Hip to be (Lincoln) Square

I am in love with my neighborhood.

Little did I know what pleasures lied ahead when I left my crime riddled corner of Wicker Park far behind and moved onto a leafy block with pretty gardens, porches that are actually occupied with people in rocking chairs, and streets where “Happy Birthday Daddy” is occasionally scrawled in chalk.

When people from out of town ask me what neighborhood I live in, in Chicago I tell them “Lincoln Square,” pause, and then say, “not Lincoln Park; Lincoln Square.”

While Lincoln Park has attained some vague status with out of towners, most people haven’t heard of Lincoln Square. I usually describe it as an up-and coming neighborhood where the remnant German and Greek corridors intersect at Lincoln and Lawrence Aves… and if you have time to uncover it all, it’s really so much more.

Let me come confess right now, my love of the neighborhood goes beyond the happy families and sunflowers, the Old Town School of Folk Music and the Brown line. For me, it’s all about the food. Yes, (sigh) most things in life for me are all about the food.

Big fat pupusas, coconutty fish heads, spicy, cool ban mi sandwiches, salty feta cheese, garlicky kim chee…good coffee. A good coffee. Mmmmm. You can find many varieties around here, from dark black Lebanese style infused with cardamom, to Vietnamese style luxuriously laced with sweetened condensed milk to organic, to fair-trade café style with a good dose of conscience, and they’re all authentic.

With Lincoln Square as the launching pad to surrounding neighborhoods, I can’t think of another part of Chicago that serves so many different ethnic groups. All that rich diversity makes for some good eating. It kind of reminds me of Jackson Heights in Queens in my hometown of NYC where the busy streets are filled with the wonderful aromas of ethnic food from all over the world.

Unlike most of Chicago, which is dominated by Mexican, Polish, African American and Yuppie culture the northwest side represents so much more. Close the edge of the city, historically low housing prices, and good public transportation have made many of the major avenues into a active immigrant portals.

A walk west from Lincoln Square to Albany Park will reveal Korean, Japanese, Lebanese, Persian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Guatemalan, Greek, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Moroccan, Egyptian, Bulgarian, and Filipino stores, restaurants, and markets surrounded by neat blocks of stocky brick two-flats and rose gardens.

Besides the delicious goodies awaiting the adventurous eater, what makes strolling the neighborhood so pleasurable is the economic vibrancy of Lawrence, Montrose, Kimball, and Lincoln Aves.. and the diversity of businesses still dominated by Moms’ and Pops’… even if they are all speaking different languages.

I recommend a few walks through the neighborhood, each with good places to eat. Go on an empty stomach and bring several canvas bags for your loot.