BreadHive first made its name with delicious fresh-baked bread (the flagship "West Side Sourdough", multigrain, deli rye and Danish-style rugbrød) and bagels (eight varieties, all baked with locally-grown organic flour and wild yeast). But with their expansion from a mere walk-up window to a full-size restaurant has come additions to the menu in the form of delicious sandwiches all named for the owners' favorite female musicians — favorites include "The Robyn" (their version of what Jewish delis call the "Rachel", with beet caraway sauerkraut sourced from the West Side's own Barrel + Brine) and "The Bjork" (a vegan-friendly concoction with tempeh "bacon"). In the morning there's a somewhat smaller range of breakfast sandwiches, plus locally-roasted Public Espresso.
Tue 8AM-6PM, Wed-Sun 8AM-3PM · $10-20
Along with the Armory Restaurant, Mineo & Sapio is along the last remnants of the old Italian Village: they've been on Connecticut Street since 1920. They sell a variety of sausages, but the classic-recipe Italian is unsurprisingly the marquee selection: 100% pork, no preservatives or artificial colors, all-natural hog casings. Best of all, despite the fact that the bulk of their sales nowadays are to supermarkets and restaurants, the atmosphere at the retail shop is friendly, cozy, and fragrant with the aroma of sausage spices. You can buy it frozen like at the grocery store if you want, but since you have the opportunity, you really want to go for the fresh stuff.
Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM, Sat 9AM-2PM
This is not your ordinary bookstore, but if you're on the lookout for a unique gift for that hard-to-buy-for far-left radical on your list, Burning Books probably has what you're looking for: in the words of one reviewer, "books that people in power don't want you to read". Histories, biographies, reference materials, magazines, leaflets, DVDs, and even kids' books regarding a diversity of themes of social injustice and revolutionary politics — everything from the Black Panthers to the Stonewall Riots to the Zapatistas — all come at decidedly 99%-friendly prices.
Wed-Sun 11AM-7PM
EatEastern european restaurant West Side Building on the eclecticism of Bistro Europa, the previous eatery from owners Steve and Ellen Gedra, Black Sheep's brief but kaleidoscopically diverse menu is not just a grand tour of Europe, as before, but a round-the-world adventure: selections change frequently, but shareable small plates have included classic pierogi, pakora with squash and onion drizzled with spicy basil lime aioli, and (as always) the famous cheese and charcuterie boards, while full-size mains tend to be a touch less adventurous (think in terms of roast or fried chicken, pasta preparations, and gourmet burgers). The common threads running through everything are an emphasis on locally-sourced farm-to-table ingredients, and, in the words of one reviewer, "eyes-rolling-in-the-back-of-your head delicious[ness]".
Mon-Thu 5-10PM, Fri Sat 5-11PM · $35-75