Chicago, IL

cafe • restaurants

Chiya Chai Cafe

Chiya chai is a coffee shop, restaurant, cafe, and more featuring Indian dishes as well as Masala chai tea. This Logan Square staple is great for a quick bite, a coffee or tea, or a full restaurant experience with a dinner menu in the back of the cafe. The chicken masala is incredible, as is the pork vindaloo and Masala fries. As a non-tea or coffee drinker, my personal favorite thing to get is the mango lassi.

Chicago, IL

bar • cafe • restaurants

Reno

Cash only Logan Square pizza, pasta, beer, & bagel joint. Best wood-fired pizza I’ve had in Chicago — get the Spanish Monster or the Fancy Nancy. Or both. Cute retro interior decor with walls filled with VHS tapes, regular tapes, records for sale, neighborhood events posted, etc. Outdoor dog friendly patio when weather is nice as well!

Chicago, IL

restaurants

Mini Mott

Possibly the best burger in Chicago. Mott St is the original restaurant, where the burger is only sold between the hours of 6 & 7 or only available at the bar. Mini Mott is a quick service restaurant where that burger, along with other Mott St favorites, are served all day. Most menu items are American & Korean fusion food. Local beer on offer. Cute indoor space and outdoor sidewalk seating both available.

Chicago, IL

bar • destination

Bar Sótano

The address being “in the alley behind Frontera Grill” should give you a clue as to what kind of place this is. A mezcal inspired upscale cocktail bar, this place has no sign or direction pointing to it — it’s hidden in an alley, through a door you’re let into, and down a flight of stairs into a dark and modern room. You get a free welcome shot on arrival (of which we kept ordering all night, it was so good), expertly shaken cocktails, and fun appetizers to go with them (like grasshoppers).

Chicago, IL

bar

Crown Liquors

Avondale/Logan Square slashie (half liquor store, half bar) with 24 beers on tap and specialty cocktails. The liquor store half of the bar is still a bar in its own right, with quieter music, a single bartender and cashier, board games and old video games. Local beers are sold in the refrigerators that line the walls. The bar half is a darker, slightly louder environment with the full bar menu, eclectic decor, and stage that either operates as extra seating space or a live music venue. There’s an outdoor patio that overlooks the intersection of Milwaukee, Kimball, and Diversey. Wednesday’s are all $4 taps, great happy hours every weekday, events like concerts and trivia often held. And the staff are extremely welcoming and knowledgeable!

Chicago, IL

restaurants

Serai

This restaurant doesn’t look like much from the outside, and the inside isn’t the prettiest place I’ve ever been either, but the food more than makes up for the lack of aesthetic. A Logan Square local Malaysian restaurant, the menu is extensive, unique, local, and undeniably delicious. There are safe and familiar options for those who need that, but for those who want a traditional Malaysian dish opt for the Nasi Lemak. Other dishes we loved are the three chili chicken and the roti.

Chicago, IL

experience • outdoors • shopping

Logan Square Farmers Market

My absolute favorite part about living in Logan Square. Every Sunday from 10-3 (outdoors during the summer, indoors during the winter) the community comes together to buy and sell fresh produce, local food, desserts, handmade soaps, trinkets, and anything else you’d expect from a neighborhood market. There’s always delicious food (made more delicious in the form of free samples), live music and entertainment, and a plethora of dogs roaming the premises.

Chicago, IL

bar

Watershed

A lesser known bar under popular River North’s “Pops For Champagne”, watershed is a plush and low lit cocktail and local beer joint where it’s easy to talk to the company you’re with. It’s focused on the local, with knowledgeable bartenders and an extensive menu of local brews and liquors. It’s also aesthetically pleasing, with eclectic wall decorations, a multitude of couches and comfy seating, and leather touches.

Chicago, IL

experience

The iO Theater

A local and familiar Chicago improv comedy venue. Different shows are always being put on, with free shows on Wednesday nights, but the best that I’ve seen is Improvised Shakespeare — a 90 minute long form improv play performed in Shakespeare style. The title of the play is delivered by audience members, so it changes every time. The most talented thing I’ve ever witnessed.

Chicago, IL

experience

The Neo-Futurists

Eccentric and outlandish performance venue in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. Roll dice to see how much you pay and be immersed in a unique art form and production — 30ish plays in 60ish minutes. Written and performed by local residents, the play changes every week as actors perform the plays shouted out by the audience. From funny to heartwarming to confusing to eye-opening, it’s a show everyone with access should see.