We had a very fun experience, Rick is informative and entertaining. The property is such an oasis…read morein the city, the food was amazing and I highly recommend a tour.

Wonderful tour with Rick and his gardener. We had plenty of time to explore and ask questions and…read morethe margaritas were delicious. Highly recommended.

There are plenty of folks who live in Chicago who don't use (or know about) Lower Wacker. It can…read morelook very much like a maze, since it's dark and so any of the buildings look the same when you get to that level. But originally Lower Wacker was conceived so that pleasure drivers could use Upper Wacker, whilst service vehicles, trucks, and the like could use the Lower Wacker portion. Some of the entrances are also pretty discreet. I've passed the entrance (that's not directly off a freeway) more than once because.I mistook where it was. Nowadays, many people use Lower Wacker as an alternative to bypass a good deal of traffic on the surface street, which is why I like to use it now and again. It can be an incredibly handy, time-saving shortcut depending upon where you're going.

Come here to check out the mole people, actually don't. It may have people living down here, but…read morejust stay up on the ground. Lower Wacker Drive is an adventure whether or not you're driving through it. Basically it's like a secret passage, but thousands know it's here. There's been lots of iconic moments. Even if you haven't been here, you've seen it. In several movies it had some important roles. This has been in The Blues Brothers and The Dark Knight, each in chase scenes. It's not just good for the movies. This also serves a practical purpose. It helps alleviate traffic above ground. This road is also unique because it curves from north-south to east-west as it follows the river. For those too scared to drive it, they can get a peek from some of the stairs leading from Upper Wacker Drive. It feels pretty dank in here. There's a lot of homeless camps, because it's warm in winter.

Walking into Smith Park, the only thing that led me away from the assumption that I was crashing a…read morereunion was that I paid $5 admission. Ukrainian Days, in a nutshell, is a giant family picnic in the park. That is if your family is all Ukrainians. I've been to Ukraine a couple of times before. And the country itself is not that friendly to outsiders. Not that the people are especially surly or anything, but the rate of English being spoken - even in the tourist industry - isn't very high (except in Kiev). The closest someone can get to this experience in Chicago, besides going to the consulate downtown, is this festival. The amount of English that I heard in the over an hour I was there could best be described as "a smattering." Even the stage announcements, let alone the acts, were in Ukrainian (completely without English translation) and even the youngest people in the crowd seemed to grasp what was going on. I, however, never quite did. Thankfully, those in the service sector of this mini-economy (just trying to keep the analogy going, I mean the people working the booths) spoke enough English to let me know the borscht was vegetarian. And it was good. And it was a $1. Sadly, the best festival food I've had all summer was a cup of warm borscht (perfect for carrying around the festival). It was just like grandma used to make (even if she was Lithuanian). The food vendors were all spectacular, in fact. Shokolad brought a large menu, including rich deserts, and two other vendors offered authentic Polish and Ukrainian fare (including the ever tempting vereneky). Though sadly, the lines for each of the food vendors were enormous and there's a reason why - there wasn't much else to do. The few merchandise stalls there were seemed to be an afterthought. And the only interesting one I saw was one selling CDs from the old country. You know, to listen to if you get tired of sitting around a picnic table and talking to your closest relatives or listening to live Ukrainian folk music from the festival stage. And Heineken and Miller beers were only $3. At least that makes it better (or more bearable) than an average family reunion.

I think that now that they have decided on a date and have stuck to it, closest to Ukrainian…read moreIndependence Day August 25th, the fair has been a success. Yes, it is a fest catering mainly to the Ukrainian community but all are welcome to attend. After all, the Ukrainians have been in this area for decades and as I recall at West Fest, I don't remember hearing any Ukrainian or Polish or Spanish spoken for those residents that have been a part of West Town for longer than the newly arrived discoverers of this now trendy neighborhood. The people that attend this fest are family yes, but the vast majority of these folks are simply related by common ethnic backgrounds and most likely attend the same church or bar. Americans or anyone else are certainly welcome, your money is green and will be heartily accepted. So, please partake and enjoy the wonderful ethnic dancing, singing and general merriment of the Ukrainian community here in Chicago. And as the other poster noted the $5. admission charge, West Fest charges the same $5 admission fee, what's he squawking about?

Had a blast at Ribfest. I love the spaces to chill and eat. The vendors were revved up and some…read moreeven had their long lines move quickly. The musical act Caught Stealing' and The Whiskey Misfits were awesome. I tried plenty of things but my two favorite vendors were Hell's BBQ and Lexington Betty Smokehouse. Some of the pricing for samplers (3 bones) were high ranging from $12 to $18. Looking forward to next year.

It's called ribfest, but there's stuff besides ribs. Elotes, carnival snacks like deep fried…read moretwinkies, burgers, and so on. This year (2024) they had folks pay at the vendor instead of the ticket system I know they've used in years past. I like that much better; the tickets are too annoying since you have to know exactly how many to buy and even worse might end up with too many. It's usually hot as heck out here so since I had the baby with me we didn't stay. But there are bands, vendors, kids activities... so there's a bit for everyone. It can get far too crowded for me but we stopped by early and it was not very busy yet. The brown line or bus is probably your best bet to get here.

