It was in the 1850’s that Paul Cornell rode in to the land which would over the years come to house more than eighty Nobel laureates and saw the vision that he christened Hyde Park. Chicago’s original suburb, Hyde Park, falls south of the Chicago loop in Cook County, Illinois. When Paul Cornell christened it, it was a patch of land spread over three hundred acres. Today, more than a century later, the relatively leaner avatar of Hyde Park is the development between Hyde Park Boulevard on the 51st street and the Midway Plaisance between the 59th and 60th street.
Hyde Park best epitomizes a Chicago classic – the deep dish pizza – simply “stuffed” with variety. Artists feel right at home at the 57th Street Art Fair or the Court Theatre; the intellectuals’ path leads to the University of Chicago, the politically minded can follow in the footsteps of US political figures such as Barack Obama, Paul Douglas and Carol Moseley whose roots lie in this locality. The dextrous can take inspiration from the architectural genius of Frank Lloyd Wright whose prairie style Robie House ushered modernism in architecture. And the theological mind can find comfort in any of Hyde Park’s six theological schools which include the Lutheran School of Theology and the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. In short, Hyde Park has something to offer for everyone and presents an experience in every bite, just like the deep dish pizza!
If repeated mention of the deep dish pizza has set your taste buds on fire, rest assured that Hyde Park lives up to its reputation in the food department too. Whether it’s Thai, Korean, Middle Eastern, or Japanese, cuisines from all parts of the world are served here in popular hang-outs. Jump start your evening with a beer at the University of Chicago Pub, sober down with a hot soup at Medici on 57th Street, spice it up with a huge plate of pad see ew at the Snail Thai Cuisine or head to Maravilla’s for some ranch style Mexican. And don’t forget to grab a slice of deep dish at Giordano’s.
