Posts by Jill Charles

Andersonville offers all kinds of bars, but my favorite for a casual night out is Simon’s Bar. Tell your girlfriends to come as they are and not fuss with high heels or dresses. The jeans and tennis shoes crowd here comes for drinks and conversation, not to dress and impress.

Look for the neon light shaped like a fish with a Viking helmet and cocktail and the Swedish flag. Mingle at the long dark wooden bar or relax at tables and wooden benches along the walls. Try the comfy couches in the back by the gas fireplace and the jukebox, which is loud enough to enjoy but not won’t drown out your conversations. Bands sometimes play here on weekends but the occasional cover will not be more than a few dollars.

Simon’s has the old Swedish charm that made Andersonville unique. My favorite drink here is glogg, the traditional Swedish red wine punch strengthened with vodka and infused with plump raisins and slivered almonds. Glogg costs only $4 here and comes with a gingersnap. No drink warms you better on a snowy night. With fruit, nuts and antioxidants it almost seems healthy. The bar offers a broad selection of flavored vodkas and microbrews like Goose Island and Red Seal Ale, but drink prices remain reasonable. Don’t count on bar food here but enjoy do drinks after dinner at any nearby restaurant or a cocktail before a play at Annoyance Theatre or the Neo-Futurariam.

Impress your friends with the history of Simon’s. This bar dates from 1934. Before that, there was a speakeasy at this location. The small wooden booth near the front door was a booth for cashing checks in the Depression, after many customers lost faith in the banks. Faith in beer and liquor has stayed strong here, though. The yellow murals on the walls have said “Wilkommen” to generations of neighbors and friends.

As so many Chicago neighborhoods gentrify and cocktail prices become downright insulting, it’s comforting to know that some watering holes remain the same. I’ve enjoyed Simon’s Bar with my friends and met some good people there. The place feels as comfortable as a living room for drinks and conversation. The bar stays full, not because of advertising or trendiness, but because its patrons honestly like it and bring their friends. Hang out as long as you want, because here you can afford it.

Leave the cold Chicago winter behind and take your friends to Demera for excellent Ethiopian food and drinks! This Uptown restaurant is on the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, right by the Lawrence Red Line stop and the Aragon Theater, Riviera and Green Mill.

Demera is warm, from the spiciness of the berbere sauce to the paintings of Ethiopian temples and musicians on the walls and ceiling. The sunny colors of the curtains and African tablecloths and the actual warm temperature of the spacious dining rooms melts away the cold outside. Ethiopian music plays softly in the background. Service is fast and friendly and drinks are available from the full bar at the back of the restaurant .

Ethiopian cuisine lends itself to eating with a group of friends because all meals arrive on 20 inch pieces of spongy injera bread. The manner of eating is to tear off pieces of injera bread with your right hand and use the bread, rather than utensils, to eat the meat and vegetables. It’s easy to share meals or get a combo plate of four different dishes on one piece of injera. Combo meals are $14.50 -$15.50 and large enough for two or more to share, including a small house salad with lettuce, onions and bell peppers.

Demera offers a variety of vegetable, chicken, lamb and seafood dishes and a buffet lunch from noon to 4pm on Monday - Friday. About a third of the menu is vegetarian with dishes like gomen (collard greens), garbanzo beans and lentils. Coffee is presented with incense and Ethiopian honey wine ($5) nicely compliments the spicy items. I enjoyed the shiro, ($14) mixed beans with rue seed, bishop’s weed and spicy berbere sauce. The traditional, tasty doro wat ($12) features chicken drumsticks and a hard-boiled egg in berbere sauce with a side of mild homemade cottage cheese. The menu helpfully labels dishes as spicy or mild and by spicy, it means “four stars.” A nice milder meat dish is the yebug alicha ($11.50), lamb with garlic, ginger and turmeric. If you have any room for dessert after the generous portions of lunch or dinner, you can order the Missionary’s Delight - ice cream with chocolate sauce or mango juice for $2.50.

Whether Ethiopian cuisine is new to you or you are already hooked on injera bread (as I admit I am) you will enjoy the food and drinks at Demera. As the menu explains, the name demera comes from a bundle of twigs that are lit on fire on the Ethiopian September holiday of Meskal celebrating the finding of the true Cross. Meskal has been celebrated in Ethiopia for 1600 years. The delicious menu and bar here give you and your friends reason to celebrate.