Suggestions on Locations

I'm new to the forums, and new to Chicago . I'm still exploring this city, but I need some suggestions.

I have some friends coming in to town in a few weeks, and I'm looking for food and drink suggestions near a play I want to take them. The play is called Bye Bye Liver, it sounds amusing. As for food, I'm looking for Mexican or Asian, or something original and local to Chicago, except deep dish. As for bars, I'm looking for something unpretentious, great beer selection, and crowd. Live jazz, blues, or funk is a plus.

Bye Bye Liver
3220 N. Lincoln Ave

I can think of few better places to say goodbye to one's liver in that neighborhood than Delilah's. Best whisky selection in town (by far) and a solid beer list, including a good selection of Belgian beers. No food, it's a bar only. Atmosphere is punk, but I (definitely not punk) have never felt anything but welcome. Definitely a unique spot.

Delilah's
2771 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago‎, IL
http://www.delilahschicago.com/

-Dan

I live around the corner from Fizz (the bar that houses the show you're going to see) and I have to say that, unfortunately, there aren't a lot of stellar places in the 'hood. That being said, the following are pretty decent (all are within a few blocks walking distance):

Cafe El Tapatio--probably my go-to spot in the neighborhood. Solid mexican, good marg's, nice outdoor seating.
Cafe Orchid--turkish--delicious, very reasonable, BYO.
Pizzeria Serio--good pizza--neapolitan style.
Frasca--decent italian/pizza--more northern style (not a red-sauce heavy kind of italian).

Best thing in the neighborhood is probably Scooters Frozen Custard but not sure it would mesh well with the rest of your evening. Pretty great stuff though.

By the way, Fizz has a very pretty patio and is a nice enough place to hang out if you end up deciding to stick around after your show.

Welcome to Chicago!

Cafe El Tapatio
3400 North Ashland Avenue
(773) 327-5475

Cafe Orchid
1746 West Addison Street
(773) 327-3808

Pizzeria Serio
1708 West Belmont Avenue
(773) 525-0600

Frasca
3358 North Paulina Street
(773) 248-5222‎

Scooter's Frozen Custard
1658 West Belmont Avenue
(773) 244-6415‎

Los Moles, Geno Bahena's latest Mexican place specializing in you-know-what, is a block away (just across the Six Corners intersection).

nsxtasy wrote:Los Moles, Geno Bahena's latest Mexican place specializing in you-know-what, is a block away (just across the Six Corners intersection).

Except that it's really not good...
nxtasy--perhaps you've had a different experience but my first was "wow what a shame--maybe we just had an off night" and the 2nd was "never again". Both times we were one of 2 tables in the restaurant.

Thanks boudreaulicious, I'll look into those places.

nsxtasy wrote:Los Moles, Geno Bahena's latest Mexican place ...

"Geno Bahena's" = Geno worked here for the first few months and we haven't seen him since.

His "latest" by the way, is a place called Dos Diablos.

boudreaulicious wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:Los Moles, Geno Bahena's latest Mexican place specializing in you-know-what, is a block away (just across the Six Corners intersection).

Except that it's really not good...
nxtasy--perhaps you've had a different experience but my first was "wow what a shame--maybe we just had an off night" and the 2nd was "never again". Both times we were one of 2 tables in the restaurant.

Yeah, we had one mediocre dinner there (and we were also 1 of 2 tables there...maybe we were there on the same night). I'd go elsewhere.

For a Chicago original with booze and jazz, (though not that close to your play) I strongly suggest the Green Mill. Although even as a non-smoker, the last time I was there, the lack of smokiness just didn't seem right. Maybe they should get a fog machine to emulate the proper smoky dive ambience.

Green Mill
(773) 878-5552
4802 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL

http://www.greenmilljazz.com

d4v3 wrote:For a Chicago original with booze and jazz, (though not that close to your play) I strongly suggest the Green Mill. Although even as a non-smoker, the last time I was there, the lack of smokiness just didn't seem right. Maybe they should get a fog machine to emulate the proper smoky dive ambience.

Green Mill
(773) 878-5552
4802 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL

http://www.greenmilljazz.com

I'm going to check this out, if not then - sometime soon.

Green Mill is an institution and well worth the trip a bit farther north. If it was me, I'd scrap the Liver show, hop on the red line to Broadway & Argyle, head over to Sun Wah on Broadway for dinner (many threads here can help with ordering suggestions), walk down to have a few drinks at the Uptown Lounge (nothing special, just a good little dive bar for a few drinks) then on to the Green Mill for one of the best environments for live music in the city.

