We used to drive by this one bowling alley all the time when I was growing up, and their sign said it all: Fun Is Bowling. The letters were tall and yellow against dull brown siding, with a smiley face tacked on the end for good measure. The message was simple but true: Fun is bowling.
Especially tailored to my personal requirements is the phenomenon of fancy bowling—you know, those…
A First Look at Gilt Bar
Some trusted FODs checked out Gilt Bar (230 W. Kinzie St.; 312-464-9544), the new American restaurant in the good-food–short-tenure space across from the Merchandise Mart (Aigre Doux, Pili Pili, Havana Club), when it opened Tuesday night. Here’s their report:
After four cast members of MTV’s runaway reality hit Jersey Shore abruptly canceled a weekend’s worth of Chicago appearances back in January, two of the newly minted celebs, Mike “The Situation” and DJ Pauly D, attempted to make amends by holing up in a VIP booth at Lumen last Friday…
You heard it here first: The Violet Hour cocktail whiz Mike Ryan will bartend his last shift at the Wicker Park lounge this Saturday night. Ryan has accepted a job as head bartender at Sable, an upscale gastro-lounge concept slated to open in the space adjacent to new Kimpton property Hotel Palomar (505 N. State St.) this spring…
Street Smarts: We break down a $12 torta by Rick Bayless and a $6 counterpart by a guy you’ve never heard of
Pollack’s Dinner at Prairie Fire in 145 Words
As I pushed through the door and heard the buzz at the bar, I thought, Please don’t let Prairie Fire (215 N. Clinton St.; 312-382-8300) be just another scene designed for noise junkies. Phew. It wasn’t bad at all. The crowd was more happy than hipster and never threatened my audio comfort zone. The one-week-old Prairie Grass sib doesn’t break much new ground but keeps its…
UPDATED 03.03.10 From February 19th to 28th, The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau presented its 3rd annual Chicago Restaurant Week. Did you miss out on your top choice? Don’t pout for long. Based on the week’s wild popularity, several restaurants have granted us an encore performance of their three-course prix fixe menu—$22 at lunch and … Read more
A pair of upscale Italian restaurants in glamorous hotels both start in the Old Country—and go in drastically different directions
Not only did the ladies line up outside Enclave on Saturday to see Brody Jenner (the MTV-anointed prince of reality shows from The Hills to Bromance), they observed the night’s recommended-attire memo with gusto. See our photos from the Little Red Dress Valentine’s Day Party below…
If you build it, it will open. After months of renovations and waiting on licenses, Chicago’s third Small Bar, on Fullerton Avenue, launched with relatively little fanfare last week. Our photographer stopped by Saturday night to snap the not-so-small space. Also not so small? The burger, whose Division Street sibling we…
