Chicago Shopping Tips by deecat

Name of Shop: Swedish Bakery in Andersonville

Allan and I have been visiting this Swedish Bakery for years. Just don't go on Saturdays [it is a "madhouse"].

Mickey and I visited the Swedish Bakery on August 13, 2007, so I could introduce her to this fabulous place. Of course I ordered my famous pecan/chocolate dipped cookies. I'm eating one right now as I type this!

The best cookies ever can be purchased here. They are small pecan shells dipped partially in chocolate. I purchase one dozen and have one or two a day, and they last a long, long time.

We also love the Limpa Break, either Stockholm Limpa or Vort Limpa at Christmas

Regulars call in their orders, and when they enter, they take a number and are waited on by a different set of people. Others, also take a number and wait to be called. They do not hurry you no matter how busy they seem to be [and, believe me, they are busy!]

Many items must be refrigerated so be careful what you order, especially in the summer months. We seldom order refrigerated items unless we are taking them to our daughter Jill who lives about ten minutes from this bakery.

People from all over the city of Chicago and from the Chicago Suburbs come to the Swedish Bakery in Andersonaville to get the best bakery items in the city.

What To Buy: The Swedish Bakery sells from the following categories:

Cakes
Logs, Rolls, Slices
Petits Fours
Pastries
Swedish Pastries
Loaves, Bundts
Coffeecakes
Sweetrolls
Muffins
Donuts
Other Breakfast Items such as Scones, Strudel, Pecan rolls
Slices, mostly seasonal such as Pumpkin, bread pudding, etc.
Pies (deep dish)
Other season aitems such as:
[Hot Cross Buns
Lucia Kattor
Semior with Cream & Almond Paste Patty
Fruit Cake
Stollen
Apple Dumpling]
Breads
Breadrolls
Cookies per pound
Toast [Cardamom, Sugar, Cinnamon]

What To Pay: From $.65 to $29.50 depending on the item.

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Theme: Other
Phone: 1-773-561-8919
Address: 5348 North Clark Street
Website: www.SwedishBakery.com

Name of Shop: Chicago Choices of Independent Stores

I don't know about you, but I always love to visit new bookstores when I travel, especially independently owned bookstores. For those of you who also enjoy independent bookstores, I've compiled a list that I have used. Hope it helps.

1. Barbara's Bookstores
a. 111 North State Street(at Marshall Field's)
b. 1218 South Halsted Street (at University of Illinois Chicago)
c. 1100 Lake Street (Oak Park)
d. 233 South Wacker Drive (Sears Tower-Lower, Level 1)
e. 201 East Huron (Northwestern Hospital)

2. Powell's Bookstores
a. 828 South Wabash Avenue(Burnham Park) [Near Hilton Chicago in South loop. This is more of a retail warehouse with just about everything you'd want]

b. 1501 East 57th Street (Hyde Park) [In University of Chicago neighborhood and thus quite scholarly. Located near the Museum of Science and Industry]

c. 2850 N. Lincoln Avenue (North/Lakeview)[strong in Art, Architecture, and Photography, rare books, children's section, lots of fiction, and a coffee bar]

I use "c" the most because it specializes in used, rare, and discounted books. This is a rather academic bookstore.

3. Women & Children First (Andersonville)
5233 North Clark
Don't be misled by the name. You don't have to be a kid or a woman to enjoy this fantastic bookstore. It's ranked among the country's finest bookstores. It's quite large [30,000 books in stock]. The staff is just wonderful and willing to help in any way possible. They really back Chicago area writers, and they schedule many interesting events, readings, and signings.

4. Booklegger's
2935 North Broadway

Books, Cds, videos, books on tape and any other book-related items. They offer philosophy, literary classics, and contemporary fiction as well as coffee table books. They also buy used books.%c*

What To Buy: 5.Bookworks
3444 North Clark

This store has parking available behind the shop. They buy CDs, LPs, and Ephemera.
This is really a BARGAIN BOOKSTORE. They sell new and used books and CDs, cassette tapes, vintage photographs, etc. They also have first-edition, fine bindings and hard-to-locate books.
"Beat Poet" fans will love it here. Most things are at least 10% off list price.

