New Addition to the South Loop Neighborhood

Columbia College continue to develop in the South Loop. I love this addition. Students, visual arts, education and young, vibrant, creative people are welcomed to my neighborhood. Below is a money quote about the project:

Officials at the college have worked closely with Third Ward Alderman Patricia Dowell, to ensure that the facility will be a good fit with the emerging neighborhood around the site. Arnold Randall, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development, has said that "the redevelopment of this long-vacant parcel of land is important to the ongoing revitalization of the South Loop neighborhood. With its unique design and environmental features, the center will become a tremendous asset to the community and the city as a whole."

For the actual story in the WSJ.

Dinner at Hackney's

Last night we went to Hackney's, the highly recommended local restaurant/bar in printer's row. This is our second attempt to go since it's usually pretty busy and since they don't take reservations.

This time we called before to gauge how busy it was and whether two of us could get a table quickly. No problem they said. As we turned the corner from Polk to Dearborn (where the restaurant is located) we were greeted with people sitting outside enjoying the unusually warm autumn night. We went inside, were greeted warmly by the staff and seated even quicker.

The service was nice, quick and sincere. After ordering dinner (which we did first since it was late and we were hungry) we looked at the expansive beer list. I opted for the half acre lager, which is a new local beer to Chicago, and my girlfriend decided on an IPA which was validated by our waitress. Although the IPA was a little much, my Half Acre was delicious. Hackney's had a variety of beers which were relatively cheap. Definitely going to hit this up again if beer is on my mind.

I went for the Friday special of a chicken and provolone sandwich and my girlfriend went for the garden pasta for dinner. My sandwich was very good and the portion was large. The pasta dish was also rather large, but relatively bland tasting. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn't anything special.

The decor and atmosphere was laid back and traditional, which was a good thing. Although we opted for a quick dinner, the experience was good and I'm definitely going to venture back. All in all a good first experience at Hackney's in Printer's Row.

http://www.hackneysprintersrow.com/

Mission Statement

Life in the South Loop is evolving. This is our experience and thoughts on what that means. Throughout this blog I will try to look at what this neighborhood was, is and might be. Opinions may vary, but this is ours…