joby wrote:Does Iberico have any really good sweets (nothing really jumped out at me from their online menu)? If not, are there any places nearby that are open later and have good sweets (we are game for anything as long as it has sugar in it and is not terribly expensive!) for after dinner?

I can't recall anything about the dessert offerings from Iberico; probably the closest stop for dessert would be the Ghirardelli ice cream shop near Chicago and Michigan. Getting into heavy tourist territory, but if you want to walk from Iberico, it's about all I can think of.

Strike that, I just remembered reading about another place on Oak Street, but I can't say anything about it except that it's in the neighborhood and they serve gelato.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Inc
118 E Pearson St
Chicago, IL
(312) 337-9330

Sarah's Pastries & Candies
11 E Oak St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 664-6223

It's just "Bari," though your addition of an extra 's is very Chicagoan. (E.g., "I'm going over by the Jewel's for some milk, wanna come wit?")

We also add 's to names here too. Instead of Meijer, we say Meijer's, Marsh's instead of Marsh, etc.

I will officially correct Bari's to the proper name of Bari from now on, Girl Scout promise.

Thanks for the sweet reccomendations, germuska.

Does anyone have any thoughts on "The House of Fine Chocolates"--

(www.houseoffinechocolates.com).

I found it on a website while searching the Belmont/Clark shopping area. It also said there was an Intelligentsia Coffee shop next door.

Would that be a better choice than our original idea of Ann Sather's (on Belmont) rolls to go-- before shopping the Belmont/ Clark area?

joby wrote:Does anyone have any thoughts on "The House of Fine Chocolates"--

(www.houseoffinechocolates.com).

I found it on a website while searching the Belmont/Clark shopping area. It also said there was an Intelligentsia Coffee shop next door.

Would that be a better choice than our original idea of Ann Sather's (on Belmont) rolls to go-- before shopping the Belmont/ Clark area?

House of Fine Chocolates is a bakery. Their cakes are quite good, but they don't have seating.

We wouldn't mind eating on the go. That's what we had planned for Ann Sather's rolls--eat while walking.

Hopefully that's not going to be too hard for us--we will be multitasking!!!
1. eating
2. walking
3. talking
4. gawking
5. shopping


Just wondering if the chocolate place might be anything worth a visit. We seem to go against the grain on LTH--we LIKE Ann Sather's rolls!

You're not alone in liking Ann Sather's cinnamon rolls. My friend brings a couple dozen to the beach during the summer when we're playing all day volleyball tournaments. There is nothing like a gooey, slightly warmed cinnamon roll before or after a vigorous game of volleyball! However, I could never imagine walking, talking, gawking, etc. while eating one of them. I'd be wearing the frosting! That would get in the way of shopping...

I think most LTHers actually like the rolls, they just don't like anything else Ann Sather sells. I'm in that camp.

We've only had the rolls at Ann Sather's. They are a gooey sugary delight to us.

Just wondering if anyone had had anything at "House of Fine Chocolates" and if it was worth a detour.

As for the multitasking--we're girls on a mission, we'll tackle the eats along with the rest of the tasks at hand!

joby wrote:Just wondering if anyone had had anything at "House of Fine Chocolates" and if it was worth a detour.

A couple of us have had their cakes, as seen in this thread and I found their cake to be excellent. Although, I sincerely doubt you're going to walk down the street eating a birthday cake.

Best,
Michael

Michael, I looked at the thread you mentioned and OOOHHHH what lovely cakes.

With cakes like that, we may just buy one and eat it on the go anyway!!!

Their website said they were a bakery, so I'm thinking they must have other goodies besides cakes??

Make sure you read the whole thread, since the HoFC cakes don't start until close to the end.

They do carry many other pastries, chocolates, and truffles. It's worth a stop if you're in the area.

