Every once and a while we give one of our staff members a Jackson and set them loose on the town. They come back with an expense account and a report of how they rid themselves of the heathen bill.
Spending twenty bucks is not a difficult thing to do. You can go into most any store and blow the load in two minutes, if not less. I doubt you could even go into a fancy clothing store or restaurant without spending LESS than twenty bucks. What does the average movie cost anyway, 10 bucks? Yeah, right. Remember how your parents said “not to spend it all in one place”, well, I say spread the fun around.
To blow my twenty dollars, I started at the Randolph/Michigan train station, where all the Metra electric trains leave from downtown. There are also stations at Roosevelt and 18th street if you find those to be more convienent. Metra electric is a special commuter train that runs straight through the south side to the south suburbs. To go where I went, Hyde Park, Metra electric is the best because it not only runs straight to the center of Hyde Park, but the ride is more pleasant than the CTA’s.
I got off at 53rd street, which only costs $2.05 from downtown. Eighteen bucks left to go. From the station I walked west on 53rd to 2nd Hand Tunes to pick up some records, but there are some notables along the way that you may not want to miss, even though I didn’t visit them. Another record store, Dr. Wax, is on Harper one block north of 53rd. The original Pancake house is a neat place on 52nd and Lake Park, they have an incredible selection of pancakes. Not terrible on prices either. For those who enjoy being yelled at, there is a cafeteria style place called Valois run by some angry Greeks. They won’t boot you out of their place, but you better decide what you want quickly. They used to have good prices until they recently expanded and jacked everything up.
2nd Hand Tunes offers what I consider one of the best overall selections of used music in the city for the price. After browsing a little bit I bought a record for 3 bucks and made my way four blocks south to 57th street for some food. I went to Salonica, a popular restaurant in the area. Located at 1440 E 57th, there are many good, cheap things on the menu. I had a sandwich and a coffee for 6 bucks. I had a bit of time to kill and 9 bucks left so I headed to Powell’s bookstore, which is less than a block east of Salonica. It’s got a nice atmosphere for browsing and I obliged. I found something that caught my fancy for 5 dollars and change. At this point I have just enough (sort of) to go see a movie at Doc Films.
Doc Films is a U of C student-run organization that puts on a different movie every night. They have a different category for each day of the week so things never get boring. I have no idea how they find some of the stuff they do, but I’m always impressed looking at their schedule. For only 4 bucks a movie, it’s an incredible bargain too! Buying a season pass makes it even cheaper, if you plan to go often. Films are screened in Ida Noyes hall, on 1212 E 59th street. They have schedules available in the hall, and the building is beautiful like many U of C buildings.
I had fun taking this trip to blow twenty dollars, a lot more fun than I would have going to some hip bars in Lincoln Park that my suburban friends suggested. I took a nice train ride, ate, bought a record and a book, and saw a movie. You’d have to agree, the 7th president knows where it’s at.
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