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News Thu Jul 31 2008
Dining in the Streets
Chicago's newspapers and magazines have been overrun lately with articles and lists outlining where to dine or drink al fresco. But in New York, according to an article in the New York Times today, people are hitting the streets to dine where there are no restaurants. There's a story about a guy who hauls some food and drink on to the Brooklyn Bridge and throws a dinner party there every summer. Others tell about setting up tables and chairs on the sidewalk in front of their buildings. I spent a summer in Amsterdam, and every evening residents of the building where I stayed would bring out tables and food and wine. It's something that requires a certain amount of inhibition, and for the New Yorkers in the paper, a desire to take back public spaces that are starting to feel off limits. Two of the diners in the Times story live in and around SoHo, and say they're repsonding to the invasion of glass-walled condos and chain stores. One person even noted that "it's when money hits the street" that the feeling of community and spontaneity go away from a neighborhood. This is something a lot of people in Chicago have experienced in their own neighborhoods. So, why not haul out a card table, some chairs and a pitcher of margaritas, and show your love for your hood.
