Category: Bunch o' Friends

Chicagoland is full of Irish bars but not all of them offer the food, coziness and Irish music that distinguish a pub from your basic American sports bar. One of the friendliest and most modestly priced Irish restaurant is The Celtic Knot in Evanston. Unlike some of the louder pubs, this one makes a great date spot because of its menu and the snug, a dining room separate from the bar. The Celtic Knot’s live Irish music on Tuesdays and Storytelling in the Snug on Sundays make for a unique date. Whether your date likes to sip whiskey at the old wooden bar or eat dinner behind the curtained windows of the snug, The Celtic Knot is sure to please.

The Celtic Knot’s authentic menu serves up plenty of stew, salmon, oysters, lamb and chips with gravy or curry. The Full Monty Irish breakfast with bangers, bacon, sliced tomato, mushrooms, black and white pudding and fried bread. For $11.99, that‘s all the sausage you can dream of and breakfast and lunch in one meal. The corned beef sandwich comes on brown bread with melted Swiss cheese and thick-cut, lean corned beef and a side of chips. Stew with beef and Guinness or traditional shepherd’s pie with onion, peas and duchess potatoes will warm you up on a cold day. In hot weather, try one of the excellent salads. I enjoyed my salmon, white bean and red onion salad on mixed greens, a fresh spin on traditional salmon. You can also treat your date to crab cakes with smoked salmon and red pepper sauce ($7.99) or dare each other to slurp some oysters ($8.50 for half a pound.) The sides of brown bread, Heinz beans and even mushy peas keep the menu traditional and the fish and chips comes wrapped in newspaper ($11.99). The Celtic Knot does not offer one lone corned beef sandwich surrounded by the usual chicken wings and PBR, like some wannabe Irish bars I could name.

For a great finale to a meal here, split a dessert. Try the traditional sticky toffee pudding ($7) chocolate cake or bread and butter pudding with whiskey caramel sauce ($7.50). The elegant vintage cheese plate with raisins, apples and nuts also appears as a dessert option. For total decadence, share a dessert combo for only $8.99 and find a favorite sweet.

As in Ireland, you can order beer by the pint or half-pint here (20 or 10 glasses). I like the 10 ounce Guinness and my friends recommend Smithwick’s a lighter lager-style Irish beer. The wine menu offers a good mix of American and imported reds and whites, most for under $10 a glass. Your whiskey choices include Jameson, Bushmills (S7) and aged Scotches, like the 12-year-old Glenlivet ($8). If your date likes sweet drinks, suggest the unique Celtic coffee made with Tia Maria and whipped cream.
Music

The house band played mostly instrumental Irish music, always at a pleasant volume so diners can converse. The instruments include a fiddle, string bass, banjo and mandolin. I really enjoyed the traditional music and the theme from the “real party” in Titanic. The music, fine food and coziness of The Celtic Knot will soon make it a favorite date spot.

Round up your friends for a good meal with wine or coffee and cakes at Artopolis.
This Greektown eatery offers a wine bar, sandwich counter, pastry case and the agora, a small market selling imported art, olives, cheese and jam. The big casual dining room invites you to hang out. Find a table in the balcony level and watch the world go by on Halsted street.

Smaller and simpler than many Greektown restaurants, Artopolis emulates a Mediterranean shop and café. Customers hang out after work for wine and dinner, many of them conversing in Greek. I enjoyed finding pastries and dishes that were new to me, including the signature artopitas. The spanakopita “spinach and cheese pie” is one of many types of dinner pastries here, including the Kotopita of chicken, mozzarella, peppers and a baked ham and cheese pie ($8-$10). The name “Artopolis” means “city of bread” and the fresh bread, thick crust pizzas, sandwiches and artopitas are baked fresh daily.

Soup and salads are excellent here too. Try the traditional soup, a golden avgolemono with lemon, egg, white rice and big chunks of chicken ($3.75). Salads include the Frutti di Mare with shrimp, calamari, octopus on greens and French style Jardin with big slices of Brie cheese and pears on mesclun greens. The no-lettuce Greek Country salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and Kalamata olives remains my favorite. If you and your friends meet here for lunch, you can have the soup and salad combos or split a big pan pizza.

