Commuted again around 8am. Gah! This time I got some Zelda in; I think I’m about halfway through.
First stop: Wao Bao. It’s a dimsum/fusion fast food place, and they have free wifi. I ended up writing a Yelp review from inside the restaurant. They had “breakfast bao” there, with scrambled egg inside, and your choice of mushroom or bacon or spicy sausage. They have tea and little pumpkin seed snacks and other little junkfood there; it’s like if McDonald’s sold dimsum. I liked it.
Right in the same mall is this hair salon for bankers, 316 Club Barber Spa. The counter staff are all hot young girls; there’s a full bar with a complimentary drink if you get a shave here. Everything is done in sexy indirect neon lighting, like a trendy bar. They specialize in straight razor shaves and you can watch sports or the stock market while you are serviced. Totally crazy. I almost did this but… we’re on a schedule here!
Walked to the north end of the Loop. Actually I don’t remember anything there so it can’t have been that great… so I took the El back to Wicker Park and walked down to Ukranian Village to visit the local “hip vinyl toys for grown-up kids” store, Rotofugi. It was a bit like KidRobot… but! On the way I ran into a little cafe, also with wifi, called Sweet Cakes– with yet more cupcakes, including a scary muffin called “the EGG!!” which has a hard boiled egg in the middle. Right next door is a tiny gallery called Glad Eye. At some point I went to yet another comic book place there, Vigilante, and picked up the new Alan Moore collection.
Later I made my way back to Ragstock and shopped for $15 tuxedoes. That night I went back to Downer’s Grove to take Dy out for dinner; we went to Emmet’s Alehouse, which is sort of a Gordon Biersch but not quite as California.
That was my last “solo” day in Chicago.