We all know those places, ones that have such a hassle factor that they make you wonder why you bother. They may take forever to get to, are a pain to park at or just a plain bother. But bother you do, because they’re worth it.
Friday knows how you feel. As if you didn’t have enough bothers, we decided to span the Chicago area, bringing you even more places that are a hassle to access, but are oh-so-worth the trip. From Utica to Beverly, River Grove to Schaumburg, we sampled a cornucopia of high-maintenance spots that reward the patient.
So let’s get started, and remember: The first one to ask “Are we there yet?” gets put out of the car.
— Kevin Williams
Movie magic
What the heck were the people at Facets Multimedia (1517 W. Fullerton Ave.; 773-281-9075) thinking? Sure, there was a time when it was easy to deal with, but no more. In addition to the traffic jam that you will encounter whether you come from east or west (blame that stop sign at Southport Avenue), there isn’t any parking. (At least not much — the north side of Fullerton Avenue usually has a spot or two, right by the Walgreens.) But you have to go because the 30-year-oldFacets specializes in the celebration of film. From Alfred Hitchcock to a festival celebrating Hawaiian directors with Tourette’s syndrome (not yet . . . but we wouldn’t be surprised), Facets’ devotion to film, whether at the Cinematheque theater or the video rental side of things, is comprehensive.
Facets, with more than 60,000 titles for sale or rent, will have something you need that nobody else has. Want to rent Kihachi Okamoto’s brilliant 1965 film “Samurai Rebellion”? Called all over the city? You haven’t called Facets, which has multiple copies, ye of so little faith.
— K.W.
Hi, neighbor
You surrender a few expectations when you dine at Avec (615 W. Randolph St.; 312-377-2002), a narrow little wine bar. Expectations of privacy, for one thing; seating is communal at five eight-person tables, so you’re virtually guaranteed of bumping elbows with strangers. Abandon, too, all notions of eating on time; Avec does not accept reservations, so there is no time. If you’re in a hurry, arrive early (the kitchen opens at 3:30 p.m. daily). Arrive at 8 p.m. and you’ll likely huddle, drinkless, by the front windows along with the other traditional thinkers. And backless seating will raise comfort issues for many.
So why put up with, or adapt to, the oddities? You do it for Koren Grieveson’s masterly Mediterranean cuisine, highlighted by her assertively flavored salumi, crispy-crust pissaladiere (think Provencal pizza) and bourride, an earthy fish soup. So give in to Avec’s peculiar rhythms, enjoy the food with a carafina (one-third bottle) of wine–and bring your own bolster.
— Phil Vettel
So close, yet so far
We like Evanston, but believe that it would be a lot cooler were it more convenient. People who live in Evanston, Kenilworth or Wilmette get it, because they’re right there. For anyone else, it’s a bother, because there is no real direct route there. You either take Dempster Street and head east until you hit water, or follow Lake Shore Drive to its end, then battle Sheridan Road through Edgewater and Rogers Park. Evanston is booming, and everybody knows how cool this vibrant, diverse town is. So suck it up. Besides, here are two things that make Evanston worth the bother:
Bookman’s Alley (1712 Sherman Ave.; 847-869-6999) has been nestled in the alley behind Sherman Avenue for 24 years. It has spent that time well, becoming one of the coolest stores in existence. Where else are you going to find a Collier’s from March 25, 1916, or “Financial Administration Under the T’Ang Dynasty”? It’s all warm, wood floors; easy chairs and reading lamps. Each section is thematically decorated–the Western section is identified by the cow skull hanging from the shelves; the military portion features vintage uniforms and signage. There are volumes by and about Cocteau and Yeats, signed editions, throw rugs to muffle your footfall as you stagger about in amazement, gawking at this shrine to the printed word. From Terkel to de Tocqueville, if you need it, it’s almost certainly in some little cranny of Bookman’s Alley. Regulars find it funny that this spot is a block away from a Barnes & Noble. So do we.
