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If I was not a complete nerd before, I am now. This is because I actually really, really enjoyed my time at Medieval Times, a dinner and theatre show that features bad (in a “so bad it’s good” kinda way) acting, amazing horses and terrible (but edible!) food. Right now, they have a Buy 1 get 1 Free deal that you should snag. Otherwise two tickets are going to cost you $120. Worth it? Yes, but even better to get two for $60.
Located in Schaumberg, only about 45 minutes from Chicago-proper, you are greeted by MT from the highway when you can see plaster castletops above the tree line.
Upon entering and navigating your way through the confusing ticket lines, you will be given a paper crown with a colour on it. This designates the knight you will be cheering for. Tim and I were assigned to the Green Knight, who, for this blog, I will refer to as Knight Hottie. :-)
We sat in the green section and Tim went off to the bar to grab a couple of beers (let’s be honest…it will enhance your experience!) while John, our flamboyant server, poured “Dragon Tail soup” into soup bowls. It was really tomato bisque, or at least was supposed to be, but it was watery, salty and bland. The garlic bread was good, but only because it was dripping in butter which, coincidentally, makes everything better! The rest of the food is not worth mentioning but I will say that however bad it is, it should do the trick of filling you up. Oh, and no silverware!!! This is Medieval Times, so to be as authentic as possible, silverware is not provided.
Pepsi, the official drink of the Medieval ages is served, though. ;o)
The show starts with a dramatic light show and the opening scene is of the Prince being taken captive by some evil dudes. The whole premise for the show is to bring peace back to the kingdom, ironically enough, by holding a tournament where knights try to kill each other. Hmmm…
The Green Knight turned out to be the badass bad guy, stabbing jousting people in the back and defying the king’s orders. Although he ended up losing the whole thing in the end (Gorgeous Black and White Knight won all), we on the green side were all proud to have supported him.
The real treat though, wasn’t the eye candy knights but the horses. They performed these amazing tricks of agility and skill that kept me in awe. They cha-chaed, could do these cool kick moves and pretty much wowed the audience. Most of the show was spent in celebration of horses and showing off the neat, athletic things they could do. They are even trained to run “backstage” when a rider throws himself off onto the sand. Neat!
There is also this crazy falconeer who lets a falcon loose in the arena to perform tricks. Watch your chicken dinner!!! ;o)
If there was a star rating, I would give this event 4 because it was just so darn entertaining!
Dev xx
Gee, on Day Two I could not even stay on the Locavore Challenge wagon.
Definitely not local. Oops.
I fell off at about 5.30pm, when Dan came over and we decided to drown a few pints in a local pub. Unfortunately (actually, not too unfortunately), our path to the bar led us right by Cozy Noodles & Rice, located at 3456 N. Sheffield Ave. in Wrigleyville.
I love bubble tea, and as you all may know, had rave reviews about Saint’s Alp coconut bubble milk tea a while back. While Saint’s Alp had a more nuanced, understated tea that layered black tea with a mild coconut taste and frothy milk, Cozy’s take is intense. I just screams, “I AM COCONUT!!!!!” There is nothing nuanced about this tea. As a matter of fact, it hardly tastes like tea. It just tastes like iced coconut goodness with black tapioca. And yes, I love it.
Once I devoured the pot stickers (shown above) with Dan, my meal arrived. Mild curry with chicken. At first, I was a little afraid that this dish would be bland. It was very sweet and had lovely lemongrass, nutmeg and coconut flavours in the beginning, but then it had a kick at the end that hit the back of your palate and burned on the way down. With every bite I became more and more hooked. It was truly a delicious meal that could have only been improved if the potatoes were cooked more thoroughly (they were still a little raw in the middle!).
There is another reason why you should visit Cozy, though you should not be bad and do it during Locavore Challenge! You should also visit because the place is decked out with a toy collection that is second-to-none. Yes, every inch of this tiny restaurant is filled with wind-up animals, kooky robots and toy cars that the owner has been collecting since he was twelve. Even the women’s bathroom is covered with, what else, Pez dispensers!
It really is quite a sight!!! All of your favourites are here from Snoopy to Garfield, the massive collectible Pez dispensers to miniature key-ring sized ones. There are even Pez posters and lunch boxes! But sorry kids, no Pez candy in sight! You really have to see this to believe it!
After cheating, I got right back on the wagon when we stopped over at Sheffield’s, arguably the best bar in Chicago featuring local craft brews. After checking out the extensive list of draught beers and tasting the bitterly flat Half Acre’s Daisy Cutter Pale Ale, I chose the Goose Island Matilda, a malty and aromatic beer that is brewed in Chicago! How’s that for local!?
To make up for my non-local dinner, I had two local beers… just to be sure that I was supporting the cause.
