Do you like your adventures caffeinated? Caffentures offers regular coffee crawls to introduce Chicagoans to the specialty coffee scene.
The next Blue Line Coffee Crawl will be held Saturday, August 25 at 9 a.m. in Bucktown and Wicker Park. Admission is $30 per person and includes drink samples and tasting notecards. Learn more about the event in my post for Chicagoist.
Posted in bucktown, chicago, drinking, exploring, wicker park
Tagged bucktown, chicago, coffee, drinking, wicker park
On a quiet stretch of 10th Ave. The Pony Bar is packed with an impressive list of craft beers, friendly locals [transplants, rather], barrel tables, and a casual attitude. At once, I feel in my element, realizing it’s all much more Midwest than Manhattan. It’s so Chicago, and that’s a very good thing.
Posted in drinking, exploring, hell's kitchen, manhattan, new york city
Tagged craft beer, drinking, hell's kitchen, manhattan, new york city, the pony bar
Chicago’s nightlife reached new heights with last month’s debut of Drumbar. Sitting pretty atop the Raffaelo Hotel, the luxe lounge and rooftop terrace is the Gold Coast’s place to be “scene” this summer.
Take the elevator 200 feet up to enter Drumbar’s stunning speakeasy-style retreat. A sleek bar of thick cut marble will catch your eye, but don’t pause too long. Around the corner, the lounge invites you to cozy up in tufted leather chair and take in the surrounding rich wood, high ceilings, and beautiful people. The lounge’s fireplace makes Drumbar a destination for all Chicago’s seasons, but the rooftop terrace steals the show.
Posted in chicago, drinking, exploring, gold coast
Tagged chicago, drinking, drumbar, gold coast
“What do people do who don’t live in a place that celebrates craft beer on any given weekend?” I wondered this aloud entering the Chicago Craft Beer Festival but had no time to consider such a fate – there were too many beers to be tasted.
With its DMK pedigree and proximity to one of Chicago’s not-so-secret gems, Ada Street has been one of the city’s most buzzed about new spots this spring. The tavern embraces elements that seem to be trending everywhere – think speakeasies, small plates, and post-industrial design – in a thoughtful and intimate manner that invites you in and beckons you back again.
Brick & Vinyl
Who doesn’t go weak in the knees for exposed brick? Ada Street emphatically accents its industrial setting. After entering through a series of doors and a candlelit, wood-lined lobby, you’ll follow the red brick down a lingering wine-cellar wall, its illuminated bottles casting an ambient glow. Before stepping into the bright barroom, stop at the vinyl library and select your mood music for the evening. Cheers to whoever chose Rumours on my visit.
Felonious Monk
Ever since my first gin fizz I’ve been beholden to egg whites. The Felonious features many monk-ish ingredients, including the Yellow Chartreuse and Benedictine lemon that produce the sweet and tangy taste and an abbey-style splash of ale. Even after mixologist Tim Lacey’s amicable departure, the cocktail menu tasted as legendary as the musical references its drink names honor ($10).
Duck Confit
For a saloon supposedly not all about food, Chef Zoe Schor’s menu makes foodie eats accessible. You don’t need to love duck (I do!) to be taken with Ada Street’s duck confit. Mixed with cheesy parmigiano pasta and topped with an oozing poached egg it tastes very haute cuisine meets comfort food ($10).
Brioche Donuts
No room to spare? Make some. The brioche donuts are like bite-size, sugar-sprinkled clouds. The spectacular port wine caramel dipping sauce – well I’d like to do unspeakable things with it ($10).
Ada Street
1664 N Ada St.
Chicago, Illinois 60642
Posted in 4 favorite things, chicago, drinking, eating, exploring, noble square
Tagged ada street, chicago, drinking, eating, exploring, noble square
At a loss for those last few holiday gift ideas? Encourage some Second City exploration with these quick gifts for seeing new sides of Chicago.
Explore by Bus
Chicago Architecture Foundation Tour: Highlights by Bus $42
Chicago winters are a tough time for exploration, but the Chicago Architecture Foundation offers tours by foot, boat, and bus. Check out the city’s diverse design from Hyde Park, to the Lakefront, to the Loop, and more in a curated bus outing covering 30 miles. The tour includes interior visits to Fran kLloyd Wright’s Robie House and Mies van der Rohe’s IIT campus, allowing you to avoid trekking through the elements while still exploring architecture up close in CAF’s most comprehensive tour.
