DIY America #5: Chicago, IL
the diy scene in the windy city. food, coffee, and even a reading list.
DIY America: Chicago IL
By Claire Bentley
Hi friends n strangers!
Find yourself traveling through The Windy City? Good, cuz nothing says the Midwest like the hometown of house music, the working man’s sandwich (Hot Dog vs Italian Beef, you choose), sub-zero temperatures, and a lake seriously worth dying for. Some refer to Chicago as the Second City but it’ll always be first in my heart. Yours too, if you give her a chance.
My name is Claire– I was born and raised on the Northwest side of Chicago in Old Irving Park, attended art school in the Loop and have extensive knowledge of this wonderful tundra/mecca/land-of-the-wild-onion. Chicago has an incredible DIY scene that I’ve been lucky to be a part of and still am, even though I’ve spent the past three years as an expat currently living in New York (I know, it’s almost offensive, am I even still qualified to make this list? but I digress, I know my shit). That being said, I feel quite confident in this hearty list, but I also won’t be offended if any 24/7, 365-day-a-year Chicagoans want to contribute to a Part 2 in the future, especially because I know I couldn’t include everything!
All this being said, Chicago has an incredible DIY scene that I’ve been lucky to be a part of. Plus the arts, music, and culture scenes across the city have wonderful communities and are incredibly tight-knit –there’s so much to see and do! The winters can be brutal, but the summers bring endless beach days, free street fests and cultural events nearly every weekend. Not to mention being surrounded by America’s Dairyland (Wisconsin), America’s Crossroads (Indiana), and good ol’ Pure Michigan, so you’re sure to have a time well-spent, ripe with the best cheese, milk, beer, cheap cigarettes, fresh country air, and lake that feels as big as an ocean. Oh–and don’t forget to try Malort, it’s disgustingly delicious and a rite of passage.
A little history and geography…
Chicago is the third largest city in the US, incredibly diverse though segregated, and geographically split by the North, South and West sides, all full of neighborhoods worth exploring (there’s also an East side but it’s mostly the lake).
Note: the majority of locations listed here are on the North side because Chicago has a long racist history of disproportionate development affecting the South and West sides. So if you’re new to the city, just be aware that there’s a lot of stigma towards these areas as being undesirable, dangerous and not worth visiting. Know that this is not accurate and these areas are full of incredible neighborhoods, cuisines, parks, museums and things to see and do.
Booking Resources:
Marked with an asterisk* are ran by friends or places I can personally vouch for
Adam’s Apple - DM on instagram for inquiry
Archer Ballroom - 3rd floor of Archer Beach House around since the 80s. Super sick dilapidated ballroom vibe, high ceilings, lots of punk shows! Ask A Punk (Bridgeport)
Archer Beach House - The Archer Beach House is a home grown art gallery, dance hall, movie theatre, and so much more. For booking inquiries contact archerbeachhaus@gmail.com (Bridgeport)
Audiotree: Recording studio and incredible local resource for discovering music. Great for musicians on tour who want to get more coverage or record, plus their Audiotree Far Out series is incredible (Wicker Park)
Bricktown: DIY venue with a half pipe inside (Roscoe Village)**
DADS (Digital Art Demo Space) - new media gallery, maker-space, residence, and venue that specializes in showcasing games as art, interactive installations and audiovisual experiences. Email: info@dadschicago.com (Bridgeport)
Dollhouse - DIY collective, DM for inquiries, collabs with Adam’s Apple
Elevator Music - A unique space for artists to showcase their musical talent and style in an unconventional setting, connecting audiences via events and livestream. Contact: info@elevatormusic.live (Douglass Park)**
Evoke - art gallery and production studio dedicated to emerging and mid-career artists Contact: https://www.evokechi.com/services/ (Belmont Cragin)**
Hidden Ideas - Underground music promoter, sound gallery, contemporary art space. Queer, Trans, and BIPOC Centered Events. Booking: hiddenideasbookings@gmail.com
Internet Hotspot - Concerts/live shows in the banquet hall space of Pho Viet. Contact: internet.hotspot@outlook.com (Uptown)**
Lot.49 Chi - DIY venue (Ukrainian Village)
Not-Not Chicago - DIY venue. Fill out form for inquiry (West Humboldt Park)
Red Room - intimate home DIY (Wicker Park)
The Apartment - traveling DIY venue (multiple locations) contact: theapartmentchicago@gmail.com
Venues:
Marked with an asterisk ** are small-sized venues or personal die hard favorites
All venues are small to medium sized [like max capacity 500 but as small as 50-100]
Book Club - started as a DIY, newly a venue!
