Centerstage - Chicago's Original City Guide

Articles Sections >> Arts + Words Bars + Clubs Dating Festivals Fitness Food Lifestyle Music Theater Travel + Tourism Who's Who > View All Best When Drunk Dining Guides The Raving Dish

Get your liquid treats at these Chicago favorites.

Thursday Sep 08, 2005.     By Centerstage Chicago Staff

Food Feed

Starbucks, Bar Louie, Binny's…all decent places to get a beverage, but the allure of multiple locations can actually turn kind of depressing. Sometimes you want to crack open a new wine list. Sometimes you want to order a medium, not a grande. Here are some of our favorite indie alternatives to wet your whistle at.

When you want: A glass of wine
Cafe Simone
If you liked Amelie, you'll love this cabaret. The basement cafe of Cyrano's Bistrot and Wine Bar seems to have been decorated by the Parisian herself, so whimsical are the green and gold walls, antique mirrors, fairy lights and ornamental flower boxes that adorn the space.

The menu is quintessentially Parisian and no less delicious than the decor: "Ooh la la" your way through a $10 plate of fromages, followed by pommes frites with grated parmesan and three sauces for $4.95. Try the lobster bisque, and then give in to the $24 house specialty for your entree: Provencal bouillabaisse served with saffron broth. If this all sounds a bit heavy, order any of the entrees in appetizer size and pay half price (plus one dollar). Be sure to save room for the wine bar if you need some liquid courage to help you sing along with the cabaret chanteuses that entertain almost nightly. Mais oui, your requests are welcome. So you may want to look over the lyrics to "La Vie en Rose" before you hit Simone's.

When you want: A cuppa tea
TeaGschwendner
Think sounding out the name is hard? Try picking out a tea. TeaGschwender manages to raise teatime to an intellectual activity: Everywhere you look in the small, tranquil shop you'll find tea with lofty-sounding properties and impossible-to-pronounce names. Selecting your perfect brew means sifting through leaves of Ayurveda, Rooibush, Mate and SchwuppTeaWupp (turns out the latter just is an instant tea with a sweet, creamy flavor. But saying it in German is just too much fun.)

Luckily the staff is like a bunch of tea librarians; they're chock-full of knowledge and always on hand to provide lessons on the leaves. Be a good student and bring a pencil to jot down some notes. The Book of Tea (offered to each guest for free) has a section for you to record your thoughts at the back of its 100-plus pages. The book describes, in delicious-sounding and poetic detail, the flavor of each tea. Try the $3.50 teapuccinno, a sweet, spicy alternative to your Chai standby.

When you want: A bottle of your own
Kafka Wine Co.
It's easy to feel intimidated in a wine shop with more than 250 types of wine, especially when the store's name evokes the literary stylings of a Czech existentialist fiction-writer. But you're in luck at Kafka Wine Company, because the store is named after owner Joe Kafka, and almost all of the 250 wines are priced at less than $15.

Bottles line the walls of this brightly-lit store. Large, colorful banners divide the space into five sections, with wines classified as toasty, spicy, earthy, floralherbal or fruity. Once you choose a flavor, you'll have your work cut out for you. Bottles sit vertically in the wine racks, and indecisive shoppers will appreciate the small notes adorning some of the bottles, offering tips from the experts. The store classes up the six-pack, offering six bottles of wine for $60. Or pick up a case of twelve bottles for just $100. Kafka also stocks a variety of specialty wines, including sparkling varieties, ports, Sherries and dessert wines. And if you're looking to impress someone, there are a few bottles in the above-$15 category, too.

When you want: A bit of the bubbly
Victor Hotel
Victor Hotel's warehouse roots are apparent with its neon sign and the general run-down mill feel of the exterior. Step inside and you'll feel like the Concorde landed in South Beach. Velvet curtains are pulled back to allow entry and newcomers are drawn to the paintings by David Molinaro anchoring the establishment. A Kleiner signature: the painting's metal frame matches that of the barstools.

When not perched on the barstools, patrons can rest their pedicured toes on a mishmash of swivel chairs or lounge in a private room. Either way, anything that comes out of the martini shaker (all $11) is a can't-miss. Champagne makes a comeback at Victor Hotel and kisses the tops of the Bellinis and Pimosas. If there was ever a place for bottle service, Victor Hotel is it; offerings range abundantly from $45–$900. For some sustenance with your bubbly, the lounge offers menu items like sashimi tuna tartare with fresh basil served on wontons ($10) and the international fruit and cheese plate ($16).

When you want: A faux Frappuccino
Filter
Swirly chalk lettering covers every available inch of space on the boards that line the walls above and behind the register at this popular Wicker Park coffeeshop. Beverage seekers should shift their eyes upward and prepare to keep them there for a good long while. Your typical lattes and americanos are resigned to one panel, as the others are needed to list more imaginative concoctions.

Bubble teas come in a variety of flavors, fruit smoothies provide a vitamin C punch, and specialty blends extend far beyond the usual coffeeshop variety (Filter even offers a vodka drink…so long as you cross over to Pontiac and order the liquor there). But fans of indulgent Frappuccinos should set their sights on the blended coffee drinks. Available in one belly-ache inducing size, the chocolate mint version capped with a swirl of whipped cream will have you happily moaning "Starbucks who?"