any circus theme restaurants?

I know about:

Big Top Restaurant
6348 W Higgins Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 631-6066

Any others? North side or suburbs preferred. This is for a book club. For adults.

Thanks,
Pam

There's one in the Hotel Negresco in Nice, I suppose that wouldn't do.

Earwax Cafe has (well, had some years ago when I last went) a sideshow poster theme.

Somehow I don't think it's what you're looking for but you could go to Clown's Alley for shots and beers.





I believe the bar is still there but I'm afraid their classic sign might have disappeared.

Clown's Alley
3149 W 59th St
Chicago

Believe it or not, Clown's Alley is only a mile from Clown's Snack Shop where you could stop for a hot dog or some pancakes. It's a little short on circus atmosphere though.

Clown's Snack Shop
5804 S Western Av
Chicago

Little Clown Pizza might scratch your circus-dining itch. Little Clown is not much for dining in, but they will bring the circus to you in their (all-new) Clowny Clown Clown Mobile.

I was walking on the ground / I didn't make a sound / Then I turned around / And I saw a clown!

Crispin Hellion Glover (1989)

Did you read Water for Elephants? Our book club read that last month. We have book club meetings at a member's house, however we drank a circus themed Petit Syrah that we got at Costco.

There used to be Barnum & Bagel...

I(weirdly) can't think of any local restaurants in Chicago that have a circus theme, but I remember many years ago as a kid going to an ice cream place in Hickory, NC that had a circus theme.

Unfortunately, I have no memory of what it was called, or if its still around today(though I'd suspect it probably still is).

BTW Rene, love the pic you found for Clown's Alley! It'd be a shame if they have already replaced that sign with a new one....

Chuck E. Cheese??

Please tell us this isn't what you're looking for.

Not in Chicago, but when I was a kid we once stopped in Madison at Ella's deli on the way to a big powderhorn and I never forgot about the place, it freaked me out. Then one day when I was in school in Madison I randomly went in and was shocked that it was the restaurant I remembered so vividly from at least 10 years back, hard to get any more circus like than this place.

http://www.ellas-deli.com/

Not explicitly circus themed, but the decor of Marché makes me feel like I'm under some kind of big top.

Marché
833 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60607
312-226-8399

Earwax cafe in Wicker Park. A mostly hipster clientele, but the place always seems welcoming to me, and would be a good spot to lounge for awhile while discussing a book. The food is veg-friendly and not too bad.

Picture from Churchill & Klehr Photography:

I agree w/Earwax being circus-themed, but depending on the time of day, it's not always a great place to hold a book club. it's a relatively small space, and it gets quite crowded on weekend early evenings. During that same time, I've had really horrible, outwardly rude service as well, so I'm not sure how well they'd handle a book club. If you were planning on an off-time, it could work.

I was also going to guess you were discussing Water for Elephants, one of my favorite books lately. Is that it?

The circus frightens me.

Carnivale might work for your circus-theme.

Carnivale
www.carnivalechicago.com

702 W Fulton St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 850-3017

We did read Water for Elephants. So I expanded my search to elephants and discovered Elephant Thai on Devon, which has been much discussed here. And the ice cream shop across the street even has a circus theme! Thanks for all the suggestions. We were really happy with our book and our food!

Elephant Thai
5348 W. DEVON AVE.
Chicago, IL 60646
773-467-1168

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream
5337 W. Devon Ave.

-Pam

tiapam wrote:We did read Water for Elephants. So I expanded my search to elephants and discovered Elephant Thai on Devon, which has been much discussed here. And the ice cream shop across the street even has a circus theme! Thanks for all the suggestions. We were really happy with our book and our food!

Elephant Thai
5348 W. DEVON AVE.
Chicago, IL 60646
773-467-1168

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream
5337 W. Devon Ave.

-Pam

Remember the circus theme at The Chocolate Shoppe is temporary. They re-decorate a couple times a year.

Wizard of Oz
Peter Pan
Halloween

Best,
Michael

Da Beef wrote:Not in Chicago, but when I was a kid we once stopped in Madison at Ella's deli on the way to a big powderhorn and I never forgot about the place, it freaked me out. Then one day when I was in school in Madison I randomly went in and was shocked that it was the restaurant I remembered so vividly from at least 10 years back, hard to get any more circus like than this place.

http://www.ellas-deli.com/

Hey, I was just there on Saturday.

Let's face it, Stephen King and John Wayne Gacy have ruined it for clowns for at least another 20 years.

I like everything about the circus EXCEPT clowns
really hate clowns
evil
evil
clowns
everyone in my family actually hates clowns
(except maybe my husband)
the funny thing is, my daughters band director in HS hated clowns, too...