You'll be glad you moved to Chicago

Sun Wah
5039 N Broadway
(773) 769-1254

Uptown Lounge
1136 W. Lawrence, Chicago
Tel: (773) 878-1136

Green Mill
4802 N. Broadway St., Chicago
Tel: (773) 878-5552

boudreaulicious wrote:Green Mill is an institution and well worth the trip a bit farther north. If it was me, I'd scrap the Liver show, hop on the red line to Broadway & Argyle, head over to Sun Wah on Broadway for dinner (many threads here can help with ordering suggestions), walk down to have a few drinks at the Uptown Lounge (nothing special, just a good little dive bar for a few drinks) then on to the Green Mill for one of the best environments for live music in the city.

You'll be glad you moved to Chicago

Sun Wah
5039 N Broadway
(773) 769-1254

Uptown Lounge
1136 W. Lawrence, Chicago
Tel: (773) 878-1136

Green Mill
4802 N. Broadway St., Chicago
Tel: (773) 878-5552

I appreciate the input. You live close by, what are your thoughts on the show?

Kennyz wrote:"Geno Bahena's" = Geno worked here for the first few months and we haven't seen him since.

His "latest" by the way, is a place called Dos Diablos.

Are you sure about that? Metromix says that Dos Diablos is from Marc Bortz and his group, whose best-known place may be Republic. The menu is very unlike Bahena, heavy on fajitas and giant chimichangas, with not a sope or mole in sight.

nsxtasy wrote:

Kennyz wrote:"Geno Bahena's" = Geno worked here for the first few months and we haven't seen him since.

His "latest" by the way, is a place called Dos Diablos.

Are you sure about that? Metromix says that Dos Diablos is from Marc Bortz and his group, whose best-known place may be Republic. The menu is very unlike Bahena, heavy on fajitas and giant chimichangas, with not a sope or mole in sight.

Here's his resume.

nsxtasy wrote:

Kennyz wrote:"Geno Bahena's" = Geno worked here for the first few months and we haven't seen him since.

His "latest" by the way, is a place called Dos Diablos.

Are you sure about that? Metromix says that Dos Diablos is from Marc Bortz and his group, whose best-known place may be Republic. The menu is very unlike Bahena, heavy on fajitas and giant chimichangas, with not a sope or mole in sight.

Quite sure. Have a look at Geno's resume from his personal website. You'll also see he left Los Moles in 2009.

Presumably you had a good experience at Los Moles since you recommended it. Just curious, did you visit before or after Chef Bahena's departure?

nsxtasy wrote:

Kennyz wrote:
"Geno Bahena's" = Geno worked here for the first few months and we haven't seen him since.

His "latest" by the way, is a place called Dos Diablos.

Are you sure about that? Metromix says that Dos Diablos is from Marc Bortz and his group, whose best-known place may be Republic. The menu is very unlike Bahena, heavy on fajitas and giant chimichangas, with not a sope or mole in sight.

Quite sure. Have a look at Geno's resume from his personal website. You'll also see he left Los Moles in 2009

It's interesting that the Dos Diablos website makes absolutely no mention whatsoever of Bahena's contribution(s). Wonder what the actual extent of his involvement was/is?

This bullet point from Bahena's CV under the Dos Diablos entry is a headscratcher, given the Chi-Chi's-like Tex-Mex menu content:

"Mastered fusion of Southern American and Mexican cuisine."

sundevilpeg wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:

Kennyz wrote:
"Geno Bahena's" = Geno worked here for the first few months and we haven't seen him since.

His "latest" by the way, is a place called Dos Diablos.

Are you sure about that? Metromix says that Dos Diablos is from Marc Bortz and his group, whose best-known place may be Republic. The menu is very unlike Bahena, heavy on fajitas and giant chimichangas, with not a sope or mole in sight.

Quite sure. Have a look at Geno's resume from his personal website. You'll also see he left Los Moles in 2009

It's interesting that the Dos Diablos website makes absolutely no mention whatsoever of Bahena's contribution(s). Wonder what the actual extent of his involvement was/is?

This bullet point from Bahena's CV under the Dos Diablos entry is a headscratcher, given the Chi-Chi's-like Tex-Mex menu content:

"Mastered fusion of Southern American and Mexican cuisine."

For all we know, he's already gone and the menu has been "re-concepted" (unless someone has actually been there during the Bahena era). If it was me, I'd leave him off the website b/c he doesn't usually stick around long enough to make it worthwhile to publicize it--and then to have to issue the requisite "we've parted ways" email.

If you want Thai. There's Siam Noodles and Rice (4654 N Sheridan Rd). I was there last night and it was delicious.

