venues

Restaurants, Bars, Bookstores, Oh My!

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Ankh

Your typical downtown newsstand selection hardly inspires—Pop Tarts, expired Tums and the occasional Low Rider magazine tucked beneath the Sun-Times. But Ankh is no typical newsstand. The shop, whose name comes from an Egyptian hieroglyphic meaning “life,” is a self-proclaimed oasis situated underground in the hustle bustle of the LaSalle Blue Line station.

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Berlin Night Club

If you’re touchy about being touched, take heed on the dance floor—Berlin has an unspoken no-barriers policy and wandering hands abound. Either way, bring your dancin’ shoes, some KY jelly and be prepared for anything to happen; at Berlin the wall is always coming down. Continue reading…

iCream

While the name iCream may bring to mind Avon products or B-rated porn, this Wicker Park ice cream parlor is a dreamsicle come true. You won’t find soft-serve machines whirring or 30-gallon buckets that have been sitting in the freezer for weeks in this Willy Wonka-esque ice creamery. Instead, they use a techno-savvy freezing process using liquid nitrogen that, in addition to being incredibly fast, will also probably make you have a nerdgasm. Continue reading…

Little Jim’s

I don’t actually go to gay dive bars in Boystown for the booze; I go to watch porn or the Food Network. Thankfully, at Little Jim’s I never have to choose between these two great pastimes—they play both simultaneously. With Brady-Bunch-era Formica coating the tables and two tap selections to choose from (MGD or Miller Lite), Little Jim’s is something of a late-night “dive thru,” a place you visit when you want to keep your Dixie whistlin’ after other hot spots have closed. Continue reading…