Looking for Chicago's best coffee shop? How about the best beer selection, poetry slam, or Asian grocery? Want the best pizza, thrift store or art gallery? Get to the 48th Ward on Chicago's north side, where Alderman Mary Ann Smith presides over a business climate that is quickly revitalizing itself. Kudos to Ald. Smith for her leadership and to the business leaders of Uptown and Edgewater, both of which are parts of th 48th Ward.
Ald. Smith's email blast today gives more info:
Being the best isn't easy, but several 48th Ward businesses have been named "The Best" in their respective categories by The Reader, Time Out Chicago, Chicago Magazine and AOL. Congratulations to these "bests," and our apologies if we missed anyone.
The Reader list includes: Metropolis Coffee Shop (best coffee shop), Moody's Pub (best outdoor seating), Viet Hoa Plaza (best Asian grocery) , Hopleaf (best beer selection), Green Mill (best jazz venue and best poetry slam or open mike), In Fine Spirits (best wine bar), SoFo (best gay bar), Annoyance Theater (best place to see improv/sketch), Susan Messing (best improviser), Gethsemane Garden Center (best garden store), Greener Cleaner (best dry cleaner), Crew Bar & Grill (best place to watch a game on TV), Los Manos (best art gallery), His Stuff (best boutique for men), Brown Elephant (best thrift store), Middle East Bakery and Grocery and The Neo-Futurists (best theater company).
Chicago Magazine cited: Hopleaf, Summer Restaurant, Big Jones, Andersonville Wine and Spirits, Mastern Shoe Repair, Johnny Sprockets, Tanoshii, Pastiscerria Natalina, Paul Shulman Custom Furniture, Anteprima and Green Genes.
Included in AOL's Top 10 lists were: Moody's Pub (hamburger), Hopleaf (best beer), Swedish Bakery (best sweets), M. Henry (best breakfast), Tweet (best brunch), Riques Regional Mexican Food (best cheap eats). Terry's Toffee was also listed under best sweets. Although the store is out of the area, owner Terry Opalek lives in Edgewater.
Time Out Chicago includes Great Lake Pizza, Anteprima and Pastiscerria Natalina among its best lists.
Also, several publications have named "Living 2007", the bricolage on the north wall of Lake Shore Drive's Bryn Mawr underpass, as the best new public art work of 2007. "Growing 2008," a companion mural on the south wall of the underpass, is now being completed.
Although some of the businesses mentioned above are outside the 48th Ward boundaries, we salute them as part of our community.
Best of Chicago? Uptown and Edgewater
Looking for Chicago's best coffee shop? How about the best beer selection, poetry slam, or Asian grocery? Want the best pizza, thrift store or art gallery? Get to the 48th Ward on Chicago's north side, where Alderman Mary Ann Smith presides over a business climate that is quickly revitalizing itself. Kudos to Ald. Smith for her leadership and to the business leaders of Uptown and Edgewater, both of which are parts of th 48th Ward.
Ald. Smith's email blast today gives more info:
Being the best isn't easy, but several 48th Ward businesses have been named "The Best" in their respective categories by The Reader, Time Out Chicago, Chicago Magazine and AOL. Congratulations to these "bests," and our apologies if we missed anyone.
The Reader list includes: Metropolis Coffee Shop (best coffee shop), Moody's Pub (best outdoor seating), Viet Hoa Plaza (best Asian grocery) , Hopleaf (best beer selection), Green Mill (best jazz venue and best poetry slam or open mike), In Fine Spirits (best wine bar), SoFo (best gay bar), Annoyance Theater (best place to see improv/sketch), Susan Messing (best improviser), Gethsemane Garden Center (best garden store), Greener Cleaner (best dry cleaner), Crew Bar & Grill (best place to watch a game on TV), Los Manos (best art gallery), His Stuff (best boutique for men), Brown Elephant (best thrift store), Middle East Bakery and Grocery and The Neo-Futurists (best theater company).
Chicago Magazine cited: Hopleaf, Summer Restaurant, Big Jones, Andersonville Wine and Spirits, Mastern Shoe Repair, Johnny Sprockets, Tanoshii, Pastiscerria Natalina, Paul Shulman Custom Furniture, Anteprima and Green Genes.
Included in AOL's Top 10 lists were: Moody's Pub (hamburger), Hopleaf (best beer), Swedish Bakery (best sweets), M. Henry (best breakfast), Tweet (best brunch), Riques Regional Mexican Food (best cheap eats). Terry's Toffee was also listed under best sweets. Although the store is out of the area, owner Terry Opalek lives in Edgewater.
Time Out Chicago includes Great Lake Pizza, Anteprima and Pastiscerria Natalina among its best lists.
Also, several publications have named "Living 2007", the bricolage on the north wall of Lake Shore Drive's Bryn Mawr underpass, as the best new public art work of 2007. "Growing 2008," a companion mural on the south wall of the underpass, is now being completed.
Although some of the businesses mentioned above are outside the 48th Ward boundaries, we salute them as part of our community.
