Alternative Chicago: Unique Destinations Beyond the Magnificent Mile [Paperback]

Bill Franz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

Unlike most guidebooks, "Alternative Chicago" will not tell you where to stay or how to get around in Chicago. There are already dozens of guidebooks on these subjects- one of which you probably own. "Alternative Chicago" by Bill Franz is for younger, discriminating folks. Where in the world is the Ennui Cafe? Have you been to see Dr. Wax? From age 16 to 60, you can appreciate Franz's neighborhood-by-neighborhood search for the best book stores, vintage clothing stores, diners and clubs, and much more. He'll even give you the phone numbers, store hours, addresses, and maps to help you find more than 300 distinctly Chicago places. From Hyde Park to Roscoe Village, "Alternative Chicago" will point you towards the most unique, hip, and virtually unknown places in the Windy City.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you're looking for a quick overview of the city's hidden gems, take a look at ALTERNATIVE CHICAGO." -- State Journal-Register, July 30, 2000

From the Publisher

"Alternative Chicago" is for the young-at-heart, adventurous, or slightly offbeat Chicago visitor. If you want to see more of the city than the homogenous Michigan Avenue shopping district, this is the book for you. If you're interested in enjoying a restaurant that you can't find in every other city in the United States, pick up this book. If you want to drink beer with some real Chicagoans, not just more tourists, you'll find some great suggestions here. But "Alternative Chicago" isn't just for visitors and tourists. Chicagoans will find it a helpful guide to unfamiliar neighborhoods, and far-flung suburbanites will clutch it as they venture onto the "L" and head for the city. Here you will find places to eat and drink and buy books and vintage clothes without having to go up to your eyeballs in debt or sell your car. It's a different way to experience the city and get a genuine, "sweet home Chicago" experience.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581820909
• ISBN-13: 978-1581820904
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,307,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique, off-the-beaten-path travel guide and planner., June 6, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alternative Chicago: Unique Destinations Beyond the Magnificent Mile (Paperback)

Unlike most travel guides on Chicago, Bill Franz's Alternative Chicago is designed for readers interested in what Chicago has to offer the visitor regarding counter-culture and neighborhood eccentric attractions. Franz offers a neighborhood-by-neighborhood exploration of hundreds of distinctively Chicago places like "Smuggler's Row", "Medusa's Circle", "The Ennui Cafe", and "Dr. Wax". This superbly original compendium of addresses, maps, store hours, and telephone numbers will enable the reader to create a truly unique, memorable, off-the-beaten-path trip whether they are an out-of-town newcomer or a long-time denizen and resident.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful, June 6, 2009

By 

Katherine Williams - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alternative Chicago: Unique Destinations Beyond the Magnificent Mile (Paperback)

Unfortunately I only read the introduction to this book before buying, and it sounded like it was exactly what I was looking for: a book to tell me all the cool places to go in the city that one might not normally find. I'm new to Chicago, and I want to find the places to go off the beaten path.

I wish I had skimmed the book before I bought it. In this book, the author reviews places he feels one needs to see. Review after review of restaurants and clubs and stores, the author used descriptions like, "decent" and "nondescript." In one review, he claims he is "a tad ambivalent" about that specific restaurant, and in another, he reviews a bar as being the sort that "you never want to go to but find yourself in anyway." Even the places he talked about positively, he never got excited about them. The most you'll get is a restaurant that serves food that is "quite good." He spends a good chunk of the book talking about how he is an "old man" now, and talks about things he did when he was young and what the neighborhoods of Chicago were like years ago, and in many of his reviews he admits that he hasn't been to that place in some time. This is fine if that's what you are looking for, but I would recommend a book on Chicago history if that's the case. The last straw was a review of a resale shop that ACTUALLY starts out with, "Nothing special." Why include this in your book of places "you want to know about" if it is nothing special? I stopped reading the book after that listing, and it went straight in the trash. Worthless.