Good blues place?

Hey all,

Have a friend in from out of town who has requested to go to a good blues place tonight. Any thoughts? Probably might try and eat dinner there as well.

I am not an expert on the blues places, so any help would be appreciated!

Thank you.

HI,

While this is a food-centric website, this topic has been covered at least once. Frankly I would search around the internet for more information.

If you scroll down in Eating in Chicagoland, there is a thread from the last few days on music and food. Might get some ideas as well as something decent to eat, which is what we really know about around here.

Regards,

Virtually next door to a good Chinese restaurant (Pine Yard), across the street from a reasonably good, cheap, funky Thai Place (Cozy), and about a block away from many more (Mexican, pizza, Brazilian Steakhouse, upscale Italian, contemporary American, even [yucch] Wolfgang Puck's) is Bill's Blues Bar. Not as frenetic as the Halsted Street blues bars (where Bill used to do the booking), but friendly and easily accessible (purple line to Davis St.

[Cathy - is that enough food content to qualify for posting under Other Culinary chat?]

Pine Yard Restaurant
1033 Davis, Evanston
(847) 475-4940

Cozy Noodles & Rice
1018 Davis St., Evanston
(847) 733-0101

Bill's Blues Bar
1029 Davis St.
Evanston 60201-3609
847-424-9800

nr706 wrote:[Cathy - is that enough food content to qualify for posting under Other Culinary chat?]

With your reply, yes.

Regards,

You could start by looking at the Blues Listings in the Reader.

Although their music is more of a Jazz/Blues fusion, than traditional Chicago Blues, I would be tempted to go see Erwin Helfer and Skinny Williams at Katerina's tonight. I have never seen them perform together, but both are excellent musicians. Erwin is one of the the preeminent Chicago blues pianists, who has worked over the years with many of the old-school Chicago blues legends, as well as giving many younger artists their start in the business. Skinny Williams is an accomplished saxaphonist, who has toured with numerous jazz, funk and blues artists. Together, I am sure they are remarkable.

I have never been to Katerina's either. It is a fairly new club/cafe/bistro offering "Southern European" cuisine. Their menu looks pretty interesting, featuring mostly sort of nouveau-greek small dishes and a few entrees. Maybe someone else has been there and can give a quick review.

Katerina's
1920 W. Irving Park
773-348-7592.


UPDATE: I happened to re-check Katerina's website to see what time the music started tonight, and discovered that Erwin and Skinny were no longer listed as appearing tonight. Oh Well. It WOULD have been good. Melvin Taylor is at Rosa's. He can be fun. Rosa's is kind of a dive, but it has an "authentic" blues club vibe. There are some good Mexican Restaurants in the vicinity like Fonda Del Mar at Fullerton and Hamlin.

Rosa's Lounge
3420 W. Armitage
773-342-0452