The Chicago location of Beauty Bar, the national chain of salon-themed lounges beloved by scenesters from Brooklyn to San Diego for its $10 martini-and-manicure special, officially opened its doors last Thursday in the old Sonotheque space. Our photographer checked in when the night was still young and the nail polish was still wet—the manicure deal runs from 5 to 11 p.m. most nights—with DJs Skyler and Kid Color…
Always careful never to stumble into bad lighting, I wholly approve of any excuse to flip the switch altogether in favor of candlelight’s ever-flattering glow. That’s why Earth Hour (tomorrow night from 8:30 to 9:30) is my favorite new-ish holiday…
To Be Perfectly Frank
Alexander Brunacci kept the opening of Lincoln Park’s new Franks ’N’ Dawgs (1863 N. Clybourn Ave.; 312-281-5187) quiet, despite having some serious coattails to ride—his brother, Frank, is the chef at Sixteen, the Trump tower restaurant.
I stayed in last night for the first time in weeks, and, scarcely knowing what to do with myself other than watch Dancing With the Stars and Gossip Girl, I did just that. It was satisfying, from the Duck Walk tofu Pad Thai to the moody Gossip Girl opening sequence set to my favorite Rihanna song of the moment, Rockstar 101 (feat. Slash). But, since this blog is all about going out…
Pro ballers fill out brackets, too. On Thursday, the Chicago Bulls’ power forward and 2009 first-round draft pick Taj Gibson hosted a March Madness kickoff party at the River North sports bar Bull & Bear—and while Gibson was gracious enough to sign autographs, he kept one eye on…
A green Wednesday night may an even greener Thursday morning make, but judging by the St. Patrick’s Day crowd at Chief O’Neill’s, it was well worth it. Our photographer headed to the Northwest Side pub, one of our 100 best bars, to snap the Triallta Irish Dance Company, the Emerald Society Pipe Band, and legions of Irish (and Irish-ish) revelers…
How stale bread soaks up the glory: our favorites from M. Henry, Pitchfork, Hearty, Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro, Southport Grocery and Café, Suzette’s Crepêrie, and Gaetano’s Restaurant
Roll Out
Steven Song, who owned Tsunami, the Gold Coast sushi temple that closed last spring, returns to the scene with Masu Izakaya (1969 N. Halsted St.; no phone yet), scheduled to open late this month in the space that housed Minnies. It’ll be the second izakaya—Japanese after-work bar—to open in two months (Izakaya Hapa was first). “Izakaya dishes are a little bit…
There are miles and miles of endlessly sprinkled, technicolor-green grass in Palm Springs, and staring at it as I lounge by the pool shall be my ode to this over-hyped holiday. You see, I’m on vacation. It’s the first time in my nine Chicago years that I have missed St. Patrick’s Day—the bead-tossing, beer-guzzling, river-dyeing, midday-puking excuse for debauchery that, truth be told, I’ve never much understood…
“Chicago is too vibrant a town not to have more performance venues,” says the jazz violinist Diane Delin, who, with her husband, the jazz guitarist and singer Greg Pasenko, opened Club Blujazz on the eastern edge of Bucktown-Wicker Park last Friday. The couple run a recording label, also called Blujazz, and are drawing on their experience both behind the scenes and onstage (“We’ve been performing forever, and I’m old enough to say forever,” Delin says)…