It was a hard job, but hey, someone has to do it! :-)
Dev xx
I heard about The Zoo weeks ago. From what I read, Zoo was supposed to be a really cool zoo-themed bar complete with an interactive fish tank and a remodeled bar with live music and poetry.
All ready to open my wallet, Tim and I visited the Zoo one night at around 8.00 just to find it closed. It was a Wednesday. Really?! Not open at 8 on a Wednesday? Fine. We visited again on a Friday night after 9pm and even though there were people in the bar it was still. not. open.
The other night we were walking by and the “Open” sign was turned on. Finally, I thought, this bar is going to be well worth the wait. Upon entering, I wondered what the hell was going on. The music was way too loud, there was only three other people in the bar and there was no bartender.
After a few minutes, a trashy looking girl put down her iPhone, jumped up from her seat, went behind the bar and begrudgingly asked us if we wanted a drink.
Sure, I wanted a drink. I wanted a cold, frosty pint of fine imported beer. But wait a minute here, there were no taps. The only drinks Zoo had was a sad looking liquor collection haphazardly line up on the candle-lit bar. To tell you the truth, I think my parents have a better liquor collection in their kitchen cabinet.
The drink I ordered was disgusting because it was not made right (who messes up a simple vodka tonic?) and after chugging it down I made it clear to Tim that we had to leave.
We wandered around Wrigleyville in search for a place that did not sell Bud Light or Old Style, but I finally decided I just wanted a quiet place to talk and a chocolate milkshake.
Pick Me Up Cafe, at 3408 N. Clark Street, gave me just what its name suggests. We were greeted by a happy hipster in paint on jeans and led to a table with a hypnotic swirly design. The music, as to be expected, was some indie crap that I could not care less about now but will probably be in love with when it becomes more mainstream.
The server, who was very friendly, delivered my chocolate milkshake with extra whipped cream (goodness bless that server) and never once bothered us by continually asking us if we were okay. A really chill crowd filled the place, some people burying themselves in books while others sat with a friend or two and chowed down on veggie-friendly French toast.
Pick Me Up is open until 2am, but there is a catch: You must buy a certain amount of food/drinks per hour to stay there. For some reason, that did not apply to us when we were there, but I think it is more of a policy to keep solicitors or the homeless out.
Really, for whatever you want and however late you want it, Pick Me Up definitely has something for you.
Dev xx
Hungry Brain, located at 2319 W. Belmont Ave., is a neighbourhood bar with a chill attitude that has had many faces. Hungry Brain was once a bakery, a small theatre, a movie set and now, thankfully, a bar and experimental jazz venue. While sitting at the bar late one night the bartendress, Luce, gave us a history breakdown of Hungry and even pointed me to the poster that advertises the movie that was shot in 1995.
Butch Camp, starring Judy Tenuta, was an Oscar-winning highly acclaimed DVD released movie that can be summed up by the poster below:
LOVE IT! Back to Hungry Brain…
My favourite thing about Hungry Brain is that you can hear yourself think and you can have a good conversation with your drinking buddy or the friendly bartender. The joint is full of comfy couches, overstuffed armchairs, bar stools, tables and booths that can accommodate any size party and any level of intimacy. The bar glows red and is lit with candles and Christmas lights, creating a soothing jazzy feel to this laid back bar.
Hungry offers up your usual selection of beers and liquors, which is great but not the main reason you keep coming back. Every Sunday, the Sunday Transmission series is held at the Hungry Brain that presents jazz artists from Chicago and beyond!
If you are looking to avoid the crowds of bars you frequent and finally want to have an evening talking with your friends rather than shouting at them over loud crappy music, head over to Hungry Brain…and say hi to Luce for me!
This V-shaped shelf at the Hungry Brain was installed by the crew of Butch Camp for the movie!
Dev xx
Oh dear! I wasted time, money and dignity on the Debonair Social Club, located in Wicker Park at 1575 N. Miluakee Ave, this weekend.
Never has there ever been a place filled with more hipster hot mess than this lackluster bar that costs $5 too much to get in the door.
Usually when I pay a cover charge I expect to enter a sexy club with hot 20-somethings. I expect to feel young, beautiful and be surrounded by a club that makes me ooh and ahh. Well, this is just not the case with Debonair. Instead, I felt ridiculously out of place. I am only 22 but Debonair made me feel old and had me wondering if I had just walked into an underage discotheque: A bunch of barely legal kids and a few slutty-looking cougars were getting sloppy drunk and dancing poorly on a cramped dance floor.
Strike one.
Example #1 of an underaged, bad-dancing hipster that can be found at Debonair
Tim and I decided to grab a few drinks at the bar and waited for a few minutes before a bartender shouted over the eardrum-bleeding house techno to get out orders. Tim ordered and we waited for another five minutes, until we realised that our Debonairhead bartender had not even started making our drinks. When Tim enquired about where our order was, the guy acted like he never heard our order in the first place. We had to wait five more minutes for drinks.