Bottom Lounge - live music venue for independent and underground bands
Carol’s - country western bar with live music
Cole’s - dive bar with stage in back for bands, comedy, dance parties**
Comfort Station - art gallery and community space** Contact: music@comfortstationlogansquare.org
Fallen Log - venue and event spaced attached to pizza spot Kitchen 17. Contact: booking@thefallenlog.com
Gman Tavern - decades old bar with pool, pinball and live bands
Lincoln Hall - sister music venue to Schubas and the site of my first kiss
Podlasie Club (DJ) - family run Polish club
Schubas - bar and live music venue in an old Schlitz brewery building
Sleeping Village - Spacious, bi-level bar with draft beer & cider plus coffee in the AM, live music in the PM.
Smartbar (DJs) - Chicago’s independent nightclub
Subterranean - two floor venue with bar, DJs and bands
The Empty Bottle - iconic indie music venue and bar with pool table and photobooth and Peg the Cat!**
The Hideout - the coziest Prohibition era bar you ever did see, like being in someone’s treehouse.**
Musicians/Bands:
Accessory - experimental indie/post punk
Andrew Sa - country
Bnny - indie rock/soft rock
Deeper - post punk
Dehd - alt indie rock/post punk
Divino Nino - rock
FACS - art rock
Finom - experimental indie rock
Floatie - math rock/soft indie rock
Free Range - indie twang
Friko - art rock/indie rock
Godly the Ruler - alternative rap/expermiental hip hop
Hazel City - indie
Horsegirl - indie rock
Jamila Woods - soul/RnB
Liam Kazar - alt-country/joyful rock
Lifeguard - post punk
Macie Stewart - mellow indie
Mick Jenkins - rap
Moontype - indie rock/indie folk
National Photo Committee - indie rock
Nico Play - heartfelt indie in english and spanish
Ric Wilson - disco/dancey soul
Saba - rap
Sen Morimoto - jazzy electronica
Sleeper’s Bell - soft indie
Slow Pulp - indie rock
Snuffed - hardcore punk
Squirrel Flower - indie folk
Stuck - post punk/egg punk
Tenci - introspective indie
The Part Timers - rock
The Slaps - indie rock
Tobacco City - cosmic country/psychedelic indie rock
Tommy Goodroad - Midwest country
Ulna - lo-fi/sad indie
For organizers who might be looking to collab with local tastemakers….my DJ recs:
Everyone here is awesome and talented but I noted my favoritesssss (majority house music heads)
CTRLZora**
DJ Spinn**
Inés**
Tommaso**
FOOD+DRINK (A-Z)
Chicago Street Food/Local Eats
Calumet Fisheries - Get your fried catfish fixin’s. This iconic seafood shack serves house-smoked fish, seafood platters and more. Eat outside at picnic table or in your car (South Chicago)
D’Agostino’s Pizza and Pub - Chicago tavern style pizza (Wrigleyville)
D’Amato’s Bakery - Traditional italian bakery for grab n go sandwiches, focaccia, etc (West Loop)
Harold’s Chicken Shack - Fried chicken. It’s a common consensus that any Harold’s Chicken on the North side isn’t as good as the Harold’s locations on the South side, so do what you will with that info. But whichever location you go to make sure you get mild sauce, extra on the side, plus a Kiwi Mystic. (Multiple Locations)
Lao Peng You - fresh dumplings, noodles, traditional Chinese (Ukrainian Village)
Los Comales - my favorite Mexican food spot/the best tacos. I like the location on 18th in Pilsen, but if you don’t make it there any small taco joint will do (Multiple Locations)
Margie’s Candies - the best old fashioned ice cream shop you ever did see (Bucktown)*
Minghin Cuisine - Cantonese/Dim-sum (Chinatown)
Mr. Beef - Your no-frills Italian beef spot. Before it was featured on The Bear, my mom would take me here after picking me up from preschool (River North)
Pequod’s Pizza - Sure, people think deep dish is gross, but maybe they haven’t had Pequod’s. It’s a bit more consumable than a honkin’ piece from Lou Malnatis, plus it’s made AND served in a cast iron pan. (Sheffield Neighbors)**
Phoenix Cafe - Cantonese/Dim-sum (Chinatown)
Red Hot Ranch - your classic hole in the wall hot dog stand (Multiple Locations)
Superdawg Drive-In - if you find yourself on the farrrrrrr north side, iconic hotdog drive thru since 1948 (Norward Park)
