It's time for another Happy Hour; it's been a while and we have a LOT of new members, over 400 total now! And since I'm a redhead, let's try Crimson Lounge, a swanky-looking place with a smooth atmosphere, next to Hotel Sax (formerly House of Blues Hotel.) On Thursday nights, they offer $3 champagne, wine and draft beer, and 50% off food orders. Most reviews are positive and say it's good for after work, with not too loud music and good drinks. They don't have a ton of food options but I'll pick somewhere nearby and make a dinner reservation at House of Blues for 7:45, in case anyone wants to nosh further. Last time I was there, the food was really good. Let me know if you think you'll want to do that.

Please plan to bring cash if possible, and to add 30% to whatever you order to cover tax and tip.

Crimson Lounge

House of Blues Dining

We are moving to Andalous Moroccan Restaurant because when I called to confirm at Alhambra Palace, I was told they are ONLY doing the pre-fix $75 or $105 pp menu (yikes!), which is NOT what they originally said. I am very sorry, but Andalous has great reviews and will still offer an exotic dining experience. As a nice bonus, Anadalous is BYOB with no corkage fee.

Andadalous

We will order off the menu; I made SURE to ask. Please be prepared to pay for whatever you order PLUS 30% TO COVER TAX AND TIP; credit cards are fine, or cash.

Please RSVP only if you are serious because we cannot increase this reservation and want to keep spots for people who really want to come. The 3-strikes rule WILL be in effect (3 no-shows and you are out of the group.) This is also posted on the Chicago Culture group.

Join us for the Chinese New Year Parade Sunday, Feb. 1 2009! It starts at 1:00PM on Wentworth from 24th St. to Cermak Rd. but we will start gathering in front of Won Kow Restaurant at 12:00 noon to get a good viewing spot. The streets and parking lots get crowded, so take the train or carpool if possible. The CTA "Red line" stops right in ChinaTown at Cermak . Wear proper attire for the weather. As with any crowded function, watch your belongings, wallets, etc.

The Chinatown New Year Parade celebrating the Lunar New Year, “Year of the Ox, 4707” will include marching bands, floats, lion teams, a 100’ Mystical Dragon, and Miss Friendship Ambassador. Please join us to welcome the New Year as we convey “Gung Hay Fat Choi” to all in attendance.

ChinaTown Chicago

FOOD: I have made two dim sum reservations, one for before and one for after the parade, at the restaurants below, under Jeudi (or Judy) and Meetup (hopefully they understood). Phoenix recommended coming before the parade because parking will still be available and traffic won't have gotten crazy yet, so that's MY plan; gives plenty of time for food and to get to the meetup spot. Mountain View recommended waiting for a while after the parade to come in, although they did take a reservation; that would give people time to shop a bit. I won't be eating again at 4:00 but I thought some people might want to, so I'll bequeath the reservation to those who do. PLEASE advise if you will be eating either before or after the parade, so accurate reservations can be assured. EITHER WAY: Please plan to add 30% to your food order for tax and tip! Hope to see you there!

10:00AM Reservation:
Phoenix Restaurant
2131 S. Archer Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 328-0848
Phoenix offers a large and varied authentic selection for dim sum. This includes steamed and fried dumplings, appetizer portions of roasted pork and duck, and Chinese sweets to finish. Everyone at the table can select from the roving carts that pass by. Expect to pay between 15-18 dollars. This restaurant validates for two hours of reduced rate parking for the two lots by the El stop. I have had dim sum here with Fong of CDO and it was great. Unfortunately, they stop serving dim sum at 3:00pm, so if you want to eat after the parade:

4:00PM Reservation:
Mountain View Chef
2168 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 842-2168
Mountain View Restaurant offers a large and varied authentic selection for dim sum. We will order using their menu card. There is no cart service but I confirmed they will still have the dim sum menu available at this time.

Based on people's interest and ticket price, I have selected Sunday, January 4 at 7:30PM to see "Dublin Carol" at the group rate of $45. Payment is due in advance, no later than Thursday December 4 (I must pay deposit on 12/5) and refundable if canceled by Thursday, Dec 18 (I must pay remainder 12/19.) You can pay via Paypal including a $1.50 NON-REFUNDABLE Paypal fee and $1 Meetup site maintenance fee, total $47.50. Or if you want to write a check, I'll give you my address.

