No really, lady, at this sports bar you drink beer

CenterStageChicago.net

Relax on Milwaukee could be called a sports bar, what with a surfboard on the wall, framed Tecate boxing shorts, the pool table and dartboard. But this Logan Square dive is more of an alternative sports bar, which appeals to the young, hipster crowd moving deeper and deeper into Logan Square. Bartender Dave resembles Jack Black in Nacho Libre as he warns a girl in tight jeans and go-go boots about ordering the wine. “It’s great wine!” No really, lady, at this sports bar you drink beer.

Relax offers drink specials every night of the week: pitchers of PBR, LIENI, Labatt’s or Stella on Mondays for $4-$9; pints of Okocium BTLS or Porter on Tuesdays for $2.50; PBR pints for $1 and all Jim Beam drinks for $2.50 on Wednesday (hump day); cans of Strohs & old Milwaukee for $1 on Thursdays; Jaeger bombs and cherry bombs just $4 and Stellas $2.50 on Fridays; all micro brews $2.50 on Saturdays, and giant Bloody Mary’s with the Beatles for $2.50 on Sundays. All of this goes well with the free popcorn.

Owner Ray is a Beatles aficionado and owns every one of their songs on his iPod. There’s a framed portrait of John, Paul, George and Ringo on the wall, near the TouchTunes jukebox. If you come for karaoke night on the first or third Friday of every month, you can sing along to “Strawberry fields forever” or “Hey Jude,” depending on your mood.

The band, “Medium Rare Wolf” occasionally plays here, and Relax has also become home base for the Rat Patrol, i.e. those kids pedaling around on the really tall bikes. Talk to Kirsten behind the bar if you want to join them.


EZ Inn

The crowd at EZ Inn on the western edge of Ukrainian Village grows younger as afternoon fades to evening and the hipsters join the neighborhood stalwarts at the bar. What remains constant is the dive bar atmosphere and the smell of decades-old cigarette smoke embedded in the walls. Not to mention cheap drinks, darts and billiards. Yuba, the Ukrainian bartender, will serve you domestic beers or vodka for $3 or $3.50. Stop by on Sunday for a $2.50 Bloody Mary (brunch not included): the owner, Zinn, claims he makes the best in Chicago. If this is your last stop of the evening, don’t be afraid to ring the doorbell if the door appears locked.

This joint is a mix of blue-collar America and Eastern Europe. As such, the jukebox plays both Leonard Skynard and Ukrainian music. An Old Style sign sits in the neon window, and a patriotic, POW MIA (prisoner of war, missing in action) banner hangs above the pool table, while a framed portrait of a Cossack warrior from the Middle Ages watches over the bar.


Sabor a Café

Step into a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel at this northwest side Colombian cafe. Papagayo birds, colorful lanterns, clay jugs and thatched roof eves create an aura of magical realism. But what’s truly authentic at Sabor a Café is the food. Start with the empanadas stuffed with meat and rice ($1.50) or the corn cake with sausage ($3.99). Then graduate to the grilled meats, which are delicious and affordable. If you’re ravenously hungry, order the char-grilled chicken breast, steak and sausage, served with potatoes and fried plantains for $18, or hone your taste buds on the Creole blank steak, sirloin steak or chicken or beef skewers (just $7.50). Marta recommends the Bandeja Paisa, the traditional Columbian plate served with rice, beans, steak, sausage, a fried egg, corncakes and sweet plantains, for $15. Top off your meal with the rice pudding or the sweet plantain with guava and cheese in the middle.

Sabor a Café features live music on the weekend: romantic bolero ballads on Fridays and hip moving salsa by Angel de Cuba y su Cuarteto on Saturdays. Bring a date and put yourself in the mood with a cocktail. Marta makes her mojito with a stick of potent sugar cain, and Sabor a Café’s liquor cabinet includes Columbian firewater and Ron Viejo de Caldas. Salud!


Grillroom Chophouse & Wine Bar

Located across the street from the Bank of America Theatre, this steak house with vintage 1920s décor will satisfy all your pre- and post-show cravings. Follow their recommendations and order the entrée and wine pairing printed on the walls. Or stop by at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday for complimentary drinks ranging from Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs to Irish whiskeys and bourbons, Mojitos and Cosmos to tequilas and Gran Marnier. And if you’re catching a show on a weekday, the Grillroom offers half price on appetizers between 3 and 6.