6.Bookman's Corner
2959 North Clark
They have reasonable prices; thus, they have been a favorite in the neighborhood since 1975. Books are everywhere. On skyhigh shelves, stacked on the floor, and anywhere else they can be secured. Unfortunatedly, it takes you longer to find books here because they are grouped by category rather than title. At times, you find a box outside the store advertising, FREE.

7.After Words Books
23 East Illinois Street

This is a downtown Chicago bookseller that is independent and they focus on service. They will order whatever you need. They also sell used books. [lower level] They offer Internet access for an hourly rate. If you sign up for their birthday program, you get a $5.00 coupon on the month of your birthday!
It's a comfortable place; a place to relax, to browse, and to sit down and read.
It's located next door to the Jazz Record Mart.

8. Sandmeyer's Bookstore
714 South Dearborn Street
This is a family-owned and operated store located in Printer's Row. It has the greatest travel section, and I love the children's section, too.

What To Pay: The price depends on the specific store you select.

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Theme: Books
Address: See Text

Name of Shop: Marshall Field's Department Store Will Be Macy's

I, along with most other Chicago area people are "bummed Out" about Marshall Fields losing its identity. Because they were bought out this year [2005], in less than one year this fine old department store will be renamed Macy's. Macy's belongs to New York, and Marshall Field belongs to Chicago. It will never be the same!

I remember well the first time that I walked into Marshall Field and Co. on State Street. I was 20 years old and with my mother-in-law to be. We took the South Shore to Chicago from Munster, Indiana so that she and I could register for my wedding gifts. This was in 1962!
Fields is known for the Great Clock outside on the street (as shown in the photo), a Tiffany mosaic dome, and eight floors filled with merchandise.
At that time, Fields was THE PLACE to shop. The people who worked there had worked there most of their lives and knew the merchandise frontwards and backwards.
Today, Fields is still a great place to shop, but it has lost its leading edge. It's perhaps too conservative for the 2004 crowd.
Recently, it was completely renovated, and I was there about one month (July, 2004) ago, and it was difficult to see much improvement. It is so understated that it seems the same as before.

What To Buy: Fields has women, men, and children's clothing, (sportswear, formalwear, better dresses, intimate wear, purses, shoes, home goods) and is still famous for the stately Walnut Room Restaurant. It is also still famous for the memorable window displays at Christmas.

Fields was recently sold by Target.
Hopefully, drastic changes will not take place. Oh, how naive I was to think that things would not change!


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Theme: Department Store
Phone: 1-312-781-1000
Address: 111North State Street, Chicago also WaterTower Pl.

Name of Shop: Accent Chicago

I'm not the world's best person at directions so I was looking for a compact map of Chicago. I found an excellent one in a shop on Michigan Avenue near Millennium Park that is called ACCENT CHICAGO. It's a contemporary-looking store that is neatly arranged and jam-packed with items pertinent to Chicago.
They have other stores in the city or near the city such as Water Tower Place, John Hancock Center, Sears Tower, Chicago Hilton & Towers, Music Mart, Chicago Place.
In the suburbs, there are Accent Chicago stores in Woodfield Mall and Yorktown Mall.

What To Buy: They have great T-shirts and sweatshirts pertaining to Chicago and Chicago Sport Teams. In addition, they have pens, pencils, pads of paper, stationery, maps, books, "trinkets", collectibles, and almost anything else with a Chicago logo on it.
I purchased maps and post cards.
It's a great store for tourist because it is not overly expensive.

What To Pay: Items range from forty cents to one hundred dollars or so.

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Theme: Other
Phone: 1-312-941-9155
Directions: On the west side of Michigan Avenue near Millennium Park.

