Nightlife in Chicago

While plantains make handy banana doppelgangers and semi-decent boomerangs, the sweet and starchy treats shine alongside island spices, savory meats, and sea-meats. Different in flavor and approach from other Latin cuisines, the Rumba Room's slow-baked sweet and spicy array of Cuban dishes is available for lunch (Monday–Friday) and dinner (usually Thursday–Saturday). If you're new to Cuban eats, try arroz con pollo ($8), a traditional, hearty dish of seasoned chicken with Puerto Rican–style rice, black beans, and sweet plantains or ropa vieja, a succulent seasoned and marinated beef slow-cooked until it falls apart. Spelunkers weary of Alabama cave shrimp can taste the real thing with Veracruz shrimp ($10) in garlic salsa, served with Puerto Rican–style rice, black beans, and tortillas. Specialty drinks like the Cuban mojito ($7) or rum runner ($7) present potable solutions to such dilemmas as lack of rum and taste for mint. If you use today's Groupon for lunch, you'll get a free order of light and sweet coquito rice pudding.

As Tommy, one of Howl at the Moon’s piano players, explains on the club’s website, “Every night…we try and throw a party, regardless of whether it’s a Tuesday night or a Saturday night.” The bar’s trademark dueling pianos serve as the epicenter of these nightly celebrations; patrons submit their favorite songs on slips of paper for the pianists and backing musicians to recreate. If the website’s playlist is any indication, the bands can handle popular songs from all genres and eras, from Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” to Kanye West’s “All of the Lights.” The performances are spirited: colorful lights splash upon a stage where servers, guests, and chairs that have somehow developed mobility all dance along to the music.

Fueling the celebration is the bar’s indulgent selection of drinks. Servers stand over patrons to plunge jello injectors into their mouths, and revelers grab colorful straws to help drain 86-ounce booze buckets filled with sangria or other fruity libations. Pomegranate liqueur and honey-infused whiskey sweeten specialty cocktails, and local beers add depth to coolers stocked with Stella Artois and Dos Equis.

Chicago Limo Net ushers its office-, nightlife-, and airport-bound clientele about the Chicago area in a fleet of luxurious, custom buses and limousines. Twenty-four-passenger party buses bedecked in low-level lighting, leather couches, dancing poles, and mirror-laden roofs bestow a nightclub-like feel minus the acute stares of gargantuan doormen. Smaller 6- and 10-passenger limousines present many of the same creature comforts in a more aerodynamic package for airport or around-town trips. Each party conveyance is piloted by a professional chauffeur with extensive knowledge of downtown Chicago, who will gladly take the fastest or most scenic route and can offer unique insights into the city, such as how to differentiate between the Willis Tower and the pier's ferris wheel.

Only a true icon can name their venue Legends and get away with it. Luckily, famed blues artist Buddy Guy fits the bill. Known as ?the crowned king of Chicago?s electric blues scene,? Buddy has more than 50 years in music notched into his guitar strap, as well as six Grammy Awards and a coveted spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Inside his beloved blues club, Guy can be seen on stage every January during sold out shows, easing into the playful stomp of Muddy Waters? ?Hoochie Coochie Man? and his soulful, woozy solo in ?Stone Crazy.? The performance space holds fans? intrigue with other performances throughout the year and has hosted such renowned musicians as John Mayer, ZZ Top, David Bowie, and Eric Clapton. Seven nights per week, live blues music drifts through the air while guests dine on southern Cajun soul food, from blackened bourbon shrimp to cat fish po? boys and chicken and sausage jambalaya. Music fans can sneak away from their meals to fawn over blues memorabilia such as original artwork, Grammys awards, and guitars signed by B.B. King, Carols Santana, and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Lively jazz tunes bounce off the brick walls, exposed rafters, and blue-tinged décor of Close Up 2 Jazz's South Loop location. Bartenders shake cocktail mixers in syncopation with smooth jazz that flows from a floor-level stage. Up-and-coming artists mix R & B and classical jazz in the loft-style lounge, whose music and ambiance have attracted numerous mentions in the press. Just steps from the LaSalle/Van Buren Brown Line stop, the chic club leaves its doors open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturdays to catch the postwork crowd and recently retired "L" train cars.

Proclaiming to ring in the “rebirth of Chicago cool,” The Shrine brings the sounds of Afro-beat, hip-hop, R&B, house, and reggae to the eager ears of the Windy City’s music scene. On top of regularly hosting DJ events and concerts, the venue has been home to sightings of such celebrities as Drake, Lebron James, and Amerie. This star-attracting power, along with a slew of press and happenings every night of the week, has helped the club’s founder Joseph Russo fully realize his vision for Chicago to “return to the classic elements that make for an unparalleled nightlife experience.”