A sunny day in Chicago, a rarity in February! The sunflares in the above photo remind me of 1980s film photos of my parents'. These photos are from Albert's birthday brunch/our thrifting expedition in Andersonville a couple of weeks ago. His birthday is Valentine's Day so we had an early birthday adventure a few days beforehand.
We're posing with a giant, carved wooden Dala Horse in Andersonville, Chicago's Swedish neighborhood. While the area is now pretty diverse in its population it's still home to several Swedish businesses that have been there for decades. Scroll down to see my recommendations if you're visiting the area. If you're interested in Dala Horses, check out my post yesterday about my mini collection of them.
Despite the sun and my clothing in these photos it actually was 11 degrees that day! I actually wore my leather jacket as a layer (instead of a cardigan) under my wool coat. I'm wearing it over a late 1940s dress. I need to get better photos of it once it gets warmer, it reminds me of old fashioned soda fountains because of the colours.
We decided to eat brunch at a restaurant we'd never been to before and settled on M Henrietta, the sister restaurant to uber popular M Henry. Technically it's in the Edgewater neighborhood but we went on to Andersonville afterwards.If you're curious, Albert's plaid shirt/jacket is vintage and was purchased at Knee Deep Vintage in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.
Food porn! Pictured above is Albert's dish, he ordered huevos borrachos (drunken eggs): "two of our homemade masa tortillas topped with scrambled chorizo and corn, avocado slices, chihuahua cheese, poached eggs, sour cream and homemade red adobo sauce. I believe that is a beet (?) salad on the side.
A definite thumbs up for M Henrietta, the servers were sweet & friendly, the food came quickly and portions were sizable. My iced vanilla latte was also delicious, I'm curious what coffee they use (I assumed Metropolis).
Per the server's recommendation I ordered Fannie's Killer Egg Sandwich: "toasted sour boule layered with two over-medium organic eggs, apple wood bacon, sliced plum tomatoes, gorgonzola and fresh thyme served with house potatoes. Definitely got my money's worth, a tasty upgrade on the standard breakfast sandwich for sure.
Random shot of my 1950s Soviet Union watch, a Christmas present from my parents. It's the first manual watch I've ever owned, it takes a while to get used to remembering to wind it every day and if it's very quiet I can hear it ticking! Want one of your own? I got it off etsy from Clockwork Universe.
Andersonville was one of the first neighborhoods I explored in Chicago upon moving here back in the summer of 2007. It's best experienced in the summer so you can leisurely stroll along the 5-block stretch of restaurants and shops on Clark Street.I recommend starting out early and grabbing brunch or lunch at Svea, a traditional Swedish diner that features inexpensive fare like salt pork, Swedish meatballs and a Viking Breakfast (think Ikea food but BETTER). If you enjoy Vietnamese, there are also a dozen spots on nearby Argle Street for pho (noodles) or banh mi (sandwiches). By the far the best is Ba Le bakery for banh mi, sandwiches are under $5!
After eating brunch/lunch pick up a couple of treats to bring home at the Swedish Bakery, where you can taste the butter in their melt-in-your-mouth treats. Opt for a half pound box of cookies, you won't regret it. They also have scrumptious cupcakes, brownies, doughnuts and croissants. Want to try cooking Swedish meatballs at home? How about picking up lingonberry jam for breakfast toast? Erickson's Delicatessen has you covered! I'm posing in the deli way back in 2007 marveling at all the goods. Yes, I have no idea why I cut my hair that short either, it hasn't been that length since then.
Of course all thriftaholics need to get their vintage on and Andersonville also has plenty to offer in that area as well. My favorite stops are the Brown Elephant thrift store, Brownstone Antiques and Roost. There are also several higher end vintage shops like Brimfield and Scout but unfortunately I cannot afford their pieces at this stage in my life. They do offer amazing displays and it's worth it to go in just to see them.TRANSPORTATION: Take the red line El to the Berwyn or Bryn Mawr stop and walk West 4 blocks to Clark Street. All the shops and restaurants I mentioned are between the 5000 and 5700 blocks of Clark. You can also take the Clark Street bus depending what area you're coming from.