The wine list and shop features imports such as Retsina and some domestic wines, by the bottle and by the glass. Mediterranean cocktails, like the champagne and peach Bellini or the Café Calypso with iced coffee and rum complete a meal on a high note.

For those with a sweet tooth (everyone I know), Artopolis offers an assortment of Greek cookies and pastries like baklava and honey puff loukomades. Other types of new and traditional sweets include tiramisu, chocolate mousse in chocolate cups and mango yogurt tarts. Coffee choices include espresso, hot or iced cappuccinos and wonderful Greek coffee ($2-$2.75). Served in a small cup and brewed strong, the Papagalos Greek coffee here tastes dark-roasted and aromatic, either sweetened or plain, with none of the bitter edge of many espressos.

If you are looking for a last-minute gift for a friend or food to bring to a party, Artopolis can help. The wines, cheeses, cakes and cookies here make unique and delicious presents with optional gift wrap. You would have to come back to Artopolis many times to try everything, but the varying daily menu adds to its appeal.

Don’t settle for the same old Pabst Blue Ribbons cans at happy hour when you and your friends can drink margaritas at Café Penelope for the same price. This family-owned restaurant with a full bar is a mellow, friendly place for a weekday happy hour with fresh appetizers and drink specials. On Fridays from 4 until 7 pm, margaritas are $1.99 and Miller Genuine Draft bottles are $1. Margaritas are not blended or on the rocks but served straight up in a martini glass with a lime wedge and a salt rim. What a great way to kick off the summer!

Another good pick for happy hour is pizza. Café Penelope has the standard Meat Lovers and Veggie Lovers but also some new flavors such as Cheesesteak, with thin-sliced steak and green pepper and Chili with chili con carne and sour cream. Split the large with your friends for $18 or order the small one for yourself for $10.95. Pizza toppings include eggplant and anchovies and barbecue beef for those who want something different.

The soups at Café Penelope have won several awards and vary daily (vegetarian soups like minestrone are available on Wednesday). Cajun Crab and Corn Chowder and Chicken and Rice are some favorites. You can get a soup and sandwich dinner for $8. The Italian Beef Sandwich is popular here and Italian Eggplant with marinara and cheese is a good hot vegetarian sandwich. My Crabcake Remoulade sandwich combined spicy yellow sauce with a tender crabcake flecked with red pepper on a poppyseed roll, plus roasted red potatoes and fresh coleslaw. The many big fresh salads include spinach gorgonzola and Greek, with grilled and salmon options. Most of the sandwich soup and salad combos are under $10.

If you want to treat your female friends, make reservations for the Monday Martini and Manicure Night. For $20 a person, you and your friends can enjoy a manicure and one of the specialty martinis like Lemon Blueberry, Caramel Apple, or Chocolate.

If your friends like to meet for brunch, Café Penelope serves a great one, which won an Independent Restaurant Award in 2007. Some unique brunch dishes are the chai latte French toast with caramelized apples, honey, and house-made bread stuffed with ricotta cheese. The Eggs Benedict choices include the traditional ham, crab cakes or Caprese with pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes crowning the poached egg and English muffin. Buttermilk pancakes with strawberries or blueberries or your choice of omelets make a great start to your day. Remember that on weekends, Café Penelope is only open until 3, but you can enjoy dinner and drinks there on weeknights. If you need to order food for an event at work, check out their catering site.

Welcome to the Friendly Confines! This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful ball parks in the country, and probably also the smallest. And yeah, it has a tendency to fill up with a bunch of yuppies and suburbanites, but if you’re a longtime local like me, you know how to wing this place pretty well. After all, baseball is for everyone, and whether they win or lose (which is often), you can ensure you can have a great time here. While I prefer the Sox as a team, Wrigley Field is hands down a much better park!

The first rule of thumb is to leave the car at home! Seriously! There is hardly anywhere to park, and even if you *do* find parking, you’ll be sitting in traffic for an hour or two before you make your way out! The L train right behind the place is leads to just about anywhere you want to go, so do that instead.

Second – if you’re having trouble getting tickets before you go, there is always somebody selling theirs outside. While it’s true scalping is illegal, the cops tend to look the other way. Just walk around with your fingers in the air of how many you want and someone will approach you. Just keep it on the down low! That is of course, if you don’t want to hit the ticket brokers nearby so you can use a credit card.

