The Chaser

11/04/11

Filini: First Sips and Fake Candles at the Aqua Tower’s Just-Opened Restaurant and Bar

Filini opened in the new Radisson Blu hotel in the Aqua building this week, and on its second night of service, The Creative Director and I ventured over to check it out. The Italian-inspired restaurant is one floor above the bar, which makes the bar—a few steps below the lobby and lounge level—feel like the main attraction...

Posted at 12:19 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (1)

10/27/11

Adult Education: A Bourbon Lover Gets Schooled on Cognac, the Original Brown Spirit

Did you know that hip-hop saved cognac? I never thought about it until I Googled “cognac” and came across this recap of Kanye West’s appearance at the 2009 VMAs (the same year as the Taylor Swift diss) with his date—a bottle of Hennessy...

Posted at 01:54 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (2)

10/20/11

Fun and Games at Norse Bar, Edgewater’s New Beer and Mario Kart Destination

How long does it take for a bar top to feel gluey to the touch, the smell of stale beer to override the scent of fresh paint, and the bartenders to become a little surly? I wondered this after The Creative Director and I blew threw the door on a 50-mile-an-hour breeze and later sat waiting for a pizza to be delivered to the Norse Bar, a spanking new spot in Edgewater that doesn’t serve food but offers an interesting beer list...

Posted at 12:24 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/13/11

Vera Wine Bar: Sherry-Obsessed Mom and Pop to Open in the West Loop Next Week

There’s a flurry of action under the El tracks on Lake Street as husband-and-wife team Mark and Elizabeth Mendez—both formerly of Carnivale, where he was the executive chef and she was the wine director—prepare to open their new Spanish-inspired wine bar, Vera, at the address that last housed the short-lived Addiction Sports Bar...

Posted at 01:19 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/06/11

Where to Spend One Last Summery Happy Hour: The Rooftop Lounge at III Forks

It may always hit 90 degrees in Dallas in October, but if this were a different kind of fall week here in Chicago, the Texas import III Forks might not have been able to test-drive its rooftop lounge at all...

Posted at 02:14 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (2)

09/30/11

120 Degrees Ultra Lounge: A Fanny-Pack-Free Bar Near Navy Pier

It would be a strange existence to live in Lake Point Tower, I’ve always thought. I love admiring the gently curving building from vantage points along LSD, but imagine going home to it: What would you call that little slice of non-neighborhood?...

Posted at 11:39 AM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/21/11

5 Ways to Drink This Week, Starting Tonight

It’s officially fall—well, as of Friday. We’re too old for back to school (thank heavens), but this week still feels like a good time to apply ourselves to being the most overachieving scenesters we can be. Below, five things to do for every type of learner...

Posted at 01:45 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (1)

09/16/11

Farmhouse in River North: Sort of Like the Chaser’s Own Homestead but with More Booze

I knew I’d feel right at home in a bar called Farmhouse since I grew up in a house on a farm myself. Yes, my family’s farmhouse was in the middle of a field with a frog pond off to the side, while Farmhouse, the “Midwestern craft tavern,” is on Chicago Avenue with an L stop off to the side, but there had to be similarities, right?...

Posted at 12:54 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/08/11

On Bonding with the Bartender at Morso, Lincoln Park’s New Cocktail Lounge

There are only two barstools in the upstairs lounge at the two-week-old Lincoln Park restaurant Morso, where the mixologist Matthew Lipsky—known to all as Choo—holds court nightly in a bow tie, rolled-up shirtsleeves, a dapper vest, and quarter-size gauge earrings...

Posted at 01:35 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/31/11

Your Drinking Digest: Village Tap’s Local Tap Takeover; Patio Updates at Fountainhead, Quenchers, Deuce’s; A New Late Nighter in Logan Square

All right, readers. Take a deep breath. There’s a lot to talk about this week. First up, heaven for the beer geeks: Mike Green, owner of the Village Tap in Roscoe Village, recently found himself marveling that there are now enough locally brewed beers from Chicago and the burbs to fill all of the bar’s 26 taps...

