Hi. Remember me? It’s your former Last Girl Standing–turned–newlywed. It’s been a while since I last blogged, and the rumors are true: After seven rewarding years as Chicago magazine’s nightlife columnist, I’ve made the very tough decision to leave my post. My last Nightspotting column will run in the April issue of the magazine, and this is my final post in this forum. [Insert violins here.]…
Mr. Beef Lives!
Seems everyone in Chicago was already mourning the death of the famous Italian beef shack (666 N. Orleans St.; 312-337-8500) following a story in Crain’s Chicago Business last week that reported its owners owed a bank $650,000. “We refinanced and we’re not going anywhere,” says Chris Zucchero, the son of Mr. Beef’s owner, Joseph Zucchero. “But we’re touched by the outpouring of support we got from Chicagoans.” In other words…
The Boundary 1932 W. Division St. Secluded booths for canoodling, a blazing fireplace—and if that doesn’t do the trick, the bar is bustling with singles. Cru Café & Wine Bar 25 E. Delaware Pl. It doesn’t get much more romantic than this cozy bar with a 300-bottle list—and a River North location convenient … Read more
Simone’s—part hipster hang, part ongoing art project from the brains behind Danny’s and Streetside—opened last week in Pilsen, officially bringing the craft-cocktailing trend to the South Side. We sent our photographer down to capture the (genius? bizarre?) clutter, which includes oodles of objects d’art, a bar top built from old bowling-alley wood, and pinball parts practically everywhere you look. The drink menu is…
Talk about a bar that feels like it’s been around a while: The guys behind West Town’s High Dive, Georg Simos and Alex Tsolakides, are at it again with Rocking Horse in Logan Square. Simos gave us the exclusive on the new bar, slated for a late February or early March launch.
A cleaned-up dive scores points for keeping things casual
Neapolitan pizza is to the ’00s what martinis were to the ’90s…
Sell the Sizzle
“I think I found a way to survive here,” says Alan Shikami, who has transformed Shikago (190 S. LaSalle St.; 312-781-7300) into the kind of “fun Japanese/Asian restaurant” he always wanted. In his new chef, James Okuno—Shikago’s former sous-chef and son of Kiyoshi Okuno from New York’s esteemed Sushi Yasuda—he’s finally found someone on the same page. Together, they’ve gone back to basics. “There was a place in Bangkok called the…
Save some dough, get some dough: Order a drink at the new Wicker Park nightspot Crocodile (1540 N. Milwaukee Ave.), and your server will offer you a free 9-inch Margherita pizza. Now that’s an economy-minded special you can sink your teeth into. We checked out the space—most recently home to Thyme Cafe and Cinnabar before that—this weekend, and found folks noshing on…
In a town with no shortage of burgers, Duchamp’s is the best we’ve had in ages
