Post #740087 by Ragbag Comics on Wed, Mar 25, 2015 3:00 PM

Hey Ryan-

Glad yer makin' it to the windy city!

If you're downtown (depending on where you're staying), Three Dots should be easy to get to - River North is just NW of the heart of downtown, and just off the Red Line. Getting IN presents its own challenges, but those issues are pretty well covered in the 3 Dots thread here.

For Lost Lake, you'll want to take the Blue Line towards O'Hare (if coming from downtown) and get off at the Logan Square stop, then walk a few blocks North on Kedzie... it's at the corner of Kedzie and Diversey (and next door to a cool record/collectibles store called Brick-a-Brac, if yer in the market for such things) There's no sign out front, but there's a dangling piranha sign and the awning has a banana leaf pattern print on it so it's kinda hard to miss on an otherwise mostly residential stretch of Diversey.

Weekends are a mob scene (both there and 3 Dots) so go as early as you can (they open at 4.) Lost Lake only holds about 55 people... we've shown up at 5 on a weekday and there's a line. Brace yourself... Chicagoans love to stand in line, from the intelligence I've gathered. An insider tip about waiting in line at Lost Lake, tho - once you're inside, (waiting in the adjoining Chinese takeout joint Thank You) you can have beer and tasty vittles from the takeout menu while you wait... the food is mighty tasty, and the beer is beer, so those are good features for line-waiting. If you enjoyed waiting in line at Lost Lake, and enjoy craft cocktails, you may also enjoy waiting in line at Scofflaw, which is not far from here (word on the street is the people who run Scofflaw are also opening a Logan Square Tiki bar soon.)

Hala Kahiki is sort of by the airport, but measuring things in distance in Chicago doesn't really work... that 5 miles could take you 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic and time of day. Unfortunately, there really isn't any other way to get out there (or to Chef Shangri-La, for that matter.) You CAN get to both on public trans, but having done that once for each place, I would highly advise against it, especially if you don't have much experience with Chicago (or with taking public trans.)

The #77 Belmont bus stops not far from HK (near Paradise Club, a local hidden pseudo-tiki Polish hole-in-the-wall that was fully Tiki once upon a time) as does the #80 Irving Park bus... But from downtown, going that route will probably take nearly 2 hours with a lot of walking. Better to spring for the Uber or a cab.

To save some cash, if you have some time to get there, from downtown you could also take the Blue Line towards O'Hare to the Cumberland stop, and take a cab or Uber from there (I'd imagine, though, cabs are next to impossible to get out there, so the Uber app would be your buddy in that scenario... HK is kinda nestled between the beginnings of suburbia and two massive forest preserves.) There ARE suburban PACE busses that run out there, but I've never really investigated those too much so I can't really speak to their efficacy.. From the airport, the Cumberland stop is only one or two stops away, so maybe that would make sense on your way in.

I do know that a cab to the Chef costs about $40 each way from our 'hood in Uptown on the North side. But you COULD take the blue line to the end of the line at Forest Park and Uber it from there to the Chef (full admission: I have no idea how reliable Uber is in Berwyn/North Riverside)

A Hala Kahiki/Chef Shangri-La two-fer is kind of a must visit. Both are just totally fantastic places, wholly unlike anything you'll find on the West coast... uniquely Midwestern. Unfortunately, Midwesterners also drive a lot.

Worth noting, too:

--One of the most famous classic hot dog joints in Chicago, Gene & Jude's, is right down the road from HK, if you're into that. They do their dogs "Depression"-style, with the fries right on the dog... a total throwback to, err... the Depression! Their tamales are great, too.

--Much closer to the airport than HK is Tiki Terrace in Des Plaines, who have a full Polynesian floor show on Friday and Saturday nights. The floor show is a ton of fun, their food is great, and you would never imagine any of this from the outside of the place, sitting unassumingly in a strip mall next to Radio Shack (it's Des Plaines... that's kind of their thing.)

Worth noting too, too:

If you are free-wheelin' on Saturday, as luck would have it we're throwing a bit of a Tiki luau get-together at our house (otherwise we would take you around, for sure.) You're welcome to join us if you're loose that day and aren't able to make it out to HK. We have a lot of Witco... not anywhere near as much as HK by any stretch of the imagination, but a lot by most people's standards. I make a mean Mai Tai (and grill a damn fine bratwurst if I do say so...) You'd get a chance to meet some great Chicago Tiki folks, and we're easy to get to off public trans from downtown (I can get to 3 Dots on the Red Line in about half an hour.)

Options.

I'll throw you a PM with my contact info... I've been taking public trans in Chicago for 15 years, so more than happy to lend a hand as I'm able.

--Pete