The Challenge

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods. These neighborhoods function as miniature cities within a city, with their own mini-histories, mini-heritages, and mini-civic pride. Depending on who you talk to, Chicago has between 58 and 228 neighborhoods. For better or worse (read: worse), Megan and I tend to stick to the neighborhoods full of other 20-somethings who shop at Crate & Barrel and J. Crew. It's high time we branched out.

In the coming weeks, months and fortnights, we will, in alphabetical order, explore as many of these other neighborhoods as possible. How is that a challenge? It's Chicago in the winter. Megan hates the cold, and I hate missing college basketball.

Rules (subject to change or blatant disregard):

• For a neighborhood to count, both Megan and I have to go
• We have to visit at least 2 establishments
• We have to hit the neighborhoods in alphabetical order according to our arbitrary master list
  
• Rule #3 can be temporarily disregarded if there is some kind of once-a-year event going on in a neighborhood further down the list that warrants skipping ahead
  
• We don't have to go to any neighborhoods where you need a gun
• Unless we get a gun

Albany Park, here we come.