Chicago only gets so many warm and sunny days each year, so we want to make the most out of the ones we get. On a recent perfect summer day, we biked up to Andersonville to have lunch and explore the neighborhood.
I don’t think I have written about this yet, but I am a big fan of Divvy bikes* (bikes you can rent at stations all over Chicago), and Charles had the idea that we would bike along the lakefront to Andersonville.
Many people are surprised to learn that Chicago has 26 miles of public beaches, and a Lakefront Trail that runs for 18 miles alongside the lake. We grabbed bikes on North Avenue in Old Town, hopped on the Lakefront Trail, and biked about 6 miles to Andersonville. We could have taken the train, but biking was a fun way to see the city and enjoy the weather.
Once in Andersonville, we dropped off our Divvy bikes and walked over to Clark Street, passing some gorgeous homes on the way. I would move to Andersonville in a heartbeat, but my husband isn’t quite so convinced.
We couldn’t walk past the T Shirt Deli without stopping in, and I walked out with a fun custom made tee. The concept of the shop is simple, they have several different shirt styles in all different sizes and colors. Once you pick a shirt, you can browse through books of decals and have a custom shirt made. I got a simple grey v-neck tee (it’s super soft) with a blue anchor on it.
Then we grabbed lunch at Lady Gregory’s, a fun Irish pub that just announced that they are opening a location in Old Town. While the Chicken and Black Bean Tostada doesn’t look too pretty in this photo, it was delicious. It had plenty of black beans, shredded chicken, salsa, pico de gallo, and crema on fried tortillas topped with two over easy eggs topped with avocado. I can’t wait for Lady Gregory’s to open on Well’s Street in Old Town – I think it will become the best restaurant in the neighborhood.
Next we grabbed coffee The Coffee Studio, a sweet little independently owned coffee shop. One of the reasons why I love Andersonville is that they don’t have many of the big box stores. The streets are filled with locally owned restaurants and boutiques, and I would much rater support local businesses.
Then we browsed at some of Andersonville’s many antiques shops. We particularly loved Roost, Andersonville Antiques, and Brimfield – which is pictured above and specializes in items that look like they were stolen from a Wes Anderson movie set.
I also love the Andersonville Galleria. It’s a store/gallery filled with stalls featuring the work of different local artists and makers.
Charles and I had so much fun exploring Andersonville. By biking instead of taking the train we combined working out with spending time together. We fun we plan to bike up to Andersonville again. The neighborhood has so much to explore, and the bike ride there is so beautiful you don’t even mind the 6 mile ride.
Have you been to Andersonville? We would love to hear your recommendations in the comments.
*Pro tip – if you are a fan of Divvy, be sure to download the Divvy & Conquer app it maps out all of the Divvy stations and tells you how many bikes and empty slots are at each. And I should mention that you can only take Divvy bikes for 30 minutes at a time or you are charged an extra fee – but you can get around this by checking your bike in at a station and checking it out again.
This post isn’t sponsored.