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Sake Heaven

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When I heard the 22-year-old Streeterville karaoke bar Café Shino had morphed into the sake lounge Murasaki, I imagined yet another generic spot for an afterwork drink.
 
I was wrong…

The Real Pit Boss

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Barbecue Alert!
Michael Altenberg (Bistro Campagne, Crust) has found a massive, undisclosed space in Lincoln Square for his “Alabama pit barbecue” concept; now he’s just ironing out details. Plans for the two-story space include slow-cooked barbecue, authentic old-fashioned Southern drinks like Sazeracs and mint juleps, and—believe it or not…

Weekend Photos: The Shrine

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Those still mourning the loss of Wicker Park’s long-shuttered Sinibar, take heart: That lounge’s founding father Joseph Russo is back, with a similarly diverse mandate—and a much bigger space. Enter The Shrine, Russo’s new 8,000-square-foot dance club in the South Loop, featuring a musical lineup of DJs and live acts (e.g., Julie Dexter last Friday), plus a more…

Kuma’s New Neighbor

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The very location that killed MoJoe’s Hot House coffeeshop will likely save Square Bar & Grill. The storefront sits on a relatively unremarkable stretch of Belmont, which otherwise might doom the newly opened spot to a short lifetime of thin crowds. But as anyone who has ever elbowed her way into—or been turned away from—Kuma’s Corner knows, this is a block that could use a plan B…

Got Twenty Bucks?

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Eat Here. Now.
More often than not, we know all about any remotely promising restaurant months before it serves its first meal, but every now and then, a true gem comes out of nowhere. Han 202 (605 W. 31st St.; 312-949-1314), a chic 38-seat Amercian/pan-Asian BYO that opened two months ago in Bridgeport, is just such a place. Guan Chen, the chef-partner and his wife, Yan Ruan (former owners of Evanston’s Nine Fish), push the envelope with their prix fixe menu (five courses; $20. “That’s nice value, right?” asks Ruan, in the understatement of the year). On a recent visit…