Chicago Neighborhood Named Among 10 Hottest in the Country

A Chicago neighborhood has been named one of the ten hottest in the country.

Popular travel website Lonely Planet dubbed Avondale one of the communities that travelers have to put on their "must-visit list."

Praised for its "scruffy, artsy, lived-in magic," the Northwest Side neighborhood earned its spot in the rankings thanks to a survey of travel experts and locals. [[430891713, C]]

"A neighborhood where you can hit up a pierogi buffet (Red Apple Buffet), a theater giving equal time to kitty cats and Ionesco plays (Prop Thtr), and a streetwise Michelin-starred restaurant (Parachute) in one fell swoop? Yes, please," a Chicago resident and travel expert wrote of Avondale.

"Avondale offers no hotels or tourist sights. It’s mostly humble two-flat homes and the occasional smokestack or steeple popping up. But throughout this working-class beat on Chicago’s northwest side, groovy things are brewing," the description continues. "That’s literal in the case of Revolution Brewery, whose sprawling tap room makes hop fiends swoon." [[440326333, C]]

Avondale’s culinary scene gets a nod, with mentions of Kuma’s Corner’s "hulking burgers with a side of heavy metal," plus Honey Butter Fried Chicken’s "sweet-and-salty bird" and the smell of kielbasas wafting from Milwaukee Avenue thanks to the neighborhood’s Polish community.

"Get here soon though, because Avondale teeters on the edge," Lonely Planet recommends. "Hipster 'hoods nibble at its borders, poised to spill over."

Focusing on up-and-coming areas of cities across the United States, the list also highlights Point Loma in San Diego, Denver’s River North (RiNo) and Frelard in Seattle, among others.

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