Illinois Guide and Deals

This year’s brutally cold winter always meant it would feel especially sweet to soak in the summer sun on one of the city’s patios. Below, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite new places to dine alfresco. But here’s the twist: we’ve also matched each restaurant’s style with an outfit that adopts some of spring 2014’s biggest trends, including pleated skirts, jump suits, and sneakers. It turns out the only thing that goes better with tartine than a glass of wine is a crop top and sandals. Plein Air Cafe | Hyde Park Crop top, La Garçonne ($241.50); skirt, Mango ($69.99); crossbody bag, Daily Look ($29.99); daisy earrings, River Island ($4); sandals, Sam Edelman ($70) The patio: It feels like a secret garden: trees and bushes cast shade on floral centerpieces and rustic communal tables. (There are also a few smaller tables if you don’t want to dine with strangers.) Come at the right time and you can catch a free concert from Uncanned Music's Chicago Overground series, which highlights some of Chicago's most acclaimed jazz artists. The restaurant: Plein air is a French term meaning “in the open air” and is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. French culture also influences the menu—developed in part by Pleasant House Bakery’s Art Jackson—which features tartine, baguette sandwiches, and savory pies. The look: The café’s French inspiration and floral patio conjure images of impressionist artwork, reflected in this top’s abstracted print. The skirt and nude sandals create a blank slate that highlight the top, adhering to the classic French aesthetic of simplicity. Uncanned Music’s founder thinks like a scientist when building custom playlists for West Town bars. The Dawson | River West Dress, Tibi ($119.20); bow clutch, Alice and Olivia ($297); slingbacks, New Look ($31); necklace, Henri Bendel ($248); earrings, River Island ($10); Summer Breeze matte lipstick, NYX ($6) The patio: The Dawson’s patio feels like it goes on forever, yet the expansive space remains meticulously manicured. Small gardens are encased in a high wooden fence strung with green plants and romantic Edison bulbs. You likely won’t have to wait long for a drink—the patio has a full bar equipped with a frozen mai tai machine. The restaurant: Helmed by experienced restaurateurs Billy Lawless (The Gage and Henri) and Branko Palikuca (the suburbs’ Topaz Café and Amber Café), this two-level American restaurant offers craft cocktails like the First Base, made with vodka, white port, St-Germain, and lemon. The upscale cuisine includes dishes like the black-pepper ricotta cavatelli and roasted halibut. The look: Like much of The Dawson’s cuisine, this wrap dress is a contemporary update on an American classic. Here, it’s dressed up with simple flats (so you don’t trip on the cobblestones) and other simple accessories. The dramatic necklace adds a bit of glamour. Celeste | River North Jacket, Miss Selfridge ($68); dress, Tibi ($345); pumps, Alice and Olivia ($195); clutch, Debenhams ($50); earrings, Mango ($14.99) The patio: High walls covered in creeping ivy seclude this rooftop patio from the noise of Hubbard Street below. The intimate space is outfitted with vintage-inspired furniture and a birdcage or two. The ornate settees will make your refreshing gin-based cocktail or champagne feel even fancier. The restaurant: Inspired by Chicago’s glamorous 1893 World’s Fair (the logo features a corset and skirt cage), Celeste is opulent without being over the top. The street-level bar serves up small plates like baby octopus, and the upstairs restaurant (which is a bit more formal) offers entrees such as skate with saffron cream. But Celeste’s real draw is an expansive cocktail list courtesy of Fred Sarkis, formerly of Sable Kitchen & Bar. The look: Turn-of-the-century dress calls for corsets, which are too uncomfortable for relaxing on a patio. As such, we modernized our look by a couple of decades with this 1920s-inspired frock. A sharp jacket and clutch make the outfit more current, but the lavish feel still complements the decor nicely. The Brixton | Andersonville Striped tee, River Island ($40); leather skirt, Intermix ($550); Duckie sneakers, Bucketfeet ($68); earrings, Marc by Marc Jacobs ($48); crossbody bag, Rebecca Minkoff ($175) The patio: Simple picnic tables, umbrellas, and metal chairs belie this gastropub’s elevated cuisine. But the laid-back look doesn’t spoil the fun of snacking on jerky and shishito peppers while sipping a cold beer from the bar’s selection of six drafts and 30-something bottles and cans. The restaurant: Chef Kevin McMullen—who cut his culinary chops at El Ideas—brought some serious creativity to The Brixton’s