Although its official opening date is still in flux (our source says as soon as midweek; stay tuned for updates), we scored a sneak peek of The Red Canary, a new “gastro-lounge” in the old Avenue M address, at a preview party late last week. Gone is the previous tenant’s airy interior; the look is now…
I spent Monday night engaged in just about the best possible Monday-night activity: drinking $4 Allagash Whites on Smallbar’s dreamy patio. I named the Logan Square spot my favorite bar in my very first Chaser post, and things haven’t changed much since then—for me. But for the guys behind the bar, and its sibling location on Division Street, change is afoot: namely, a third location, slated to open in…
A Wicker Park spot breathes new life into an old cuisine; the Ravinia crowd finally gets a good dining option
MINI REVIEW SALUTE WINE BAR An Italian wine bar. Piatti piccoli, panini, formaggi. Cutesy patio. Spumantes and chiantis galore. Did we have to? But Salute, barely noticeable between the sports bar madness of Jake Melnick’s and curlicued kitsch of 1492 Tapas Bar, charmed the pants off us. For starters, we expressed interest in a glass … Read more
Loft Six Ten has a relatively lofty goal: to cater to everyone by being both high- and lowbrow, a spot for drinking $3 Milwaukee’s Best and $800 bottles of Cristal. Which means that this two-plus-years-in-the-making bar from the folks who brought you Cortland’s Garage, Goodbar, and The Stretch aims to be exactly what you, and … Read more
A live wire of a new club plugs into a familiar River North address
Bayless takes his Mexican manifesto—tortas, caldos, and churros with hot chocolate for all—to the people
The Canary Sings
Remember Rick Spiros, the chef involved in the short-lived Mantou Noodle Bar last winter? He’s back with the ambitious Red Canary (695 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 312-846-1475), a chef-driven “modern Victorian” lounge opening in the old Avenue M space as soon as the city gives a thumbs up. “It is a lounge that serves food,” says Spiros. “But it’s not serving food by some guy who is just kind of back there making…
Belly Dancing
Bill Kim, Mr. Urbanbelly (3053 N. California Ave.; 773-583-0500), has just signed the lease on a space in Logan Square where he will open Belly Shack (1912 N. Western Ave.), another counter-service Asian BYO. “It’ll be mainly soups, sandwiches, salads, and some sort soft-serve ice cream or yogurt,” says Kim, who promises no overlap with Urbanbelly’s noodles and dumplings. “I want to do Asian- and Latin-inspired. Instead of french fries, yuca fries with a chimichurri dressing or some kind of chimichurri sauce. And maybe a kimchi hot dog.” Prices will top out around $10, and Kim is percolating ideas for the space: “We’re still getting inspiration from Los Angeles and street-inspired graffiti and things like that.” ETA: This fall.
On Friday night, the bar formerly known as Krem celebrated its reintroduction as Dream with Cirque du Dream, a grand-opening party stocked with acrobats, contortionists, and plenty of good, old-fashioned drinking. Although the spot got a makeover courtesy of its new owners, the folks behind…
