Author Archives: pdo
The Plaza at Park Grill | Millennium Park, Chicago
Summer comes and Millennium Park trades its ice rink for al fresco drinking (or dining). Which means there’s a handrail around this place inhibiting entrance. For some reason, it also means the cups are plastic. And perhaps the bartenders are skating instructors and that’s why cocktails are so difficult. Come here for two reason. One, [...]
Publican | West Loop, Chicago
“If you need a place for your purse,” the waiter stated, “there is a shelf below the seat of your chair.” “I love this place already,” the wife-to-be responded. They had thought of everything. EXCEPT idiot men that put their umbrellas on said shelf only to walk out light and free, without a care in [...]
B.L.U.E.S. | Chicago, IL
I’ve got the quit-making-out-in-front-of-me-and-rubbing-each-others’-legs-and-standing-up-from-your-stools-and-bumping-into-me-you-gross-old-people-from-the-suburbs-that-have-had-too-much-to-drink-and-should-just-get-a-room-and-I-know-that’s-what-you’re-thinking-because-I-just-saw-you-pop-a-Viagra blues. Deh dah-dah dum dah-dum dah-dum … photo credit: swanksalot So I was feeling the blues, and Carlos Johnson spoke to my soul, though his actual blues source may have been different than mine. Great band. Good bar. Attentive waitresses. The crowd … The crowd was wild. Seemed to be mostly [...]
Pfister Lobby Bar | Milwaukee, WI
I think it’s because hotel bars can charge more, and because of the lack of crowds or the land-locked clientele, they have to or they can. But the service seems better, more attentive. The assumption, perhaps, is that you’ve already dropped $200 a night on a room, so the drink you just ordered had better [...]
C-View | Gold Coast, Chicago
If you were to take the bar at the Hancock, shrink it by 75%, lower it 500 feet, knock 25% of the cost of a drink, update the decor to be more light and hip instead of heavy and 1980, and add a patio, you’d get C-View. photo credit: PhotoDu.de This place has all of [...]
DOC Wine Bar | Lincoln Park, Chicago
Well, we had a good run, what can I say? Too bad it had to end. We’ve been patrons since it opened and were sometimes the only ones there some nights in its earlier days. Took a little while for this place to catch on, what with its lack of flat-screen TVs and all. But [...]
The Bar You’re At, You Drunk Idiot In A Green Shirt | Saint Patrick’s Day, Wherever You Are
Well, you’ve managed to get drunk. Great job. You should be proud. And you dressed yourself! Hopefully, you won’t wet yourself. It’s Saint Patrick’s Day … yippie. photo credit: crazbabe21 Oh, you started drinking at 8AM? That’s fantastic. Definitely seizing the day. Nothing like waking up and having a shot of Jameson — put some [...]
Dragonlady Lounge | Logan Square, Chicago
When the Chaser invites you for a drink, you ask what time. You do not decline. The Chaser wanted to check out Dragonlady Lounge, and I couldn’t resist. So, there’s some residual Stadium West decor (including the sign out front), and the place is definitely a dive, but it was a lot of fun. There’s [...]
Your Bar | Your House, Your Town
Sometimes a bar is just too far away. When that happens, you can always mix at home. This Good Eats episode will help: You will now make better martinis than 99% of the bartenders in the world.
Seasons Bar, Four Seasons Hotel | Chicago