Bars
Kitty O’Shea’s In a city that’s lousy with nostalgic Irish pub reproductions, the Hilton Chicago’s entry is something of a monument to the form, featuring actual brogue-spitting staffers in Gaelic football jerseys; lots of wood, marble, brass, and memorabilia; and expensive industrial-hotel-kitchen renditions of the usual suspects: corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie, lamb stew, etc. There’s live music nightly and a popular $15 Saint Paddy’s Day blowout, but even if you haven’t been here before, you’ve been here before. 11 AM-2 AM daily, 720 S. Michigan, 312-294-6860. —MS
South Loop Club Membership in this club requires a superhuman tolerance for neon, booze industry advertising, and inhospitable overregulation (10 percent extra for separate checks of parties of three or more?!). The place combines the atmospheric charms of an Applebee’s and a frat-house basement, and the surfeit of menus—distinct lists for Scotch, beer, vodka, tequila, etc)—can only have been designed to confuse and separate patrons from their powers of discernment, leading to ill-advised and costly choices such as the Slutty Bull or the Electric Lemonade. There’s a similarly wide-ranging and bewildering bar-food menu, folded up like a piece of origami—studying it leads to the spins. Sat 11 AM-5 AM, Sun-Fri 11 AM-4 AM, 701 S. State, 312-427-2787. —MS
Weather Mark The breezy nautical theme at this spacious, child-friendly barstaurant seems at odds with the South Loop’s gritty history—it would do well to hire on a few pirates or a wisecracking parrot just to keep things anchored. There’s a long menu of upscale bar food (e.g., venison and wild boar pigs in a blanket), a selection of mostly rum-running house cocktails (Almost Stormy, Three Sheets to the Wind), and 40 rums, along with a more limited beer and wine list. Sat-Sun 10:30 AM-2 AM, Mon-Fri 11:30-2 AM, 1503 S. Michigan, 312-588-0230. —MS
$$$ $15-$20
Blackie’s This speakeasy-style bar, around since 1939, offers reasonably priced burgers, sandwiches, salads, pastas, and entrees, plus a few house specialties like clams casino, calamari in white wine sauce, and chili made from an old family recipe. Breakfast, served Friday through Sunday, is old-school: just a continental breakfast, three home-style combos, steak and eggs, and corned beef hash. There are a few outdoor tables for al fresco dining. Kitchen closes at 10 PM. a Breakfast Fri-Sun, lunch daily, dinner Mon-Sat, open till 2 AM, 755 S. Clark, 312-786-1161. $
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The Chicago Firehouse This sprawling three-story restaurant in a 1905 firehouse retains some of the building’s original character with fire poles, tin ceiling, and firebrick walls. Huge semicircular, brass-studded red leather booths line the perimeter of the bar’s dining area, while the carpeted main dining room is outfitted with candelabra and fabric-lined walls that give it the feel of a suburban country club. Dishes tend to be hearty—starters include seared sirloin, French onion soup, and prosciutto rolled with cream cheese and asparagus. Main courses take their cue from home cooking—pot roast, panfried rainbow trout, barbecued pork chops with whipped sweet potatoes. Lunch Mon-Fri, dinner daily, 1401 S. Michigan, 312-786-1401. $$$ —Laura Levy Shatkin