Posted at 01:39 PM in The Chaser | Permalink | Comments (0)

	11/04/11 Filini: First Sips and Fake Candles at the Aqua Tower’s Just-Opened Restaurant and Bar Filini opened in the new Radisson Blu hotel in the Aqua building this week, and on its second night of service, The Creative Director and I ventured over to check it out. The Italian-inspired restaurant is one floor above the bar, which makes the bar—a few steps below the lobby and lounge level—feel like the main attraction... Posted at 12:19 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	10/27/11 Adult Education: A Bourbon Lover Gets Schooled on Cognac, the Original Brown Spirit Did you know that hip-hop saved cognac? I never thought about it until I Googled “cognac” and came across this recap of Kanye West’s appearance at the 2009 VMAs (the same year as the Taylor Swift diss) with his date—a bottle of Hennessy... Posted at 01:54 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	10/20/11 Fun and Games at Norse Bar, Edgewater’s New Beer and Mario Kart Destination How long does it take for a bar top to feel gluey to the touch, the smell of stale beer to override the scent of fresh paint, and the bartenders to become a little surly? I wondered this after The Creative Director and I blew threw the door on a 50-mile-an-hour breeze and later sat waiting for a pizza to be delivered to the Norse Bar, a spanking new spot in Edgewater that doesn’t serve food but offers an interesting beer list... Posted at 12:24 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	10/13/11 Vera Wine Bar: Sherry-Obsessed Mom and Pop to Open in the West Loop Next Week There’s a flurry of action under the El tracks on Lake Street as husband-and-wife team Mark and Elizabeth Mendez—both formerly of Carnivale, where he was the executive chef and she was the wine director—prepare to open their new Spanish-inspired wine bar, Vera, at the address that last housed the short-lived Addiction Sports Bar... Posted at 01:19 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	10/06/11 Where to Spend One Last Summery Happy Hour: The Rooftop Lounge at III Forks It may always hit 90 degrees in Dallas in October, but if this were a different kind of fall week here in Chicago, the Texas import III Forks might not have been able to test-drive its rooftop lounge at all... Posted at 02:14 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	09/30/11 120 Degrees Ultra Lounge: A Fanny-Pack-Free Bar Near Navy Pier It would be a strange existence to live in Lake Point Tower, I’ve always thought. I love admiring the gently curving building from vantage points along LSD, but imagine going home to it: What would you call that little slice of non-neighborhood?... Posted at 11:39 AM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	09/21/11 5 Ways to Drink This Week, Starting Tonight It’s officially fall—well, as of Friday. We’re too old for back to school (thank heavens), but this week still feels like a good time to apply ourselves to being the most overachieving scenesters we can be. Below, five things to do for every type of learner... Posted at 01:45 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	09/16/11 Farmhouse in River North: Sort of Like the Chaser’s Own Homestead but with More Booze I knew I’d feel right at home in a bar called Farmhouse since I grew up in a house on a farm myself. Yes, my family’s farmhouse was in the middle of a field with a frog pond off to the side, while Farmhouse, the “Midwestern craft tavern,” is on Chicago Avenue with an L stop off to the side, but there had to be similarities, right?... Posted at 12:54 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	09/08/11 On Bonding with the Bartender at Morso, Lincoln Park’s New Cocktail Lounge There are only two barstools in the upstairs lounge at the two-week-old Lincoln Park restaurant Morso, where the mixologist Matthew Lipsky—known to all as Choo—holds court nightly in a bow tie, rolled-up shirtsleeves, a dapper vest, and quarter-size gauge earrings... Posted at 01:35 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	08/31/11 Your Drinking Digest: Village Tap’s Local Tap Takeover; Patio Updates at Fountainhead, Quenchers, Deuce’s; A New Late Nighter in Logan Square All right, readers. Take a deep breath. There’s a lot to talk about this week. First up, heaven for the beer geeks: Mike Green, owner of the Village Tap in Roscoe Village, recently found himself marveling that there are now enough locally brewed beers from Chicago and the burbs to fill all of the bar’s 26 taps... Posted at 01:39 PM in The Chaser \| Permalink \| Comments (0)