Melissa’s place is clean, cozy, and in a great location outside the busy downtown Chicago without compromising the ease of going into town. The bungalow is cute and had all we needed for our trip. There’s a microwave, a mini oven, a kettle and stove, dishes and utensils, Brita filter, sink, plug-in “fireplace”, and more included to make this place very homey. We love the natural light but was able to use the clips to block out most of the light when we went to sleep. If you’re a sensitive sleeper, I recommend bringing your eye mask. There’s a sound machine we used daily because it’s so relaxing. Franklin Pup is really cute and super friendly. He was really excited when we first got in, but he is very well behaved. The faucet in the living area is very sensitive and gets hot very fast so use carefully. If you need, there’s a cvs down the street.
The neighborhood is rather quiet and safe. We saw mothers walking with their toddlers in the evening.
There are several bus stops around the neighborhood that could take you to the blue line to go into downtown. If you buy a Ventra card, you can use the CTA to get around. Just estimate that transportation into downtown could take around an hour, so plan accordingly. If you’re coming back from Logan Square, you may only need to take the bus back without having to get to the blue line. We used the CTA and walked most places. Note that you will need to pay extra (even if you already have a Ventra card) if you use the Pulse (purple) bus and can do so on your app or online.
There’s an Italian place nearby we heard had great tavern-style pizza. There’s also Community Tavern (Asian fusion) the host recommended that was really good. We didn’t try the other places nearby so can’t say. Some places we recommend are Ema, Kasama, Au Cheval, Pat’s Pizza (tavern-style), Ava’s Italian Ice, Jibaritos y mas, Duck Inn, and Community Tavern. Some popular local foods we also liked (and if your system can take it): Al’s Italian Beef, Super Dawg.
Overall, highly recommend and amazing hosts.