Have global tastes but want a hometown feel? Consider Lincoln Square living
A block north of the Western Brown Line stop, you'll find a family-friendly collision of worlds.
Time and continents get confused at the crossroads where Lincoln Avenue runs into the intersection of Lawrence and Western avenues. Staring down the street bearing his name, a statue of Abraham Lincoln — perched on a podium and holding his stovepipe hat — watches over the juncture. Honest Abe seems a fitting guardian of the spot that is at once multicultural and wholly American.
Once you pass under the arching entryway onto Lincoln Square, restaurants with Argentine, Greek, German, Mexican, Dutch and New Orleans fare are all within a stone's throw. Some take you back in time and some feel like home.
Locals say the corridor is family-forward with a European touch. It's not hard to see. On a recent Friday evening, families congregated in the plaza. Children straight off Gap runways devoured frozen yogurt and painted patios in chalk while fluffy dogs sniffed out pigeons. Old globe streetlights with cherub-looking statuettes seem both elegant and homey, and the Giddings Plaza fountain proved a crowd-pleaser.
It's like crossing a border, but you can leave your passport behind.
Sink your teeth into this:Come to neighborhood anchor Cafe Selmarie (4729 N. Lincoln) for the in-house bakery and a rosé on the patio; stay for the warm, down-home vibe. Begun in 1983 when the neighborhood had a strong German feel, Selmarie has managed to outlast decades of changes.
"People come to celebrate 50th wedding anniversaries and birthdays," says general manager Connie Kobayashi, "but it's also a place to just have lunch. It's really accessible."
If you stop in early, don't resist the smoked salmon breakfast, cold-smoked Atlantic salmon with scrambled eggs covered in capers and red onions. It's one of Selmarie's staples. "Really straightforward, but super delicious," says Kobayashi.
Sitting on the main square and overlooking the fountain, the cafe has a pleasant, inviting air. Kobayashi says the spot is a destination but also home base for lots of regulars. "There's always someone in the dining room we know."
Favorites would have to include the pork schnitzel, crispy Amish chicken with bacon-braised collard greens and house-made cornbread, and the corned beef hash, which has been a go-to for decades. "People would riot if we took it off the menu. A lot of people say it's the best hash they've ever had," says Kobayashi, who counts herself among that crowd.
Location for libations:If you're down for a drink — or dance lessons, or dinner — stop by Artango Bar & Steakhouse (4767 N. Lincoln), for Argentine fare and 1920s Buenos Aires flair.
One of the can't-miss drinks is the Gardelito, smoky with mezcal, Fernet Branca, Amargo de Chile and nut bitters. A cinnamon stick rests in the large-rimmed glass. The soulful cocktail is named after Carlos Gardel, an Argentine idol and tango singer whose image adorns the wall by the front door.
Oliver Nedanovski tends the bar, maneuvering the stylish space accented with tall bottles and a gramophone. One of his favorite drinks is La Viruta.
"I use tequila and a little touch of curacao and jalapeno," he says. "It's a little spicy."
Artango specializes in malbecs and Prohibition-era cocktails — befitting of the space's 1920s Buenos Aires aura. (Yet while the aesthetic speaks to days past, ingredients are anything but: "Every day we use fresh juices — lime juice, lemon juice. Everything is fresh, not from the bottle," says Nedanovski.)
Between sips, guests can enjoy free Tuesday night tango lessons at 7:30 p.m. — come solo if you so choose; no partner necessary — and live music Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Culture vulture: Timeless Toys (4749 N. Lincoln) has been a staple and standout in the neighborhood for more than two decades. The original owners wanted it to be an urban oasis for young children.
So says the shopkeeper, Scott Friedland, who took the reins two years ago. "It's timeless in the fact that our toys don't go out of style," he says.
Here there's a more traditional, archetypal toy store vibe.
