It takes a strong constitution to negotiate Archer Avenue on a bicycle; some stretches between California and Cicero require a rider to put the fear of death out of his head. But it's worth the trip west, young man, for the literal smörgåsbord of Polish restaurants, meat markets, and European delicatessens you'll come across. One that we're ashamed to have never visited until this weekend is Racine Bakery. This Garfield Ridge institution has been in business since 1984, eighteen of them in its current location at 6216 S. Archer. For émigrés from Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and other areas of central and eastern Europe, a visit to Racine Bakery can ease the transition to their new lives in America by giving them a taste of home. more ›

During Kumail Nanjiani’s (all-too-short) set Friday night at the Vic, the comedian had a couple of woo-ers. Not suitors, per se, but people doing shout-outs to basically anything he mentioned. The most notable “Woo!” came when he started a joke about waiting for the train, which caused him to reflect that he’d never heard anyone give interjectoral props to the CTA in his life. After incidents like last Tuesday’s hour-long shutdown on the Green Line and Saturday’s cluster on the Red, our understanding of Kumail’s statement has increased tenfold. more ›

There's a stretch of freight train track and pothole-marked road that runs parallel to 41st Street that makes a great shortcut to the southwest side via bicycle, particularly on days where we don't want to fight the congestion of Archer Avenue. A service road at 41st and Ashland allows freight rail employees easy access to the rails. It also dumps us off at the Ashland Avenue Swap-O-Rama. If you've never been to the Swap-O-Rama, you don't know what you're missing. What we were missing was Kiki D's Carnitas, located across the street. After the meal we had this weekend, we wished we'd kept missing it. The sign that once announced its presence is long gone, but the steady foot traffic from Swap-O-Rama customers keeps Kiki D's from totally fading in the background. Service is no-nonsense: walk in, take a number, give your order, follow the line to the check-out counter and avoid the kids hopped up on Mexican soda scurrying around your feet in the process. Meats and homemade pork rinds fill display booths, whetting an appetite that doesn't know what this place has in store. more ›

It’s the beginning of the year, and that means it’s time for architectural institution Preservation Chicago to unveil its picks of the seven most endangered buildings in the city, colloquially known as the Chicago 7. We’re always interested to see what buildings, structures or districts the little-organization-that-could deems worthy of its annual list. The finalists: North Avenue Bridge. We mistakenly believed this was the bridge someone asked Chicagoist about last week, but 'tis not the... more ›

If you know where to look, you can find scores of bakeries throughout the city that still bake their goods in the traditional Eastern European manner: full of buttery and sugary goodness. Since this is "South Side Cheap Eats", however, you can talk up the praises of the bakeries in K-Town and Milwaukee Avenue on your own time. more ›

If one had to determine the dominant cuisine in Chicago's restaurant industry, one could probably toss a coin between Italian and Mexican, and still not have a definitive answer. Both styles are ubiquitous, vary from four-star fine dining to takeout, and are sources of heated debate among gourmands. more ›

After a two week hiatus, which probably lowered our cholesterol levels by at least eighty points, Chicagoist’s “South Side Cheap Eats” series returns with a visit to one hidden gem of a diner in Brighton Park, on the city’s Southwest Side. We stumbled upon the Golden Heart Snack Shop and Restaurant some weeks back, while taking photographs along Archer Avenue. With its malfunctioning neon marquee, it looked like the kind of place where ward business... more ›

When Chicagoist started its "South Side Cheap Eats" series, we did so in order to shine a light on the untold culinary landscape of our side of the city. The stories we tell should be treated as cautionary tales, like the "war wound" stories of your flighty uncle. This is one of those times. more ›

We have two weeks before summer officially begins and- if this recent run of hot, muggy weather is any indication- we’re in for one uncomfortable season. The Mister Softee trucks have been doing great business this week on our block, but Chicagoist is sometimes a bit too self-conscious to run after the dulcet chimes of the ice cream man with his good lemonade, Dixie Cups, all flavors and Push-ups, too. Instead, we head west down Archer Avenue to Lindy’s Chili/Gertie’s Ice Cream. more ›