With the weekend opening of 8 Fifty 8 in the West Loop, Chicago’s nightclub drought is officially over. It’s been so long since we’ve seen a new dance floor—what, nearly a year?—that we won’t even worry about the number of names that have been attached to this address (Reserve, Veil, Theatro, and Opera, to mention a few)…
LAO YOU JU: The Lao dynasty (2000–) and Tony Hu, the man who would be emperor
I’ve always liked the Living Room Bar in the grand lobby of the W Chicago – City Center. It’s an unexpectedly cool spot in the heart of the Loop for afterwork drinks, pretheatre drinks, postgala drinks—basically, any-occasion drinks on a block that’s otherwise dead come quitting time…
In case you haven’t had enough cupcakes, More (1 E. Delaware Pl.; 312-951-0001) is launching The More Mobile, a food truck that holds 1,500 of them. Starting Monday, this eco-friendly vehicle (which sports a battery-powered generator to eliminate emissions while the truck is parked) will troll the city on an ever-changing route…
Goodbye, Charlie
After giving a ridiculously courteous three-and-a-half-months notice, Matthias Merges left his post as director of everything Trotter-related on October 5th (officially speaking, he was director of operations and executive chef at Charlie Trotter’s)…
Since I moved north to Lincoln Square last summer, I’ve walked past a bar every morning on my way to the Brown Line that, quite honestly, hasn’t looked like it needed to be on my must-try list. I mean, for Pete’s sake, there’s a piece of paper taped to the window that reads, “For your protection, these premises are being video recorded”…
GHOULISH GRUB: Eating eyeballs, brains, hearts, and other Halloween-appropriate internal organs
Sure signs summer has given way to fall: the changing leaves, the shorter days, and Ping-Pong—at least at the West Loop bar Market, where the onetime beer garden is now a 2,500-square-foot lounge dedicated to table tennis. Our photographer stopped by Friday and snapped folks—including a few serious competitors from a local training center—rallying for bragging rights on the two tables. Want in on the action?…
The dishes, drinks, and restaurants that make Chicago a Mexican food destination
Modern Times
Balcony Café, on the second floor of the Art Institute’s Modern Wing, will be reborn this Friday as Caffe Moderne (159 E. Monroe St.; no phone yet), with the team upstairs at Terzo Piano taking charge…
