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Library (Orange, Purple, Green, Brown)

Back to the books, the basics and the best brunch in town.

Monday Mar 21, 2005.     By J. Tyson

Lifestyle Feed

This is the best stop in the Loop. Not only is the actual station gorgeous, but it's connected to the best library in the city. Plus, it's close to Printer's Row, a section of south Dearborn that, after the great fire, began crawling with prostitutes and criminals. By 1905, it had been cleaned up considerably, and became the epicenter of activity in the booming printing industry. Now it is home to unique bookstores, cafes and restaurants.

Safety rating: The Loop is generally a very busy place during the day, and a very desolate place by night. Carry yourself accordingly.

Panhandler rating: If you really can't be bothered, why bother going out?

In-the-know spot
Printer's Row Fine and Rare Books
When I asked proprietor John LaPine if he had a favorite among his huge collection of rare books, he was quick to answer, "No."

"Do you have any sort of stranded-on-a-desert-island selections?" I pressed. His was probably the best possible answer to such a trite question: "The Oxford English Dictionary," he said. The 20-volume set, with etymological analyses and definitions of every word in the English language, would undoubtedly be the most engrossing text to spend the rest of a lonesome life with.

LaPine's store houses a collection whose size and depth suggests he wouldn't mind such exile. He has read "Moby Dick" 18 times. A book collector since the ripe old age of eight, his store contains an immensely sophisticated collection (a 1780 edition of "Don Quixote," for instance) but LaPine exhibits a childlike exuberance in their presence. The man is passionate about good literature, which is makes a visit to Printer's Row Fine and Rare Books an invaluable learning experience. Ask him some questions; you won't be disappointed. A large reading table, glowing fireplace and antique-looking lamps make the shop itself feel more like a collector's study than a bookstore, which, I guess it might be.

No wallet needed
Harold Washington Library Center
"The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man," opined T.S. Elliot. Libraries are indeed remarkable, and Chicago has one of the most extraordinary libraries in the Midwest. (In fact, the above quote can be found on one of the walls.) The library is named after Chicago's first African-American mayor; Harold Washington (aka "the people's mayor"), who died in 1987, was a strong advocate for the new building.

The Harold Washington Library has more than 70 miles of shelving. That's knowledge from here to Joliet and halfway back. All of this information is housed one of the most ominous-looking buildings in downtown Chicago. Giant, ominous owl sculptures that loom at the four corners of the library's rooftop serve to commemorate Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and indirectly prove that knowledge can be a scary thing. It would be easy to spend an entire day spelunking the depths of the library's nine accessible floors and walk out feeling like you'd barely scratched the surface, either a frustrating or exhilarating experience, depending on your mindset.

Not only is the Harold Washington Library free, but it is a killer place to chill. In addition to its 2,400 seating capacity, there is something to investigate on every floor. The fourth, for instance, houses a complete set of US patents (from 1970). There are computers with free Internet access on the fifth. On the sixth, there sits a cannon used in the Civil War. The ninth floor houses the Winter Garden; a huge space that opens up to the tenth floor, the garden is home to many olive trees. Scattered throughout the library there are statues and murals by renowned artists. If you want to take the chill home with you, the first floor's Popular Library (stocked with current titles) offers a formidable collection of CDs, videos and DVDs.

Cheap eats
Boni Vino
This is a pretty standard Italian restaurant. The red and white-checkered tablecloths give off a generic, old-school vibe, but they aren't too garish, as the lighting is kept low. The specialties menu is rather extensive, and nothing seems out of the ordinary, except perhaps the breaded pork cutlet with potatoes. None of these delicacies exceed $10. Topped with melted cheese and grilled onions and served on garlic bread, the Deluxe Boni Vino Famous Steak Sandwich Special sounds as heavy as its name, and is perhaps the most enticing menu option. Be warned, it can get pretty smoky inside.

For for the artiste
Gourmand
There is something distinctly bohemian to this place. There's no bongo playing going on, but it doesn't require a great stretch of the imagination to picture a gaggle of bearded thinkers holding court on the corner couch, haggling over the meaning of things with the aid of high-quality stimulants: coffee, tea and micro-brewed beer (cigarettes may be smoked on one-half of the room). There is also an extensive menu of sandwiches, salads and desserts scrawled on blackboards that hang above the counter. Art peppers the walls, and the ceilings are lofty, as are the thoughts chattered among patrons.

Arena for the a.m.
Orange on Harrison
Orange occupies the ground floor in a building whose front has been covered with a massive orange tarp, making it easy to spot. The dining room is huge and bright with high ceilings that aren't so high as to become unwelcoming. And as you enter, there is an ancient-looking juicer filled with oranges, so you know you're in the right place. This breakfast restaurant offers a nearly unmanageable selection of creative food. Orange proffers fruit sushi, a rotating selection of exotic and experimental pancakes and the best, well, only, omelet I've ever had that included bacon, leeks, figs and brie. That very same omelet was accompanied by a watercress salad with boysenberry dressing. Further endearing the place is a bottomless cup of coffee that is actually a bottomless thermos that joins you at the table. There's also a mix-and-match menu of fresh-squeezed juices. Plus, Orange on Harrison is BYOB with no corkage fee. If you bring your own booze, it spices things up by offering bloody Mary mix.