Results tagged “wickerpark”

Head to Red and White (1861 N. Milwaukee Ave) tonight from 6-8 for a free tasting of Vin de Constance, a rare dessert wine from South African winery Klein Constantia.

Salud Tequila Lounge (1471 N Milwaukee, 773-235-5577) makes Playboy.com's list of top 10 tequila bars in the country. [Inbox]

In connection to Thursday's sexual assault case in Wicker Park, a 35-year-old man was taken into questioning and released without being charged. According to police News Affair Officer, Robert Perez, who provided details to the Chicago Sun-Times, the assault took place on the 1300 block of North Wolcott Avenue just before 4 a.m. Police said that the 28-year-old woman was entering a building when her attacker allegedly grabbed her from behind, placed a knife to her neck, and said "Don't move or I'm going to kill you" Then he allegedly pulled her down the stairs to the building's basement and sexually assaulted her on the stairway, allegedly telling her that he was "going to kill her if she screamed" police said.

                     

A couple of weeks ago, Chicago burlesque star Red Hot Annie sent us a note, pimping her next show, framed on cult classic The Big Lebowski. The motivation (Lebowski Month) was obvious. But naturally, we were curious. How does one translate galumphing, hairy, men into a strip tease that anyone actually wants to watch? We had to investigate. And so we did, Saturday night at the Gorilla Tango Theater. "Rollin' Outta Here Naked" is The Big Lebowski, live. With nipple tassels and a ferret. Red Hot Annie is well, hot. And The Dude (originally played by Jeff Bridges), for all that he is, is not. Spend $15 every Saturday night through September 30 and see for yourself.

• Adding fuel to the talk that Sam Zell's short reign at the Tribune is almost over, yesterday Trib bondholders filed a motion to probe into the billionaire's takeover of the newspaper.
• DAMMIT! Our bid was $39,999,999.
• Governor Quinn has vetoed a campaign finance bill, saying that it "should go back to the drawing board." Critics have complained the bill has too many loopholes.

Lovely (a bake shop) is a bright space of country charm on a sketchy stretch of Milwaukee that sells great espresso drinks, Intelligensia coffee, cookies, muffins, mini-pies cupcakes and a ton of other pastries. We're kind of obsessed. Which is why their new "somethings on sale every day" sign made us happy. Monday: Buy any coffee, espresso drink, or tea and get 50% muffins. Tuesday: Buy any coffee, espresso drink or tea and get 50% cupcakes. Wednesday: Buy any coffee, espresso drink, or tea and get 50% off mini-pies. Thursday: Buy any coffee, espresso drink or tea and get 50% off cookies. (Limit a dozen per customer for each day.) Friday: Buy any sandwich (comes with a side) and get a free mini-cupcake or cookie.

        

Taxim, the new Greek restaurant from rookie restaurateur David Schneider, takes the concept of Greek cuisine as Chicagoans know it and turns it on its head. Gone are yard stick-sized kabobs, syrupy souvlaki and middle-aged waitresses with penciled eyebrows and hoarse throats from shouting "Opa!" while setting fire to some saganaki amidst stock posters of Greek landscapes. Instead, Schneider embraces the melting pot of other Mediterranean influences, particularly Turkish, that informed pre-20th Century Greek cuisine, and does it with the deft hand of a seasoned restaurant owner.

Redefining the classics, Ashley creates a new take on the timeless leather jacket with dark denim ensemble. With her low hanging scarf, she softens up what would otherwise be a masculine rigid look.

Seen in Wicker Park on a lazy Sunday afternoon, Henrí conjures up a hot '80s summer night in the city. A make-up artist, Henrí demonstrates her skills of color matching, and utilizing her natural skin tone to complete a look. With her nautical themed headscarf, body hugging jeans and tank top, Henrí looks sexy and self-assured.

       

Ice cream fans rejoice - iCream, the liquid-nitrogen-based “designer ice cream” shop in Wicker Park is finally open. iCream originally opened last year to great fanfare, but quickly closed a few days later - our attempts to visit were unsuccessful. Whatever difficulties they had encountered have apparently been resolved, as they have been open for over a week and were filled to capacity this past Sunday.

2009 marks the 100th birthday of Nelson Algren, the quintessential Chicago author. Long before the word "hipster" had even been coined, he chronicled the bleak existence of society's misfits, living on the fringe in West Town and Wicker Park. His best known books are The Man with the Golden Arm, Chicago: City on the Make and Never Come Morning, which no less than Hemingway declared "the best book to come out of Chicago." They describe a Chicago so different from our city today that they almost read like science fiction, yet when Algren lived here he often hung out at the Rainbo Club and the Gold Star.

Left Field is a documentary about a very adult version of kick ball played primarily by folks from the old school crustier side of the Wicker Park rock and/or roll bar scene. (There are no hipsters to be found in these reels.) The debut screening is tonight at The Portage Theater, and is sure to be attended by most of the film's subjects, so expect a rowdy showing.

