"If you’re looking for a place with meet-cute potential or just want to hang with fellow work-from-homers who love (read: desperately need) coffee, check out Plein Air cafe. These communal tables are often packed with all sorts of Hyde Park folks: UChicago students and professors cramming for class, couples on a reading date, and the occasional freelancer trying to break the record for most words typed per minute. The coffee is always good and so are the pastries (don’t skip the fruit danishes), and if you do end up having a successful meet-cute, you can come back for a relaxed date night with sandwiches and natural wine on their spacious patio. Possible Conversation Topics: Milk alternatives, current reading material, what they’re doing later." - john ringor