Cafe Carries Aura of Forbidden Pleasure
You gotta wonder about a restaurant named after an illegal drink. So it was with curiosity that I ventured to the oh-so-hip Cafe Absinthe.
Category: Lifestyles
Culture Clash: Ethnic Portrayals and Television
I don’t necessarily love her semi-autobiographical show “All-American Girl” yet, but I relate to Margaret Cho, the star of ABC’s new comedy. Cho is Korean-American. I am Korean-American. She is the antithesis of the ideal Asian woman (geisha girl). No one would mistake me for Suzy Wong. She snorts when she laughs. I snort when I laugh. She’s big (chubby). I’m big (tall). Once, a Korean friend’s father helpfully advised me to “stop growing” if I wanted to land a husband. She’s not a doctor, but a comedian. I’m not a doctor, but a journalist – kind of like a comedian. Cho dates losers. When I date, they’re usually losers. She’s 25. I’m . . . well, never mind.
Customers Roll in for Shiroi Hana’s Sushi Deal
Grrrrrrrumble!!!! The noise you hear is the collective hunger pangs of wannabe patrons waiting for a table at Shiroi Hana. The line outside the Japanese restaurant is long and winding. There is no band playing. And as far as I can tell, there are no celebrities inside to bother, either.
The Lunch Bunch // Regulars Crowd in, Get Cozy At Leo’s
It’s 10 a.m. Saturday and there’s already a line at Leo’s Lunchroom. But no one seems cranky. Hungry, yes. Crabby, no.
Jane’s Is a Winner at Healthy Fare
I lost my headache at Jane’s. Let me explain. The first time I ate at the Bucktown restaurant, I reacted in typical American horror when the waitress seated my friend and me right next to the only other couple in the restaurant. But too embarrassed to ask to be moved farther away, we sat there and made the best of it and ended up having a fabulous time.
Listen Up: Earwax Has Hard Rock, Cafe
Earwax isn’t the most appetizing name for a cafe/record and video store. But it is a pretty darned catchy one.
Menu, Music, Ambience Make Coffeehouse a Home
Place: No Exit. Time: Just about anytime, but try Sunday afternoons around 4. Why: Because it’s a lot of fun, there’s free jazz music and the coffee is killer.
To Sum Up. . . Lulu’s Has Tasty Asian Menu
I’ll be the first to admit I had a bias about Lulu’s the first time I went there for dim sum, the traditional Chinese brunch where diners sample small portions of many dishes. First of all, there’s nothing traditional about Lulu’s. It’s in Evanston, which doesn’t have a large Chinese population. Second, I didn’t see any Asian chefs. And third, does a place named Lulu’s really sound like it would have good dim sum?
A Restaurant That’s Good for the Soul
Don’t let the faux leopard skin tablecloths scare you when you peek inside Soul Kitchen. The food waiting for you inside this Ukrainian Village restaurant is scrumptious.
Confessions Of a Teetotaler
All the liquor I’ve ever consumed in my lifetime would fill a martini glass. OK. Maybe two. When I was in college, one of my cousins – also not a big drinker – told me I would have to learn to drink socially or I would risk being viewed as an oddball. I’ve been viewed as odd for many reasons, but not drinking has never been one of them. Why don’t I drink?
INXS on Fashion Excess
Is it an oxymoron to call a music video politically correct? Perhaps, but more rock bands are diversifying from the babes-in-bondage theme and opting for vignettes that might be (mis)interpreted as art. Following in the same vein as Van Halen’s “Right Now,” which superimposed socio-political phrases throughout its video, INXS is serving up “Beautiful Girl,” which the Australian band says is a tribute to women.
Edo Ya
The story behind this sushi restaurant review: AsiAm’s publisher, Tom Kagy, didn’t pay me for my work and wouldn’t even reimburse me for the meal I had to purchase to write this review. I was young and he was an attorney who knew that he could get away with this. It just goes to show that not all Korean Americans stand up for each other. Some steal from their own people and have no compunction about it.
A stroke of genius: He’s young and hungry but the ideas come fast
Frank Lindner was too young to buy a copy of Playboy at most stores when he went to work as the magazine’s art historian. Before leaving his teens, he had worked his way into a job that sounds like every man’s fantasy come to life. Today, the 22-year-old bachelor is works as a free-lance art director and illustrator for the Limelight nightclub. His latest work – a series of sensual murals dubbed “Erotic Haze” – is on exhibit through October at the Limelight, 632 N. Dearborn.