The starters feature great seafood including oysters, Ahi tuna, calamari and crab cakes and a seafood platter, ranging from $10 to $15. Vegetarians, don’t miss the baked goat cheese ($10) or artichoke and spinach dip ($9). Warm up with the New Orleans seafood gumbo or soup of the day if it’s windy outside (you’re just blocks from Millennium Park and the lake). Salads range from $6 to the grilled prime steak Cobb salad for $15.

The sandwiches are super affordable and include grilled chicken, burgers, fish sandwiches, prime rib, crab cake and lobster rolls, for $11 to $18. The Grillroom’s Mahi, Atlantic salmon, tuna and lobster tail cost $17 and up. Or before heading to an Italian opera, feast on the cheese cannelloni, lobster lasagna, pecan-crusted tilapia, grilled pork chops, London broil or New York strip, from $15 to $36. Break a leg!


Muqdisho

Duck into this unpretentious new Somali restaurant in Lakeview, and you’ll enter a different world. The purples drapes over the windows shield you from any view of the neighborhood bars. Instead, the reddish clay-colored interior and wall hanging of Mecca lit up at night transport you to Muslim North Africa, where sweet tea and modest hospitality charm you. No liquor is served here, and don’t try to bring your own.

The cuisine will be mostly Somali with a touch of Ethiopia — both African countries were colonized by Italy, and it’s apparent in their rich cuisine. Look for chicken or beef stew on a bed of rice or pasta with spicy sauce and sweet chopped bananas on top.

Muqdisho features a large flat-screen TV, where the neighborhood Somali boys gather to watch sports, especially European football.


Palette Bistro

Palette Bistro, a romantic restaurant with dimmed lights and a cozy, wood-lined interior, has replaced Lucca’s, the Italian joint in the Lakeview neighborhood. By all means, start off your evening with the bacon-wrapped sea scallops on a bed of spinach leaves, or the palette Portobello mushroom topped with baked brie. For the main course, you can still have your pasta alla vodka, Sicilian lasagna or Mediterranean penne (pasta prices range from $13 to $20) because there’s still an Italiano in the kitchen. What’s new on the menu is the seafood and steak. Trout, Ahi Tuna, Blue Marlin Steak or Bacon-wrapped Sea Scallops are yours for $19-$28. Or if your palette prefers land animals, enjoy the filet, ribeye steak, New York strip, short ribs, meatloaf, mushroom-crusted Iowa pork chop or braised veal shoulder for $13 to $29.

The bistro offers cocktails at the bar (where the martini bottle casts a warm glow on the pine wood) but this is primarily a dinner place, owing to the predominance of families in the Lakeview neighborhood (kids eat free). If all goes well, Palette Bistro will begin serving brunch next month.


Baja Sol

The Baja Sol Tortilla Grill plans to open numerous locations in the Chicagoland region, and this one, in Oak Lawn, south of Midway Airport, is the first. Baja Sol (“under the sun”) opened in Minneapolis in 1995, and has since spread its south-of-the-border cuisine to sun-starved Midwesterners in 14 other locations … the fresh guacamole and genuine spice don’t hurt either. So if spring break in Cancun isn’t in your immediate plans, at least stop by for a delicious Mexican meal.

Start with a meat, veggie or fish taco and take advantage of the bottomless chips-and-salsa bar (between $5 and $7.50). If you still have room in your estomago, feast on a barbecue, fajita or chicken burrito ($6), a sierra sandwich wrapped in a fresh flour tortilla ($6.50), a quesadilla or enchilada ($6-$8). Baja Sol offers an affordable kids menu for tykes under 10 years old ($3.50). And make sure to wash down your meal with a delicioso smoothie. The beaches of Playa del Carmen won’t feel too far away.


Mint Julep Bistro

This casual fine dining restaurant boasts an aura of relaxed southern hospitality. The Mint Julep Bistro near the railroad tracks in Palatine opened in September and occasionally hosts special evenings that cater to the bourgeois, such as a “Dinner on the Titanic” evening, to be held on April 14. But the rest of the time anyone can enjoy its southern charm, and without mortgaging the entire plantation in the process.

