Ad Categories: Dining & Drinking
Weekend Photos: Late Bar
We took them at their word: Our photographer hit Late Bar—Logan Square/Avondale’s new late-night dance spot, open until 4 a.m. most nights and 5 a.m. Saturdays—in the wee hours of Saturday morning and found an enthusiastic crowd still heating up the dance floor. Brought to you by the folks behind the long-running, club-hopping new-wave theme night…
It’s Complicated: Learning the ropes at the South Loop’s luxe new movie theatre and bar
The good news for the just-opened Kerasotes Showplace Icon Theatre in the South Loop is that plenty of Chicagoans think the concept lends a much-needed air of civility to moviegoing: free parking, no preshow advertising (other than trailers), no shrieking video games in the lobby, no kids without a guardian after…
The Pig: Out
Pollack’s Dinner at The Purple Pig in 157 Words
The Purple Pig (500 N. Michigan Ave.; 312-464-1744) opened quietly. Appreciative foodies kept the room at least half full all evening. Jimmy Bannos (Heaven on Seven) was there (he’s a partner, and his son is the chef) working the room. I saw Tony Mantuano (Spiaggia) slip…
The Hot List: 10 places everyone’s talking about and dining at in January in order of heat
DMK BURGER BAR In the Year of the Burger, Lake View became a holy place. 2954 N. Sheffield Ave.; 773-360-8686 BIG STAR Bourbon, tacos, and country music: All that’s missing is porn and firearms. 1531 N. Damen Ave.; 773-235-4039 XOCO Beneath all the complicated fast-casual rules lies the irrefutable fact: Xoco’s tortas are impeccable. 449 … Read more
Mexican Brand-Off: Dining reviews of Mercadito and Rick Bayless’ Xoco
The Bayless empire’s new annex is packed night and day; two blocks away a New York taco import brings the noise
New Year's Eve @ Touch
The future is now: What better way to ring in 2010 than at Touch, a new “iBar” in Roscoe Village where patrons use interactive screens to order drinks and send titillating texts to neighboring tables? Our photographer headed to the space, formerly home to Bungalow Loungebar, on New …
Comparison Shopping: Surveying the masses for last-minute New Year's Eve parties in Chicago
A few weeks ago, while listlessly discussing options for seeing off 2009, my sister, Claire, proclaimed the following: “Other than marriage, New Year’s Eve is the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the American public.” I posted her observation as my status update on Facebook and received no fewer than 15 comments echoing…
Pleased to Meat Me: Chicago foodie takes up butchering
In his prime, my grandfather could cut a round steak so thin that the Italians in the neighborhood would come to him for beef to make braciola, the classic rolled meat dish. Towering slabs of beef would enter Jack O’Connor’s West Side butcher shop and leave as meticulously trimmed T-bones, briskets, and rib eyes. … Read more
Scene: Epic
“I never went to cooking school,” says Stephen Wambach, but for someone without formal training, he’s managed to build an impressive resumé: The guy is the former corporate chef for Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Restaurant Group and has opened restaurants everywhere from Hong Kong to Miami Beach. As for his new venture, Epic, the 190-seat industrial … Read more