oz. testers), the music is good, and the crowd is friendly. I am fairly certain that my favorite beer is the SPACE IPA. SOOOOOO good!

Oh man...Sunday's you just got so much better.

The Wild Onion

 (View from an apartment roof-top at a party. This city I tell you)

They say that after 10 years you can consider yourself  FROM a city. I am not sure who says this and I am not sure why it is only after 10 years. But that is what THEY say. So I am going to go with it. I have lived in Chicago for nearly 7 years, so to say that I am from here I guess would be lie. But despite my lack of years in the city it is my home. 

Chicago is a city that is rich with history, tradition, and pride. We have an iconic skyline, nicknames a plenty and nearly three million people in our city limits. According to Wikipedia (the all knowing being that it is...but I still miss Encyclopedia Britannica) nearly 45.6 folks visit our fair city yearly. So what do they do? 

I often get this question from my friends and family that visit. When I come to Chicago what should I do? Where should I eat? Where should I stay (though lets be honest that is usually on my couch)? Where should I go and grab a drink? I would like to think that I am a gracious host that always shows people a good time (but in a non-call-girl way I assure you), but the truth of the matter is I don't know the 'cool' things to do here. After 7 years I can tell you that the best beer selection in the city is at the Hop Leaf and that the best Mexican food is at Huaraches Dona Chio and the best cocktail is at a little place called Joie De Vine. But I feel like I to am a visitor to my adopted city. Maybe this is why it takes 10 years to be FROM here. 

So I have decided to get to know my city. I want to know where the history is and where the people are. There are 77 community areas in Chicago. From as far North as Rogers Park to far as far South as Hegewish and West to Garfield Ridge. I am a woman on a mission. So please join me. Lets find out what makes Chicago...well Chicago.