The shop has everything — kites, pogo sticks, kids' books, spirographs, plush stuffed animals. Enter and you're immediately met with an ark's worth of Folkmanis animal puppets. There are a lot of wooden and recyclable toys as well.
"Most of our toys you can't find in big-box stores," says Friedland.
Timeless Toys is something of a tourist destination, but it also boasts plenty of regulars. Some people pass through multiple times a week. Take a peek to relive some of the highlights of your childhood, whenever it was.
A local you should know:Like the neighborhood, David Trout has had something of a ranging past. He was a programmer for years, then went back to school for a Ph.D. in frontier history. After his son was born, the gears turned again and propelled Trout to his current post as the owner of Lincoln Square's Savory Spice Shop (4753 N. Lincoln).
Trout says the idea for the store came out of a roving dinner party of which he was a regular attender. "Twice a year, we'd all show up at someone's house and make something interesting, something thematic."
Those "interesting" dishes led Trout's friends Mike and Janet Johnston to open the first version of the shop in Denver. Now there are 30 locations around the country, but the idea was born in Lincoln Square.
Trout, a hockey player and outdoorsman, says the store carries 400 dried herbs and spices, which Trout turns into 175 different seasonings. Top picks? "Jamaican Jerk — I think that's the best thing we do. But the Cuban Island Spice is a close second, and some of the curries I really love."
He also loves meeting everyone in the neighborhood by passing out samples at the storefront and farmers markets. He says he knows about half the people who pass by already. "It's great to bring a couple tablespoons of happiness," Trout says.
Friendly and eager to act the sounding board for new ideas, Trout is always happy when people stop in to talk cooking — or even a little frontier history.
Cost of living: Michael Kreuser, a broker with Dream Town Realty, provided a survey of property in the area bounded by Foster Avenue to the north, Montrose Avenue to the south, California Avenue and the river to the west and Damen Avenue to the east. He reports one-bedroom rentals in the neighborhood listed at a price point averaging $1,250 per month. Two-bedroom apartments go for about $1,780.
As of Aug. 15, nine one-bedroom units were on the Multiple Listing Service. The average list price was $180,000. Two-bedroom places averaged $250,000. Single-family homes were the most plentiful, with price tags averaging $1.095 million.
"It's a very desirable neighborhood, which has pushed prices up," says Kreuser. "You've got that one-way stretch of Lincoln, which is really unique. It's pedestrian-friendly with a lot of shops and restaurants that just kind of give it a small-town charm within the city."
Proximity to public transportation, including the CTA Brown Line, Metra and myriad bus routes, also adds value.
Market watch:The local market is busy, according to Kreuser. "For the past few years, at any given time there are a handful of new construction projects, both for single families and condo projects."
Market time for properties depends on the type of property and time of year, but overall times are relatively low. The average market time for everything that closed in the past six months was 67 days.
As for parking, near the intersection of Western, Lawrence and Lincoln avenues and in the Lincoln Square commercial stretch, things can be dicey, but the surrounding residential areas offer more plentiful and reliable street options.
Making the grade:Waters Elementary School (4540 N. Campbell Ave.), GreatSchools rating of 8 out of 10
McPherson Elementary School (4728 N. Wolcott Ave.), GreatSchools rating of 5 out of 10
Chappell Elementary School (2135 W. Foster Ave.), GreatSchools rating of 7 out of 10
Amundsen High School (5110 N. Damen Ave.), GreatSchools rating of 4 out of 10
Health hubs:Orangetheory Fitness (4728 N. Lincoln Ave.) is a fitness center built around 60-minute, heart-rate-monitoring workouts. Routines are shaped as group personal training. For other nearby offerings, try big-gym brand Lincoln Square Athletic Club (4662 N. Lincoln Ave.), CorePower Yoga (2301 W. Lawrence Ave.) or Redzovic Jiu-Jitsu (4900 N. Lincoln Ave.).
Griffin Jackson is a freelance writer.
ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com
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