Explore by Book
Chicago’s Classic Restaurants: Past, Present and Future $39.50
From lavish dining experiences to lunchrooms in the Loop, this coffee table book explores the history of “classic” restaurants in Chicago. Between old school standouts and the reflections of today’s culinary stars, including Charlie Trotter and Rick Bayless, this book serves an appetizing array of Chicago’s dining history.
Food Lovers’ Guide to Chicago: Best Local Specialties, Markets, Recipes, Restaurants & Events $15.95
Jennifer Olvera goes beyond the standard restaurant guide, highlighting Chicago’s neighborhood favorites in restaurants, bars, food festivals, recipes, and farmer’s market. Offering an accurate snapshot of establishments on every side of the city, it’s a great guide for Chicago visitors and citizens alike.
Explore by Band
Friends of the Empty Bottle Pass $149
Gift your favorite show-goer the gift that plays all year-long with the Friends of the Bottle pass from the Empty Bottle. The Ukranian Village venue is offering a year-long pass good for admission to any show in 2012 that is less than $10. In addition to free admission to most shows offered at the Bottle, members will have first access to purchase tickets for pricier shows as well as other perks.
Explore by Bar
History Pub Crawl: Chicago’s Greatest Dives $30
Give the gift of education and inebriation with a Chicago History Museum pub crawl. This tour explores the history of several of the city’s favorite dives, while you explore the goods in the glass at each stop.
Explore by Table
À la Card Chicago Restaurant Deck $32.75
This deck of cards will return more than your usual Texas Hold’em game. Each card contains a description of a delicious chef-driven Chicago restaurant and is redeemable for $10 off at that establishment any day of the year. It’s a great excuse to eat your way through the city all year!
Explore by Air
Chicago Aerial Tours $499.99
When no other view will do, explore the city by the stunning heights of a helicopter. See Chicago neighborhoods and landmarks from a unique vantage on this 30-minute tour, giving new meaning to the Chicago Skyway.
The funny thing about New York City is that it’s not so much an American city. Its street scenes wouldn’t soak in seamlessly if dropped in Iowa or Florida, but NYC is recognizable to us all. We’ve seen New York’s images replayed in films, sitcoms, and dorm room posters, its representations feeling so characteristic and yet so familiar. I don’t whether such a thing as “Old New York” ever really existed or if tourists are searching for a version associated with Henry James, Patti Smith, or Sex and City circa the late 90’s (before Carrie owned a cell phone). Is New York An Affair to Remember or greater parts Taxi Driver? More likely it has something to do with Sinatra, but no matter which New York you’re craving Arturo’s serves a bona fide slice.
Step inside Arturo’s after a day of battle navigating and snapping pictures, and allow the enveloping live jazz to cure your urban ennui. Its three tight rooms are crowded and chaotic, with amiable staff ensuring the steady stream of Cabernet rivers over the energetic din and gesturing limbs. You’ll have to squeeze by the piano at the end of the long bar and make sure not to block the view of the upright bass shaking out jazz standards. Wood-paneled walls are lined salon-style with oil paintings done in varying levels of style and technique by none other than the owner. Unlike many NYC destinations, the atmosphere is comfortable, like you’re a guest in someone’s home. A giant bath tub roosting in the single bathroom confirms the homey feeling and oh I wonder the stories it could share.
Arturo’s offers a full menu of Italian fare but we dive straight for the pie, pointing to our chosen of many available toppings because the waiter isn’t quite able to hear us. The place is packed with gatherings of families and friends sharing the signature coal-oven pizza – we’ve made the right choice. First there’s an arugula salad that’s fresh and not overdressed, topped by a heavy hand with shaved parmesan. The large pizza is more than enough for three, perhaps a bit too coal-fired in this instance, but the outer ring’s singe compliments the slightest hint of sweetness in the well restrained sauce (I’m not a big marinara person). The flavors meld with fresh mozzarella, parmesan, tomato, and liberally applied basil. Deep dish has its place in my heart, but New York-style wins this round in the battle of the binge.
We didn’t seek out Arturo’s that Saturday, rather we wove in street lights’ gleam until we found something seeming accessible, affordable, and delicious. Months later reading David Byrne’s Bicycle Diaries, I happened upon a passage describing Arturo’s of all places in a section entitled The Old Crazy New York II. “Arturo’s is a neighborhood joint. There are a lot of regulars. It is not the sort of place that would ever attract the attention of serious foodies or get mentioned in the new trendy guides to New York City.”* Is it the music, the wine, the clutter of local clientele that give Arturo’s an air of Old New York? Are the comfortable characteristics lending a familiarity that I mistake for something I only think I know about what New York means? Any way you slice it, the stuff is good and I’m craving a return just as long as Arturo’s is serving jazz and coal-fired pie. Whichever version of NYC you’re after it’s sure to satisfy.