Marlys Chocolates has been making knees weak at 527 Davis St. (847-328-3333) for two years now. When you walk in, someone asks “Can I help you?” What they mean is, like the drug dealers of old, “First one’s free, sucka!” You’ll get a little cup, with a tasting spoon that is slathered with warm, melted chocolate. Have a taste. A yea or nay gives your assistant some idea of what you might like to select from the dizzying array of truffles (made on site), and imported delicacies. The store is beautiful, the boxes are beautiful, the chocolates are beautiful.
Even the otherwise ugly credit card receipt is warmed in the glow of cocoa. You can also take a load off, while simultaneously putting one on your hips, at Marlys’ un petit cafe.
— K.W.
Turn left at Honolulu . . .
The question is, at what point does adherence to a theme become fanaticism? Ask yourself that while sipping one of the more than 85 different drinks available at Hala Kahiki (2834 River Rd., River Grove; 708-456-3222), tiki bar extraordinaire. Doubt us if you wish, as you witness its low-slung ordinariness outside. Sure, there’s the pineapple on the door, and the tiki masks, but trust us . . . you aren’t ready for what’s inside.
The walls are covered with straw matting, the room festooned with bamboo accents and palm fronds. Hala Kahiki boasts a working fountain, right near where Alfred Apaka and Don Ho share jukebox space with Sinatra and Madonna.
Be sure to hit the attached Hawaiian Shop, too.
Run by the Sacharski family for 37 years at the same location, Hala Kahiki has been expanding and thriving. Yes, touches like those hula girl lamps behind the bar ($175 in the shop) are a little cheesy, but HK’s sincerity and purity of purpose overwhelms all cavils, with a mood much like being in your good-natured friend’s rec room–only he’s got this thing for the islands.
There’s parking in the back, and as the menu says, “The Hala Kahiki . . . hoped you enjoyed your excursion into the tropical islands.” Indeed. You will feel guilty for not having worn a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops. We did.
— Kevin Williams
A show that’s easy to miss
Just off 75th Street, on South Chicago Avenue, the modest-looking eta Creative Arts Foundation (7558 S. South Chicago Ave.; 773-752-3955) can be missed on first approach if you don’t notice the mini-traffic jam in front of its entrance.
The defiantly lower-case eta (et-tah, or “head” in the language of the Ewe people of Ghana, West Africa) is a classic example of a multiuse facility, including an African-American theater and gallery space and gift shop, that is pure, drab Nixon Era in its architectural particulars. Yet the place has a charm that transcends its own building.
The eta shows vary wildly in quality, but at its best the theater emits a spirit you don’t get at most other theaters in Chicago. So what if a post-show discussion often erupts mid-show: These audiences engage with what they’re seeing. You want stony silence, hie thee uptown.
— Michael Phillips
Where eagles fly
We can’t help it. Are we there yet? You are on Interstate Highway 80 for what seems like forever, past mile after mile of scenery that makes you think you’re driving on a treadmill, until . . . Utica! Starved Rock State Park (815-667-4726) is marked with abundant signage, making it impossible to miss. And you need to visit this beautiful place that will shock the heck out of city slickers.
The thing you absolutely must do, before anything else, is take the little hike (15 minutes my eye . . . ) up to the highest point in the park. See that island out there? Who says Illinois isn’t beautiful and awe-inspiring? Not us, not anymore. Cardinals (who knew there were hardy, winter-thriving variants) flit about as chubby, russet-furred squirrels scurry along fences. Hit the observtion point and look! Eagles! Unlike those of us bereft of choice, bald eagles (yes, the bird on the money) actually choose to winter in Illinois. Watch their unmistakable, stiff-winged flight, and the trip will be worth it. In the wintertime, you can cross-country ski to the ice falls in the park, or just shuffle or hike until you’re exhausted.
Just in time for lunch in the lovely Lodge. How convenient.
— K.W.
