April 2011
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04/28/11Any Day Now: A first peek inside Stereo, the nightclub formerly known as JedynkaA lesson for any would-be bar owner: Never announce an opening date. Once you have every license in hand and all inspections have been squared away and your contractors have packed up their tools for the very last time, just go ahead and open. Then tell everyone you’ve done so... Posted at 02:00 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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04/27/11Art at The Aviary: Five Questions for the Man Behind the Signature Painting in the Nation’s Hottest BarJust hours before my first unofficial visit to The Aviary (955 W. Fulton Market)—you know, the little cocktail lounge from Grant Achatz that opened next door to Next this past Saturday—a painting by the Chicago artist and gallerist Thomas Masters and his collaborator, Adrian Leverkuhn, had been installed in the main room... Posted at 01:57 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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04/20/11Beckett’s Brew-haha: The Lake View Bar Goes Craft Beer and Burgers; Plus, a Lady Gregory UpdateThis just in: On a phone call today with Martin Cournane—the co-owner of Wilde Bar & Restaurant and Beckett’s Public House, both in Lake View, plus the in-the-works Lady Gregory’s (5260 N. Clark St.) in Andersonville—I got the scoop on some upcoming changes, including how Cournane is putting two new hires to work despite a high-profile setback... Posted at 03:22 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (1) |
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04/20/11Cheap Belgian Beer and Free Pretzels: My Freelance Afternoon at the Map RoomThe question “Where’s your office?” borders on the existential for a freelance worker bee like me. There’s a white desk and a lumbar-friendly chair in my dining room, and that’s where most of my writing gets done. But some days I’m a WiFi nomad, chasing the signal all over the city between interviews, tours, meetings, and, yes, cocktails... Posted at 09:39 AM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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04/15/11A Wild Ride Winds Down: The Awesome Story Behind Wrigleyville’s The Wild HareEveryone has a story, as we writers relish pointing out. But when I stopped by Wrigleyville’s longtime reggae club The Wild Hare last night to interview the owner, Zeleke Gessesse, about why he’s closing the place on May 15th after 25 years, I found myself in the presence of someone with a Story—capital S, plus italics... Posted at 03:31 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (3) |
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04/14/11Sheffield’s: Still Friendly, Soon with More BeerI only met Ric Hess, the longtime co-owner of the Lake View bar Sheffield’s, a handful of times, but he was right up there among the most gregarious proprietors I’ve known. Hess died of a heart attack in January, and I still think about him every time I drive past his place... Posted at 02:43 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (1) |
04/08/11I’ll Have What He’s Having: Taking Cues from the Hopheads at HopleafIf you want to snag a seat in the Andersonville bar Hopleaf, you might want to aim for, say, 3 p.m. As The Creative Director and I stood on Clark Street around quitting time last night, we sweated every agonizing second it took for our parking slip to print, worrying that each passing moment meant one fewer bar stool... Posted at 01:19 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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04/07/11Take a Swing (and a Swig) at Public House: Brew Masters Starts TodayAt precisely 3:30 yesterday afternoon, I found myself at Public House, the River North bar with the do-it-yourself beer taps that I’d last visited in December, when the 10,000-square-foot behemoth was still under construction... Posted at 02:05 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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04/01/11Where to Drink after ‘Black Watch’—Plus, a Name That Bar Update on Cubs Opening DayIt’s always smart to transition any cultural experience into postculture drinking as seamlessly as possible. Still, I thought The Creative Director was pulling my leg when, after we saw the National Theatre of Scotland’s heart-in-your-throat production of Black Watch at the Broadway Armory on Wednesday night, he said, “Let’s go get a beer at a place called St. Andrew’s...” Posted at 12:30 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0) |
About The Chaser
The freelance life keeps writer Amalie Drury ensconced in her home office most days, but by the time cocktail hour rolls around, she’s more than ready to snap her laptop shut and hit Chicago's bar scene in search of the good, the bad, and the gossipy. A native Kentuckian, Amalie has been nursing a taste for bourbon practically since birth. Leave her tips on where to sip in the comments section below, then check back each Thursday for tales of her exploits and the latest in nightlife news.
ALSO CHECK OUT
+ Photos from the nightlife front in Seen on the Scene
+ Chicagomag.com’s past nightlife blogs, Nightspotting 2.0 and Last Girl Standing
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