Quick Bites
Arugula Salad: < $10
Large Pizza: $19
Bath in the House Tub: Management’s Discretion
Arturo’s
106 West Houston Street
New York, NY 10012
Posted in drinking, eating, exploring, greenwich village, impressions, manhattan, new york city
Tagged arturos, drinking, eating, greenwich village, new york city, nyc, pizza
Please enjoy a piece by my dear friend Ally Batty, with photos by Sarah Dodge. The talented two are the authors of Go That Do There, an insightful and entertaining account of their road trip across America, which you should check out immediately – if not sooner.
When I tell people I am from Atlanta, the conversation invariably turns to a few topics: my lack of a Southern accent and increasingly, the city’s reputation as a leafy mecca for Southern hipsters and new business. Like many Atlantans, I have few traces of the both maligned and lusted -over Southern dialect. We are a motley crew of old southern money, new business transplants, historically black colleges, changing neighborhoods, and both good and bad urban planning.
In truth, Atlanta is both everything and nothing it is made out to be. If you come to Atlanta looking for narrow-minded frat boys and vapid debutantes, you will find them. But you will also find easy interracial friendships, fierce southern progressives (and the odd thoughtful, intelligent conservative), and an abundance of smart, young entrepreneurs who are weaving a gritty, gorgeous, and delicious cultural tapestry of folksy southern charm and New South economic savvy. So without further ado a few of my favorite Atlanta spots:
L5P
Little Five Points (so named because its center is comprised of a five street intersection) is like a counterculture Disneyland. L5P, as it is affectionately known, is a bizarre little commercial district wedged between dicey neighborhoods and streets lined with old Victorians. It’s the kind of place where on any given day you could pick out a good healing crystal, drink a craft beer, and get a Prince Albert. My church youth group used to hand out pb&j’s to the substantial homeless population in the neighborhood and were routinely turned away by offended L5Pers who merely appeared homeless.
West Egg
A vegetarian friendly, southern-style brunch with a hot, hipster waitstaff, a breezy patio, and a Great Gatsby reference? Oui, merci. West Egg‘s location on the industrial west side is gorgeously mirrored by the restaurant’s clean, wood and concrete-accented interior. Try the fried green tomatoes, black bean cakes with eggs, and the pimento cheese grits. This is Atlanta doing Brooklyn better than Brooklyn can.
Clermont Lounge
Ok, this is a weird one. Mention Clermont Lounge to any Atlantan, and they will immediately recognize the name. Not so strange for a list of best-loved Atlanta spots, right? Here’s where it gets weird: the Clermont Lounge is a strip club in the basement of the now-defunct “pay-by-the-hour” Clermont Hotel. Furthermore, all the strippers are either overweight, over the age of 40, or otherwise less-than-desirable. I may catch some slack on this, but there’s nothing like dancing to funk music with a mixture of bachelorette parties, hipsters, sketchy old men, and a 65-year old named Peaches who can open a beer between her breasts.
Inman Park
In my opinion, perfect Atlanta. Beautiful Victorian homes with wide porches, old growth trees, and commercial districts within walking distance. In-town neighborhoods like Inman Park made it difficult to explain in college how I grew up both within and without the city. There is something so magically Atlanta about the ambient, percussive chirp of cicadas mingled with the thrush of traffic.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
People often knock Atlanta for being an urban desert. And in many ways, the downtown effectively closes down on Friday at 5 pm. But sprinkled throughout the deserted office buildings and shuttered former department stores are beautiful, old churches surrounded by courtyards and brimming with shade trees and hydrangeas. Downtown churches are thriving with parishioners who travel from all over to hear the good word and share some gossip over bitter, burnt church coffee. I grew up at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church which perches like a grand, old matriarch along Atlanta’s pulsing arteries, I-75 and Peachtree Rd. Bitter about the church’s homeless outreach programs, a neighboring restauranteur once paid a handful of homeless people to come into church on Sunday and sit amongst the seersucker suits and Lily Pulitzer. Imagine his dismay when we all shook hands and hugged during the Peace, and not one Buckhead Betty batted a perfectly curled eyelash.
