Talk:Chicago/Chatham-South Shore

Closed listings

This one must have closed recently, sadly. The (very cool) sign is still up, so here's to hoping it will reopen at some point. --(WT-en) Peter ^Talk 20:05, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

• Bernice's Twilight Zone, 2914 E 79th St, ☏ +1 773 374-6446. Music: F-Sa around 11PM-3AM. South Shore's jazz club, right by the Cheltenham Metra station. It's a 30+ club, but they'll probably let you in as long as you're polite. 

• Soul Queen, 9031 S Stony Island Ave, ☏ +1 773 731-3366, fax: +1 773 731-6869, soulqueen1@aol.com. Su-Th 11AM-11:30PM, F-Sa 11AM-1AM. One of Chicago's more well-known soul food diners. $8-15. 

Another famous, long-established South Side institution bites the dust... Recessions suck. --(WT-en) Peter ^Talk 17:27, 21 October 2009 (EDT)

• Celebrity Lounge, 2020 E 83rd St, ☏ +1 773 375-1348. Su-F noon-2AM, Sa noon-3AM. A 30+ club, but they'll probably let you in as long as you're polite. Right under the Skyway, soaked in neon, with nightly blues. Music officially starts at 9PM, but don't count on that, and show up after 10PM. Covers F-Sa $5-10. 

Celebrity Lounge is actually still open, but they're not doing live blues anymore, so I've taken it out. --(WT-en) Peter ^Talk 19:39, 25 September 2010 (EDT)

Closed [1], with small hope of re-opening in the future. (WT-en) Gorilla Jones 19:09, 4 February 2011 (EST)

• Army & Lou's, 422 E 75th St, ☏ +1 773 483-3100. 9AM-10PM daily. Former city mayor Harold Washington's favorite soul food restaurant is still a good place to spot prominent black Chicago politicians and anyone else who likes their soul food done right in a tuxedoed-waiter environment. If you enjoy your food here, you're in good company — other devotees over the past 65 years have included Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, Sammy Davis Jr, Muhammad Ali, Cab Calloway, and the most honorable Richard Daley. $10-20. 

Chatham's Landmark Diner, soul food served to the A-list of African-American history

• Izola's Restaurant, 522 E 79th St, ☏ +1 773 846-1484. Th-T 24 hrs. Legend has it that former Mayor Harold Washington began his mayoral campaign at this friendly landmark restaurant serving quality down-home-cookin'. Be sure to sit in the nice back room, which is more comfortable and has more seating than the front room (unless, that is, you're in a hurry). And check out all the huge photos of the famous people who have dined here (the Obama portrait is wall-sized). $8-14. 

These last two really hurt personally. I loved Izola's. One of my favorite late-late night haunts for friendly conversation and good food. I can only hope they reopen—they were real cultural icons of the neighborhood and more generally of the South Side. I'll keep my Izola pic here as a little shrine to what once was great. --(WT-en) Peter ^Talk 16:10, 23 February 2011 (EST)

• Artis's Lounge, 1249 E 87th St, ☏ +1 773 734-0491. 10AM-2AM daily. Written up in the paper as one of Chicago's coolest "dive bars," although one might wonder whether a local "dive bar" really appreciates such attention. In any rate, that review is dead on; everyone will know your name by the end of the night, and it has fantastic live blues Sunday and Monday nights from around 10PM-2AM. Drink prices are a bit steep, and there's a rule that no one may be inside without a drink—you'll be leaving drunk, so plan accordingly. No cover, accepts credit cards. 

Yep, that's my favorite blues club in the world that closed. Late 2011, it seems, the landlord would not renew the lease. --Peter ^Talk 18:00, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Star nomination

Let the torrent follow the drought. This is actually a new Chicago district, following a reshuffle of the hierarchy, and I'm pretty sure it's up to star standards. The formatting should be correct, it lists just about everything of note—the cream of the crop anyway, and I don't know if I could bear the sight of a South Side district without a star on top. My Chicago love is such that I can't pick a favorite neighborhood, but man the BBQ is good down here! --(WT-en) Peter ^Talk 03:25, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

• Support wholeheartedly. Another mind-blowing Chicago guide, Peter! Anywho, on to the nitpicking: I see there's no prices for Dat Donuts; I'm not sure if that was intentional, since it's a donut shop, but it might be good to know how much one of their fabulous donuts will cost. There's also no hours for the Club Escape. Other than that, looks awesome, what with all the BBQ, Blues, and Blues Brothers. (WT-en) PerryPlanet ^Talk 13:09, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

I can't believe I forgot the donut prices! That was my regular 4AM haunt for a long while (tryin' to cut back on the donuts lately). Anyway, fixed, and thanks once again for catching these missed details. --(WT-en) Peter ^Talk 13:43, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

• Support. I'm biased, obviously, but it consistently blows my mind how a skinny white kid is the foremost authority on Chicago's fried chicken, BBQ, and soul food establishments. But he is! There's a best-selling diet book in there somewhere. (WT-en) Gorilla Jones 23:57, 29 April 2009 (EDT)

• Support Looks good --(WT-en) Stefan (sertmann) ^Talk 09:54, 3 May 2009 (EDT)