January 23, 2004

BY SARA FIEDELHOLTZ Staff Reporter

Chat with a Chai. Talk over tea. Coffeehouses may be the default gathering place for conversing, Web surfing and writing the great American novel, but now tea salons are dipping into the market, too.

Lincoln Park's first tea cafe, Argo Tea, takes a timeless tradition and makes it fresh and hip.

"Tea is so much more than a tea bag," says owner Simon Simonian. "People think tea is plain, stuffy and boring."

With several dozen tea offerings, including signature fizzy teas and bubble teas, Argo's neighborhood buzz is anything but dull. There are hot teas, teas with milk, lemonade teas and the popular tea sangria -- hibiscus flower iced tea with fresh fruit. And while you can buy loose tea to take home, or grab a paper cup on the go, Argo's overstuffed chairs, great reading lamps and floor-to-ceiling windows -- perfect for people watching -- make this a destination to savor.

* Argo Tea Cafe, 958 W. Armitage, (773) 388-1880. 6 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.