kitchen with berkshire pork-cheek gnocchi and chicken-liver pâté with dijon and blackberry jam. Behind the bar, bartenders whip up craft cocktails against a dramatic backdrop of backlit bottles. The look: The striped T-shirt and sneakers of this comfortable outfit reflect the patio’s low-key look. Yet the leather skirt and designer earrings keep it just fashionable enough for a restaurant that serves Blanc de Blancs. Plus, the crossbody bag means you can play pool in The Brixton’s upstairs lounge without enlisting a friend to watch your purse. Sportsman’s Club | Humboldt Park Jump suit, Whistles ($214); sweatshirt, Tory Burch ($250); clutch, Forzieri ($612.50); earrings, Groupon Goods ($39.99); boots, Shoescribe ($710) The patio: Sportsman’s Club doesn’t have a patio, per se—it has a “backyard.” High brick walls enclose the casual space, which invites mingling with a small outdoor bar and wooden tables spaced with plenty of room to stand and walk around. The bar: Between the vintage cash register, antlers, and chess boards carved into the tables, this cash-only bar looks like it’s been around for a century, though it only opened in December. Inside, mustachioed bartenders mix up craft cocktails and create inventive digestifs using an amaro machine. Perhaps the most unique touch is the renovated reel-to-reel player, which plays bluesy ‘70s roots rock handpicked by Uncanned Music. The look: This jump suit’s classic, low-key look befits the hip patio, as do the edgy boots. The soft sweatshirt adds some color while keeping you warm when the temperature drops. The clutch, meanwhile, adds a touch of humor and serves as a potential conversation starter. Live a little further northwest? Check out our list of Logan Square patios.

So, you put off doing your taxes. That’s fine. Just use Hellogoodbye’s emo-pop lyrics as inspiration, and file in time to catch the band’s Tax Day show. “(Everything Is) Debatable” sounds like the title of a long-winded treatise on existentialism, but it’s actually the title track of Hellogoodbye’s 2013 album. And thankfully, it’s more about partying than philosophizing. The up-tempo song mingles swirling synthesizers with a catchy hook about throwing up your hands and dancing. Sartre would certainly not approve. Hellogoodbye’s musical style seems to reflect its members’ personalities—judging from their tour photos, these guys are no strangers to a good time. So it sort of makes sense that their upcoming show at Lincoln Hall falls on Tax Day, giving Chicagoans something to look forward to on that most loathed of holidays. Of course, if you’re the kind of person who waits until the last minute to file your taxes, you might miss out on the fun. Never fear: we’ve put together a sampling of Hellogoodbye lyrics to propel you through April 15 without drawing ire from the IRS. 8:54 a.m. “The Magic Hour Is Now” You can’t escape its raw power, It’s coming up, the magic hour is now. There’s something viscerally exciting about being up against the clock. It’s you against the world—or at least you against the series of blank spaces on your W4. This is the magic hour…it’s time to show that you are a living, functioning adult. 8:55 a.m. “Summer of the Lily Pond” I was wrong that I’ve been right before, I was wrong about it then… But I won’t be wrong again. Okay, you were wrong. Like, totally wrong. This is awful. Did you claim yourself as a “0” or a “1”? Why must humans be reduced to numbers? Why can’t it be summer already? 10:15 a.m. “Swear You’re In Love” No, I never meant to be vague. There’s just this thing. No, I don’t know how to explain what I mean by “thing.” You caved and called your Dad. He’s not being very helpful. He keeps asking how you got this number, and why you keep calling him “Dad.” 2:54 p.m. “(Everything Is) Debatable” Everything is debatable, Everything is debatable. On second thought, the existentialist undertones on this song can’t be denied. You’re looking at the clock, but it’s laughing at you. Literally laughing, like some kind of surrealist nightmare. 4:15 p.m. “And Everything Becomes A Blur” All we feel disintegrates, Just dip your feet into the lake. Now that you’ve established that nothing matters and everything is meaningless, you might as well give up. Lake Michigan is starting to get warmer, isn’t it? Why not go for a swim? They say the lake’s waters impart mental clarity, and the magical ability to calculate how much interest you paid on your student loans last year. 5:05 p.m. “A Near Death Experience” Whew! You blacked out for a moment there, but it looks like you made it. 6:24 p.m. You sidle up to a barstool at Lincoln Hall and nosh on mac ‘n’ cheese until the show starts. Hellogoodbye plays Lincoln Hall on Tuesday, April 15, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 and can be purchased here. Listen to the title track from Everything Is Debatable: Photo courtesy of Hellogoodbye

