An urban hipster you say?  What is that?  It's a bit hard to define exactly what is and isn't "urban hipster", so instead of creating a concrete definition, I'll define it by example.  I first became familiar with the phrase when I was in California last year, and Sarah took me to Lucky's in Montecito.  She seems to be quite in touch with the urban hipster concept, and seems to mention it a lot.  Lucky's is a pretty posh place... what you might call "modern zen".  It's also frequented by a lot of celebrities when they come up to Santa Barbara... so it's a hit among celebrity watchers.  The food there is great, even if the service can be lackluster according to some reviews.  There was one incident which I may never live down with one of the wait staff... but unless you talk to Mich, you'll never hear about it from me.  Hopefully I made up for it with the tip.

I sort of forgot about the whole urban hipster thing for a while, until Sarah came into town earlier this year, and I took her out for drinks to one of my favorite places downtown... Elsa's.  I've been going there for years, and they have great desserts, and mix some excellent drinks.  The first words out of her mouth were how it was very "urban hipster".  Was I one of these so called urban hipsters?  I'm a geek by trade, and a little bit of jock (or so I've been told)... I'm not sure I can handle yet one more label.  So as my sister smoked away guilt free, we enjoyed our desserts while being watched over by sparkling large cats in glass boxes hanging from the ceiling.

Then this past weekend I took the train down to Chicago to see Sarah, who was working a trade show.  I met her at her hotel... one I've never heard of... The W Lakeshore.  There are actually two W hotels in Chicago, and let me just point out the irony in the fact that such a liberal city would have two hotels named W, when that letter has a very Republican feel these days.  What were the first words out of her mouth after saying "It's so great to see you!"?  Of course it was "How do you like my urban hipster hotel?"

And she's right.  Whether it's the very dark and smokey Whiskey Sky bar on the top floor (which actually knows how to properly make a French Martini for my dear sister), or the Wave restaurant on the bottom floor which features "small plate", the W is the very essence of urban hipster rolled up into one building.  Even going to the bathroom in the lobby felt surreal, as I was surrounded by mirrors in a dimly lit room awash in blue light.  Yeah... that was weird.  Even the halls were decorated with river rock along the edges, so that every second had a relaxing zen feel to it.

I still don't consider myself to be an urban hipster, but I will admit that I enjoy venturing into that world from time to time.  And for those who find it attractive, you can read more about it The Field Guide To The Urban Hipster, or even take the quiz to find out what category you belong in.