Home to roughly 100,000 proud Chicagoans, Lakeview is a mix of energy. The neighborhood is unofficially divided into smaller enclaves: Lakeview East, West Lakeview, Southport Corridor, Boystown & Wrigleyville. It's a mix of the bustling, the peaceful and everything in between. Here you'll find tourists and residents alike vying for space at popular restaurants, cafes, biergartens, boutiques, parks & the lakefront. It's also home to many of the city's "bests" in several categories.
Osmium is Dark Matter Coffee's Lakeview cafe. The west side roaster opened up here to fill a void on a somewhat unremarkable swath of Belmont Avenue. Despite being on an "in between" stretch, this quirky coffee bar is a great hangout and is always buzzing. The coffee is unpretentious, refilled for free, and damn good. And they stock Do-Rite donuts daily. The interior embraces kitsch, and the back patio can accommodate a small army. As a roaming freelancer looking to borrow wifi, it's tough to beat.
