I recently returned from a long weekend in Chicago. So many attractions vie for your attention in Chicago, but I made a point of visiting one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city, the Ukrainian Village. This is the kind of place where you hear young guys speaking Ukrainian on the stoop of an apartment, where there are Ukrainian credit unions, travel agencies, insurance offices, and so forth. This authentic neighborhood isn't as gentrified, over-priced and filled with yuppies as some other Chicago neighborhoods. It isn't a huge area, but it does have a unique feeling & some places of interest.
I like to stop in at Ann's Bakery (2158 W. Chicago Ave.) for a fresh loaf of "European Rye Bread." Among other baked goods, Ann's also stocks a fine assortment of imported juices, teas, chocolates, and other food items. They even have 2 liter bottles of kvas. I have not opened my bottle yet, so I can't comment 0n the taste of kvas out of a plastic bottle. (Picture of korovai, Ukr. wedding bread made by Ann's Bakery.)
I strolled down the block to the Ukrainian Village Grocery (2204 W. Chicago Ave.) for some kovbasa to go with my bread - nice and garlicky! The Village Grocery also has a fine selection of imported spirits, including bottles of Nemiroff and wines from Odesa. I can't buy Nemiroff in Michigan, so I was delighted to find the Cranberry version, which I first tasted during a visit to Ukraine a couple of years ago. I have been searching for it ever since. I'm waiting for a special occasion to open it.
Another interesting shop is Delta Gifts at 2242 W. Chicago Ave. They have a wide assortment of items from Ukraine and other East European countries. I bought a book about Lviv published in Ukraine but written in English. The women in the shop did a wonderful job testing my comprehension of rapid Ukrainian.
Enough about shops. If you don't want to buy your food and eat on the street, just across the avenue is Sak's Ukrainian Village Restaurant (2301 W. Chicago Ave). They serve up steamy bowls of borshch along with other authentic dishes.
There are two stately Ukrainian churches in the neighborhood a bit off of the Avenue, just a couple of blocks apart from each other. I assume that one is Greek-Catholic and the other is Roman-Catholic, but I'm not sure. Maybe someone can post a comment to clarify this.
At least two museums provide further attraction - I have not been in either, so I can't say much about them, but you can follow the links below to see what is going on at each:
UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE OF MODERN ART 2318 W. Chicago Ave.
UKRAINIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 721 N. Oakley Blvd.
To get to Chicago's Ukrainian Village, take Chicago Ave. west of downtown to where it intersects with Damen. The neighborhood lies between Damen and Western. If you have any interest in Ukrainian culture in America, it'll be well worth your time.
Also - check out Ann Gunkel's Ukrainian Village virtual tour
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