Best,
Michael

I live in this very neighborhood. I've been to both Ann Sather's and House of Fine Chocolates countless times. I agree that the cinnamon rolls is Ann Sather's big draw, but I also enjoy their Swedish pancakes. Not that I think you'll be eating these while shopping either.

There are some things that I enjoy at House of Fine Chocolates and other things that have disappointed me. I like the scones, which they only make on weekends. They also have some good pastries and muffins. I've been disappointed in some of the desserts. I wouldn't say that it's a destination, but it is a nice place to have around.

Other options - check out the new liege waffle place on Clark (posted about on this forum). Truck over to Bittersweet on Belmont, which is more of a complete bakery with an overall higher standard, in my opinion. If it's Saturday within the next couple weeks, there is a wonderful small farmer's market on Broadway, just north of Belmont. They have a bakery stand there with great scones and other things. A more limited selection, but everything is tasty. Best yet, stop at a couple places and share stuff!

Joby -- in that hood is a great independent coffee seller called The Coffee & Tea Exchange. They have a lot of great coffees and teas and the accoutrements to serve them up -- it's not a "coffeehouse" per se; you can't get a latte and a nosh or anything, but if you're looking for some fun coffee or tea to take home...it's a great place. it's on Broadway near Buckingham.

Down the street in the other direction is some of the best coffee in the world -- Intelligentsia. Do Not leave the city without having a cup of Intelligentsia coffee. They support fair trade and are an award winning independent roaster. The coffee is phenomenal. They're also almost right next door to House of Fine Chocolates.

Just a few ideas for that neighborhood.

shannon

are the franchises of Ann Sathers the same as the original? I had a cinnamon roll from an AS in a food court and it was kinda gross. It was a little stale for one thing. And the frosting was more of a clear, somewhat hardened glaze.

earthlydesire wrote:Joby -- in that hood is a great independent coffee seller called The Coffee & Tea Exchange. They have a lot of great coffees and teas and the accoutrements to serve them up -- it's not a "coffeehouse" per se; you can't get a latte and a nosh or anything, but if you're looking for some fun coffee or tea to take home...it's a great place. it's on Broadway near Buckingham.

Umm...I'm almost certain you can get a latte at Coffee & Tea Exchange. I don't go there frequently, but the last time I was there, I had an iced coffee, and I think it's safe to assume that if they do iced coffee, then they do lattes. (During warmer months, they have outdoor seating, but it may be gone by now.)

Thanks all for the suggestions! As much as we like Ann Sather's, I'm wondering if we might enjoy "branching out" a bit.

Actually, the thought has occured to me to try BOTH -- and do a scientific comparison of course!!!!

We will be in the Lakeview neighborhood on a Friday, so it appears the farmer's market is out.

Intelligentsia coffee is something that may interest the girls. I don't even drink coffee, but the girls like the concoction coffees--frappachino and the like.

My daughter just saw the picture of the House of Fine Choc. city scape cake from the cake thread mentioned below--her vote is to go as soon as we arrive in Chicago and get a whole cake and ALSO all of the other days we are in the city! Sounds like a plan to me!

As I mentioned below, we would like to eat on the go before we start shopping in the Lakeview area. We want something a bit different, reasonable in price and good but still something we can't get here at home.

Thanks agaqin for all of the help!

joby wrote: My daughter just saw the picture of the House of Fine Choc. city scape cake from the cake thread mentioned below--her vote is to go as soon as we arrive in Chicago and get a whole cake and ALSO all of the other days we are in the city! Sounds like a plan to me!

Don't get too excited. The cake is good, but I'm not sure if I would build my visit around getting there twice.

joby - Intelligensia is more of a purist coffee place. They have some fancier drinks, but not nearly the variety you find at Starbuck's or Caribou. I totally concur with the others, their coffee is the best of the best.