Following up on the upcoming Stephanie Izard restaurant she mentioned in her "Re-Grills" is a name for the venue and partners. Time Out Chicago has the scoop (fitting, since they're also trying to hook her up, as well) that the Drunken Monkey Goat is pairing Izard with Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz of BOKA, Perennial and Landmark fame. It's still casual and affordable, in Wicker Park, and conservatively slated to open in summer 2K9. [TOC]

Three people, two women and one man, were injured in a stabbing outside of Rite Liquors in Wicker Park early this morning. The three were involved in a “physical altercation” with another person they all knew just before 2 a.m. outside the bar/liquor store, located at 1649 W. Divsion St. One of the women and the man were in serious condition at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County; the other woman was taken to Saint Mary Medical Center. Police had a suspect in custody but no charges have been filed yet.

Word has it that the Pontiac Cafe -- Wicker Park mainstay and the first big patio in the area where it was possible to witness firsthand the ebbing of the artist residents and the rise of corner banking and hip chain store patrons -- will be closing its doors for the last time October 17. Let's see, all we have left now is Double Door and Subterranean to keep us coming back to the Six Corners. Get in now and drink now, because another icon is going down. What a bummer.

The buzz over Urban Assault Ride has been high and the event is finally upon us. This Sunday marks the Chicago debut when two-person teams will ride to checkpoints around town to complete crazy obstacle courses and win prizes in a cross-city bicycle scavenger hunt. The obstacle courses have been finalized and are as follows:

The Chicago Journal has recapped a bit of the legal proceedings that are in process to take the Northwest Tower Building (located at the intersection of Milwaukee, Damen, and North a.k.a. the "crotch" of Wicker Park) from commercial to crash-pad. MCM Realty knows right now that they'd like to put a hotel in there...but other than that, they're not too sure about much else.

Two separate arts festivals will be taking place in Wicker Park this weekend. While poking around for information, we got the distinct impression that Wicker Park is fighting hard to keep an artistic community and these types of festivals in the neighborhood, despite creeping gentrification. Come on out and support your local artists.

We just heard a car ran into the side of the Bucktown/Wicker Park branch of the Chicago Public Library. We're still waiting to hear what caused the crash, but we can confirm that no one was hurt and no copies of any Oprah's Book Club selections were damaged. [Trib]

A garbage collector discovered a handgun in an alley near where off-duty police officer Robert Soto and his companion Kathryn Romberg were killed. A ballistics investigation is underway to determine if the weapon was used in those or any other recent murders.

Metromix has their opening date as yesterday or today. Helen Rosner at the always entertaining MenuPages Chicago has been waiting with bated breath for the doors to open, as well. We placed a call over to iCream in Wicker Park (1537 N. Milwaukee, 773-342-2834) to see when they would, indeed, open for business and were told "Thursday or Friday."

A couple of weeks ago we had the chance to stop by Mado, a new Wicker Park dining spot. Just off the main Milwaukee Street business district, Mado is tucked away in a cute little spot with exposed brick, chalkboards on the walls and pretty, understated décor. We’d heard a lot of good things, and went in with high expectations.

Hey, Wicker Park residents: if you haven't been able to get your Cold Comfort fix in recent days, that's because the venerable cafe and deli quietly ceased operations last Thursday.

Warm weather and frozen treats go together like rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong, and temps are finally on the rise. We checked out Wicker Park's new upscale froyo place Starfruit at their preview last week, and the joint officially opens today, dispensing free treats to taxpayers and evaders alike. Free ice cream(like products) = best.

Who Put the "Wicker" in Wicker Park?

Ah, late February in Chicago. Cubs tickets go on sale today, there's a forecast for a high temperature above 35 degrees next week, and thousands of indie rock kids around Chicago will soon be shedding their parkas for high-priced hoodies bought from Wicker Park boutiques (tip: ours cost us $12 at Target!) for several worthwhile shows around the Chicago area. Lots of tickets go on sale this weekend. So, despite this crappy weather, there is, in the words of Spoon, "something to look forward to."

So there we were on that really vicious cold Tuesday night last week, enjoying a steaming plate of pasta at Café Bionda (the good location on south State, not the skeevy Wicker Park version) when we remembered a tip from a frequent reader that Joe Farina was stocking Montegioco beers. Now if you're the type of beer drinker whose knowledge of Italian beers runs to Moretti and Peroni, you're in for a treat.

Fish on Fridays and denouncement of vices may be just for Catholics in the upcoming Lenten season, but luckily the preemptive celebration of Mardi Gras seems to span all religious sects. And this Tuesday’s celebration is set to pack an extra punch considering it’s not just Fat, it’s Super. If your presidential pick is pulling up the rear and you need a place to drown your sorrows, check out our choices for the best Mardi Gras bashes in town.

In case there were any lingering skeptics, this recession thingy is for real.