Third – be a Bleacher Bum! Scoring pricey home plate seats are for corporate types trying to impress clients. And suburbanites. And basically all the people who go to be seen than to actually see the game, as well as transplants and other non locals. Besides, the real party is up by the score board anyway. Think the scene in “Titanic” and you’ll know where I’m going with this. Just remember anytime before mid June to dress for 40F weather, because that shade and lake breeze can be pretty brutal! However, in late August, you’ll be more than happy with the temperature difference!

The fourth rule is to never EVER keep a home run ball from the opposing team! Throw it back! I don’t care how much you can get off eBay with it – it just ain’t worth it! Also, never reach out for a ball! Have we not learned the Bartman lesson yet, people?

And finally – it’s Old Style or nuttin! There is just no replacing that taste of cheap domestic beer with those waxed paper cups. Is it a chemical thing? I don’t know, just if you want to party with the Big Boys, this is what you order – and plenty of it!

Beer and fried chicken, anyone? If this sounds like your cup of tea, you’re going to want to check out Stanley's Kitchen and Tap. The one I visited was located on Racine, right off 290, in the West Loop. A huge blue sign stands tall and calls out to your inner drunkard.

I have a friend who just happens to live a hop, skip and a jump away from this joint, so one Saturday night we headed there for a few drinks, planning to catch a nice buzz and then head somewhere else. But truth be told, we never left.

When you walk in, the place is split into two parts. There’s a quaint, cutely decorated dining area where you could ideally take your aunt Judy to lunch. Then, there’s the bar, a dimly lit, cozy, sexy area that is warmed up by a rustic (fake) fireplace. It sort of gives off the feeling of a secluded pub.

Me and my friend got a table. We weren’t surrounded by many people, although the night was still young. I ordered my favorite: a gin and grapefruit. My friend had beer.

I was surprised when the drinks arrived. My gin and juice came in a huge glass, as big as the mug of beer my friend got! I guess I was expecting to get shafted as usual. When I took a sip and the liquor proportion wasn’t to my liking, the super-cool waitress snuck behind the bar and dumped a whole crap-load more gin in my glass. Kick-awesome!

Needless to say, three more of these babies and I was pretty toasty. The conversation got lively. We ordered food. Me: a giant salad full of fresh, juicy chunks of cucumber and tomatoes. My friend: a huge, sloppy, greasy burger overflowing with cheese. I like salads and all, but I was mesmerized by this burger.

At some point, I think I fell out of my chair. But the waitress was still super great about everything! That’s what makes Stanley’s special. The staff really takes the time to get it just right.

And just at the point when I thought I was gonna be sick, the heroic waitress came by with a magical concoction of mashed potatoes and gravy and literally saved my life! There’s nothing like some carbs to bring you back to sobriety!

I hear Stanley’s has a great Sunday brunch, but I don’t know. We didn’t wake up the next day till it was already afternoon.

Since it opened in 2006, the Mercury Cafe has hosted many poetry, art and music events. Located in West Town at Chicago and Greenview in an old brick house, the Mercury offers great coffee, food and a fun meeting spot for you and your friends.

Come for lunch, dinner, coffee or one of the open mics. Mercury’s Italian style menu features coffee, sandwiches, salads and yummy pastries. Well-roasted coffee comes in espresso, macchiato and lattes ($2.85) or mochas ($3.35) with iced coffee in summer. Most sandwiches include chewy ciabatta rolls. My favorites are the Veggie Medici with pesto, provolone, artichoke hearts, lettuce and tomato and the Sorta Italian with salty, savory prosciutto, salami, pesto, basil and sun-dried tomato. The Caprese salad is the classic trio of tomato, mozzarella, and basil ($5.45) and the roast beef salad is a meal in itself. The inexpensive prices remain the same for lunch or dinner; you and your friends can have half a sandwich and soup $6.10 or half a sandwich and a salad or $6.35. Splurge and split a lamington, chocolate and coconut-covered yellow cake with raspberry jam or try a scone, brownie or cupcake. Loose-leaf tea flavors include rosehips, ginger and Chinese gunpowder green. Chocolate, Tahitian vanilla and hazelnut gelato complete the menu. Tahitian vanilla, with flecks of vanilla bean, is my favorite

The Mercury’s large, open layout with tables and couches and chairs lends itself to hanging out for hours. Groups and clubs sometimes meet up at the tables behind the library shelf in the back. You can take or leave library books from paperback fiction to revolutionary history and social commentaries. Each month new local art is for sale on the walls.