This is one of my favorite summer festival to come and enjoy with my family. Great Food,…read moreEntertainment and Good Vibes. I have been coming here for many years and the vibes have always been good. The food prices are very reasonable. Food & Drinks range from $3.00 to maybe $6.00 if that much. Very inexpensive and budget friendly. This festival is a place for you to try different authentic foods, music and good vibes. You can shop the vendors tents and find some cool things to purchase. There are several stages where you can enjoy a live concert. There is a carnival with a few rides for the kids to stay entertained. I always look forward to coming here year. Taste of Melrose Park is always around the first week in September.

A bunch of us checked out the Taste of Melrose Park during Labor Day weekend. This is a food fest…read morewith free admission. Amazingly every food item was priced at $3 or less. It was fun to try all sorts of tasty foods. Many of them were Italian bites but there were other Mexican-style foods as well. We enjoyed items such as Italian beef, arancini, flat "fried meatball" sandwich, a "salad sandwich" that was quite good because of the fresh bread, cheese fries, cannoli, root beer float, slushie and a lovely serving of sfingi (freshly made "donut holes" made by nuns, how can you top that?). There are fair faves such as promotional freebies, carnival rides, a guy on stilts, and a clown pushing a mini-clown in a stroller (wha wha??). There is some entertainment as well (we heard bagpipers after someone belted out the Star Spangled Banner). This was sort of a folksy food fest, and the price was right. If you are looking for something fun to do next Labor Day weekend in the 'burbs, keep Taste of Melrose Park in mind.

The Legion is a magical place where all your dreams can come true.read more

Great spot for cheap drinks, especially if you are a member, which is required. However, we got a…read more"guest pass" and hung out for a little while among the regulars. Easily the cheapest drinks in the area and some nice friendly folk!

With the number of festivals growing every year - I think the number now stands somewhere around…read more25,000 neighborhood festivals in Chicago alone (that may be slight hyperbole since that averages out to about 40 per neighborhood, but it sure seems that way) - the best that a festival can hope to do is reflect the neighborhood around it. And, maybe I'm just being biased since it's a block north of my apartment, but I think Boulevard Bash might have done that better than any festival in the history of the universe (that might be slight hyperbole since permutation says there have probably been billions of festivals on various planets since the universe began and I haven't attended every one of them, but it sure seems that way). Just a brief bike ride up Milwaukee from the new heart of coolness, Boulevard Bash exploded onto the scene this year with a Chicago band focus headlined by Waco Brothers, Smoking Popes (who were incredible on the one night of the three I went), and some band I've never heard of. But, in the words of Meat Loaf, "two out of three ain't bad." Wait, he's not from Chicago. Let's pretend like someone local covered him. But, well beyond this, on Saturday night, on the "side stage" (which was a bit too close to the main stage and had some sound bleed at the back) there was a mini-festival in the evening devoted to the Polish character of the neighborhood. And people came out for it decked out all in red, waving Polish flags, and rocking out. It wasn't polka bands. It was live, modern music sung by imports and second-generations and people who just wanted to be Polish for the night. And, similarly, the people were the slightly gentrified, rough around the edges, friends and neighbors that make me glad to call Logan Square home. There is a slight problem in all of my over-romanticizing of the festival as some sort of local showcase. There were very few vendors at all and only one or two of them were local restaurants. With the huge amount of hip places and old stand-bys in the L7, they could have probably found any number willing to sling their foods and drinks. Also, the sponsor was Dos Equis. With Revolution Brewery right down the street they missed an opportunity of a local brewery sponsorship. Not that I minded seeing cutouts of the World's Most Interesting Man (a well-created master of hyperbole himself) all around or cute college-aged girls in safari gear running games (although this did clog the middle of the festival). Maybe next year, this will be the best festival in Chicago and they can extend it down Sacramento right to my doorstep (how much more local can you get than that?). After all, I've been to so many street fairs that I no longer go to festivals, festivals come to me. And, well, that's less hyperbole than most of the things I've said. Or is it?

My family loves driving through this neighborhood to see both the uniqueness of each home's…read moredecorations as well as the design and style of the exterior of the house itself. We even saw some Hanukkah decorations, so cool!

A little off season now, I know - I had been wanting to finish this review during the holidays but…read moregot a little bit busy. So here it is, if you're wanting the experience of enjoying Christmas lights, at a really slow pace while you're in the comfort of your car - come here and drive around the Lincolnwood Towers Subdivision (still thinking of Rush). But of course, come in the evening to get the full effect. I promise you that it'll become tradition, especially if you have little kids or even big kids. They in turn, will eventually take their kids. It only takes about 20 minutes, at the most. I've actually picked up folks at O'Hare from outta the country and have taken them directly here for a quick tour - before going home. They were amazed!! The decorations and displays are over the top and my favorite of all time...drum roll please...is the house with the Christmas tree seemingly protruding through the roof. How clever!! Ahem, these are our Lincolnwood neighbors sacrificing their privacy and convenience, so please be courteous to those driving their Range Rovers and G Wagons. Pretentiousness aside, this is a really nice neighborhood that puts on a great display of the Christmas spirit and therefore, a big thank you to these folks!!