Strike two.
After attempting to dance it out on the elevated stage, Tim and I found ourselves sandwiched between horny teens making out and young men who I can only describe as “dudes” throwing their bodies into one other. After a few songs we gave up and retired to a corner table. This is when I noticed the décor.
To keep it tacky, Debonair has proudly hung projector screens on the walls, which play slow-motion bondage videos (no nudity) intermittently with pictures of rosaries. This is not artsy or forward-thinking; it is just stupid.
Strike three.
Ugh Debonair. I could not wait to get out and I will never go back.
I leave you now with a picture of a sleepy hipster douchebag who decided to hunker down at our table to take…a nap. If Debonair was really debonair, they should have kicked this guy out but they didn’t. Further proof that Debonair Social Club is neither debonair, nor social, nor a club.
Dev xx
Okay, I lied. Ebert did not give Exchequer’s pizza two thumbs up, he gave it four stars then declared it one of his four favourite pizza places in all of Chicago. Exchequer Restaurant & Pub, at 226 S. Wabash Ave., is conveniently tucked behind the Symphony Center on Michigan Avenue right next to the Adams/Wabash El Station.
From the outside, Exchequer looks like a regular pub with a plain green awning that boasts of its four star pizza and ribs since 1969. 1969 is actually not that old, but what the sign does not tell you is that the building, long before it was Exchequer, was a speakeasy in the 1920s that was frequented by Al Capone. (You can find more information on the interesting history of Exchequer, as well as some pictures of it, here!)
After many years of renaming and remodeling, 226 Club/The Wonder Bar/Browns/Exchequer finally came to be in 1969.
If the outside does not let on to Exchequer’s rich history, all you have to do is take one step inside the heavy wooden door to experience its vintage charm.
If you do not look carefully, Exchequer’s interior will resemble the inside of a Ruby Tuesday. Nearly every inch of wall space is covered with framed items that can feel a little overwhelming and chavvy.
Like Ruby Tuesday’s, it has a feel of nostalgic prefab to it: old movie posters, signed celebrity memorabilia and sentimental advertisements are just some of the things you will see.
But look closer and you can find some gems among the forced sentimental drabness. There are several old photos of an old Wabash Avenue, a few handwritten notes from well-known Chicagoans to the owners and a really hot cardboard cutout of Marilyn Monroe on the door to the ladies’ room (I had to slip that in!). :-)
You might be wrinkling your nose in distaste, but I swear that once your deep dish pizza arrives, you are likely to forget the décor. Once Exchequer finally became Exchequer in `69, the deep dish pizza became an instant favourite and is one of the restaurant’s most popular items.
And for good reason.
Unlike the deep dish pizza at Chicago’s or Giordano’s, Exchequer does not finish its deep dish off with a layer of sauce on top. Instead, it drapes a thick layer of lightly salty mozzarella over some of the biggest chunks of meat and vegetables that I have ever seen in a pizza…ever. Tim and I ordered a small (10″) deep dish with cheese, sausage, bacon, mushrooms and green peppers that rendered three big slices for each of us – believe me, a small pizza will easily fill up two very hungry people.
When it arrived, it was hard for me to imagine what it was going to taste like. I rather like the thick, pasty tomato sauce infused with basil and a dash of oregano that smothered the other pizza slices I have had: the sauce makes it sweet and rich with a slightly acerbic taste. Exchequer, on the other hand, does not use the pizza as a sauce delivery system. No. They instead incorporate everything that people love about pizza in a slice that is perfectly balanced.
A thick, flaky crust is drizzled with a fresh tomato sauce, with chunks of real tomato and the watery tomato juices. You would think this would make it soggy, but it does not. What it does is deletes the sugar from the usual tomato pastes and enhances the naturally zesty, acidic taste of tomatoes that marries with the cooked green peppers and mushrooms beautifully. Then they add in these chunks of sausage that can only be described as meatballs. They are cooked and seasoned well and they are massive, which means you can taste them in every bite. The bacon hardly came onto my radar, but when I did encounter a piece, they were crispy and fatty which made them a welcome addition. Cheese is not usually something I want a whole lot of because it can overpower a good pizza, but this cheese was not pungent or bland, providing just enough salt and fat to make each bite go down smoothly.
If you look at this sign, it tells you the other places Roger Ebert loves to go for pizza in Chicago!
Once we were done oohing and ahhing and agreeing that Ebert got it right, we agreed that no pizza we had had was like Exchequer’s.
The menu also brags that their ribs are fantastic, which I will have to come back for at a later time. When I do return, however, I will have to fight to not get that pizza again.