I live fairly close to the Belmont & Clark area (and have for years), so I'm going to throw in another 2 cents. Yes, there's shopping in the area, but it targets a fairly narrow demographic. This is the area where you'll find goth, fetish, leather, used and whatever modern day grunge clothing is called. It definitely attracts some high school kids, including a lot who are homeless, or just appear to be. (And...a number of the stores that do sell clothing also sell things you might not want your teenager to be looking at...sex toys, some drug paraphanalia, etc.) If your daughter and the other girls like more "girly" clothing, I wouldn't recommend this neighborhood for shopping. Michigan Ave. or the Halsted & Armitage area is a better option.

I took a look at House of Chocolate's website after you posted it. I have to say, their website impresses me a lot more than their sweets and pastries. I love bakeries, but I haven't been to HOCs within the last couple of years. There are a lot of places I prefer. (Disclaimer: I haven't had their cakes.) Bittersweet Bakery is a few blocks from Clark & Belmont, and I think they have much better stuff. Cupcakes, which is within spitting distance of House of Chocolates, has its fans, though I'm not one of them (cupcakes that are too expensive and too dry).

My favorite bakery near Halsted & Armitage is Sweet Mandy B's. It's about 8 blocks from Halsted, but you can work off your pastries while walking to the stores.

I would say no matter what fashion sense the girls have, they'll probably find something they'd like at Ragstock.

OK, we are not into goth, toys, paraphanalia, etc.!! The girls do like vintage clothing (especially older as in 40's-50's dresses/shoes/handbags, gloves, hats) and Goodwill/Salvation Army type stores (for the variety of things one might find).

When we had a transportation snafu this past summer on our Chicago adventure, we ended up riding the #22 Clark bus almost the whole route from south to north. We saw some really large shopping areas along that route that looked fun (not weird/wild). If memory serves me right (and it doesn't always!) it was around the Graceland cemetary area. It looked rather upscale??

Is there a large unique shopping area in that location or am I wrong?

We have the Michigan/State/Oak street areas covered on other days, I think. So, we wanted to branch out to some other unique area to look/shop that is still affordable to buy at.

Suggestions/comments?

Joby, I think you're talking about Andersonville, where Ann Sather's used to be - definitely a less charged atmosphere for walking around and looking at stuff (though the Belmont area has more fun stuff like Army surplus stores, Uncle Fun's etc.) That's around the 5200 block of Clark St.

The 22 Clark bus would take you through the Andersonville area and I think that's what you are talking about. The St. Boniface cemetery is on that route. The Ann Sather in Andersonville is now re-opened so you can get your buns there and shop around. The Village thrift store (at the far southern end by the cemetery) and the Brown Elephant (in the middle of Clark by Balmoral) are fun to shift through. Presence is a lot more higher end but they have some fun and funky clothes to get inspired by. They have a cooking store (The Wooden Spoon), lots of knick-knacky/furniture stores, an antique place, and The Landmark which is 3 floors of different stores. Food wise - you have Ann Sathers, Calo's (which is my fave place for thin crust pizza), Reza's and Andies for Middle Eastern/Persian, a couple of Swedish places for sandwiches (Ericksons Deli, Wickstroms), Huey's Hot Dogs for a Chicago style dog. Also the Middle Easten Grocery store is on Foster and Clark and they have really good, cheap food.

Anyways have a blast! I can't wait to read about your trip!

joby wrote:OK, we are not into goth, toys, paraphanalia, etc.!! The girls do like vintage clothing (especially older as in 40's-50's dresses/shoes/handbags, gloves, hats) and Goodwill/Salvation Army type stores (for the variety of things one might find).

When we had a transportation snafu this past summer on our Chicago adventure, we ended up riding the #22 Clark bus almost the whole route from south to north. We saw some really large shopping areas along that route that looked fun (not weird/wild). If memory serves me right (and it doesn't always!) it was around the Graceland cemetary area. It looked rather upscale??

Is there a large unique shopping area in that location or am I wrong?

