I've even gone so far as to develop a little crush on someone else. Not any of the obvious temptations-- not sleek and sexy River North, young and flirty Lakeview, classy, sophisticated Lincoln Park, or edgy and mysterious Wicker Park. Nope, I've got a little thing for Andersonville, the cute, down-to-earth girl next door. (Not familiar with the neighborhood? Check out its official website here.)
Top: 53rd Street in Hyde Park (from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/53rd_st_Hyde_Park.JPG)Bottom: Clark Street in Andersonville (from: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/14/c6/ce/clark-st-in-andersonville.jpg
What is it about her that drew me in? Well, she's definitely my type, i.e. very approachable and easy-going, yet interesting without being frivolous or overly trendy. She's also got a lot in common with my main squeeze, Hyde Park. She too is a bit off the beaten path-- she's as far north as we are south, but, like Hyde Park, she's right by the lake and Lake Shore Drive and thus easy to zip to from other parts of the city. The locals are unpretentious and cool, but not too trendy or overly hip. Also like Hyde Park, Andersonville has a small-town feel that it's very proud of-- the website even describes the neighborhood as a "quaint village in the middle of a world class city." The homes in the neighborhood are not as architecturally interesting as in Hyde Park, but the buildings along its main drag (Clark street from Hollywood to a little south of Foster) are the same low-slung, 50s-era storefronts you find on 53rd and 57th Streets.
What's different and in some ways more attractive about Andersonville is that it is packed to the gills with fun, interesting, exciting businesses and restaurants. Within a one mile stretch on Clark, are affordable tapas, sushi, small plate Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Morrocan, Belgian, gastropub, southern, and brunch spots, not to mention several fun bars. In general, these restaurants are unpretentious and affordable, but the interiors are well-decorated, the menus are thoughtfully planned, the service is solid and professional, and the food is legitimately good and even innovative at times. Andersonville is home to my hands-down-favorite bar/restaurant in the city, the Hopleaf, which has an amazing beer selection and serves up simple and cheap sandwiches and fries but also offers some upscale fare that competes with any restaurant I've been to in a so-called hip neighborhood. The place is always packed and people are willing to drive there from all over the city. I've tweeted about this before, but I see no reason why Hyde Park couldn't sustain a place like this, as it fills so many needs-- a fun bar, affordable food for college students or those on a budget, and nicer options for special occasions or those who have more expensive tastes.
Don't get me wrong, Hyde Park has some very good restaurants and fun bars. To be totally honest, though, I feel like I often have to overlook little "quirks," like slow service, outdated decor, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink menus (e.g. guacamole on an Italian menu), and excessively high prices for food that is good, but rarely innovative or exciting. There's also the obvious issue of there just not being enough options, particularly when it comes to restaurants that sit somewhere between super cheap take-out and special occasion spots. The Snail or the Med, for example, are great for a quick weeknight dinner and Park 52 or La Petite Folie are perfect for your birthday or anniversary, but they are too expensive to visit often.
Ok, ok, I'm going to stop here because Hyde Park is still my main girl and I don't want you to think that I don't love and appreciate her for what she is. (I'm not going to go into the details here because that's what I talk about in virtually every other post, but there are of course things I love about Hyde Park that Andersonville could never compete with.) It's just that I think she's capable of more. Neither Hyde Park or Andersonville is the prettiest girl in the room, but both have a special something that catches your eye and hooks you in. Andersonville, though, does a better job of keeping your attention once she's wooed you. It's like this-- Andersonville knows some people love her, but--given that she's off the beaten path and not the hippest hood in the city-- she knows that she needs to style her hair, put some perfume on, and do a little flirting if she's going to keep folks interested. Hyde Park, on the other hand, seems to have let her self go a little bit. She's started wearing sweat pants to bed. She knows that she has the University of Chicago population and folks who want to be in a thriving south side neighborhood in the palm of her hand, so she doesn't feel like she has to work at keeping the spark alive. The thing is, we (Hyde Park locals) are putting a lot into this relationship-- we pay relatively high rent to live here and we invest a lot of money in local businesses, even when there are often more affordable and/or higher quality options in other parts of the city. It's only fair that our neighborhood meet us half way. Local spots owe it to us to step up their game-- to improve their service, to get real leather menu covers, to repaint their walls, to spruce up their menus. And I think the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce should be doing more to lure businesses here, to demonstrate that there is a great need and captive market for more dining and entertainment. Yes, the new Harper Court development may help-- but Andersonville didn't need plastic surgery to woo suitors and neither should we.
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First off, O'Reilly is an idiot and I absolutely think he gets paid to make people angry because that's what generates attention.
That being said, his comment really struck a nerve for me. On the one hand, I can chalk the statement up to ignorance-- he's not from Chicago and, from what I've read, hasn't spent any prolonged time here. What's more upsetting to me is that he is evoking and popularizing a misconception that is already held by many native Chicagoans. I was born and raised on the north side, and lived and went to school in some areas that weren't so hot, yet many friends and family from the old hood act worried, or at least uncomfortable, when they have to pass Roosevelt to come visit me in Hyde Park.
I recently had a friend (who grew up in the Chicago area) come to my place for the first time. The first thing out of his mouth was, "Wow, I was always scared to try to find street parking by the museum [of Science and Industry]. Who knew it was nice around here?!" Later in the night, I overhead him comment to his girlfriend that maybe they should put the south side on their radar when they start looking for a place to buy. This guy has lived in the city for 27 years, had been to the museum countless times, and yet had never ventured off the campus to the surrounding neighborhood. Once he was pushed to actually set foot in a south side community, though, he actually liked it.
I think a big part of the problem is that the media seems to talk about the north side as a collection of distinct neighborhoods, but treats the south side as a homogeneous community. If a crime takes place in Uptown for example, the media and Chicagoans in general are probably not going to generalize that Lakeview or Lincoln Park are also unsafe. If a crime happens in Englewood, though, people interpret that as meaning Hyde Park, Bronzeville, Beverly, Chatham, etc. are unsafe too.
That is not to say that many south side communities are not struggling. There's no doubt about the fact that there are several south side neighborhoods that have major problems with crime. At the same time, I think few people realize that there are about as many south side neighborhoods in the green (i.e. low crime) range as there are north side neighborhoods in this range. (The south side has more high-crime areas, but it's also twice as big as the north-side.) I'd also like to point out that the downtown area and hip west-loop have higher crime rates than many parts of the south side.
Ok, I'm done with my rant/lecture. Thanks for your patience. :-)