Logan Square: January 2009 Archives

Highlights from Centerstage Chicago's latest Crumb newsletter:

Just opened: Trader Vic’s
The birthplace of the Mai Tai finds a new home.

Off the Beaten Path: Tannourine
The best baklava on Kedzie Avenue.

Weekly Treat: Shot and a Beer at Bill’s Blues Bar
Get $2 PBR cans and $3 Jager shots every day at this Evanston music joint.

Man We're Crazy About: Theory
Sports rule at this classy River North hangout.

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Dunlays on the Square is offering a Super Bowl party any Pittsburgh Steelers fan couldn’t resist. The Logan Square bar (owned by Pittsburgh natives) is serving up a special Steelers-centric brunch menu for its Super Bowl party on Sunday, including Roethlisbergers (named after the Steelers QB, $9), Larry “Foote” Long hot dogs ($7) and Polamalu's Pulled Pork Fries ($9), starting at 10:30 Sunday morning. The bar will also serve $2 Iron City beers (Pittsburgh brewery).

Needless to say, if you’re an Arizona Cardinals fan (and we’re not sure if there even is such a thing) this is probably not your kind of party. And if you have no idea what we're talking about, maybe you'll want to head here instead.

Check out our picks for other Super Bowl parties around town, and some tips if you’re throwing the party at your place.

1. A Winter Block Party for Chicago's Hip-Hop Arts
Noon-10 p.m. Sunday at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater; free until 6 p.m. (7 p.m. discussion costs $15)
This day-long event showcases all aspects of Chicago's hip-hop culture, from music (performances from DJs Itch13 and Issues, and an open-mic showcase featuring Idris Goodwin and Poetry Slam champ Roger Bonair-Agrad) to art (Revise CMW will create a live mural, and there will be a gallery exhibition with works for sale from local artists) to politics (the day closes with a 7 p.m. ticketed discussion featuring William "Upski" Wimsatt, former graffiti artists and author of Bomb the Suburbs).

2. 23rd Annual Chicago Young Playwrights Festival
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday at Pegasus Players; $12
When it comes to new work and new playwrights, Pegasus has the newest. Now in its 23rd year, the Young Playwrights Festival is a citywide, school-based program that takes hundreds of high-school kids and causes them to create hundreds of scripts. Four are selected by judges, and are performed by Pegasus actors. Sure, the work tends to smell of adolescence, but unlike a lot of playwrights out there, these kids have an iron-clad excuse. Show up to see bright young minds, slightly older theater artists helping them along and audience members supporting an amazing educational program.

3. Disco Biscuits, RJD2, Prefuse 73
8 p.m. Saturday at the Congress Theater; $25-$49.50

Q. Where can I go to both use and kill brain cells simultaneously?

A. "Trivia Thursdays" at the Silver Cloud Bar & Grill in Bucktown — a weekly trivia contest at this retro bar. The jeopardy begins at 10 p.m. The winning team gets a $50 gift certificate to the bar. Good details here.