Bridging the gap: North Side evenings for South Side people (and vice versa)
This is where it all gets friendly.
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A report released last week by the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto revealed a startling series of personality divides between the North and South Sides of Chicago, residents of the former tending to be more introverted and “neurotic” and those living in the latter showing more conscientious, agreeable character traits. Is Chicago really that splintered, and what does it mean for a North or South Sider venturing across local social borders? Refusing to let science and research interfere with a good time, The A.V. Club set its sights on bridging the dispositional gap.
The Divide: You, mild-mannered cerebral individual, live in Rogers Park, but your boisterous, outgoing Bridgeport buddies are making the long ride north on the Red Line tonight.
Dinner: The dozens of beers, exotic burgers (including the famous kangaroo patty), and uncommon wing and fry varieties at Hop Haus (7545 N. Clark St., 773-262-3783) may leave even the most vocal of visitors speechless.
Entertainment: A quick cab ride will get you to The Annoyance, home of such drunken comedy as the foul-mouthed Co-Ed Prison Sluts and the late-night, nearly nude Skinprov.
Cocktails: With live music playing deep into the night, Morseland (1218 W. Morse Ave., 773-764-8900) makes more than enough noise to let your companions externalize into the wee hours without feeling unwelcome.
The Divide: Seeking more like-minded neighbors, you made the move south to a sweet new place in Hyde Park, but tonight you’ll play host to a group of introverted North Side weirdos from the old neighborhood.
Dinner: Fusing a sushi bar with an Italian food-serving neighborhood coffee house, the eclectic menu of The Sit Down Cafe and Sushi Bar (1312 E. 53rd St., 773-324-3700) will provide plenty of conversation starters for your socially inept party—and in case of emergency, the outdoor seating area can at least inspire someone to talk about the weather.
Entertainment: Nothing plays to self-styled intellectualism like a poetry reading, making the Series A reading the first Wednesday of each month at the Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell Ave., 773-324-5520) your group's logical destination.
Cocktails: The quiet music and bench seating might promote more conversation than your North Side drinking buddies would prefer, but the cheap pitchers at neighborhood favorite Cove Lounge (1750 E. 55th St., 773-684-1013) ought to loosen their tongues.
The Divide: Realizing the stupidity of the whole North Side/South Side debate, the gang meets halfway for an evening downtown.
Dinner: Miller’s Pub (134 S. Wabash Ave., 312-263-4988) serves up the expected Chicago bar fare, and the booths almost force diners to talk to each other, but anyone feeling anti-social can take a stroll along the wall of celebrity photos and enjoy a private chuckle imagining what “Macho Man” Randy Savage ordered.
Entertainment: The laid-back crowd at Close Up 2 (416 S. Clark St., 312-385-1111) means those with something to say can speak up without fear of the type of reprisal common to other jazz clubs, but the even more laid-back musicians onstage mean silent types can catch the show in peace without feeling like an outcast.
Cocktails: Top off the evening at Brando’s Speakeasy (343 S. Dearborn St., 773-216-3213); the exhaustive wine and martini selection will give North Side eggheads something to think about, while the nightly karaoke will give South Side loudmouths plenty to shout about.
