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Home » Uncategorized » Neighborhood Tours: Ravenswood Corridor

Neighborhood Tours: Ravenswood Corridor

October 5, 2009 · WCC Administr@tr · 2 Comments

3983485551_a4acd99d8e-2939097Artwork by
Armando Pedroso
www.armandopedroso.com

This month, I took friends from What’s Cookin, Chicago on a tour of Ravenswood Corridor, located on the North side of the city. Our tour fell on the same weekend as the annual Ravenswood ArtWalk, a fair of local artisans showing off their creative talents through paint, print, photography, sculpture, etc. Aside from all the artists that come to share their work, there are some culinary folks that continually do some magic in the neighborhood too.

Urban Accents
4241 N. Ravenswood Avenuedsc_0489-8292365

I’ve teamed up with Urban Accents, a Chicago based spice company for this tour. Urban Accents have extended a special invitation to What’s Cookin, Chicago for a VIP tour with the President, Tom Knibbs. The tour included a discussion with Tom about the specialty food business, why he founded the company, samples of some of Urban Accents favorites and goodies to take home. I’ll be sharing more of our tour with Urban Accents later this week so stay tuned for some in depth details about this awesome Chicago company…

Spacca Napoli
1769 W Sunnyside Avenuedsc_0552-8533230

After the Urban Accents tour, we enjoyed lunch at Spacca Napoli. I haven’t had the opportunity to visit Italy yet, however some of my friends and What’s Cookin, Chicago members have. From their experiences, many of them agree that the pizza served at Spacca Napoli is very much like the pizza served in Naples, Italy.

dsc_0540-3566147
The focus of the pizzas served here is not the toppings, but rather the crust. You won’t find thick, doughy deep dish pizza at this restaurant. Instead, you’ll find crispy, light dough that’s been baked in a wood fire oven. Toppings for these pizzas are kept very simple and natural, similar to what you’d expect if you ordered pizza in Naples. For lunch we enjoyed the following kinds:

dsc_0545-6483439
Complimentary Mushroom Pesto Pizzadsc_0543-3560050dsc_0544-3032454

Salsiccia e Broccoletti
Pizza Bianca with Italian Sausage, Rapini, Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Olive Oil
dsc_0547-1729728dsc_0550-1172030

Marinara
Tomatoes, Oregano, Garlic, Basil, Olive Oil
dsc_0548-6494348

Margherita
Tomatoes, Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Basil, Olive Oil
dsc_0549-5833813

Prosciutto e Rucola
Pizza Bianca with Provola, Prosciutto Di Parma, Arugula, Parmesan, Olive Oil
dsc_0551-8375482

First Slice
4401 N Ravenswood Ave
dsc_0554-3981186

After lunch, we hit up First Slice. This small cafe/bakery is run by Chef Mary Ellen Diaz, who gives back to the community by providing hot meals to patrons. First Slice is a community-supported kitchen. Volunteers and staff work together to serve a hot, high-quality three-course meal to approximately 100 men, women, and children.

dsc_0553-9104377The cafe was pretty crowded when we arrived, most likely due to all the folks attending the Ravenswood ArtWalk. First Slice shares a space with a mini gallery of sorts full of various types of artwork. So aside from the great pie and baked goods offered here, you’ll be able to walk around and check out the different pieces of art too.

Angel Food Bakery
1636 W Montrose Ave9727_137489354267_703779267_2395048_4774052_n-4609953

Next stop was Angel Food Bakery. I previously included this place in our Cupcake Crawl and since it was in the area, we stopped here again for friends to check out. Some things folks got to try included the Red Velvet Cake, Thin Mints, Rummies (Rum Balls) and a few other kinds of treats.

9727_137489304267_703779267_2395039_6261500_n-9744150

Margie’s Candies & Ice Cream Parlor
1813 W Montrose Avedsc_0556-5560009

After our stop at Angel Food Bakery, the rain started to fall. It wasn’t too hard and we managed to get to our next tour stop – Margie’s Candies. Here folks can indulge in homemade chocolates, classic and fun ice cream flavors and fresh pie. We were still a bit full at this point but it was great to check out their goodies.

dsc_0557-4911724

Glen’s Diner
1820 W Montrose Ave
l-7519656

Right across the street was our next stop – Glen’s Diner. This restaurant has been featured on Food Network’s ‘Diners, Drive Ins & Dives’ because of their amazing seafood offerings. At first glance, the name is misleading since ‘Diner’ doesn’t really conjure up thoughts of great seafood. But owner, Glen, used to work for a well known seafood restaurant. He then opened Glen’s Diner and continue to serve up the seafood he knows so much about. Another point of interest about Glen’s Diner is that he also has Hoosier Mama pies on his menu. These pies are a local favorite. Because the restaurant was pretty crowded when we arrived, we decided to skip it and went to our last stop….

Sweet Honey Bee Bakery
1918 W Montrose Ave9727_137489289267_703779267_2395036_1720783_n-5111720

Our last stop is Sweet Honey Bee Bakery. This is one of the cupcake stops we had on our recent cupcake crawl and they really have some good flavors out there. Some folks bought some cupcakes to take home and enjoy. After this stop, the rain finally caught up with us and we called it a day. If you happen to find yourself in the Ravenswood Corridor area, be sure to stop by these places and support the businesses!

9727_137489284267_703779267_2395035_5021828_n-8764390

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  1. The Maiden Metallurgist says

    October 5, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    I love Spacca Napoli, perfect pizza.

    Reply
  2. Aesha says

    October 5, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    Neat! We just moved into our new townhome in Ravenswood, and I've passed several of these places and been curious. Now I'll have to go take a tour of my own!

    Reply

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