If you are looking for a non-alcoholic drink that will bring you back to your kiddie days, Exchequer does a really cute (and tasty) Shirley Temple with grenadine, topped off with a skewer of maraschino cherries and a wedge of orange. If you ask nicely, your server may even get you a massive blue plastic cup’s worth of the sweet elixir!
Enjoy!!!
Dev xx
While I was at the Local Option the other night, I could not help but to try a new beer that looked as though it could be better than dessert. As you well remember, the last time I was at the Local Option I tried a few beers I had never had before, and was very pleased with the dark Founder’s Porter I ordered – I love dark beer more than any other beer! So after I finished a draught Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (oh, yeah and by the way: Local Option is one of the only places I know that has Bell’s Two Hearted on tap!) I ordered the beer you see above: an Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout.
The beer is faintly sweet and mostly rich and malty. It has a dark chocolate finish that will keep you sipping and have you wondering if it is wrong to put a scoop of ice cream in a beer…
Stout float?
Maybe not. Just try the Chocolate Indulgence – it is on tap at Local Option at 1102 W. Webster Ave.
Dev xx
St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, and if this finals week is any indicator, I’m in need of celebrating.
St. Patty’s day is officially on Tuesday, March 17, but local events are being observed the weekend before and I’m here to tell you about some amazing options you’re not going to want to miss out on.
1) The dyeing of the Chicago River. Totally kitsch. Uniquely Chicago. Taking place on Saturday, March 14, this 40-year-old tradition is definitely worth the experience if you haven’t done it already. PS- Fish love it.
The infamous green Chicago River.
2) The 10th Annual Chicago Irish Film Festival. Located at the Beverly Arts Center, tickets are $20 for the closing reception on the 11th. Playing a series of short shorts, live music, and two complimentary drinks…why not feel like a celebrity walking down that “green” carpet.
3) Representing the South Side is the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Held on Sunday, March 15, this is an even that we have been looking forward to since the beginning of this quarter. Said to be the largest neighborhood parade outside of Dublin, according to About.com, you’re not going to want to miss parade staple The Chicago Stockyard Kilty Band for a bagpipin’, skirt-twirling good time.
The Kiltys in action!
4) The Shamrock Shuffle. A 5K fitness walk, or 8K run, put on by Bank of America, the walk begins in Grant Park, takes the participant on a veritable tour of Chicago, and ends back in Grant Park. The run starts at 9:30 a.m., the walk at 10:00 a.m. both on Sunday, March 29.
Shamrock Shuffle course map.
5) Eat some Corned Beef and Cabbage! Here are some of the top peer-reviewed picks for the best locales for traditional Irish food:
-Fado Irish Pub, 100 W. Grand Ave. This chain claims to be the best and most authentic pub and restaurant. It’s characterized as an Irish theme park, that’s all I need to know!
-Manny’s Coffee Shop & Deli, 1141 S. Jefferson St. Owned and operated since 1942, I would venture a guess that one would be remiss to skip out on Manny’s “bulk items by the pound.”
Please let us know of any other holiday events occuring around town, or places we absolutely must grab a pint.
Until then, let’s keep St. Patrick’s legacy alive and ban those snakes from Chicago!
-Ileana
You may be tempted to go running for the door once you step into The Sovereign at 6202 N. Broadway (off the Granville stop on the Red Line), but fight the urge.
Sure, the bar decor is a little boring, but there is far more to this dive bar than meets the eye. Make your home at the bar and introduce yourself to Matt, one of the friendly bartenders who will chat you up and, if he likes you, will slide you shots of Jameson and give you extra chances to guess what number and suit is on the Pabst Blue Ribbon bottle cap*.
Do not forget to introduce yourself to David Packer (he goes by Packer), another bartender who will happily dance with you on the dance floor and belt out tunes played on the old jukebox in the back.
To ensure that the songs you want to hear (3 songs for $1) are played before you get too sloshed, we suggest making your selections early. You will want to take time to flip through the massive selection that covers everything from Tegan and Sara, any 50s sockhop diddy you could imagine, British Invasion tunes and oh-so much more.
The drinks may be cheap, but this place is cash only, so make sure you hit up an ATM before you go.
Oh, and FYI: On the last Friday of every month, Sovereign has a DJ take over and play 50s sockhop music. The dance floor is crowded, but the regulars at Sovereign are more than happy to dance alongside you, and more often than not, to dance with you! Enjoy!
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Hours: Sunday –Friday noon–2am; Saturday noon–3am.
*The Sovereign bartenders give you a shot at winning your PBR bottle for free. As they hand you the bottle, they will pop the top, which has a number and suit underneath (e.g. 10
) . It depends on which bartender is serving, but usually, if you can guess the number, then you have yourself a free beer! Good luck!
Dev x
