Restaurants, Bars, Bookstores, Oh My!

Favorites

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.

Continue reading…

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…

More Venue Reviews

Bhabi’s Kitchen

Cafe Bong

Cunneen’s

Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club

Ola’s Liquors

Prairie Moon

Sweet Passion

Swedish Smorgasbord

Touche

Unabridged Books, Inc.

____