Guess I need to get my butt back to Chitown and get to Schwartz. When I lived there, their selection was smaller, the guys who worked there catered to the CBOT guys preferentially, and generally a little claustrophobic.
Up down's prices always turned me off(insert higher than the downtown shops), plus the fact that, at the time, you had to get someone to get the cigars for you (insert locked cabinets). Only upside is, if its late on a Saturday night, they're open for you to go and grab a cigar which your forgot to get at Ries or Schwartz during the day lol.
Blue Havana which is an offshoot of the Alley, started off as a "hmm cigar boom, we should open up a shop too" type shop during the last boom. With the other choices, I never go there with limited time in town.
Like I mentioned earlier, I've never been to Casa or the Leaf as they didn't' exist when I lived in Chitown. Will definitely try to schedule an extra day when I try to catch a game or two this summer. G1