Our family likes to explore the city of neighborhoods, starting with our own. Edgebrook is a beautiful tree-lined community on the Northwest Side, and ideal for a morning bike ride with the family, followed by a home-style breakfast at Barbara’s Kitchen, 5414 W. Devon Ave. (773-631-1311). Then stop by one of the finest satellite libraries in the Chicago Public Library system at 5426 W. Devon and browse its excellent array of children’s books.
AFTERNOON
While motoring to the Lincoln Park Zoo or North Avenue beach, the kids indulge dad with a pit stop at one of the finest independent record stores in the land: Reckless Records, 3157 N. Broadway (773-404-5080), where folks who still prize their turntables can stock up on underground singles and LPs. Or, take the roundabout route to the lakefront and check out the shops in Wicker Park, where Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave. (773-342-0910), is a must-stop with its comprehensive collection of homemade fanzines from around the country. Treat the kids to lunch at Bite, 1039 N. Western Ave. (773-395-2483) — inexpensive and low-key, in part because the neighborhood doesn’t really light up until the Empty Bottle next door starts hosting rock and avant-garde jazz bands later in the evening.
EVENING
Our family loves to stop by our old neighborhood haunts in Old Town on the way back to the Northwest Side. Mom and dad can enjoy a beer and the kids a cheeseburger at Marge’s, a classic Chicago-style corner tap, 1758 N. Sedgwick (312-787-3900). And even non-Catholics will be dazzled by the magnificent interior of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 1633 N. Cleveland Ave.
