1st Ward Events

Was there for the 4^th annual Motown throwdown event. Music was so loud I couldn’t hear people and I loved it! You gotta use your body as a communication language attending events like that. The venue is pretty nice. No doubt it can be improved but overall I was happy with my experience. On your way out you have the Chop Shop bar. Easy car and rail commute. Located in the heart of Wicker Park, one of the coolest Chicago neighborhoods.

I started my September concert goings with North Coast, so when I saw the opportunity for an «electronic» event at 1^st Ward, I decided it would be a good way to end the month. And also see a new music venue.
I found street parking on North, which after 10pm was free. It’s super close to the Damen blue line stop, so the location is very convenient.
When I walked in, I was kind of impressed. It reminded me of a venue for a wedding or party, more so than a music venue. The sound was good and the venue was really nice.
They had a small bar set up inside the ‘venue’ so you didn’t have to go out to Chop Shop to get a beverage, water and soda was $ 3, wine was $ 5 and beer was $ 4.
The bathrooms were interesting, mostly since the sinks were outside and shared. Though I guess that means everyone will know whether or not you wash your hands.
I am looking forward to going back to this venue, possibly when I’m less exhausted, and check it out. If I am ever in charge of finding a location for a large event, I would definitely keep this location in mind.

In addition to Double Door, Concord and Subterranean, there’s a new music venue in the area. I got to check the place out and was impressed.
The venue is located at the back of Chop Shop so there’s a lot more things going on than just music. Chop Shop is a meat market, deli, and restaurant. Their bar has great choices of beers, whiskeys and mixed drinks. The regular menu was available plus they had a small bites menu to accompany drinking. The signature burger seemed to be a popular choice. It is $ 15 and probably one of the best in the city.
The space is high but the sound was good. I went for a punk rock show which probably should best be seen in a less luxurious environment. But we’re all getting old and deserve some comfort and the venue delivers with great meat, alcohol and music. What more does anyone need?

I came here for an event (Donut Fest 2015) held in the event space at the back of this store, and apparently called First Ward. I did not purchase anything here but did observe it to be an interesting business model — a chic butcher shop I would call it. So they have a butcher shop up front and sandwich offerings. I did not check pricing or values but they looked to have quality meat selections on display. They also have a bar and a restaurant section, so that seemed a bit unusual to me for a butcher shop — but it is Wicker Park, so the theme appeared to be: provide whatever the customer base wants here. In the back was a nice open two story event space that looked like it could be used for a variety of events. They packed too many people in here for Donut Fest, but that was not Chop Shop’s issue, but rather the event planners for Donut Fest. Anyway, I guess this is more of a business format review than anything else. FYI — I’m finding that there are several streets in this area that actually have free street parking and not just for residents — like nearby Hoyne Street as well as Wicker Park Avenue, so don’t give up on this area, though the odds of you getting a free space are still quite low!

Went back for dinner on a Sunday! it was OK…
The burger is excellent. High quality, thick beef patty and a tasteful ensemble of toppings. The fries were classily thin cut and good as well, but this is not a burger place. for an app we had the butchers board of meat and cheese for $ 25 which was very overpriced for having 3 slices of various meat and 3 cheese, as well as some other crap including a really good fig jam. IT IS A MUCH BETTER VALUE TO PICK A FEW OF YOUR FAVORITE A LA CART MEATS AND CHEESES. After we were presented with the board, not seeing and prosciutto i immediately asked for some which came out surprisingly NOT thin sliced?! i’m not complaining about that, the more meat the better, the prosciutto was also not that salty and the some of the fat was so chewy it was inedible,. a truly odd experience… The Fiancée had a braised short rib pappardelle noodle that was served in a pool of grease. a tasty grease sauce, but a bit gross. if they would strain the grease it would have been good!