Place to eat: Heartland Café, Chicago, Illinois, United States

About this place:

The Heartland is a warm and homey bohemian oasis in the Rogers Park neighborhood, and makes for a great hangout. Especially popular with the weekend breakfast crowd, it's still lively most nights due to frequent live performances of music and spoken word. The front rooms host the Buffalo Bar and an eclectic general store, and the dining room walls are usually hung with work from local artists. The menu is slightly pricey, but wholesome and vegetarian-friendly. It's also easy to get to, right off the northern end of the Morse Avenue red line El stop.