We just heard a car ran into the side of the Bucktown/Wicker Park branch of the Chicago Public Library. We're still waiting to hear what caused the crash, but we can confirm that no one was hurt and no copies of any Oprah's Book Club selections were damaged. [Trib]......

A garbage collector discovered a handgun in an alley near where off-duty police officer Robert Soto and his companion Kathryn Romberg were killed. A ballistics investigation is underway to determine if the weapon was used in those or any other recent murders. In other news, two people were shot in Lincoln Park last night yesterday afternoon and are in serious condition, a man on his bicycle was shot and killed in Logan Square early this......

Metromix has their opening date as yesterday or today. Helen Rosner at the always entertaining MenuPages Chicago has been waiting with bated breath for the doors to open, as well. We placed a call over to iCream in Wicker Park (1537 N. Milwaukee, 773-342-2834) to see when they would, indeed, open for business and were told "Thursday or Friday." After reading Rosner's description of the place we may join her in breaking down the doors......

A couple of weeks ago we had the chance to stop by Mado, a new Wicker Park dining spot. Just off the main Milwaukee Street business district, Mado is tucked away in a cute little spot with exposed brick, chalkboards on the walls and pretty, understated décor. We’d heard a lot of good things, and went in with high expectations. Mado focuses on local products and wood-grilled meats. Their antipasti selection includes a variety of......

Hey, Wicker Park residents: if you haven't been able to get your Cold Comfort fix in recent days, that's because the venerable cafe and deli quietly ceased operations last Thursday. The outgoing message from owner Ron Barrett said that he decided to call it a day after nine years of business "proudly serving the community." We've placed a call to Barrett for comment and further explanation; i and when he returns the call we'll update.......

Warm weather and frozen treats go together like rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong, and temps are finally on the rise. We checked out Wicker Park's new upscale froyo place Starfruit at their preview last week, and the joint officially opens today, dispensing free treats to taxpayers and evaders alike. Free ice cream(like products) = best. Starfruit Cafe (obnoxious, noisy website alert) serves frozen kefir and nonfrozen parfaits, but we only......

Who Put the "Wicker" in Wicker Park?...

Ah, late February in Chicago. Cubs tickets go on sale today, there's a forecast for a high temperature above 35 degrees next week, and thousands of indie rock kids around Chicago will soon be shedding their parkas for high-priced hoodies bought from Wicker Park boutiques (tip: ours cost us $12 at Target!) for several worthwhile shows around the Chicago area. Lots of tickets go on sale this weekend. So, despite this crappy weather, there is,......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Burgers: While we are loathe to actually divulge this information, the Dunlay's location in Logan Square has fucking awesome hamburgers. Almost as good as Kuma's, we swear. So it's no wonder that on Wednesdays the place is jam-packed with folks stuffing their faces with the restaurant's ground beef since today if half-price burger night. If......

So there we were on that really vicious cold Tuesday night last week, enjoying a steaming plate of pasta at Café Bionda (the good location on south State, not the skeevy Wicker Park version) when we remembered a tip from a frequent reader that Joe Farina was stocking Montegioco beers. Now if you're the type of beer drinker whose knowledge of Italian beers runs to Moretti and Peroni, you're in for a treat. Montegioco brews......

Fish on Fridays and denouncement of vices may be just for Catholics in the upcoming Lenten season, but luckily the preemptive celebration of Mardi Gras seems to span all religious sects. And this Tuesday’s celebration is set to pack an extra punch considering it’s not just Fat, it’s Super. If your presidential pick is pulling up the rear and you need a place to drown your sorrows, check out our choices for the best Mardi......

Photo by SFMoe In case there were any lingering skeptics, this recession thingy is for real. The accelerating recession oddly coincides with the release of Forbes magazine's list of "America's Most Lucrative Neighborhoods," which includes Wicker Park near the top of the list. With a 1,870-percent increase in median home sale price since 1990, Wicker Park's property value appreciation has been faster than just about anywhere in the country. Maybe we can finally stop......

Common sense dictated that we should have stayed in Saturday night in the slightly drafty but hospitable environs of our apartment. However, when the fine folks at Unibroue plan a beer dinner, it's usually a great event. What made Saturday night's event stand out was the location of the dinner. Sheffield's in Lakeview would not normally be on our list of places to grab a bite to eat. But owner Rick Hess (who also owns......

We'd been hearing rumors recently that Schwa was going to reopen, but didn't want to get our hopes up to much before something was confirmed. And confirmed it now is. Michael Carlson's BYOB spot will be reopening in early 2008, the end of this month being the earliest. Carlson told Metromix that he's been fixing up the space in anticipation of it's reopening, including upgrading the floors and possibly installing new lighting. We suppose the......

It's pretty light this week as folks recoup from the holidays. There are plenty of events starting early next week for gourmands throughout the city. Thank you Tasty Dining Networks for doing something with the color layout on your webpage. Now we can actually read that there's a singles dinner for women ages 25-40 and men from 30-45 this evening at Republic on East Ontario. Attention lonely hearts: as of filing this post, there's only......

Clayton Hauck, Chicago's everywhere-at-once nightlife photographer, has released the results of a reader's poll he ran to discern which clubs, DJs, promoters, and bands are at the top of The People's list. It's hardly a scientific poll, and Hauck even admits that when it came to the promoter results there was probably more than a little ballot box stuffing, but we find it interesting as it functions as a good peek into the indie-rock......

