Knowing I love public art, my friend Bill asked why I have not written about the Northwest Art Trail just a few miles south of me. He offered to give me a tour and added lunch at Gale Street Inn as an added incentive … not that I needed one.

Officially launched in 2015, the Northwest Art Trail runs for 10 blocks in the business district of Portage Park and Jefferson Park neighborhoods on Chicago’s northwest side. It is named for the Native American portage route between the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers.

One of the interesting features of this art trail is the connection each creation has to its location. The sculptures and murals have reasons for their placements. The intention is to provoke thoughts. One of the easiest connections to make is the sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, which stands at the front of the Jefferson Park bus terminal. Other less obvious connections involve material, location and subject. It’s fun trying to figure out the “why” of each piece.

Trail markers help guide visitors. Businesses also have pamphlets with information about the pieces and creators. Of course, there is also a Northwest Art Trail website to provide even more information.

It’s about 3 miles roundtrip, making it a fun walk and easier than using a car. With everything so close, even with studying each piece, we finished in an hour or so and headed to lunch.

Since opening in 1963, Gale Street Inn has become a Chicago institution. Although it is known for ribs, do not overlook the rest of the menu. For an appetizer, I recommend the calamari. It’s so good, I never use the giardiniera aioli. The beets and pistachio salad, with whipped blue and ricotta cheeses, pistachio pesto, frisée and citrus vinaigrette could be a meal in itself. It’s hard for me to pass the salmon on wilted kale with roasted sweet potatoes. Since that’s a lot of food for one person, I recommend sharing all while maybe adding one appetizer.

— John Wroblewski, online writer