Eclectic Avenue: 146th to Milwaukee

Map: Chris Gallevo

1 Classic rock
There have been other outposts of Beverly Records’ long-established chain, but this location of the new-and-used shop is the unbeatable original, stocking all possible formats of sound (vinyl, CDs and—cough!—tapes). Popular both with hardened collectors and the neophytes who want to replace their old 45 of “The Curly Shuffle” from high school (remember that one?). It’s not the alt-rock/hipster store we’ve grown used to in the city, but more like a welcoming family-run suburban oldies joint with autographed pictures on the wall. It’s also a good place for South Side Irish memorabilia. Ask them about the “Greens Brothers,” a group of guys who dress like the Blues Brothers—if Jake and Elwood dyed their suits green and hung out at Sox games. 11612 S Western Ave, 773-779-0066.—James Porter

2 Thrifty treasures
Thanks to the likes of PBS’ Antiques Roadshow, great bargains at thrift stores are a lot harder to come by: Every shopper’s looking for a gem, and every shop owner thinks he’s sitting on the mother lode. Fortunately, that kind of pretense is lost on All Around Thrift, a small but selective South Side thrift shop. Discarded goods from the neighborhood’s large geezer population have helped turn up a fair amount of worthwhile furniture, vintage clothes and antiques that aren’t priced as if Ben Franklin were their previous owner. We’ve also found some R&B gems on vinyl—the record bin is always worth a look. 10933 S Western Ave, 773-233-6370.—Martina Sheehan

3 Hoochie mama
There’s something to be said for the homemade cherry wine your grandpa trots out at family reunions (and that something is: The stuff is foul). But if you want to make booze that’s drinkable, Greg Fischer at Bev-Art is your man. Fischer, a beer and wine enthusiast who’s won several awards for his homemade mead, patiently leads newbies through a two-hour wine-making class that will eventually yield up to 30 bottles of their own vintage. First, pick your juice—grape choices span the world, from Spanish tempranillo to Australian shiraz. Then it’s time to taste wines Fischer made in-house. His explanations of each wine are as long as his pours, so thankfully he holds tipsy participants’ hands throughout the wine-making process that follows the tasting. Depending on the grape you choose, your creation needs to ferment in Bev-Art’s cellar for 10 to 15 weeks, and once it’s done, you come back in for bottling and corking (e-mail a JPEG of your design and Bev-Art will print labels for you for $35). That’s also when you get the first sip of your wine: It’ll taste very young (read: superfruity), but it’s a decent clue as to how it will taste when it’s at its peak, about 6 to 12 months after bottling—just in time for next year’s family reunion. 10033 S Western Ave, 773-233-7579.—Laura Baginski

ITS A MALL WORLD Trust us, there are actually people inside the South Side’s iconic Evergreen Plaza.

4 Plaza sweet
On the South Side, if you say you’re going to “the Plaza” it is understood you mean Evergreen Plaza. (The nickname became so popular that in recent years, the mall dropped the Evergreen from its signage.) This Evergreen Park institution has been the quintessential city shopping center since 1952. But inside, the stores have more flavor than the typical collection of chain shops, with esoteric specialty stores such as Lids (devoted to ballplayers’ caps), Just for the Scent of It (an all-perfume store), Silver Design (jewelry), and Twin Hicks, which sells the artwork of Aaron and Alan Hicks (“identical twins…identical art styles”). 9500 S Western Ave, 708-423-1070—JP

Original Rainbow Cone

5 Taste a rainbow
For 81 years, a giant neon cone light has beckoned multiple generations of kids, teens and other ice-cream fiends to Original Rainbow Cone, an old-fashioned, peach-stucco parlor in Beverly. It offers a few dozen flavors (from cookie dough to chocolate–peanut butter), but the real draw is the namesake Rainbow Cone, a monster five-layer treat piled high with scoops of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (that’s cherry), pistachio and orange sherbet. 9233 S Western Ave, 773-238-7075.—MS

6 Good and fast
There are plenty of choices among fast-food restaurants on Western, all of them willing to quell our late-night hunger pangs with lukewarm burgers and chewy quesadillas. But if it’s the weekend, we’ll pass all of them by until we reach Taquería Tayahua. Once there, we find it difficult to choose between dishes like the caldo de res (a hearty soup full of corn and succulent beef) and the camarones a la diabla (a fiery shrimp dish). Heck, if we came all the way here to eat, maybe we’ll order both. 2411 S Western Ave, 773-247-3183.—David Tamarkin

7 From hardly working to working hard
The Chicago-based Working Bikes Co-Op fixes up donated bicycles and then sends them in one of two directions: Some go off to a country where transportation is scarce, like Guatemala and Ecuador; the others go to its Western Avenue storefront, where rehabbed two-wheelers sell cheap and quick. Lines of bike fanatics form before the store even opens, so it’s not enough to get there early—you also better be ready to throw some elbows. 1125 S Western Ave, 312-421-5048.—Jonathan Messinger

Liz’s Bird Shop

8 Bird paradise
If you’re thinking of swooping in and picking up a new feathered friend at Liz’s Bird Shop, be forewarned: The process takes a while. Liz Varela, the owner of this renowned shop, consults with prospective owners before she’ll sell them a budgie or an African Grey. “Birds live a long time, longer than dogs and cats,” she says. I want them to know what they are getting into.” How long? Some Amazon parrots can live 90 years. Despite the shop’s name, you can pick up food and basic accoutrements for the furry set here, but not just any kind of pet food—it’s strictly organic. “None of our food was recalled,” Varela boasts, referring to the tainted pet-food scare earlier this year. “What we sell here, basically, people could eat it.” 2403 W Chicago Ave (at 800 N Western), 773-772-4011.—Ruth Lopez

9 Hit the Bottle
We’ve all seen a sweaty beer-drenched show at the Bottle. So in lieu of praising the Empty Bottle’s impressive weekly lineups of garage, drone, punk and more; free Monday shows; and $2 PBRs, we just have one small request: Please show the bands some love and get near the stage. That five-foot deserted moat at the footlights ain’t cool. 1035 N Western Ave, 773-276-3600.—Tim Lowery

Stop! Look!

10 Treasure hunt
If you’ve never stopped! to look! at the crazy array of junk crammed into Stop! Look!’s  tiny storefront thrift shop, you’re missing out. The wares (old records, collectibles, ladies’ dancing shoes, baby items, random postcards, mildewy clothing, splintery furniture) are piled so haphazardly on top of each other, it’s almost difficult to navigate the patches of carpet that are visible. But if you make the effort, there are some real finds—and some great fun to be had in looking. 1307 N Western Ave, no phone.—Lauren Viera

11 Sundae, bloody good sundae
A Western Avenue staple since 1921, Margie’s Candies is revered as much for its ancient but (mostly) charming waitstaff as it is for its housemade ice cream, served in a dizzying array of sundae combinations. You’ll find Bucktown hipsters waiting for booths alongside families, all eager to get their hands on those gravy boats of hot fudge that come alongside the 18 percent–butterfat scoops of dreamy goodness. 1960 N Western Ave, 773-384-1035.—Judy Sutton Taylor