8 Great Spots To Read - Chicago Tribune

By Christopher Borrelli |Tribune reporter
April 3, 2008

Peter Vitale likes to think his Lincoln Park coffeehouse was born for classic shut-out-the-world reading. His great-great grandmother was Kate Chopin, best known for her stories of Louisiana and the early feminist classic "The Awakening." He spent so much time in law school looking for a good place to concentrate, he added, "I appreciate how hard it can be." Though open only since February, Noble Tree appears deceptively lived-in. Wander upstairs, and you're in an old three-story home-still furnished like a home. Vitale bought the stone row house with Philip Tadros, who converted an old pharmacy in Uptown into the Dollop Coffee Co. Give them points for authenticity. The soft reconditioned couches come from antique shops around Belmont; and the wingback chairs once lived in the Drake Hotel. Every table has a lamp, the coffee is Metropolis, and that all-encompassing quiet-astonishing for a busy coffeehouse.