I met up with my friend Cathy and headed to Sortie for the "Good Friday" event I blogged about here. It was free before 9p with an RSVP and we headed up there around 930p expecting to pay about $10 cover. After we found a park and walked the few blocks over to Sortie we entered the lounge/restaurant with high expectations. The crowd, though small, seemed nice (sea of attractive brown faces) but I could overhear the guy in front of us having issues with the door girl regarding the cover.
"That'll be $20"
I heard her tell him. I started thinking to myself that it better be $20 for men and $10 for ladies. It was 930p and the first night they were even doing anything at this spot. I had NO INTENTIONS of paying $20 for a little lounge. As we approached the door girl I told her that we had RSVP'd and she asked to see my email. Thank God for my blackberry - - I was able to pull up the message with ease.
"Can you scroll down a bit..."
Damn...I knew she was looking to see if it said "1/2 off cover after 9p" or just the regular "free before 9p"
"There are different emails and yours was only good for free cover before 9p so that'll be $20"
I shot a glance at my girl and we agreed that it wasn't worth it. We were not alone either because NUMEROUS other women weren't feeling the $20 cover and decided to find something else to do with their Friday night. Now in all fairness, the venue was nice, the crowd was cool and the door girl wasn't a total bitch. I understand that she was just doing her job (and let me tell you, Arizona is home to one of THE bitchiest door chicks... Her name is Rhonda. Yes, she can kick a pile of rocks. Her crazy attitude is for the birds... and just a side note, if my cell phone says 958p that means that's it IS before 10p. I don't care what your watch says... :) needed to vent a little...)
After a quick stop to the atm and brainstorm session we decided to go to one of my favorite neighborhood haunts, Cuatro. Cuatro is a "Nuevo Latino" restaurant in the South Loop that plays live music at night. I think their drinks are superb and the food, while pricey if you're paying for your own meal (go there on a date... his treat lol) it's definitely tasty and worth it. I recommend any of their signature margaritas (Cuatro Margarita, Fresca Margarita, Blood Orange Margarita, etc... and upgrade it with Patron!) We had dinner, convo, and an overall good time. There is no cover before 10p and only $5 after. If you're looking for something lowkey to do on a Fri/Sat night come by... or go anytime during the week for dinner/drinks.Saturday Night
I was on a limited budget and while I wanted to go to my friend's fashion show, the $25 ticket wasn't working with my budget. One of my girlfriends had passes to Sound Bar so that was on the line-up for the night. To start things off we headed to Wicker Park for drinks at Par Lounge. I had never been to this lounge before, nor was I familiar with Wicker Park but I definitely fell in like with the area this weekend. It's a hip area full of 20/30 somethings, boutiques, bars/lounges and cheap food.
The lounge itself was really nice. I'm a fan of the exposed brick, artwork and the lofty feel which the place had. The seating was nice but limited. I don't think this place could hold more than 75 people... it's pretty small. Nevertheless, we grabbed some drinks, a seat, and killed some time until we headed to Sound Bar. Now, I've become a fan of Patron (thanks LaRicia) and it bothered me that they didn't have any. Instead, I was forced to drink my margarita with Jose Cuervo 1800. Umm, I don't care if 1800 is like top of the line Jose... it's still Jose.... and Jose and I aren't friends. We aren't even frenemies. I clearly don't fuck with Jose and Jose doesn't fuck with me. I didn't want to waste a drink (I'm not equipped with the skills to turn down a drink... or waste one...) so I soldiered up and finished the toxic margarita. The only other complaints my group of friends had was the dj. He wasn't bad... I actually liked what he played, but the men with us wanted more 80s/90s hip hop and they were playing more top 40s. This is a good spot if you're in the area, want something intimate, and to enjoy some drinks and actually be able to have a conversation with the people next to you. It's not overly noisy or crowded so you'll be able to chill out and enjoy yourself and the art work on the walls.After leaving Par Lounge we made our way to Sound Bar. I had never been to Sound Bar before but figured that since Saturday was their 5th year anniversary it was as good of a time as any to check it out. Walking up to the club the line was crazy... insane.. bananas (as Ashanti would say..lol.. I know people don't quote Ashanti for anything but I kinda like that expression. lol...) Thankfully, my girlfriend Lontier had passes and we were able to bypass the line and go straight to the front. The only thing better than skipping a line is getting in free! I'm a fan of all things free and I like being able to have a little VIP moment at the club. lol... We made our way in and instantly I knew this was going to be an interesting night. Now, I don't mind partying with white folks. I am, however, not a fan of drunk white girl antics or the "white boy let out" (swagger jacked that from Cathy). These white chicks were riding one another like it was a porno set... and when I say riding, I mean RIDING. The only thing missing was a strap on. I shouldn't see your goodies hanging out, literally, at the club. To make matters worse, the next thing up on the menu was seeing this chick get fingered while making out with this guy (both sloppy drunk) and her getting up to only once again be another chick with her Peek-a-choo hanging out. I was beyond words. Something a little different the club had were hot tubs featuring bikini clad go-go dancers bouncing around. I also spotted a few male dancers that were working it on the stage. Upstairs was techno while hip hop was downstairs. I liked the feel of the upstairs better but couldn't handle the techno for too long. Downstairs was a cool set up, though 10 degrees warmer and twice as crowded, but I stuck it out for the music alone. My boyfriend wasn't a fan of the club and ended up falling asleep (whether it was out of boredom or the fact that he had partied the night before with no sleep is anyone's guess...) so we ended up splitting rather early around 2a (the club closed at 5a). Side bar: This was another club that didn't have patron. They had the Jose 1800 (which I'm officially allergic to) and this other tequila that I can't recall. It wasn't bad and actually a step higher than patron so I wasn't making a stinky face while downing my drinks.
Late night clubbing always stimulates my appetite so with my boyfriend passed out in the passenger seat and his guy in the back, I headed to my favorite Gyros spot on Halsted. The conversations that you're privy to at late night eateries are always a trip. I was fascinated by the group of Puerto Ricans that were behind me and their uncanny ability to slip in and out of Spanish and English. Ever more so, the stuff that was coming out of their mouths had me rolling.
Puerto Rican #1 (slightly flaming guy) - "I ordered 2 shots of patron and when she said it'd be $29 my heart started to hurt... I was like Giselle, you better come in the bathroom and give me some head. These drinks are expensive."
Puerto Rican #2 (slightly hood chick) - "You know he wanted to come over and beat it..."
Puerto Rican #1 - "Did you Let him bruise it?"
Puerto Rican #2 - "Nope... but he wanted to eat it. I almost let him too."
Puerto Rican #1 - (referencing the cook at the Gyros spot) "Oooh, look who's making yall's food. He looks like he plays in his booty all day long."
Their convos had me rolling. On a side note, why was there not 1 Greek person working at the Greek spot? I was slightly annoyed that they muffed up my order. I thought Arizona was the only place you needed to speak Spanish to get by but I see that Mexicans have the fast food game on lock in Chicago too. Now that I think about it, the sushi spot in my bldg is run by Mexicans as well... Maybe now's a good time for me to look into getting Rosetta Stone.
If anyone is interested in checking out any of the spots I visited this weekend here's the info:
Par Lounge
1415 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60622
Sortie
1212 N. State Pkwy
Chicago, IL 60610
Cuatro
2030 S. Wabash
Chicago, IL 60616
Sound Bar
226 W. Ontario
Chicago, IL 60610