Dinner will be arranged in the area closer to the date.

From Steppenwolf: Due to popular demand and rave reviews, our production of Dublin Carol by Connor McPhereson is extending through January 4th!

Directed by ensemble member Amy Morton and featuring Stephen Louis Grush, William Petersen and Nicole Wiesner, Dublin Carol is receiving excellent reviews, including being “Highly Recommend” by The Chicago Sun-Times.

In the play, John (William Peterson of CSI), a man whose life was nearly destroyed by drinking, now holds down a steady job at a Dublin undertaker’s office. When his estranged daughter appears on Christmas Eve with disturbing news, it sets off a series of painful confessions that ultimately offer John a chance to escape the burdens of his past.

Ensemble member Amy Morton directed Conor McPherson’s The Weir at Steppenwolf and returns after appearing in the Broadway production of August: Osage County . William Petersen was a co-founder of the Remains Theater Ensemble in Chicago and is well known for playing Gil Grissom on CSI.
For more information on Dublin Carol including an interactive photo gallery and backstage articles, visit us at www.steppenwolf.org

I still really want to try this place and we can just go without booking a private room, so let's try a more casual approach and just meet for their Tuesday evening half-price American wines event (and belatedly celebrate our new President with an Obama Burger, perhaps!) We will need a reservation to make sure there's room for everyone, so I'll will need an approximately headcount in advance; please keep that in mind as you RSVP. Hope to see you!

THE OBAMABURGER & HALF-PRICE AMERICAN WINES
Featuring Benton's Smoked Country Bacon...

All our lives we've been told that one should never discuss politics, religion or the fact that Love & Rockets kicks NIN's ass. (Lollapalooza, yo.) Well, we're about to break rule #1. We're gonna get political.

The ObamaBurger

But, just like giving your ailing dog a pill tucked inside a scrumptious treat, we're gonna wrap our unabashedly liberal patriotism in something a thousand times more delicious than a Snausage: The ObamaBurger. But this isn't just any cheeseburger. Why? Well, other than being named after the next President of The United States, it's got bacon on it. (Proving Barack Obama is not Muslim. Not that there's anything wrong with that!) And we're not talkin' about just any bacon, here. We're talkin' about what may be the best gourmet bacon in the country: Benton's Smoked Country Bacon...

The audacity of pork

Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams has been producing award-winning country hams, domestic prosciutto and bacon in the hills of Madisonville, Tennessee since 1973. In 2007 the Southern Foodways Alliance bestowed Allan Benton with it's highest honor, The Jack Daniel's Lifetime Achievement Award. Allan's meats are served in some of the finest restaurants in the country because of their distinctive, full, mouthwatering flavor.

It's the ingredients, stupid

But you can't make a truly awesome burger with just beef, bacon and buns. That's why we're piling Benton's hickory-smoked country bacon on top of a char-grilled mound of juicy, Kobe beef (reflecting Obama's Pan-Asian upbringing), topping it with gooey Wisconsin Cheddar, spicy, Michelle-fist-pumped caramelized onions and a dollop of our very own Secret South Side Sauce. We then cram all that goodness between two slices of marble rye (celebrating Barack's multiracial background) and feed it to our panini press, transforming it into the ultimate patty-melting-pot that is America. Add a heaping side of Harvard Yard Baked Beans (commemorating Barack's days as the first Black president of The Harvard Law Review) and that, my fellow Americans, is The ObamaBurger.

Half-price American wines, BTG or BTB

We can't think of anything that goes better with The ObamaBurger than wine made in the good ol' U. S. of A. That's why every Tuesday we're taking half off every American wine by the glass or the bottle to drink at Juicy. That's right—red, white, whatever. Every American wine we carry, half price, all day, every Tuesday. We know—sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? But it ain't. It's the real deal. Just like our man Barack.

Starting Tuesday, August 19th

Starting Tuesday, August 19th, drop by Juicy Wine Co for the extraordinary ObamaBurger and wash it down with half-price American wines—glasses or bottles. Take in the sun and stars on our sweet deck or chill in our air-conditioned main room or upstairs lounge, all while savoring a soundtrack of American music. Do it for your country!

For more information regarding Tuesdays at Juicy, email us. Or, phone us at (312) 492-6620.

Let freedom ring,
Juicy Wine Co