Best & Cool Bars in Gun Club Ponds

"Lettuce Entertain You Enterprise’s all-day eatery is now up to three locations, and that’s because it pleases on many fronts. Whether folks are looking for quick and casual, healthy, or vegetarian-friendly, there are plenty of choices. On the lunch menu, the mushroom and quinoa burger with Swiss cheese and baby kale is a standout."

"The avocado toast is one veggie highlight at Beatrix|© Jeff Marini. Now with three locations, Beatrix continues to serve the Chicago community with vegetable-centric fare. Whether you come for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, there’s always something for non-meat eaters."

"Sun Wah doesn’t hide what it does best with an enticing (unless you’re a vegetarian) line of ducks hanging in the window just waiting to be roasted. Sun Wah is Chinese barbecue, and the duck is the star; order it ahead of time when you make your reservation and be treated to a multicourse dinner of soup, carved bird, and fried rice, with plenty to go around for a group, and at smile-inducing prices. Once you’ve gotten the duck out of the way, carry yourself back to the sparsely decorated but charmingly simple dining room and order the juicy roast pork or any number of the Chinese favorites; repeat as necessary."

"The expertly prepared Beijing roast duck dinner from Sun Wah includes a whole duck with perfectly crispy skin, sliced and served with steamed bao buns, pickled daikon, and hoisin sauce. The rest of the bird is used to make duck fried rice or duck noodles. Finally, the bones are rendered into a duck broth soup with winter melon, cilantro, and eggs as the finishing course."

"There are now two Avecs - the original in the West Loop, and a newer (much larger) River North location. They have almost identical menus, but the classic Avec is our favorite, mainly because we’ve had so many incredible meals there. The Mediterranean small plates here are consistently delicious, so order whatever sounds good to you."

"A smaller spot downtown, 52eighty can slip under the radar pretty easily, but you shouldn’t let it. Open year-round thanks to the covered patio, this is more lounge than club. The food and drink are tremendous, and the intimate environment is ideal for first dates, small parties, or anytime you need a few moments to reflect."

"Source: Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Tammy Green used under CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo is only for illustrative purposes. Located next door to historic Wrigley Field, Budweiser Brickhouse Tavern is a multi-level space that features two outdoor terraces, affording stunning views of the ballpark and the Chicago skyline."

"Come with friends or a spouse at Debonair Social Club located in a serene environment in Chicago, Illinois, and experience a thrilling evening outing. This place has a relaxed ambiance and a vibrant atmosphere with a social and friendly staff providing excellent customer care services. Several well-known deejays such as Alkaline Trio, Black Widow, Danny Brown, Electric Six, Larry T, The Smiths, and many others can be found at this club entertaining the crowd."

"Located in Milwaukee Avenue and stands as the exclusive nightclub in the area, Debonair Social Club boasts a world-class music system combined with skilled DJs. This two-floor club is one of the oldest nightlife destinations in the area. It is recommended to visit this hotspot on weekends."

"This easygoing late-night bar in Wicker Park is a neighborhood staple, complete with bottle service and dance parties until 2am on the weekends. Don’t miss DJ’s spinning tracks upstairs and downstairs for sick vibes. This is the perfect dance club in Chicago to meet someone new."

"Wrigleyville can be daunting during the summer with tourists and baseball fans crowding Clark Street making parking an impossible mission. Locals take the Red Line and stay away from the main drag, looking for shelter at bar like Nisei Lounge, which has spent nearly seven decades in the shadow of Wrigley. They were the first dive bar to be on Tock, the reservation system used by fine dining restaurants."

"Beer: Chicago has the most breweries in America, and places like Maplewood, Goose Island, Half Acre, Dovetail, and Hopewell offering beers to-go in cans, crowlers, and growlers. Some also have socially distanced patios. Check out the essential brewery map."

"A post shared by elly’s (@ellysbrunchcafe) on Nov 18, 2019 at 5:02pm PST. Do not come here if you don’t plan on ordering the oven-baked pancakes. That’s not to say there’s no other reason to visit—it’s to say you’d have regrets for daaays."