We have the Michigan/State/Oak street areas covered on other days, I think. So, we wanted to branch out to some other unique area to look/shop that is still affordable to buy at.

Suggestions/comments?

I'd agree that Andersonville might be more appropriate. It's an interesting combination of Swedish & Middle Eastern restaurants/cafes, plus a good variety of non-chain stores.

If you want to go to a charity resale store, you should consider the Brown Elephant. (http://www.howardbrown.org/hb_brownelephant.asp?id=58) It's affiliated with the local gay & lesbian health center and, at least in my opinion, sells better quality stuff than the local Salvation Army store.

As an Andersonville resident, I definitely think it's a great place to shop and hang out -- aside from the pretty comprehensive listing above, there is also a great card shop, a cool coffee place called Kopi which has a neat little "boutique" in the back with really affordable and cool jewelry and imported knicks and knacks, which would be especially appealing to teenage girls, I think. A little further north there's a chocolate shop called Bon Bon which has great homemade chocolates.

If you ride up and down Clark Street from downtown you will find all sorts of good shopping -- for christmas, that's what i do instead of a mall. I just ride the 22 and get off when I'm near one of my favorite stores or boutiques.

Near Clark and Diversey there is a lot of shopping -- there's a borders and a tj maxx and a cost plus market as well as lots of other little shops and diversions. That might be a stop to get off and wander through on your way up to Andersonville. That's at about 2500 N., i think. Maybe 2700 or so...there are shops all along the sister street of Broadway too -- you might enjoy venturing down there as well.

Joby -- i'm not sure you've mentioned it..but what part of town are you are you staying in?

Mhays wrote:Joby, I think you're talking about Andersonville, where Ann Sather's used to be - definitely a less charged atmosphere for walking around and looking at stuff (though the Belmont area has more fun stuff like Army surplus stores, Uncle Fun's etc.) That's around the 5200 block of Clark St.

If you end up in that neighborhood, the Middle Eastern Bakery might be a fun place to step in for a snack. It's on Foster (5200 N.) between Clark and Ashland. Another nice stop is Kopi Cafe, which is first and foremost a coffee shop with a kind of typical café menu, but which also has a small "traveller's boutique" in the back, with indonesian imports, travel books, and the like. (I see others have mentioned all this while I've been typing!)

You'll also be very close to the Hopleaf, which is a GNR. Yes, it's a bar. I actually haven't been since they've ramped up food service, but I imagine it's suitable for family during the day.

Middle Eatern Bakery & Grocery
1512 W. Foster Ave
773-561-2224

Kopi, a Travelers Cafe
5317 N. Clark St.
773-989-5674

The Hopleaf Bar
5148 N. Clark St.
Chicago
773-334-9851

Last I checked, Hopleaf doesn't open 'til 3 in the afternoon, but for a family in search of mussels and Belgian frites, it can't be beaten.

nr706 wrote:Last I checked, Hopleaf doesn't open 'til 3 in the afternoon, but for a family in search of mussels and Belgian frites, it can't be beaten.

I thought the Hopleaf no longer allowed anyone <21 anywhere inside the building. Has this changed?

This is helping immensely, also jogging my somewhat fragile memory!

When we stopped at Ann Sather's last summer, the branch we stopped at was along the Clark bus route (or very close) and we sat on a bench in front of an antique store that was a few doors down from Ann's and ate our ooey gooey rolls. What location would that be? Andersonville?

If so, then that is near where we saw the areas that we thought we would like to come back and visit and shop.

Left to my own devises, I will have the girls in a leather and bondage shop eating rolls!!!!!

We are looking for non chain shops that are still affordable to buy at. The girls are looking for clothes that they can afford to buy and no one at school will have that same clothing, jewelry...

Also, "Brown Elephant" is on our list. It sounds like a fun place.

IF Andersonville is the area we were originally hoping to shop at, we're still hoping to find that great bakery to eat at.

Thanks for all of the helpful comments and directions!