Slideshow after the jump.........

Wicker Park icon Gene Lee (sometimes spelled Jean Le), the hot-pants clad guy who danced his way around the city, died last week. According to a message on his MySpace page, apparently posted by his family, Lee had been struggling with addiction and mental health issues for a while. In the letter he left for his family he wanted to remembered for his music, his dance, and his expressions of joy, that masked the......

Lucky enough to get a few days off for the Chrismukkah holidays? Several Chicago area music entities have been kind enough to give you time-filling options. Lupe Fiasco’s sophomore CD The Cool drops today, and he has announced live dates from New York to Honolulu in support of it. Chicago's only chance to catch the hometown hero will be this Thursday during an in-store appearance at Wicker Park’s hip-hop destination The Bassment. While there, be......

Moving forward in our quest to give you readers some options for going out on New Year's Eve so you aren't procrastinating. Fat Cat: The theme of the evening is a "Roaring 20's anti-Prohibition" party. Guests are encouraged to dress in zoot suits, feather boas, and flapper dresses. The $75 cover ($100 on NYE) includes top-shelf liquor, a champagne fountain, hors d'ouevres, fondue stations, and 1000 balloons (emphasis Fat Cat's). RSVP at 773-506-3100. Bin 36:......

'Tis the season for free champagne tastings. Get started tonight at the Artisan Cellar (located on the first floor of the Merchandise Mart) with a sample of some rare bubblies from 4-6 p.m. Learn all about the history of smothered foods from author Wilbert Jones, the author of Smothered Southern Foods. Jones' lecture, "Smothered - Southern Style" is being held Saturday at the Chicago History Museum, sponsored by the Culinary Historians of Chicago. The lecture......

The Reader's Guide to Late Night Dining is now online, and there's the expected eclectic mix of diners, hot dog stands, taco joints, upscale pub grub, and places where only the fearless dare enter. Even better is that the range of offerings encompasses a wide stretch of the city and connecting suburbs (big love for Gene & Jude's Red Hots in River Grove!). If you're at the stage in life where "I'll sleep when......

Many Wicker Park commuters are feeling a little less caffeinated these days since Half & Half (under the Damen Blue Line stop) closed up shop. Owner Debbie Sharpe told Metromix that the quality of the building is to blame. The good news is Sharpe also owns the Goddess and Grocer down the street, and Half & Half's delicious commuter sandwiches and pastries will be available for purchase there. LTH commentors prophecy its space may become......

Kanye West's mother Donda West's autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday. The Chicago Board of Education is going to approve plans for a culinary arts high school for juniors about to drop out of school. Mark your calendars: On weekends between November 17 and December 23, Fannie May will be offering free ferry rides "between Chicago's commuter train stations and the Michigan Avenue shopping district." Moo Moo, a 2-year-old shih tzu was stolen from his Wicker......

This week Missed Connections entered a big of a segregation war, with a few groups banding together to try and prove that more MCs happen in their respective neighborhoods than any other. (Let Chicagoist give you all a little tip: if your locale is full of arty, emotional, sexually fueled 20-somethings, more connections are made rather than missed. Trust us.) Either way, Wicker Park residents not only want to prove that they're the hot spot......

We didn’t grow up in a big city, so as parents we’re a little perplexed about the whole urban trick-or-treating thing. We’ve even heard that it’s taboo to go door to door in any neighborhood not your own (seriously?). Luckily, there are plenty of places in Chicago to celebrate and get your kids' hands on some candy. The Lincoln Park Zoo hosts its annual Spooky Zoo Spectacular Saturday. Kids trick or treat in the zoo's......

Some things to do this weekend, and into next, as an excuse to dress in costume. Rare and fine wine auction house Hart Davis Hart is holding an auction of private collections from both coasts today from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at Tru. The auction is free to attend, but anyone taking the time to head to Tru and not eat is an idiot, quite frankly. Lunch today at Tru is fixed-priced at $75.......

The Thermals have always sounded kind of like Superchunck to us, only tighter and way more political. In our opinion, those are all good things.Their appearance at this year's Wicker Park Summerfest was a highlight amongst the live acts performing, and last year's The Body, The Blood, The Machine remains a pretty electrifying punk rock diatribe. Opening the show is Chicago's Chin Up Chin Up. We've written about them in the past, and we're always......

We hope some of you got a chance to go to something at the Chicago Book Festival last week, but if not, here’s your chance. Our take on the second week: Jeffrey Toobin, CNN’s senior legal analyst, discusses and signs his newest book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, and maybe adds a few pointers for broke Chicagoists. Monday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m., Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St., Cindy......

Brooklyn-based design blog, Design*Sponge, recently premiered a sleek new look, and today the site rolled out a Chicago Design Guide, the latest in a series of city-focused lists dedicated to help folks find all the best spots for furniture, home accessories and over-priced knickknacks. Penned by recent Chicago transplant, Lizzie Garrett, the guide lists the usual suspects (Sprout, i.D., Scout), with most stores grouped in Bucktown/Wicker Park and Lincoln Park/Lakeview. Overall, the list is thorough,......