Pho - Tank Noodles is the place to go but Pho 777 is good if Tank is too crowded. Pho 777 is has a more authentic atmosphere. Tank is more Americanized.

Tank and Siam are also BYOB so you can kill your liver that way too.

guinness wrote:If you want Thai. There's Siam Noodles and Rice (4654 N Sheridan Rd). I was there last night and it was delicious.

Pho - Tank Noodles is the place to go but Pho 777 is good if Tank is too crowded. Pho 777 is has a more authentic atmosphere. Tank is more Americanized.

Tank and Siam are also BYOB so you can kill your liver that way too.

Thanks, guinness for the suggestion. I also now know who has the username I tried to register with.

You must have good taste in beers. Check out the Checkerboard Lounge in Hyde Park (5201 S Harper Ct, http://checkerboardhydepark.com/) and Buddy Guy's lounge in the South Loop (http://www.buddyguys.com/) for jazz as well. I haven't been to Buddy Guys but I have been to Checkerboard Lounge when it moved here a few years ago.

guinness wrote:Buddy Guy's lounge in the South Loop (http://www.buddyguys.com/) for jazz as well. I haven't been to Buddy Guys

Buddy Guys is a Blues club.

jimswside wrote:

guinness wrote:Buddy Guy's lounge in the South Loop (http://www.buddyguys.com/) for jazz as well. I haven't been to Buddy Guys

Buddy Guys is a Blues club.

But only a couple blocks to the south is the Jazz Showcase, as good a venue for mainstream jazz as anywhere in Chicago. Of course, if you're interested in Chicago blues (and, of course, you should be), BG's is also as good a place as any to get a healthy taste of it:

http://www.jazzshowcase.com/

boudreaulicious wrote:Green Mill is an institution and well worth the trip a bit farther north. If it was me, I'd scrap the Liver show, hop on the red line to Broadway & Argyle, head over to Sun Wah on Broadway for dinner (many threads here can help with ordering suggestions), walk down to have a few drinks at the Uptown Lounge (nothing special, just a good little dive bar for a few drinks) then on to the Green Mill for one of the best environments for live music in the city.

You'll be glad you moved to Chicago

Sun Wah
5039 N Broadway
(773) 769-1254

Uptown Lounge
1136 W. Lawrence, Chicago
Tel: (773) 878-1136

Green Mill
4802 N. Broadway St., Chicago
Tel: (773) 878-5552

I wouldn't call Uptown Lounge a dive bar. It think it tries to be a little more upscale (and the cheapest beer, PBR, is $4). I was actually just there this past Friday night and it was quite dead. If there is a show at the Riv or the Aragon, it's annoyingly packed.

For this proposed itinerary, I'd say the Fat Cat is a better bet than Uptown Lounge. Much better beer selection and halfway decent bar food if you end up staying long enough that you want a small bite.


Fat Cat Bar & Grill
4840 N Broadway St, Chicago
Tel: (773) 506-3100

Thanks for the tip on Fat Cat--I've never been. I have to admit, I kind of like Uptown Lounge in either of it's states (empty or packed) but probably more for the company than anything about the bar itself.

An aside ... if you like jazz and want to investigate Chicago's offerings, it's almost time for a particularly great event - the Wednesday before the Jazz Festival, there's the Jazz Club Tour organized by the Jazz Institute. You buy a "button" and have access to 15 clubs for the evening, trolley's run continuously between them all so you can hop off, grab a drink (or not) and have a listen then hop on trolley to try another venue. Tops of local jazz performers are scheduled in each club and the whole atmosphere is fun ...

http://www.jazzinchicago.org/presents/jazz-club-tour

To make this food relevant, we often begin the evening at Reggie's for burgers and such since many other clubs do not offer any food.

Siun wrote:An aside ... if you like jazz and want to investigate Chicago's offerings, it's almost time for a particularly great event - the Wednesday before the Jazz Festival, there's the Jazz Club Tour organized by the Jazz Institute. You buy a "button" and have access to 15 clubs for the evening, trolley's run continuously between them all so you can hop off, grab a drink (or not) and have a listen then hop on trolley to try another venue. Tops of local jazz performers are scheduled in each club and the whole atmosphere is fun ...

http://www.jazzinchicago.org/presents/jazz-club-tour

To make this food relevant, we often begin the evening at Reggie's for burgers and such since many other clubs do not offer any food.

sounds good, thanks for the heads up Slun

You bet ... and Green Mill is usually on the tour!

We try to end up there and get a late night snack to finish the evening.