What time do people dine?

Hi

we were wandering around Logan square area, and S. on Kimball to Armitage before going to see some blues and looking for food. Our original plan petered out because we went to a place (Wind Cafe? N. of Logan Sq. on Kedzie) supposedly very good for Jibaritos, and there was no one in the place, the only thing not "fry cook" on the menu was the Jibaritos, and it just gave me a bad feeling. Except the only places around there (and there weren't too many) that had lots of people in them were an undistinguished looking Mexican place and Lula Cafe. Every other place was empty, or nearly so (most of the places on Kimball closer to Armitage are Puerto Rican, there were a few Mexican and one or two Cuban). This was around 8:30 on a Saturday night. Do people eat early there? Late? Was it because it's a holiday weekend? What am I missing?

Leek

Lee,

Memorial Day weekend might be the single best time of the year to try that restaurant that's tough to get into (with the exception of very touristy River North places), since everyone who lives in Chicago seems to leave, replaced for the weekend by extremely perplexed driving touristst from a heartland triangle defined approximately by PA, NE and TN. That goes for shopping too. I actually parked near the entrances of Sam's and Costco, among other places, in the middle of the day on Saturday and also didn't have to stand in line. I'd chalk up your experience to this phenomenon, which must leave the tourists with a skewed impression.

Also, I know from family experience that Puerto Ricans and Cubans often eat very late, like Spain late. Same for most South Americans, but seemingly less so for Mexican families. You might notice people eating at spots like Cafe 28 or Tango Sur way after most restaurants are empty.