Eating in the hotel dining room would have been too expensive, and I was in need of a inexpensive and good breakfast and dinner while I was in Oak Park. I had heard about Oak Park's Great Harvest being a great place to eat, and it's food was natural and its pastries were whole grain, so I decided, "Why the hell not!?"

The first time I went into the Great Harvest was on a Friday night that I had to myself. Just wanted to stay in the room and catch the baseball playoffs, I decided a sandwich to go was in the cards. Upon entering the Great Harvest, I was greeted by these wonderful aromas and a very nice worker. She asked me if I wanted to sample some bread, and not wanting to spoil my appetite, she gave me an entire slice of blueberry bread for later. I ordered a 1/2 turkey sandwich on whole grain bread. It turned into a whole sandwich for the price of 1/2, and it was very good with lettuce and tomatoes, and that blueberry bread disappeared before I got back to the hotel.

I returned two more times to the Great Harvest for breakfast, and I wasn't disappointed either time. I had scones both times, and they are bigger than hockey pucks and very filling. They are freshly made every morning, and you can watch the bakers making the food right from your table.

I ordered two cranberry scones on the Sunday before leaving Oak Park, and I saved one for the day after I returned home, but as I was unpacking my bags, I left the scone bag on my bed and forgot about it, but Loki isn't a dumb dog and found it. When I returned to my room to put something away later that night, I discovered the scone bag and nothing else. Loki enjoyed the scone just as much as I did! BRAT!

The Great Harvest is open at 6am daily but closes at 6pm, so if you want an early dinner, get there early or you lose out! Prices are under $5 for a scone and coffee and a little more for dinner and if you have a latte with your meal, but it's worth the time and money!

I stumbled across this amazing bakery and coffee shop on the third morning of my stay in Oak Park. In fact it was hard to miss with the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread and pastries wafting across the street to assault my senses.

It sits at 736 Lake Street and can be entered by one of two doorways. Once inside, it really hits you – the best smell in the world, especially if you’re hungry and after some breakfast. I perused the hugely varied menu boards and chose a choc-chip scone. Now in the UK a "scone" would mean a small bun made with fruit, lightly baked and hopefully still served warm. Here, you are offered something the size of an elephant’s foot – certainly the largest scone I’ve ever seen, let alone eaten. It was baked to perfection and I washed it down with an ice-cold pint of semi-skimmed milk. It took me several minutes to get to the end of it but it really was too good to rush. There is a small seating area in front of the counter but with only room for a few people to sit comfortably. I guess most folk just order "to go".

The place was busy with mid-morning folk seeking a coffee or something more substantial. The staff were friendly and polite and dealt with their customers quickly and efficiently. Having devoured the "scone", I had a look around the shop and was surprised to find three young ladies around the side who were making some dough. I did ask them if I might take their photo and they happily agreed. Wow – you’d never see this in the UK, they’d be tucked away out the back where no-one could see them.

There was a huge range of sandwiches, sweets, pastries, pies, and delicacies on offer in here as well as countless varieties of tea, coffee, chocolate drinks, soda and the like, all extremely reasonably priced.

It was a good place to sit and watch the world go by for half an hour or so. Just as I was preparing to leave, a family came in and sat next to me. As seemed to be the case with most Oak Parkers, we struck up a conversation almost immediately and it appears the family had relatives who came from close to Bristol, just 30 miles from home in Devizes.

Reluctantly, I finished my drink and picked up the camera bag ready for the short stroll to the El station. I arrived at the station some ten minutes before my agreed rendezvous time so sat on the steps in the warm morning sun. A train pulled in, and within a few seconds, a young lady of about thirty descended the steps to where I was sitting. "Sir, is there a coffee shop close by?", she enquired.

"There’s a great one just two minutes walk that way", I replied, and off she went, hopefully to enjoy her breakfast as much as I had.