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There may be no visual aids to prove how sad we all get when we close the fortieth day with no sun in Chicago. Still, we don't think anyone will argue that our long, drawn-out winters are what makes summer in this city so brilliant—which is why we're wearing shorts when its 50 degrees 
and throwing open our windows when its 55.
One of our favorite things in Chicago is the abundance of outdoor seating, beer gardens and places that skip all of that and take the windows right the hell out of the frames. As the weather climbs, however, the city has a message to businesses with outdoor seating: it better be up to par.
The city fields complaints about places with outdoor seating all the time, ranging from "They took the sidewalk and now I have to walk in the street" to "That leaf isn't green enough." And, if the complaint is valid, the city charges the proprietor up to $500 for each offense. Basically, restauranteurs and any other business owner with seating outside has to keep the music down, keep the area green, keep napkins flying off plates to a minimum and keep pedestrians in mind.
Because sidewalk eating, drinking and merrymaking is one of the most popular pasttimes in Chicago of late, we can understand why the city requires business owners to re-apply for the permit each year and provide a detailed diagram of the outside area. We can also understand why the business owners would meet each requirement and pay every fine — places with outside dining are pretty popular in the summer.
What we don't understand is why people live in the city if they don't want to share space with other people. Someone who would take time out of their own lives to call the city and complain that the flowers aren't being watered are like the people who are school bus drivers but hate kids.
Example of what we look like eating outdoors via Metroblogging Washington.
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i like to sit outside the heartland and stare into alicia dorr's storefront while she's sleeping.
I read a similar article in the gothamist today and everyone complained that the amount of people, car exhaust and noise makes for unpleasant manhattan outside dining.
i've never had a similar problem here. outdoor eating is the best - wai...unless you're near the L and it's too loud to eat.
What we don't understand is why people live in the city if they don't want to share space with other people.
Thank you for not tacking a "or else move to Naperville" jab on that. I started to cringe the further I got into the sentence but was pleasantly surprised at its absence.
Restaurateurs. No n.
Every dude in that picture looks like a nightmare to have lunch with.
I don't mind sharing space with other people, and I don't mind sharing the sidewalk, but when the bar near me narrowed it down so much that I can't walk past when the server is dropping the meal or some yuppie couple with their stroller, chocolate lab, and roller blades are blocking the way, well, that's when I called a complaint into my alderman.
It's slightly better this year, but it's early yet.
What we don't understand is why people live in the city if they don't want to share space with other people.
I'll just speak for myself here. Overall I love the sidewalk seating and can often be found eating/drinking outside. I love the idea of shared space outside... feels so much more like a city neighborhood.
My problem with some (not all) sidewalk / outdoor seating comes from when the businesses and their patrons aren't minimally considerate of the neighbors. There are two such establishments in my neighborhood (Ukrainian Village). The problem: (1) They have taken up so much of the sidewalk that there is only enough room to walk single-file on the sidewalk. (2) There is not enough room for a wheelchair to get through. And (3) Their waiters/waitresses stand on the sidewalk (instead of the area set aside for the bar/restaurant) to take orders and as a result they block pedestrian traffic.
In past years I haven't complained about this, but I think this year I will - to the businesses, not the City. I don't think complaining to the City would do any good (and it wouldn't be very neighborly of me!), as technically these outdoor seating areas were approved by the City as they are currently laid out.
my personal beef is the pizza place on madison near wabash. they take up so much of a very wide sidewalk that pedestrians can't walk two abreast. can somebody point me to regulations on how much of a sidewalk a restaurant is allowed to claim?
oh, and their pizza sucks.
Every dude in that picture looks like a nightmare to have lunch with.
That's dining in Washington, D.C. for you. Come on, Chicagoist, you couldn't dig up one photo of a Chicago beer garden?
