Rediscover River North
In the heart of Chicago, River North is always in bloom with its modern residential high rises, magnificent mix of coffee houses, riveting cui- sines, and captivating night life scene. Here are some hot spots that have made their mark on the neighborhood—and left their mark on us.
WHERE TO EAT Ciccio Mio (226 West Kinzie Street) is the latest restaurant from Au Cheval’s culinary darling Brendan Sodiko . Menu highlights include rolled and sliced lasagna bolognese and a signature Amaro shaved ice. Legendary local restaurant family Carrie and Michael Nahabedian are back with a new restaurant after closing their agship Naha in 2018. Kostali (521 North Rush Street) o ers the family’s take
on coastal Mediterranean food with an avant-garde twist. And nally,Tzuco (720 North State Street) is Carlos Gaytán’s new restaurant that o ers amped-up dishes with Mexican avors, and has an attached bakery named Panango that is now open too. A 12-seat tasting-menu spot is com- ing soon! Located at Chicago, IL 60654.
WHERE TO SIP Dollop Co ee Co (643 North Wells Street) is a cozy outpost serving specialty co ees and teas, house made bites, local baked goods and cocktails. If you’re bike-laden, Heritage Outpost (676 North LaSalle Drive) is a small modern cafe serving bespoke espresso drinks
alongside baked goods and custom-built bikes. If you are a smoothie person, RealGood River North (701 North Wells Street) uses organic and locally sourced ingredients from everything from smoothies to sweet options like Noyo Froyo and Juicy Pops.
W H E R E T O S H O P After-Words Bookstore (23 East Illinois Street) is an independent bookstore o ering a wide selection of new and used titles in vast, industrial-chic digs. The sophisticated boutique, Elements (706 North Wells Street), is known for unique home-decor pieces, plus tabletop and bath accessories. Woman-owned gallery and shop, Pistachios (55 East Grand Avenue), features contemporary handcrafted jewelry, art glass, and wearable bers of silk, wool, and velvet.
W H E R E T O P L A Y Bounce Sporting Club (324 West Chicago Avenue) is a grown-up sports club with creative bar food and steaks, craft cocktails, games on TV and DJ tunes. Bridging the gap between boxing and tness, Shadowbox (667 North Wells Street) is an NYC-based boxing studio that just landed a punch in the Windy City. Spin Chicago (344 North State Street), is an energetic, sprawling hangout featuring lots of ping-pong tables, plus global food, cocktails, and DJs.
W H E R E T O S E E A R T Addington Gallery (704 North Wells Street) specializes in contempo- rary mixed-media pieces and paintings made with hot wax. The longtime neighborhood dealer,Carl Hammer Gallery (740 North Wells Street) represents contemporary self-taught and outsider artists from Europe and America. ZG Gallery (300 West Superior Street) focuses on contemporary art in all types of media, including painting, drawing and sculpture.