AVONDALE — Described as having a "scruffy, artsy, lived-in magic," Avondale has been named one of the 10 "hottest, up-and-coming" neighborhoods in the country.
Behind the ranking is travel media company Lonely Planet, which has been putting out travel guidebooks since 1973.
The list, dubbed "Top 10 U.S. neighborhoods to visit now," was compiled by Lonely Planet writers who surveyed travel experts and locals, according to a news release.
Other neighborhoods that made the list include East Liberty and Lawrenceville in Pittsburgh, Point Loma in San Diego, Sunset Park in New York City, South 1st Street in Austin, Montavilla in Portland, River North (RiNo) in Denver, Capitol Riverfront & Yards Park in Washington, DC, East Nashville in Nashville and Frelard in Seattle.
Read the full list here.
Here's the full post on Avondale, by writer Amy Zimmer:
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.
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. That’s literal in the case of Revolution Brewery, whose sprawling tap room makes hop fiends swoon. Within a few blocks, Kuma’s Corner grills hulking burgers with a side of heavy metal and Honey Butter Fried Chicken cooks a sweet-and-salty bird. Meanwhile, kielbasas waft from Milwaukee Ave, a hub for Chicago’s Polish community.
Get here soon though, because Avondale teeters on the edge. Hipster ‘hoods nibble at its borders, poised to spill over. And that may change its scruffy, artsy, lived-in magic.