Jessie Tierney

At the corner of Polk and Dearborn, a bearded kid in his twenties crouches over a laptop in the dim light of a coffee shop--but it's not Wi-Fi he's after. Chris Persson is a laptop DJ, and he's at Gourmand Coffee & Teas, sandwiched between two amps, giving the crowd a taste of IDM. The vintage chairs have been pushed to the side and he's leaning against a green wall hung with local artwork. Eight o'clock on a Thursday night and the worn-out thrift-store couches are packed with both college students and those a few years older-- people with guitars line up next to the glowing bar of pastries as others order coffee.

With the explosion of college housing in the South Loop, students wonder what to do in their neighborhood without having to venture far--Gourmand Open Mic has an answer.

"This is the most engaging and diverse--not to mention consistently put on--one I've been to," says Natalie Knight, a regular open mic attendee. "Plus, other than school, Caribou and Target, I don't think there's really anything else in the South Loop to do!" she laughs, sipping her favorite drink, a large mug of loose-leaf tea.

"We bring in a really varied crowd," DJ Chris explains, "but it tends to play more toward the acoustic guitarist singing folk and indie rock sort of stuff." As if to prove him wrong, a middle-aged man steps up and begins to read some anguished love poetry off a typewritten page.

"It's right here, but tucked away so a lot of people don't know about it," says Francesco, another songwriter. "It's close to the dorms, and the food is good. I personally like the tortellini--and not because I'm Italian--it's just good."

(2006-12-19)

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