11/29/07

Scene and Overheard: Thanksgiving Weekend

The Most Creative and Simultaneously Self-Deprecating Birthday Bash Award Goes to … Rockit Ranch's Arturo Gomez. Upon entering his party last Wednesday at The Underground, every guest was handed a pair of thick, black-plastic eyeglass frames and instructed to wear them throughout the evening, so that everyone resembled the guest of honor, whose ubiquitous Prada specs never leave his face. A roomful of pretty people sporting nerdy glasses? Priceless.... PLUS: quotes & notes, most interesting press release, things to do tonight, more...

11/26/07

Gobble, Gargle

Last Girl Standing is recovering from Thanksgiving weekend; check back Thursday for a nightlife update.

11/20/07

Stiff Competition, Stiff Drinks

There are worse things than judging a cocktail-making contest—say, waiting 30 minutes to get a drink last night at Bella Lounge before said contest began. I'll excuse the mishap since the bartenders—not the ones competing, thank goodness—were only allowed to serve specialty cocktails and thus had to read recipes while slinging drinks for 300 or so invited guests. Talk. About. Slow. Service...

11/19/07

Coming Tuesday: Mixmaster Revealed

Last Girl Standing will help judge the fourth annual Finlandia Vodka Cup, a mixology competition featuring some of the city's best bartenders, tonight at Bella Lounge. Check back tomorrow for a full report. The winning drink slinger goes on to compete in the finals in Lapland, Finland.

11/15/07

Black Wednesday

To the nightlife set, Black Wednesday has nothing to do with the British pound being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism back in September 1992. Instead, Black Wednesday—a.k.a. The Night Before Thanksgiving—means one thing: the biggest party of the year. Whether you're looking to unwind before stuffing yourself with turkey or need an evening off before stomaching those holiday-induced family spats, we've rounded up the best ways to spend November 21st...

11/12/07

Celebrity Beat: Kanye West, Kid Rock, John Legend, More

Condolences to Kanye West for the untimely passing of his mom, the intelligent and outspoken Dr. Donda West, 58, whom I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this past summer. Dr. West, a former Chicago State English professor whose book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar, came out last May, died of complications relating to a cosmetic surgery procedure Saturday in Los Angeles, according to people.com...

11/09/07

Le Passage Lives! Plus, a New York Invasion

Thursday night marked the reopening of Le Passage, which changed hands a few months ago when it parted from the Billy Dec brood and joined Three Headed Productions, a.k.a. the masterminds behind Cans, Salud, Junior's Sports Lounge, and EvilOlive. Under Dec and Brad Young, Le Passage served as River North's go-to late-night spot for the last seven years, but the business partners sold their share earlier this year to focus on their other haunts, including Rockit, The Underground, and an Asian-influenced restaurant slated to open next year...

11/05/07

Scene and Overheard

Who knew Last Girl Standing was kind of like confession? Here, the most notable quotes from the last week:

"There I was, standing in a room with 700 women and three gay guys."
–The Boyfriend, in reference to me dragging him to Thursday's opening party for the new ultra-feminine Nanette Lepore store in Bucktown

"Oh, my god. Do you want to die? I think I lost my virginity to an R. Kelly CD. I think we put the music up really loud."
–Kim Kardashian, in an interview I conducted...

11/01/07

Plan Your NYE Now

I received this e-mail the other week from an LGS reader:

Sarah,
Can you give us your thoughts on a good New Year's Eve party this year? We are all single, professional women, different ethnicities, and in our 30s. All suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

That's a question I'm plagued by every year—along with just about everyone I know. "I've never had an amazing New Year's Eve here," one friend said to me recently. "How sad is that?"...

10/30/07

Halloween for Grownups

Forget long road trips stuck in the car with squabbling siblings (although we had some of that, too): My 10-day trip to Italy completely redefined "family vacation." We spent a chunk of the trip holed up in a Tuscan villa, but we were officially there for my uncle's wedding, which took place in Rome at the magnificent Borghese Castle . Who knows? The next wedding I attend could be my own...

PLUS: A few spots to get your own trick-or-treat on