The Hat - my favorite late night Chicago food joint, open till 3am, get some mozzarella sticks. Across the street is Hollywood Grill which is a classic fun diner but beware it’s a bit overpriced. (Wicker Park)
Weiner’s Circle - Iconic yet touristy but def worth a visit hot dog stand; come for the food, stay for the attitude (Park West)
Diners
Lou Mitchell’s - iconic diner from 1923 that serves its own donut holes (Downtown/West Loop)
White Palace Grill - classic diner I used to sometimes go to after Maxwell Street Flea Market on Sundays (South Loop)
Valois Restaurant - epic counter service comfort food (Hyde Park)
Meats, Etc
Athenian Room - cozy cash-only Greek food (Oz Park)
Club Lucky - hearty cozy casual white tablecloth Italian food. Alt rec: Lucia’s down the street (Bucktown)
Kabobi - Persian and Middle Eastern grill (East Albany Park)
La Creperie - Affordable no-nonsense French crepes “Oldest creperie in the US” My dad used to take all his dates there (including my mom) (Lakeview)
Manny’s - classic Jewish deli in large cafeteria setting (South Loop)
Pho Viet - the best family owned Vietnamese restaurant (Uptown)
Small Cheval - A dank smashburger (Multiple locations)
Staropolska - Epic Polish food. Get the pickle soup and sip on some Zubrowka (Avondale)
Cafes/Coffee/Breakfast
Doma Cafe - Croatian cafe (Near North Side)
Hexe Coffee - GOTH cafe and roastery that also sells booze, sandwiches etc. Hosts trivia, jazz nights and craft fairs. Take a pitstop to Costco while you’re at it (West Lakeview)
Jackalope Coffee & Tea House - colorful cozy coffee shop (Bridgeport)
Kopi Cafe - cozy bohemian cafe (Andersonville)
Lula Cafe - hip, Michelin-rated cafe where you might see local musicians bussing tables (Logan Square)**
Uncle Mike’s Place - the most epic Filipino breakfast (West Town)
The Brewed Coffee - Horror themed coffee cafe and store <3 (Avondale)
The Wormhole - the most epic 80s themed coffee shop with movie posters and a DeLorean inside, well worth a visit (Wicker Park)**
Bars
Alice’s Lounge - 4am dive bar with karaoke (Avondale)**
Delilah’s - dive bar with upstairs + pool (Wrightwood Neighbors)
Innertown Pub - dive bar with local art/occasional art openings (Wicker Park)**
Rainbo Club - historic dive bar with local art/occasional art openings (Wicker Park)**
Richard’s Bar - skeezy bar with mob/cop ties so you can smoke cigarettes inside. Try a pickled egg if you dare (River West)
Sidekick’s - the most epic hole-in-the-wall-looking, 365-day-a-year karaoke lounge in Chicago, and coincidentally down the street from where I grew up (Old Irving Park)**
Skylark - dive bar (Pilsen)
Sportsman’s Lounge - cozy dive popular amongst industry people, with big backyard, DJs, cocktails (Ukrainian Village)**
The California Clipper - Circa-1937 bar with a revamped yet still retro space & a huge list of old-fashioned cocktails, also hosts DJs and live bands (West Humboldt Park)
The Owl - late night dive bar (Logan Square)
The Green Mill - historic jazz club, speaks for itself. Companion activity rec: watch the 1981 Michael Mann movie Thief ( (Uptown)
PLUS…..
Extra extra, read all about it! My all-time favorite books written by locals and sure to complement your city experience:
For early aughts indie scene lovers…Night Moves by Jessica Hopper
For tried and true house heads...Chicago House Music: Culture & Community by Marguerite L. Harrold
For coming of age devotees….I Sailed With Magellan: Short Stories by Stuart Dybek (read We Didn’t) and The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek (read Pet Milk)
For the inquisitive documentarian….Working by Studs Terkel
For poets (and children): Poems for Children Nowhere Near Old Enough to Vote by Carl Sandburg and the Carl Sandburg Family Trust
Compiled by Claire Bentley
we’re looking for more submissions for our diy america series! if you have a city to send us::::::: thegunkyard@gmail.com.
don’t forget to check out our guest march playlist by our friends at GRID.
xx ceci and hannah
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