Lakeview explored

as a forum useful for open discussion, pointing out ironies in life and relating crazy stories and experiences among other tools I'm sure, there are a few funny things that I've noticed since living here.

I live in Lake View. but I like it to write it as Lakeview. within Lakeview there are many smaller subdivisions, if you will. overall it's a pretty homogeneous neighborhood but differs slightly in the number of trees, type of housing and amount of sidewalk space. it's a fun, young place to be.

the Southport area is a pretty cool strip populated by hip bars, restaurants, boutiques. definitely the alternative crowd. on Clark there are a lot of the same, but substitute smoke shops for the boutiques. and also add the throngs of people (read: frat boys) that patron its bars ad nauseum. Clark is, for those of you dedicated to the Chicago Cubs, a bordering street of the Friendly Confines, a nickname ascribed to Wrigley Field. the alternative handle for the ballpark is perhaps a good descriptor of Cubs fans, but maybe for the area in which its foundation stands. or both. this area of Lakeview is known as Wrigleyville for obvious reasons and walking down its streets and alleyways on a summer or fall day one can witness numerous games of corn hole, basically a bean bag-turned-drinking game themed after the sports team of the appropriate season. along the 'inner Drive' are the high rises overlooking...yes, the lake. Lake Michigan for all you fans in Jakarta. then there's the southern end of the neighborhood which encompasses the area by DePaul and therefore has a stockpile of college kids. on the northern border is a nice place that is a bit quieter and less commercial than some of the aforementioned bustling places.

so actually, I was totally wrong when I said that Lakeview is homogeneous. not in the least. but to my credit ('cause I'm in charge here) it is a friendly, young residential area.

I'm in East Lakeview. my friends would try to convince you that I live in Boys Town...it is true that it is possible to see Boys Town from my place. but it's really in a separate part of the city. with that established as fact, I will continue. often, I do walk through Boys Town, a gay-friendly neighborhood decorated with phallus-type posts and sex toy shops, on my way to the grocery store, the lake or restaurants. walking by the bars, the same music floods the street as people enter and exit. it's always either techno or Madonna - and sometimes a combination of the two. I have always been curious - why does this group love techno so much? sure, it's definitely stereotypical of me to make a sweeping generalization like that. but so too is it a stereotype of the disc jockeys to always play that music for their audiences. maybe it's the chicken and the egg question relived. and is Madonna really that generous in her donations to the gay community? or perhaps she is popular in the gay community because of her own sexual experiences...or maybe gay people empathize with her with the whole adoption thing. I have no idea.

also, when someone asks what your favorite color is, don't answer: rainbow. just pick one! doing some research (very little), I found that the rainbow colors flag are representative of the struggle, diversity and hopes of the different streams of the gay community. ok fine - but it was a funny thought in an attempt to be ignorant. at least will you please consider shuffle play on your stereos?

moving on, some of my favorite places are in Lakeview. Matilda's, of course, is the best hangout spot in town. Philly's Best has a great veggie grinder sandwich (basically a much better version of a sub sando with a bunch of melted cheese, which really makes anything good) but not-so-great service. and there is also Mama Desta's, offering awesome Ethiopian platters. I also really dig the fried egg sandwich at Twisted Spoke, a biker bar. soo good. I usually keep things pretty simple and go to what I know to be good and fun.
another attraction where the sole purpose is removed from food and drink is the Lake Shore Path. it's a great bike path stretching about 324 miles along the lake. actually I don't know the exact mileage. but it is a lot. a big plus about the neighborhood and Chicago in general. to the right is a view of the skyline where the path spills into the beach.

though just scratching at the surface of the neighborhood, we'll make sure to delve into everything deeper in the form of Chi fests and summer re-cap (is it really over already?)...