Safari Cafe

Unknown – but near

1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 (Map It)

Hours:

     Daily and hourly as weather permits

Electrical Outlets:

None

WiFi:

None; but near Adler’s

A little food …

Hungry Physicists are a diverse lot – cultures, genders, lifestyles, dietary needs.  The important thing is that we’re all hungry!  Outside the Adler Planetarium you’ll find a quaint vegetarian hot dog and nacho stand called the Safari Cafe.  Yes, I said vegetarian and no you should not avoid it.  Vegetarian cooking is simply another path to achieving satedness.  Whether made with vegetable product or beef, Safari Café produces a pretty good hot dog!  AND, it serves them Chicago Style!  Keep in mind, it’s a stand; there are only two outdoor tables and limited napkins.  But, it’s next to a beach and the Adler Planetarium.

Pictured are Nachos with pickled jalapenos, and a Vegetarian Chicago Style Hot Dog.  Of course, vegetarian hot dogs taste slightly different than beef ones, but the difference is marginal.  They are quite good, and quite inexpensive.  The nachos are great and tend to be my preferred item from this stand.

A little science …

The view from the stand is amazing; a picture-perfect city skyline against a bright blue sky.  Why blue though?  The reason is often misunderstood and misnamed – it’s called Rayleigh Scattering.  Remember that when scientists name properties and laws, they’re not saying, “This is the law by which the Universe is governed.”  They’re saying, “This is the model or trend we observe the Universe following.”  The distinction is important.  Rayleigh found that gases composed of small molecules (like air) tend to scatter shorter-wavelength light more easily.  Each wavelength corresponds to different colors, with shorter ones being bluer.  Since air tends to scatter short wavelengths, we see blue light everywhere in the sky.