|
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
>>
>
|
|||||
|
High-Fun, Low-Cost Weekends
Monday Jul 25, 2005.
By Erin Brereton
|
|||||
| |||||
Summer is in full swing (hey, those underarm sweat rings aren't just for show!), and that means Chicagoans are hitting the town, staying out late and enjoying all the city has to offer…in the three-plus months it's actually not too cold to enjoy it. That means weekends start on Thursday and go full force until Monday morning, which can get costly. All that extra partying comes with a price, and as always, Cheap Thrills is determined to get you the best dining and drinking deal out there. With that in mind, I've been trolling the city for low-cost libation and food weekend deals, and although I'm now nursing a hangover, I have plenty of spare cash in my wallet, which means I can pay my air conditioning bill this month. Everybody wins! The early bird gets the goat cheese at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba in Lincoln Park, where on Friday nights (and Monday through Thursday, too) tapas are just $3 and sangria is half off between 4 and 7 p.m. The only catch? You have to sit at the bar. Or, as I call it, "my second home." Cap off the week with a stop at Jack Sullivan's, the oh-so-sporty Lincoln Park bar that has a free buffet from 4 to 7 p.m. every Friday. And we're not talking about just a few cold wings: Jack lays out a carving station, pasta and more in its bar area. Nothing says it's the weekend like some beef and a big knife! Hanging out these days in Logan Square? Stop by the cozy (it's not called "Large Bar" for a reason) Small Bar for $3 Bass and Sierra Nevada drafts on Saturdays. The bar also serves $3 Newcastle drafts on Fridays. Small Bar also offers a tiny but tasty menu of salads, sandwiches and the like, but obviously appreciates good beer; serving more than 90, it apparently has a "Large Fridge." When I'm feeling so po', I've been known to head over to Sopo for the Friday $5 martinis. The bar makes 'em nice and tasty, and the food (sandwiches hovering around $6 and salads and apps) is a treat. But be forewarned: It gets uncomfortably crowded, so go early or be prepared to deal with it, because on a weekend evening at Sopo, you barely have room to pass anyone to get to the bar (in fact, you barely have room to pass a kidney stone). Sopo too crowded for your taste? Find Nemo and some other sea creatures smack dab in the middle of your plate just across the street at Mystic Celt. Thursday night, the bar features $7.95 fish and chips and $4 margaritas, because, ummm, no one knows how to make margaritas like the Irish. And finally, for those not looking for any ordering restrictions, Grotto on State's Thursday night special (available only in the Mahogany Lounge, which is indeed both very lounge-y and mahogany-y) is the granddaddy of all drink-and-dine deals, with practically every drink ringing in at $3, and $3 appetizers such as fried calamari, ravioli and pizzas large enough to split with a friend (unless of course, your friends are greedy). But skip the bruschetta: Like so many men you might meet out on a Thursday night, it's ultimately unfulfilling. (But, to be fair, a little more garlicky.) Want to call and ask for a menu? Reach Cafe-Ba-Ba-Reeba at (773) 935-5000; Jack Sullivan's at (773) 549-9009; Small Bar at (773) 772-2727; Sopo at (773) 348-0010; Grotto on State at (312) 280-1005.
|
|||||
| |||||
Erin Brereton is our resident urban cowgirl on a bi-weekly search for life on the cheap.