Lady D moved up from Savannah, Ga., to open the Mint Julep Bistro. A true southern lady, she settled in Palatine because, as she told her staff, “the city’s too big for her.” On the walls you’ll see pictures of Lady D riding her English jumping horses with purple ribbons from competitions she’s won. The staff takes advantage of the atmosphere. I was here on Fat Tuesday, and everyone on the clock wore Mardi Gras beads around their necks.

For lunch, start with the Fried Okra ($6) or the Crab Cakes ($10.50) and then move on to a Southern BLT with applewood-smoked bacon and fried green tomatoes ($8), or if you need something heartier, try the Brunswick Stew ($11) or the Chicken Pot Pie in a flaky crust ($13). Lunch entrees range from $7.50 to $13. For dinner, Chef Rich, who makes everything from scratch, recommends the Southern Fried Chicken ($16.50), the Shrimp ‘n Grits ($16) or the Shrimp, Crawfish & Andouille Jambalaya ($15.50). Dinner prices range from $11 to $29. Top it off for dessert with a Peach Cobbler or Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie ($6.50)

But don’t walk out the door without trying the locale’s staple drink, the House Mint Julep ($6.50), a fresh, bourbon delight, and a nice prelude to spring. Lady D allegedly learned this drink recipe from the official bartender of the current Gov. of Kentucky.


Pappadeaux

Want seafood, then look no further. At Pappadeaux’s outlet in Arlington Heights (not far from Ikea’s Schaumburg location, hungry shoppers!) you can watch your fish or your lobster being cooked, fried, battered — everything short of pulled from the ocean. The kitchen is an island in the middle of the restaurant, surrounded by dining rooms and a couple sportsmen’s taverns that are decked out with deer antlers and framed black & white pictures of prized catches.

Your seafood is flown in fresh from the Gulf Coast on the same day you eat it. Start off with a dozen pieces of shrimp cocktail for $10, or dive right into the oysters for $12. Feel like eating a reptile? The crispy fried alligator in Creole dipping sauce is yours for $12.45. Or chop down on the pan-seared frog legs cooked in spicy garlic butter, tomato and herbs for $9. If it’s still chilly outside, order a bowl of the gumbo (shrimp, seafood, sausage, crawfish or lobster) for $9. For your main course, the fried seafood dishes (shrimp, oysters, crab, chicken, crawfish or catfish) run between $15 and $20 for a large portion. And the Cajun menu goes on and on. Laissez les bon temps rouler! Or if you’d rather dine down under, combine the filet mignon & Australian lobster tail for $50.


Ttowa Dumpling House

Headed to Milwaukee for a Cubs-Brewers game? Stop off in Morton Grove, just off I-94, for delicious and affordable Korean food at Ttowa Dumpling House. The atmosphere is unpretentious, the service is friendly, and if you are adept at using chopsticks, Anna will complement you.

The baseball-size dumplings cost between $6 and $8 and typically contain pork, vegetables and kimchi, though a veggie option with tofu is also available. The Korean businessmen I met there recommended the hearty Gaesung Mandu dumplings, which are named after a city in North Korea. Try the Potjjinbbang steamed red bean bun for $6 or bring a date and order the Mandu jungol spicy hot stew with dumpling for 2 ($20). Looking for something familiar? Ttowa offers sweet and sour pork or chicken, on a bed of noodles (Yangnyum) or roasted beef with Korean barbecue sauce on rice (Bulgogi) for $10. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, order the sliced squid (Ojinghuh bokkeum) or sliced octopus (Nakkji bokkeum) with veggies and spice sauce for $10. Meals cost between $6 and $13 per person.

Dumpling meals are typically served with a corn tea, iceberg salad with homemade ginger dressing and sampler plates of kimchi, dandelion, pickles, grated potatoes and radishes, all of which you can dip in a spicy red pepper sauce.

Look out for items on menu that are labeled with two red peppers, indicating “very spicy”. Stop by in the summertime (July and August, especially) for the Haemul kalgooksu or Yulmoo Nangmyun seafood stew noodles and vegetables for $8. And wash it all down with a large Korean Beer (Hite & OB) for $6, or something stiffer, Soju, Baekseju, Plum Soju or Korean Wine, $10-15.