"According to La Boulangerie owner Vincent Colombet, the canelé is in his blood. After all, it's one of the most celebrated traditional sweets of his home region of Bordeaux, where, he says, it's not an everyday staple, but rather a special-occasion treat. Though he believes his background gives his version (which is prepared in his central cooking facility on Elston) an edge over those of his peers, still he finds it challenging to produce an exact replica of the canelé of his youth, largely because the rum commonly used in Bordeaux is difficult to source in his adopted city."

"La Boulangerie found on W Logan Blvd boasts a whole range of baking specialties. There are usually 11 staple macaron flavors on offer, with others coming and going based on the season. Currently, flavors include mint chocolate, dark chocolate hazelnut, lemon poppy seed, raspberry, and lavender chocolate."

"You'll be uttering, "Oui, oui" and "Merci" dining at "my place" or Chez Moi, Chef Dominique Tougne's comfy bistro serving delicious French food and charm. The Alsatian bistro by way of Lincoln Park offers classics from escargots fragrant with butter and garlic to duck a l'orange and beef Bourguignon. Pescatarians have plenty of options, too, and fans of cassoulet can get the satisfying Toulouse stew stuffed with lamb, beans, sausage and duck year round."

"Chez Moi serves a traditional French menu prepared by a French Chef. The restaurant’s menu is created by Chef Dominique who has a passion for sharing French cuisine. In addition, he cooked and trained under great culinary chefs."

"Chez Moi is a traditional French Bistro located on Halsted in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago that is small and rarely crowded, making it a local favorite."

"With the look and feel of an authentic Parisian bistro, it’s easy to imagine yourself in the City of Light at Bistrot Zinc. Take a culinary trip overseas with classics like escargot, mussels steamed with white wine, salade Lyonnaise, steak frites, and roasted chicken. On the weekends, start the day off right by cozying up at the zinc-topped bar and ordering sweet or savory crepes for brunch."

"m.henry is a well-known and trendy neighborhood gathering place on Clark Street for casual breakfast, lunch, and brunch. Hailed as one of the top spots for weekday breakfast and weekend brunch, the cozy café serves mainstay dishes such as “Fannie’s killer fried egg sandwich,” which is served with eggs, bacon, gorgonzola cheese, sliced plum tomatoes, and fresh thyme. Other comfort foods on the menu include homemade black bean cakes served with tortillas stacked with chorizo, eggs or scrambled tofu and adobo sauce, and vegan tofu scrambles with rapini, sweet onions, and tempeh strips."

"m.henry is an anchor for the Edgewater and Andersonville brunch bunch, but visitors to nearby Loyola University also descend on this comfy spot to dig in. There’s plenty of American comfort food to go around: filled-to-bursting omelets (sometimes with a twist: dandelion, shallot, and leek anyone?); heaving stacks of hotcakes; and brioche French toast layered with homemade lemon curd and raspberry coulis. The restaurant is committed to organic when possible, and there are lots of options for those on special diets."

"M. Henry's all-day breakfast menu doesn't break from tradition too often. It's very egg-centric with a few quiches and pastries to round it out. But what this restaurant does, it does well."

"Upton’s Breakroom is a casual café that serves light vegan fare in a bright, modern setting. Located next to Upton's Naturals seitan factory, the charming little restaurant offers a small menu with a variety of seitan-based dishes such as chick seitan Korean tacos, pastrami seitan sandwiches, bowls of rice, kale, warm seitan chunks, and bright-green nut pesto, and vegan soft serve. Blending natural textures and flavors to create an innovative and satisfying menu, Upton’s Breakroom is the ideal spot for a quick lunch or a languid dinner of exotic vegan fare."

"Restaurants Vegan River West/West Town. House-made seitan is the base for most menu items at Upton’s Breakroom, a bright little café attached to Upton’s Naturals, a company that makes seitan and sells it in stores across the country. The café has a plentiful menu, including a tofu-seitan banh mi, a BBQ jackfruit sandwich and Korean tacos with housemade kimchi."

"Upton's Breakroom sits below Upton's Naturals, a natural-based food business out of Chicago. The company's focus is on vegan diets and meat alternatives, so it's only fitting that the Breakroom's menu would be completely vegan. Fried bacon mac and burgers (all meat-and-cheese free!) await you in West Town!"