Best Day Ever: Chicago author Rowan Beaird's perfect day
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Photo: Courtesy of Faith Kelsey
Chicago writer Rowan Beaird's new novel, "Tenderness," was inspired by a thought she kept coming back to as a wedding guest — "How could this really go sideways?"
- From there, Beaird wrote the story of a 1976 wedding weekend where the bride's past in a sinister cult won't stay in the past.
- The writer's first book, "The Divorcees," was published in 2024.
Driving the news: "Tenderness" comes out July 21. Ahead of publication day, we asked Beaird to break down what her perfect day in Chicago would look like.
🥯 Breakfast: "I live in Lincoln Square, and we have the best neighborhood coffee shop in Chicago (fight me!)—Beans & Bagels. Their coffee is excellent. They're deeply committed to sustainability. They have 23 VHS copies of Jurassic Park on display. I'm ordering a lox special on an everything bagel and a hot latte, because I once read a headline that iced coffee doesn't actually cool you down in the summer and I accepted that as fact. I also get a sprinkle donut for my daughter, which makes me a hero, on par with Laura Dern in Jurassic Park."
🏊 Morning activity: "Swimming at Montrose Beach, taking a detour through the bird sanctuary. The lake never fails to remind me of my place in the world, and I mean that in the best possible way. 'Tenderness' is set on a remote island, partially because it's hard for me to imagine living anywhere without water on the horizon."
🏢 Lunch: "Bistro Monadnock. The Monadnock Building houses the most beautiful collection of little shops—a haberdashery, a perfumery—that makes me feel like I've time-traveled. I sit at the bar and order the Parisian gnocchi and a Vieux Carré, reading a book I've bought at one of my favorite local bookstores (Exile in Bookville, Women & Children First, Time and a half Books, I could go on and on!). No one interrupts me for a solid hour."
🖼️ Afternoon Activity: "Miraculously, the alcohol has lifted and I have no hangover, so I walk off my lunch, wandering through the Modern Wing of the Art Institute, checking out the latest exhibition at SAIC Galleries, and ending my journey at the Driehaus, Chicago's most underrated art museum."
🍽️ Dinner: "I head to Pilsen to meet my husband and daughter at HaiSous. We order enough to feed a family of 10: The papaya salad, the whole fluke, the chicken wings. Afterwards, we get paletas at La Michoacana."
🪄 Late night: "The Chicago Magic Lounge! I've actually been taking classes here for a book I'm working on, and so if this writing thing doesn't work out, magic is my back-up plan. On stage, local legend Spellbinder makes doves appear out of thin air, and the theater loses it."
- "Because this is the best day ever, and I am invincible, afterward we hang out at Simon's, which has the best jukebox of any bar in Chicago, and whatever song I pick, everyone sings along."