There are three regular open mics at Mercury Café. Poets meet here on the third and last Fridays of the month and an open mic for music, poetry, comedy and all types of performers takes place on the first Wednesday of each month. All open mics begin at 7pm and end at 9pm. Look for art openings and music acts on Mercury’s calendar. Many clubs meet here, including language groups and political meet-ups. The Mercury’s groups are good places to meet friends with similar musical and cultural interests.

You can also bring laptops and take advantage of Marcury Café’s free wireless Internet. If you and your coworkers want to order from the Mercury, call 312-455-9924 for bike delivery to any location between Damen, Lake, Halsted and North Avenue between 11am and 3pm.

Meet your friends at the Red Line Tap in Rogers Park for plenty of good beer, all kinds of music, and good food from the Heartland Cafe. The Red Line Tap shares a building with the Heartland Café; look for the broken missile on the roof next to the Morse Red Line El stop.

At first glance the Red Line looks ordinary with a small stage, concrete floors and one pool table. The selection of beer and music, both modestly priced, sets the Red Line apart from other bars. On a Saturday night I saw three bands there for only $5, including rock, folk and jazz. Many types of bands play here including the regular features: country and rock with Poverty Tax on Sundays, jazz, jam and funk with Project 99 on Mondays, the much-loved bluegrass band Sexfist on Tuesdays, punk rock and metal acts on Wednesdays and an open mic on Thursdays. No matter what your friends’ musical tastes, you can find something they like at the Red Line. Covers are $5 and entertainment is free on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Bring your instruments and vocals to the long-running Thursday night open mic. Sign-up is at 8pm with the music starting at 9. Miki Croisant from Funk to Punk hosts and visiting bands can use the house drum kit. Performers each get one free drink, which your musician friends will love.

With over two dozen beers on tap, the Red Line serves a mix of local and domestic beers from Goose Island 312 to New Holland’s Mad Hatter to Sapporo and Fransiskaner Weiss. The $2.50 or $3 nightly beer specials always offer a good domestic or import like German Jever, and never wuss out and give you an overpriced can of corporate beer. You can also order cocktails and wine from the bar.

When you get hungry at Red Line, order quesadillas, nachos or other food from the Heartland Café kitchen, which also serves a smaller menu here. You could make a night of it, meeting up at the Heartland for dinner first, then moving to the Red Line to enjoy the music. The Heartland Café has been a cornerstone of Rogers Park for over 30 years. Since 1996, the Red Line has served drinks in this location, which housed Roy Kawaguchi’s bar before that. All types and ages of people feel welcome here and the small bar offers great music, beer and food for you and your friends.

Want to go out with some friends in Wrigleyville without paying too much for drinks and having to yell at each other to talk over the game on TV? Pass Wrigley Field and continue west on Addison until you see the Guthrie's Tavern sign.

The red sign and corner door remind you of an English pub. Although you will find Newcastle, Sam Smith and Guinness on tap here, the interior of the bar feels more like an American den. Art posters stick to the walls and funky paintings cover the ceiling. The back room still feels like a screened-in porch, even with its heater and fan and red picnic cloths cover the tables.

Bartenders here are experienced and friendly. House cocktails include a creamsicle orange drink with whipped cream or juicy rum punch for $6, each a good deal. Your non-drinking friend can drink cider or hot chocolate here (depending on the weather) for $1.75. Beer drinkers will find plenty of domestics and imports, even my favorite Lindeman’s Framboise, the Belgian raspberry ale. The hard cider here is Woodchuck , which tastes like green apples.

Guthrie’s claim to fame is the huge wall of board games across from the bar. They not only have the everyday games like Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly, but also Balderdash, Scattergories, Operation and dozens of new and old games I had never heard of. Round up all your friends and go to Guthrie’s for a game night. There’s no loud crowd, jukebox or noisy TVs to interrupt your concentration at Scrabble or Apples to Apples. Plus, you can make the loser buy you a Sam Smith’s Nut Brown Ale.

