Del Prado Looking Good: The Sip Cafe, Southside Shrimp come to HP Boulevard

-posted by chicago pop

It is my prediction - and also a fond desire - that 5 years hence the corner of 53rd and Hyde Park Boulevard will be one of the most pleasant, exciting, and desirable in the neighborhood. The University of Chicago has already figured out that 53rd Street is the axis of Hyde Park's urbanity, and the buzzing activity all along that street from Lake Park to the old Harper Theater is a refreshing sign of the institution's commitment to the vitality of the neighborhood's commercial corridor.

The intersection of 53rd and HPB is the gateway to that corridor, and in terms of urban design one of the only real gateways to the neighborhood - the others being a longish viaduct (47th Street), a bucolic but unremarkable jog in the road (51st Street) a blockade (57th Street), and, uh, the Midway. 

Contrast these to 53rd between Lake Shore Drive and HPB: one of the city's oldest and grandest parks is to the north, one of its grandest old hotels, the Del Prado, is to the south, and one of the neighborhood's most stately thoroughfares, Hyde Park Boulevard, sweeps parallel to the lakefront. 

Fixing up the Del Prado is one of the most important things MAC has done in Hyde Park, and the progress made this summer - after what seemed like years of not much visible happening - is exciting. The building itself looks great, as masonry details are restored and a contemporary, modern foyer is installed on the HPB entrance.

The best surprise of the Hyde Park commercial scene this summer is the leasing of a cafe, "The Sip," for the corner space of the Del Prado, in what used to be a convenience store. This cafe will have the best table views in Hyde Park, without question. This is a real score for MAC. Thursday mornings in the summer of 2013, when shoppers at the farmer's market in Harold Washington Park are able to stop by for coffee, will make the corner a great destination. 

I only hope that the cafe will avoid what seems to be a long-term trend for neighborhood cafes and eateries off of 57th Street - what I call the "Third World Effect" - which is to slowly go to seed and eventually close out. There's the obvious example of Third World Cafe and its predecessors. Something similar came close to happening at Istria on 57th; Istria on Cornell is visibly going to pot (what's up with the tattered bar chairs and disappeared bike rack?), although the new coffee source is an improvement; and who knows what will happen to Z&H on 47th after a recent management shake-up? 

Around the corner is a little local eatery, Southside Shrimp, with a few other locations in the city that have given it name recognition and what seems to be a positive reputation. It's basically fried seafood, but they emphasize freshness of ingredients to distinguish themselves from the legions of popcorn shrimp dives. They've clearly put some money into making the place look nice, and have gone to the trouble of getting a permit for sidewalk seating, which already makes the street more interesting. 

We're still waiting for word of a restaurant in the ballroom of the Del Prado's second floor - I'd like to book my window table as soon as possible.

Istria on 57th Likely To Close Soon

posted by chicago pop

Multiple sources have informed us of somewhat shocking news: Istria on 57th may close very soon, perhaps as early as December 20th.

Many people have said that this one cafe made life much more tolerable in retail/social gathering spot/bohemian culture--deprived Hyde park.

If this keeps up, it's going to be harder for realtors (or realtor, singular, meaning MetroPro) to make the pitch that, when it comes to Hyde Park, it's either "the golden rectangle" or the wilderness. With the rare exception of the new Z&H location, what little action there is in the area is either well to the north -- Istria's second, Cornell location at the Hyde Park Art Center is doing very well -- or south, where Robust Coffee Lounge is taking on Woodlawn. With Florian already gone, an empty space under the Metra tracks at 57th and Lake Park Avenue will make two conspicuous holes in one prominent block in the heart of Hyde Park.

[Source: Eric Allix Rogers' Flickr photostream -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/reallyboring/5235226193/]

We'd love to know what went wrong. Streams of people pour out of the Metra station at regular intervals all day long, walking right past Istria's front doors. Neighborhood folks go out of their way to grab a seat. Was it poor management? Bad luck? Or simply not enough traffic?

Perhaps locals may find consolation in the fact that Morsbach's Medici Bakery, ever the trend-setter, is now offering cupcakes.

********

Postscript from Istria received in response to this post:

With respect to closing our original Istria Cafe on 57th Street, several factors let to this difficult decision. Chief among them include a multitude of inflationary pressures and operational constraints. In order to be a going concern, we need to make adjustments to our menu offerings and business model - changes that we plan to roll out over the next several weeks at our other location on 5030 South Cornell in the Hyde Park Art Center. Unfortunately, the economic model and real estate associated with our original 57th Street location are not compatible at this time. We are saddened that we need to close the doors of our original store, but remain optimistic that the improvements that we have planned will be well received by our customers. We have served many wonderful loyal patrons at 57th Street over the past five and half years and hope to continue to serve them going forward.
Best,
Marc Pribaz
Istria Cafe

Robust Coffee Lounge: Caffeine in an Urban Fastness

posted by chicago pop

One of Hyde Park - Kenwood - Woodlawn's newest cool things is in the lower left-hand corner of the above building: Robust Coffee Lounge. We've been flagrantly remiss in not heralding its arrival much, much sooner. Chicago Weekly has a very nice write-up of Robust here. Neighbor blogger Woodlawn Wonder gives her personal take on it here.

So, after several friendly proddings from readers, we finally made it down to their corner location on 63rd and Woodlawn -- where, as a rosy-cheeked youth I walked in days of yore, neath the dappled sunlight of a cacophonous elevated rail spur, in search of Harold's Chicken -- to find that we weren't the only ones retracing our footsteps.

For the most interesting thing about Robust Coffee Lounge-- where, despite the name, it is hoped they do not brew robusta coffee beans -- is actually the owner Jake Sapstein's backstory. In opening up Robust, Sapstein is retracing footsteps of his own. Talk to him for a little bit and you'll quickly realize that he knows the South Side. The reason is that his family owned a chain of pharmacies throughout the area, back in the day when Walgreens was not the only game in town.

It's clear that running a small business, and entrepreneurial spirit, are in his blood; so is running a store on the South Side of Chicago.


I mention all of this because I couldn't help but wonder, approaching the building in this photograph from the north, surrounded as it is by enormous tracts of empty land, who would have the guts to open up here. Not just because it's kind of scary at night (ask Jake, he'll tell you), but because commercially it's deserted, and business loves company. The whole story has a sort of poetry: the old threads of social fabric, torn for over half a century, have been stitched together again on one particular street corner. With any luck, so we are told, Sapstein and his business partner may open up a restaurant next door.

And the coffee? Well, if you've gotten used to Z&H, you may be a little let down. Then again, Sapstein's aim is not to be a solo foodie boutique, but to grow and make money -- full-disclosure to Old-Guard Hyde Park anti-capitalists. But the baked goods are all locally sourced, and everything on the deli menu -- which is substantial, and includes staples that you can't get in Hyde Park anymore, like chicken salad -- is made in-house. "We want to be a curator for local vendors," Jake told me.

Seems to be working so far. Go check it out, if you haven't already.