We’re figuring out that settling in isn’t just a matter of putting things in place. It’s more that you do about 85 percent of all the stuff you want to do, and then you develop whatever blindspots you need to not give a shit about the other 15 percent. That’s where I’m at right now–my mind seems to have grown little mental calluses over things like the sight of extension cords, and blank spots on the wall, and the closet in my home office, which is a crap avalanche waiting to happen. But who cares? I love it here. The days have a whole new shape here.
The neighborhood is weird in a good way. Sometimes it feels like I’ve fallen into some pocket of time filled with sensory details from my childhood neighborhood, with the overgrown, softly crumbling alleys, and the cicadas, and the wide wide front steps of houses, and the little copper stamps in the sidewalks. I mean the side streets are like this; it’s different along Lawrence Avenue. You really can’t trust an Albany Park business unless it has at least nine signs (all in different fonts) (and this doesn’t include the window lettering) neon, and/or a strobe light. The only dollar stores worth going to are the ones you can still see imprinted on your retinas when you close your eyes. It’s awesome.
The only trouble with this place is that there’s no really good bar within staggering distance. Any local readers who live west of Rockwell know of anything? There’s a few places right around Rockwell, but that’s still a pretty long, er, stagger. Which is not to say that we like to drink until we are cartoon characters with hiccups and little bubbles around our heads. Not all the time, at least.
Speaking of old-timey depictions of drunkenness, our friend Phineas has been drawing hoboes and this one is one of my favorites.
Because I am a crafty and internet savvy drinker I know of two ways of homing in on a cocktail from the interweb:
1. Do a
google search using the word “bar” and your city state and zip code and you get a handy map that you can get directions off of to all the most likely spots.
2. Use the Thrifty Hipster which finds you all the bars and drink specials that you could possibly want. Also karaoke.
I use my powers for good.
Oops, I guess the thrifty hipster only works for my town. Apologies.
It sounds like the Montrose Saloon has gotten a lot more hipster-ish since I last went there, something like 5 years ago. Anyone know if that’s true?
Not like “hipster-ish” is always a good thing, but still.
I for one would have investigated this prior to moving in. Now you’ve got a few options. a) move b) open your own bar c) hire a private limo driver to take you to and from the bar
Those blind spots can be tricky. Next thing you know that green glass 70’s hall light has just blended in and sits there for another 10 years!
I’m a local reader! But the only bars I know out that way are pretty divey. St. Pauli Girl bar on Lincoln was a nightmare of scary people doing coke off urinals. Would the Hidden Cove be a long stagger?
It seems like all the bars in the neighborhood are going from dive to hip. I live right next to TarBar, which used to be Leland Tap. What a difference insurance money after a fire can make!
I LOVE St. Pauli Bar, actually, and have celebrated two birthdays there (without coke). But that place and the Hidden Cove are cab rides now, not staggers.
And the fate of the Leland House of Liquors Tap Room is a sad one indeed.
As a resident of Albany park for the last 3 years or so, I can say that I have not found a single bar in staggering distance that I would feel totally comfortable in.
Get used to the 1 AM Brown Line ride of shame. Albany Park has no suitable bars. Otherwise, it’s a perfectly fine place to live.
The Montrose Saloon is my absolute favorite bar. I lived a few blocks from there for years. The regulars are the best if you just start to talk to them. And the bartenders are great nice people. Good jukebox too and the beergarden with the horseshoes. The Montrose is probably what I miss most about Chicago! (not the winters)
Two words about the Montrose Saloon–bluegrass karaoke.
THANK YOU Lauren and Cheryl! You’ve saved Christmas (and us from our sobriety)!
schalom!