|
STORIES
RELATED INFO
Chicago Shops
Chicago Wine & Groceries
|  |
 |
 |
|
Subscribe in your favorite reader using the links below. To learn more about feeds and RSS, click here.
 | |||||
|
Articles
Sections
>>
>
|
|||||
|
Armitage (Brown)
Sunday May 08, 2005.
By Kate Schwartz
|
|||||
| |||||
Step on to bustling Armitage on a given Saturday, and chances are even the most curious restaurant-goer will ignore the storefronts for a moment. It's hard not to, when you're overwhelmed by the rustling and swinging of shopping bags. Armitage is a spendthrift's dream, and rightly so. Vintage jewelry, Diesel jeans, delicate stationary and hand-crafted soap jump out from nearly every block, ensuring that you'll leave a trip here with a slightly heavier credit card statement. Hopstoching the shops are a number of eateries determined to refuel, whether you're in need of a meal on the run or falls into the category of "ladies who lunch." Thanks to the preponderance of DePaul students, affordable sandwiches and the like abound.
Safety rating: Your wallet may be in danger, but only from your own spendthrift ways.
In-the-know spot Round out your meal with a gourmet salad; offerings include pear and blue cheese, Caesar, cobb, spinach and the pleasantly named "Big Salad." In true pizza parlor fashion, HomeMade delivers daily after 4:30 p.m. for an additional $2. The decor, however, is far from the expected red- and white-checked vinyl. The space achieves the odd marriage of pizza and artsy minimalism, thanks to white walls, a brushed stainless steel counter and not much else.
Cheap eats Annette's (formerly Anthony's) offers a wide array of ice cream, fat-free soft serve frozen yogurt (in too-good flavors like peanut butter and cappuccino) and Italian ice. Don't expect your run-of-the-mill lemon, though. Flavors like coconut, chocolate banana, grapefruit and passion fruit put a tasty twist on an icy favorite. A row of adjacent picnic tables provides seating while emphasizing the "just like when we were kids!" nature of it all. The prices, however, aren't as much of a throwback: Expect to pay $2.75 for a six-ounce Italian ice.
Sure bet for shopping From antique-style postcards to vintage jewelry, there's a hefty dose of France in every corner. Eiffel towers come every which way: On a key ring, bejeweled, for your Christmas tree, and elegantly adorning plates. Blushing brides-to-be would do well with a trip here. Jablonski, also a certified wedding planner, maintains a specialty in bridal accessories, stocking everything from tiaras and custom-made veils to delicate jewelry sets to gift to your flower girl.
Place to be seen solo Your options are hardly limited to a whole or half-bird, however. Rotisserie chicken sandwiches add pesto to the mix, while a bevy of salads offer "with roasted chicken" options. Or take a fowl-free route with a tuna nicoise salad, smoked ham and provolone sandwich of BBQ ribs. You'll also find a wide array of thin pizzas and pastas. Pair with the expected (cole slaw, mashed potatoes) and the unexpected (herbed polenta, steamed cauliflower). Tired cooks can easily bypass dinner duty with a combo: Dinner for three to four, priced at $28.95, includes bread, sauce, one-and-a-half whole chickens, two side dishes, one pasta and any large salad. Things get even easier when you opt for $2 delivery.
Where to chill Take coffee with your tea when you order truffles and tea for two ($15), where two spots of tea come sided by espresso, dark chocolate, ginger citrus and cinnamon truffles, among others. You and three of your closest friends can split the chocolate fondue, in your choice of milk or dark, for $25. Not looking to have such a sinfully rich afternoon? Grab a beverage and purchase just one or two of the delicate creations to nibble on. More art than chocolate, it's hard to pass up the pieces, which bear fashionable images, like the '50s-style martini drinking madame that graces the Classic Cabernet, a piece where robust wine notes join intense dark chocolate.
|
|||||
| |||||
If you've ever found yourself belting out Cole Porter's "I Love Paris," then this Parisian-inspired boutique is the store for you, whatever the season. Owner Susan Jablonski's love of France and jewelry combine to offer what every such shop should, in theory: Items that are as precious as they are beautiful. There's no mistaking the romanticism that seems to come for sale with each item. From the moment you spy the golden glitter-clad "Amour" behind the register, you'll have found a getaway that is free to enter…but presents hard-to-turn-down jewelry, stationary, vintage, home and gift items that could rival the price of a plane ticket to France, should your "non" give way to too many "ouis." 
You do it over maki, mochas and martinis…why not chit chat over chocolate? Like stepping into a giant pink hat box, Ethel's Chocolate's Kate Spade-esque interior proclaims the wonders of the stuff, with quirky signs like "Welcome to chocolate paradise, population you." The idea, actually, is that it's you and a friend, or a gaggle of them. As a "chocolate lounge," Ethel's cushy red loveseats, upstairs seating area and front patio urge you to kick back and stay a while.