Best Day Ever: Zayd Ayers Dorhn
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Photo: Courtesy of Joe Mazza x Brave Lux
Writer Zayd Ayers Dohrn spends a lot of time thinking about politics, free speech and his family's radical past.
- But even serious writers need a day off.
The latest: His new play, "The Humanities," about free speech on an elite college campus and the political fights that ensue, is now on stage at Victory Gardens Theater.
- The work comes just months after the release of his bestselling memoir, "Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground," about his life as the child of well-known activists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn.
Zoom in: So what does the writer do when he's not writing? Well, think about writing. But that's not all.
- We asked the lifelong Chicagoan to break down his perfect day in the city.
Breakfast
"First, a walk along the Lake by Museum Campus with my wife. Then, for breakfast, we're doing Cafe YaYa in Lincoln Park. Or meeting my parents at their favorite spot, Valois 'See Your Food' in Hyde Park."
Morning Activity
"I know this is supposed to be the 'Best Day Ever,' but I can't have a good day if I don't spend a bit of time by myself in my own head. My daughters say I don't have a real job—I just sit in coffee shops and stroke my beard, which is true!
- Best beard-stroking spots: Intelligentsia in Lakeview or Dollop in the South Loop."
Lunch
"Heading to 5 Rabanitos in Pilsen for some barbacoa de res and platanos fritos."
Afternoon activity
"Boxing at Title Gym on Roosevelt. Or biking along the lake, from the South Loop up to Belmont, and then all the way down to Hyde Park and back.
- I know I already mentioned Lake Michigan, but we Chicagoans are spoiled having this water right in our backyards. It's so beautiful, and it changes with the seasons, and it always looks and feels different. Even better than being near an ocean. Non-Chicagoans (soft people from soft places) say it's too cold here, but with the right gear, you can bike the lake 10 months out of every year."
Dinner
"If this were an everyday thing, most likely we're going to Chinatown. Lao Sze Chuan is our go-to family spot (especially the Chinatown location) or Hai di Lao for hot pot. But if it's a special occasion (Best Day Ever!), I'd probably choose Virtue in Hyde Park or Girl and the Goat in the West Loop."
Evening Activity
"Taking in a play, of course. Steppenwolf and the Goodman do amazing work, of course, but so do lesser-known companies like Steep, Jackalope and Hubbard Street Dance. But if it's time to wind down, I'm probably taking my wife and daughter to iO to see Whirled News Tonight or Improvised Shakespeare."