There’s a reason that young people are young: to remind old people that they are old. And be it a one fine day or a one fine night, this rule is immutable.
Because when you are in the throes of middle age, precious little makes you feel as old as attempting to party with young’uns. This is worthy of note because I’m sure that many of you in your 40s are thinking, “Hey, I feel pretty good. Let’s trip the light fantastic at a trendy club or something.” Or at least, members of my Evanston-based journalists’ seminar were. I was thinking “Madre de dios, this club opens a half-hour past my bedtime!” Oh, and if you say “Trip the light fantastic,” you’re beyond hope.
MORNING
Fortify yourself. Because I tend to visit the same places (food isn’t for adventure — food is for food), it was Blind Faith Cafe time (525 Dempster St., Evanston, 847-328-6875). I always have the same thing: an omelette with tomatoes and two whole grain pancakes with maple syrup. Period.
EVENING
After an edifying afternoon of learning, we found ourselves at That Little Mexican Cafe (1010 Church St., Evanston, 847-905-1550) for dinner. It was tasty, satisfying and not all that authentic Mexican food. And it’s busy on a weekend night, so forewarned is forearmed.
NIGHT (and, how!)
Later, we found ourselves at Chromium (817 W. Lake St., 312-666-8106). After having spent the previous night at Crobar, where lots of older, untrendy folks seemed to be dancing to the words, the cooler vibe at Chromium was much appreciated. Mind you, if the place was truly cool, a bunch of tourist journalists wouldn’t have been able to get in, but that’s another story.
Chromium plays a hip-hop-based musical mixture, with a strong Latin inflection. Reggaeton fans will find themselves right at home, and the slower beat of this music allowed some rather interesting cultural differences to manifest themselves.
A slower, more sinuous beat is more difficult to dance to. So if you looked fine at Crobar, that might not translate well to Chromium. And the closer quarters at Chromium mean that if you’re at all shy, you might find things a little intimidating, because the folks in this dark, elegant space know how to move.
Now, to that old thing. People are smoking, the music is loud and the room is hot. I know. It’s a dance club. Duh. But when you’re a borderline coot, there’s only so much you can take, which is why young folks are young, and were still dancing as I was fleeing for home.