Evan Breslow

Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

July – August 2021 · June 2025

Fifteen nights on the northwest side, dog- and apartment-sitting, which made it less a trip than a temporary residency — the same few streets most days, a bike to get anywhere, and somewhere to come back to rather than a hotel. Almost nothing was booked ahead: one tasting-menu reservation made partway through, a museum ticket bought the morning of, and a gig picked up the week it happened. Logan Square and Avondale got far more of the fortnight than the Loop did.

  1. The Chicago skyline standing on the horizon beyond low rooftops and treetops, its two tallest towers at either end of the cluster under a clear blue sky
    Downtown from the rooftops, a couple of miles off
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  2. The mirrored steel Cloud Gate sculpture on a plaza, its curved surface reflecting a stretched skyline and the people beneath it, with towers and heavy grey cloud behind
    Cloud Gate, holding the whole skyline at once
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  3. Looking up the Chicago River from water level at the two round corncob towers of Marina City, with a bridge crossing ahead and the sun flaring over the buildings to the left
    Marina City from the river, sun over the far bank
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  4. The red Wrigley Field marquee reading Home of the Chicago Cubs above a board announcing Pirates vs Cubs at 1:20 pm, with crowds filling the sidewalk under the ballpark's green facade
    Wrigley on a game day, Pirates in town
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  5. A festival crowd filling a park at dusk in front of a large stage, the band small under the lights and a guitarist shown huge on the screens to either side, glass towers rising behind
    Lollapalooza at dusk, the towers right behind the stage
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Activities

  • Cubs game at Wrigley FieldRode the Divvy bike up and back on a Saturday afternoon, which beat the Red Line both ways.June 2025
  • Griffin Museum of Science and IndustryA full day, and a long way south of the north-side neighbourhoods — worth driving to rather than working out the trains.June 2025
  • Sleeping Village, AvondaleA neighbourhood bar with a real venue behind it. Caught Daisychain's album release show on a Friday night.June 2025

Food & Drink

  • Lula CafeThe Logan Square institution, and the one that most made the neighbourhood feel like somewhere to live rather than visit.June 2025
  • VoidAte here with friends on their recommendation, and it was very good.June 2025
  • Loaf LoungeStopped by here at the end of a run, and was blown away.June 2025
  • The AviaryThe Alinea Group's cocktail bar. Did the cocktail tasting menu, which was a full 5 cocktails.June 2025
  • Best IntentionsThe late one, and a proper neighborhood bar rather than a destination.June 2025
  • Central ParkA fun neighborhood bar with great outdoor vibes when the weather's right.June 2025