Nightlife in Manorville

At Legends of Aurora, philly cheesesteak could mean a traditional sandwich, a pizza, or a 24-inch sub food challenge. For more than 20 years, Legends of Aurora‘s hand-tossed pizza dough has formed the foundation for this and other pies, including the supreme and the White pizza, a sauceless number with cheese and tomato slices. And though their patrons order enough pizzas each year to pave a route from Peoria to Buckley, they somehow find time to nosh on pepperoni pizza rolls, Rocky Mountain oysters, calzones, chimichangas, salad, and wings as well.

The newly opened eatery serves up a fresh menu, offering soups, salads, sandwiches, and pizzas. Nosh on a Legare salad ($8.25), a mélange of arugula, prosciutto, figs, goat cheese, house-made croutons, and black olives in balsamic vinaigrette, or warm up to the Gadsden pizza ($11.50), topped with hand-cut pepperoni, spinach, black olives, and fresh mozzarella and feta. Justin's Café's sandwich selections feature veggie-dense, herbivore-pleasing tastes, such as the King sandwich ($8.25), which boasts a bed of grilled eggplant and basil mayo under tomato, roasted peppers, zucchini, and spinach, as well as carnivorous dream creations like the Radcliffe wrap ($8.50), which swaddles grilled chicken, Granny Smith apples, and mozzarella cheese in a spinach tortilla.

From lunch until late at night, Blue 82's contemporary lounge fosters delicious moments of synesthesia. Bartenders artfully decorate glasses by pouring bold strokes of specialty drinks such as bright green-tea martinis or Cha Cha mojitos with hints of raspberry, mimicking the green-to-magenta fade of the illuminated wall behind the bar, which doubles as a stoplight for overaggressive segway riders. More than 15 varieties of scotch add distinguished flair to evenings spent on a velvety sofa, and the tunes of live music or those spun by weekend DJs permeate aural canals with mellifluous sustenance. Slider burgers wedded to bacon and Boursin cheese or chicken flatbread pizza with sweet-and-spicy brazilian mustard treat palates to comfort food augmented by gourmet overtones, like a Stephen Foster melody played on a Stradivarius violin. The eatery also presents daily specials, and induces or nurtures merriment by hosting parties.

The naturalization paper that freed co-owner Bryah Gifford's grandfather, Paul Patterson Power, from Ireland during the Great Famine adorns the walls of Power's Irish Pub among Mr. Power's family photographs. Along with decorations, Bryah pays tribute to her heritage with the bar's combination of pub and Irish fare, including Guinness-battered onion rings, Guinness beef stew, and shepherd's pie served atop a book of Guinness World Records. Eighteen draft beers wash down each bite, while live musicians complement meals with Irish tunes Thursday–Saturday. The pub accommodates guests until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and on Wednesday dogs can accompany visitors during Power's puppy hours to lounge on the deck and scarf down treats.

Sports-bar proprietor Maggie Smith got her start in the restaurant industry at 17, working as a server at local institutions such as the Bleeker, Mona Lisa's, and Alteri's before earning a coveted management position at Garlic John's. In the summer of '94, Smith hit the jackpot on a Pick 6 ticket at the Saratoga Track, winning enough to buy her place of work and add her victory to the annals of historic moments decided by horse races, alongside Secretariat's record-setting run in 1973, and Seabiscuit's elevation to the US Senate in 1936. After several years of building a successful business at Garlic John's, Maggie bought the old Son's Tavern building on Western, envisioning a warm, welcoming sports bar full of friendly neighbors, flowing beer, and crowd-pleasing pub fare.

Today, the restaurant entertains crowds of college kids, off-duty businessfolk and state employees, plying them with personal pizzas, Italian pastas, chicken wings, and burgers alongside frosty brews and cocktails. Visitors share hearty cheers and earth-shattering high-fives as they watch college and pro sports of all varieties on the array of LCD screens or pit their brains in gladiatorial combat with weekly trivia contests. Friday-night karaoke and Saturday-night live bands entertain multitudes with the sweet strains of popular music, and a tucked-away banquet room sequesters private gatherings of up to 100 from the welcoming revelry of the main bar area.