Name of Shop: Water Tower Place

"Get out of your train & drive up Michigan Avenue! I defy you not to respond to the excitement in the air, not to throw your hat to the sky & shout 'Beautiful, how beautiful!' How beautiful it is as you whirl northward past the Tribune Tower."
Mary Borden, novelist, 1930s

Water Tower Place is named after the 154-foot-tall Water Tower that was built in 1869 & is to the southwest across Michigan Avenue. It was the first of three large indoor malls built near the Water Tower; the other two are 900 North Michigan & Chicago Place.
In order to build Water Tower Place, the 12-story Pearson Hotel was demolished. Construction workers discovered an underground stream on the site & had to delay foundation work for several weeks. Finally, the water was plugged by building a giant concrete dome under the building!
It was constructed in 1976 & has 74 floors, & at the time it was completed, it had enough shopping space to contain all existing stores on Michigan Ave from the river to Oak Street!
The shopping mall itself is centered around an 8-story terraced atrium & three bundled hexagonal glass tube elevators. I remember these elevators very well...when our daughter Jill was f4, the doors of the elevator opened, & she ran on, & before we could get on too, the elevator took off. We had always told her to find an adult in authority if she ever got lost. She found a security policeman, & Allan & I were paged to come to get her. Wwere we ever relieved!
The main entrance to the mall is a 2-story set of escalators with a waterfallbetween them. There is also a winding staircase at the sides.
The podium contains a shopping mall that is anchored by 2 department stores: Marshall Field & Co. and Lord & Taylor. The attached tower houses a Ritz Carlton Hotel, offices, & condominiums.
There are several places to eat:
Ritz-Carlton Dining Room
Marketplace at Marshall Field's
The Greenhouse
The Ritz Carlton Cafe
California Pizza Kitchen
In addition, the Water Tower Movie Theatres are also located here.

What To Buy: Besides the two huge department stores, there are about 100 other stores. Whatever you are looking for, you can no doubt find it at the Water Tower Place.

What To Pay: This is an upscale shopping Mall, so items are quality and therefore expensive.

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Theme: Other
Address: 845 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Directions: Located on Michigan Avenue in the section known as the Magnificent Mile on the Near North Side.

Name of Shop: Crate & Barrel

Crate & Barrel's flagship store, located on North Michigan Avenue, is an exquisitely designed building. As seen in the photograph, it looks stunning at night with the lights on.
Crate and Barrel is known for its kitchenware, giftware, tabletop accessories, and home furnishings.The Crate and Barrel Francise has been in operation for more than thirty years.
Gordon and Carol Segal started their Chicago store with little or no experience. But, they discovered that if they bought directly from factories rather than importers, they could make a good living. So, they went to Europe and purchased well-designed tabletop and home furnishings from European craftsmen, and sold it directly to consumers. The first store was a renovated former elevator factory in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. They displayed the merchandise on packing crates and barrels that the items had arrived in, and, thus, the name Crate and Barrel!
In 1965, Crate & Barrel also entered into the catalog business, which has become about a $25-million venture for the company.
Segals gained inspiration for new products and for designs as well from Europe.
The thing that I admire about this store is the clean, contemporary flair they display. The store uses color, music, design, and the lack of "clutter" to make the merchandise more appealing.
Their success comes from offering quality merchandise of a clean, modern design without spending a fortune. Many other stores try to copy them, but without success.

What To Buy: If you are in the market for glassware, kitchenware, tabletop products, designer fabrics, or clean-lined New England style furniture, then the "flag-ship" Crate and Barrel is the place to go. Even if you don't need anything, it's such a joy just to visit this store to browse the four floors of excellent merchandise.

What To Pay: Depending on your choices you can pay anything from $1.00 to a couple of thousand dollars (for furniture).

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Theme: Home Furnishing
Address: 646 North Michigan Avenue