Burt Katz is a legend in the world of Chicago pizza. Some have called him and his caramelized crust genius. Others have gotten hung up on his famously particular nature—the Tribune called him a "kinda cranky pizza guy." We sent our writer to his current shop, Burt's Place, where the motto on the menu reads, "Pizza for Grown-Ups." She booked an appointment (which is required) and showed up with her husband and their one-year-old. Here are the details of this journey into the history of deep dish. Though I grew up steps from one of Burt Katz’s original shops, Gulliver’s Pizza (the original location at 2727 W. Howard St. in Rogers Park), I’d never heard of him until a few years ago when the living legend of Chicago pizza appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. That’s when I learned that Katz, now proprietor of Burt’s Place in Morton Grove (8541 Ferris Ave.), created the caramelized crust that’s so popular at Pequod’s Pizza (2207 N. Clybourn Ave.). [Note: Pequod’s second Morton Grove location (8520 Fernald Ave.) is just steps from Burt’s Place.] Now that Burt’s Place is reopened after a long hiatus, my husband and I decided to take our 1-year-old, thinking her first bite of pizza should be a true Chicago classic. Yet the motto emblazoned at the top of the menu gave me pause. “Pizza for Grown-Ups," it read. Everyone knows pizza is for kids—but is Burt’s? Throughout our meal, I kept my eye out for reasons for and against toting the kids along to this grownup meal. PLUS: The pizza is ready as soon as you get there. All parents know that the toughest time during a meal out is that period of purgatory between ordering your meal and actually getting your food. In kid time, a mere 15 minutes drags on like an hour, so parents find themselves scrambling for ways to distract their brood from their rumbling bellies. Not so at Burt’s Place. When you call to make your reservation, you don’t just select a date and time; you also place your order, so your pizza is hot and ready minutes after you walk in the door. MINUS: The pizza is ready as soon as you get there. Which leaves no room for last-minute changes, like when the 3-year-old suddenly decides pepperoni reminds her of the monster in her closet. PLUS: The decor is like a history lesson. Just about everything hanging on the wood-paneled walls is from a bygone era. On one side of the room sits a gas heater with lines like a ‘57 Chevy. On the shelves behind my husband sat a rank of telephones, some ancient, all wired, any of which would prompt the under-10 set to wonder, “What are those?” Old radios, clocks, and photographs hang everywhere, begging to be pointed at and explained. Burt himself looks like the original hipster, with a long, long beard and a toque always atop his head. MINUS: You probably shouldn’t touch any of it. And kids love to touch stuff. Touch it and pull it and examine it and, ultimately, break it. And as hospitable as the waitstaff is, I don’t think they’d appreciate the kid pretending to call my parents on the candlestick telephone. PLUS: It’s a cozy, warm space. Together with the wood-paneled walls, and the old stuff, and the kind servers delivering slices for the table, it does feel like you’ve stopped at your uncle’s place for dinner. They’re all happy to see you there, without coming off as fake and frothy. We got the sense that if the kid accidentally knocked our RC colas onto the table and started splashing her hands in it, it would be no big deal. MINUS: The tables are really close together. Like, really close together. If the place was filled to capacity, a rambunctious, curious child would be able to weave in and out of them, but a harried parent would find it difficult to corral them. And who wants to have that kid, who’s annoying all the other diners who just want a nice night out? CONCLUSION: Though our daughter is not walking yet, the Bean is at that wiggly stage where sitting in a high chair is just not enough. And, like her father before her, she loves pizza and scarfed down the teensy bites I cut for her. But in a few years, will she end up ricocheting off the close-set tables and cause a pizza avalanche? Only time will tell. All I know is that Burt’s actual pizza was great, the caramelized crust perfectly salty and crunchy. (I hate to say that, with its thicker, more unwieldy crust, Pequod’s now rates second-best for me.) I hope my kid grows up to appreciate it, at whatever age.   Illustration by Dav Yendler, Groupon | Explore more Chicago pizza places and Italian restaurants.