Lids R Us
Got $400? Great. Graham Thompson at Optimo Hats (10215 S. Western Ave.; 773-238-2999) can make you a hat that will be perfect for your head, which will be a size or two larger, swollen from the frustration of navigating Western Avenue in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, to get to this mecca for stylish men. You say you have an anvil-shaped head? No problem. Thompson uses specially blended fur, ribbon from France and real gold stampings to make perfection for your dome.
It all began with Johnny Tyus, who taught Thompson to block hats. From there, it was apprenticeships and more learning, until he purchased the spot on Western Avenue.
Optimo doesn’t advertise, nor do they have sales. They keep hats on the rack for those who don’t want to wait four to six weeks. But the shop itself is beautiful, with vintage display cases, more modern ones worn to a vintage-like patina, and a workshop/sales area filled with hatmaking accoutrements.
Thompson showed us a $4,000 straw Panama that was so fine, it was like silk. “Life’s better with a great hat,” says the Optimo slogan, and we won’t argue with that one. You just have to get there.
— K.W.
A Southern jewel
South Shore Cultural Center (7059 S. South Shore Drive; 773-747-2536). It may not be on every Chicagoan’s radar, but this jewel of the South Side ought to be. Nestled between South Shore Drive and the lake, the sprawling edifice looks from afar like some aristocrat’s mansion from a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In fact, it’s the former South Shore Country Club, transformed into a public-use cultural center in 1973. Ever since, the historic, multiwinged building has been a focal point for jazz and blues concerts, art exhibitions, dance lessons, young people’s workshops and what-not.
When multiple events are underway, the place hums with energy and excitement, as visitors roam from one room–and one activity–to another. The concerts in the Paul Robeson Theater, the African-inspired art that graces the walls and the sense of community that defines the place have to be experienced to be fully understood. In summer, when concerts take place just outside the building, the view of the lake, the city’s skyline and the cultural center itself are indelibly appealing and ought to be seen by anyone who calls Chicago home.
— Howard Reich
Scandinavian bliss
The location scout for IKEA (1800 E. McConnor Pkwy., Schaumburg; 847-969-9700) was a fiend. If you are one of those “We don’ need no stinkin’ map, it’s right there” folks, you’ll drive up and down Illinois Highway 53 like the Flying Dutchman of seafaring legend, never to arrive. See, IKEA isn’t really right off the highway, though you might think it is, because you can see it. It’s right there. Only it isn’t.
Exit Interstate Highway 90 at Illinois 53, go west on Golf Road, then north on McConnor Parkway. People come from near and far to visit this suburban Shangri-La, the inexpensive (cheap is such an ugly word) furniture heaven.
You’ll see college students, couples with male eyes rolled heavenward and denizens of posher ZIP codes, all hunting for that knickknack, or loading up on the store’s fabulous, bargain-priced bath sheets. This is the motherlode, where you can furnish an entire house, right down to the light bulbs in the sleek, Scandinavian-styled lamps. You can have cinnamon rolls and other snacks, or while away the whole day, looking at the astounding array of drawers, cabinets, bookcases and generally cool stuff that IKEA has to offer. Yes, it’s worth the trip and, no, it’s not an easy one.
— K.W.
Worth the flap
Walker Bros. (153 Green Bay Rd., Wilmette; 847-251-6000) is breakfast heaven, a place that we would just camp out in front of, or actually try to live in. There are a four Walker Bros. restaurants, but there’s a very valid reason that the Saturday and Sunday morning lines (no reservations, ducky) verge on the interminable–the food at this location is fantastic. We don’t know why it’s better than the Highland Park Walker Bros., for example, but it is.
It begins with fresh ingredients, and continues through a preparation process that doesn’t really give a hoot about any dietary resolutions you might have made. There’s butter in them thar flapjacks–heck, there’s probably butter in the orange juice. The omelets are light and fluffy, the golden brown pancakes are downsized, so you get eight of them, instead of two or three big’uns.
There is no easy way to get there unless you live in the area. From the Edens Expressway, exit at Lake Street, and go east until forever. Oh, and we can guarantee that there will be howling kids, as this is quite the hot spot for families. A mouthful of flapjack will make that all go away.
— K.W.
