Now that you know where to get your literary groove on, where can you consume all that literature–and some food–without feeling like the solitary book freak, jilted date or dreaded table-for-onester?
We perused our mental restaurant index to find five places with good lighting, not overly boisterous crowds, great food at the bar, comfy couches or policies that virtually ensure you will not feel like a pariah.
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1. David Burke’s Primehouse, 616 N. Rush St. in the James Chicago Hotel, 312-660-6000: At first this hipster steakhouse–practically encased in leather like a fine book jacket–doesn’t seem like the ideal spot for a solitary book worm. But we discovered something really cool. Instead of eating in the dining room, literature lovers can read and eat on the leather couches and chairs right outside the restaurant’s doors in the main lobby. Chew on the latest meaty literary plot along with a fine steak dry-aged in their salt cave and you’ll look more like someone waiting for her room to be ready than a diner without a companion.
2. Billy Berk’s, 3 Old Orchard Shopping Center Skokie, 847-763-4600: OK, so this festive American eatery with a big grand piano is not exactly library-quiet. But it does have a few things going for it when it comes to single readers. Seating in the bar area and the dining room’s four corner banquettes make for discreet and cozy reading. Waiters are friendly and efficient. And, best of all, Billy Berk’s enforces “Laws of Diner’s Rights,” which include offering a free meal to any single diner who is greeted with the expression “Just one?” Indeed, during my recent tasty solo meal there of salad and the foot-long lamb burger, not a single staffer made me feel dorky with those words.
3. Oysy, 888 S. Michigan Ave., 312-922-1127: Located near a cluster of downtown university campuses, this place would have attracted the bookish even if it didn’t boast bright lighting and civil noise levels. Everyone seems to love the inventive sushi and sashimi combinations, but I’m particularly fond of the three-tofu salad appetizer. Plenty of booths for two–that look somewhat like library carols–and even a booth for one right next to big sunny windows make this an ideal reading spot.
4. Beef and Brandy, 127 S. State St., 312-372-3451: A particularly bookish colleague recommended this increasing rare find–a cheap downtown diner. The coffee is weak but bottomless, the waitresses smile and call you honey and the food arrives fast, hot and plentiful. With a big chain bookstore just down the block, no-rush service, dinner specials for $6.99 and soft comfy booths, I can see hiding out here and reading undisturbed for hours.
5. Cerise in the Conrad Hotel, 521 N. Rush St.; 312-327-0564: When I need to do a quiet interview or have a discreet conversation, I often duck into this French-American spot. Tucked away in the heart of the Conrad Hotel, it is a largely hidden gem that must stay open for hotel diners.
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