Now excuse me, I'm off to "tell all [my] freinds (sic) and spread the word" about LoveOnTheDownLow.
i swear this place is biggest bitch fest ever.
is it just me or is everyone constantly annoyed about everything on this site?
outdoor dining!? SO ANNOYING! GAH! or something like that.
jeeze...just enjoy it.
I find the "SuburbYuppie Cafe" (aka Pontiac on Damen) to be pretty annoying, but aside from that outdoor places are great.
Okay, after taking a look at the regulations at the City of Chicago's Department of Business Affairs it looks like Pizano's Pizza is pretty seriously out of compliance. Lodging a complaint tomorrow!
unbelievable. you know what makes chicago so frustrating to live in? not the cta, not the city, but the absolute resentful attitudes people have about everything here.
if a place isn't too yuppie it's too hipster if it's not too hipster it's too suburban...and just what who are you people exactly? do you have a license to be complainers?
it's just outdoor dining people. you should feel happy to have it.
Matty, you just broke the needle on my irony meter.
i am allowed to complain about complainers.
@matty: Christopher Hitchens makes quite the living out of being a contrarian. You should look into it.
'Course, Hitchens also has an enormous alcohol habit to feed, so he's largely being a contrarian out of compulsion.
it's just outdoor dining people. you should feel happy to have it.
What are you missing here Matty? People are happy to have it, outdoor dining that is. A couple people said they're happy to have it but just wish 'that one place' wouldn't block off the whole sidewalk (which is what the article is about) so naturally you have to come in and screech about "hating" yet again. Geez you do realize that YOU are the biggest whiner in this discussion right?
Actually, the biggest whiner is Alicia. Get a life, girl.
Zorn's Law invoked! Ferdy loses.
Chicago is just not built for alfresco dining unfortunately
What would be cool is what I experienced in Zagreb, Croatia where I lived for half a year...Pedestrian only zones with dozens of caffe-bars put tables and chairs out and you dont have to worry about taking up the close to non existent sidewalks of a small European city.
People watching is a fun and enjoyable sport there while you watch your fellow patrons drink and soak up the sun.
you're going down ferdy.
ferdy = poor man's fergie.
Thank you for enlightening me on the new social rules. Alicia still needs to find something she's suited to do. I've read lame article after lame article by her. She's almost as bad as Debra Pickett (a former colleague of Zorn's).
OMG, you have to walk single file on the sidewalk. You realize they don't have sidewalks in the Congo. *blink*
Zorn works for the Trib, Pickett worked for the the Sun Times, and Ferdy/Marilyn still sucks.
So do you, kate. And Debra is a Zorn colleague, if you use the term "journalism" very loosely. Just like it happens here at Chicagoist.
I didn't care for Pickett either, so guess what, I DIDN'T READ HER COLUMNS.
I think you secretly have a crush on Alicia, as you always seem to be singling her out like she's the Paige Wiser in a sea of Edward R. Murrows around here.
Why are you defending her? The first one of hers I read, which I will never forget, was about letting a confirmed and convicted Nazi war criminal go because he's old. I'm not the only person who has complained about her shallow, whiny posts. I keep thinking she'll learn, but so far, no dice. Sorry I hurt your feelings, Alicia, but get better. You're not going to have much of a career if you just, like, say whatever you feel and consider it journalism.
alicia dorr's stories are always well written, so you must be mistaken, ferdy. did you apply for Chicagoist and get rejected or something? maybe Alicia dissed you eloquently in a past post? or maybe you are the old Nazi in which you speak of. that would make the most sense, seeing as how you are attacking her simply for writing. how rude of her!
hater!
it's always a joke to see people reading the posts and going on about how much they hate something when they could just as easily read something else if that's how they really feel about it.
ferdy sweetheart, did you try writing your own stuff and no one would read it? that must be why you read alicia's posts. so you can get an idea of what it's like to have people interested in what you're writing and enthusiastic enough to write their own responses.
there, there honey. one day you'll special, i'm sure.
I think this has all gone a little too far. Let's all settle down with a nice brandy, shall we?