Guthrie’s has a sparse and modest menu, just mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings and a few basic pizzas. However, they more than compensate for this by stockpiling takeover menus at the bar. No one here will object if you call for Mongolian beef, California rolls or a piping hot calzone from a neighborhood restaurant. When I played Taboo with my friends at Guthrie’s, a nice man came in selling six tamales for five dollars; I hope he is a regular because I am definitely going back.

Guthrie’s has served drinks here since 1986 but this location has been a bar since 1933 when the Moretti family opened it after Prohibition. The name Guthrie comes from a developer from the 1800s who contributed many buildings to the Lakeview neighborhood. With so many fun games and good drinks, all your friends can feel like winners at Guthrie’s.

Must. Have. Mojitos! This is what you will be chanting all week as you pull the happy dance, waiting for the weekend brunch time to arrive at this Cuban and Mexican inspired restaurant! That is, if you can even wait til then – you might want to go here for dinner during the week as well! Seriously – they are that good here! You'll want to make sure you bring a mirror with you too, because the mint is crushed fresh, leaving lots of leafy goodness stuck in your teeth! But hey – who cares! You'll be savoring its cool flavor all day long.

Cafe 28 does things a little bit different than other Hispanic places around the city. They cater the menu around Gringos like myself and do a pretty good job of it, but without compromising true, authentic flavor: an ideal, mixed marriage that birthed a beautiful child! The décor is charming in its rustic glory, and the patio is nice to hang out in when the weather cooperates. The overall vibe is just so friendly and upbeat and the prices are so reasonable that I doubt I could ever have a complaint here.

The first thing folks will discover is the garlic flavored butter in the bread baskets. I swear you can eat this all by itself! Fried plantains make a nice change of pace from fries or chips, the seafood is incredibly fresh and the beef and pork selections are falling off the bone tender – they slow cook it for hours and hours. Even their version’s of American breakfast food is simply awesome! What's more, everything is spiced just right, and not just a bunch of heat over powering the food itself.

What works for me is the wait never seems to be all that bad, even at their busiest. Getting a table isn't a big deal, waiting for food isn't painful, and getting refills or the check won't cause any finer tapping or frantic hand waving. Also the decibel level is pretty fair, even at brunch with other people's kids in tow, which gets big kudos from me. My only regret is not being able to frequent this place more often.

If you’re looking for a great place to catch the game on the big screen, then heading down to Sedgwick’s is probably your best bet. She ain’t the biggest place in town, but the pub grub sure is good, and wow – look at all those micro brews available!

The first thing I think deserves massive mention is their food – this ain’t your average pub grub… not by a long shot! Everything is just so fresh and tasty, not too expensive and hey – even you veggie lovers out there won’t be left scratching your heads! Start off with some quesadillas or their simply perfect pretzels and follow it up with one of their fantastic sammiches and a cold brew! Of course, if you’re looking for something a little less hands on, they offer some really good soups, salads and pasta dishes as well! If you go on a weekend, be sure to hit their brunch; they have a really nice menu that is perfect for getting into game mode!

Now let’s get into what this place is really known for: da sports! A 106” HDTV, alongside other plasma TVs adorn the walls, making it a great place to catch the game, no matter where you’re sitting. Besides the regular stuff like football, baseball and basketball, folks who get into soccer and rugby are also very welcome! In fact, they even have fan clubs for Illini and Duke! They also throw lots of parties here, so just like it’s always five o’clock somewhere, at Sedgwick’s, every night is game night!

Of course, just because a bar features food and big screens to watch a game does not a great sports bar make – it’s the PEOPLE that make it so! I admit I’m not the biggest sports fan myself, but this is one place I can tag along with my friends and not feel completely isolated or out of place, because the regulars are just so friendly and fun! Even complete novices like myself can walk out a tad bit more knowledgeable here, without putting a major cramp in my pocket book or smelling like some Trixie’s daiquiri. And yeah, it’s nice that the majority of the people are esthetically pleasing, so when I find a spot that have the standard attitudes missing, it gets an extra nod from me!