So, yeah, Atlanta rocks. Buy yourself a Delta sale ticket (oh heck, and one for me too!) and come get lost on Peachtree.
- By Ally Batty
Posted in atlanta, drinking, eating, exploring, guest post, shopping
Tagged atlanta, clermont lounge, drinking, eating, exploring, inman park, lp5, shopping, west egg
The 16-person self-propelled Cycle Tavern is the latest word in bar crawl conveyance. - Columbus, OH
Columbus peddles under the influence with the Euro imported Cycle Tavern.
As mentioned in my June fest recap, Chicagoans pack in their fun in the sun while they can all summer long. While there are hundreds of neighborhood street festivals, here are my picks for the best fests of July 2011.
Chicago Folk & Roots Festival: July 9-10, 2011
Organized by the Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago Folk & Roots festival features an eclectic lineup of folk, funk, global, and rootsy music from all over the world. Located in Lincoln Square’s Welles Park, the fest draws hippies, families, and music lovers of all kinds for a crowd of 30,000 over two days. This year I took in stage plummeting acrobatics by The Soul Sonic Sirkus, Congolese hip-hop/soul artist Baloji, and shimmied my way through my first salsa lesson to the energetic Caribbean beats of Cuban flutist Maraca.
Roscoe Village Burger Fest: July 9-10, 2011
Nine local vendors competed for the battle of the burger at the second annual Roscoe Village Burger Fest. Restaurants including Goose Island, Hamburger Mary’s, and last year’s winner John’s Place, served up full size burgers and sliders in variety of carnivorous flavors. Attendees texted in their votes with Stanley’s Kitchen & Tap taking top burger.
[Photo Credit]
West Fest: July 9-10, 2011
Whether grooving to the garage soul of King Khan, rocking out to Local H, or dancing the night away with Derrick Carter, West Fest’s allure lies in its musical lineup. Programmed by The Empty Bottle, the fest’s diverse live music draws a hip crowd and is a great reason for exploring west Chicago Ave.
Pitchfork Music Festival: July 15-17, 2011
90-degree days spent outdoors, sweaty strangers, and up-and-coming indie rock are an incredible combination in my opinion. If you’re not sure why Pitchfork is my preferred Chicago music festival check out my 4 favorite things and enjoy my photos from this year’s fest.
Wicker Park Fest: July 23-24, 2011
Boasting names like Blitzen Trapper, Wild Flag, Wavves, and Flosstradamus, Wicker Park Fest is another summer street event that’s known for its musical lineup. Check out Chi-town indie darlings Company of Thieves performing “Modern Waste” from their latest album.
Sheffield Garden Walk: July 23-24, 2011
Strains of Verdi lilt through the late afternoon while sunlight filters through garden leaves, casting different patterns on the mossy stone paths below. Beyond the sidewalk, through a verdant archway, I feel worlds away from the street I’ve rambled down so many times, invited to share in Lincoln Park’s personal city retreats.
Now known as the “Garden District of Chicago,” this neighborhood was not always blooming. By the mid-1950′s, much of Lincoln Park had fallen into disrepair. The Sheffield Garden Walk was first organized in 1969 to draw attention to the beauty of the neighborhood. The lovely trees and street planter boxes you see lining the lanes of this neighborhood are due to the work of the Sheffield Neighborhood Association. While that first festival featured 16 local gardens, 78 local residents shared their gardens for this year’s Garden Walk.
A Garden Walk map guides you through the neighborhood, including a botanical background of each featured property. There’s a community feel to the festival and homeowners are happy to tell you about their gorgeous places and rare plants. The Sheffield Garden walk makes you feel like a neighbor no matter which ward you hail from…at least for the weekend.
Taste of Lincoln Ave: July 30-31, 2011
With a kid’s carnival, beer and food vendors, and the addition of the Lill Street Craft Fair, the Taste of Lincoln Ave. is a summer standard in Lincoln Park. The festival’s 28th edition featured five stages of live music, including blues legend Johnny Winter. Jam with Johnny to “Dust My Broom,” below.
Posted in drinking, eating, events, exploring, festivals, lincoln park, lincoln square, listening, roscoe village, union park, west loop, west town, wicker park
Tagged chicago, chicago street fest, drinking, eating, events, festivals, folk and roots fest, lincoln park, lincoln square, listening, pirchfork music festival, roscoe village burger fest, sheffield garden walk, taste of lincoln ave, union park, west fest, west loop, west town, wicker park, wicker park fest
