This dive's a dame

Thrillist has additional info on new bar Lucky Lady, which 312DD introduced to you early last month:

"Co-owned by the guys behind luxe clubs Manor and RiNo, the Lady's a dark-wooded, rock-and-country drinking lodge sporting a hefty, U-shaped oak bar, 13 flatscreens, a red-walled pool room, and herds of antler chandeliers and deer heads. The booze situation's limited to the essentials: short-skirted, high-booted bartenders serving staple domestics (Iron City, High Life, etc) and microbrews (Half Acre Ale, Abita Amber, Great Lakes Eliot Ness); there are no specialty cocktails, and all hard liquor drinks come in 12oz glasses, which should reduce your trips to the bar, but won't."

Update: Get there tonight 8:30-11:30 for the free drinks!

Exclusive: Meet Scott Walton

(Photo: DoubleTree Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile)


Here's something to look forward to in 2009: Market House.

Executive Chef Scott Walton, the former chef at the Sheraton and Magnum's Steakhouse as well as the head of his own catering biz, is excited about this new farm-centric concept going into the ground floor of the new DoubleTree Hotel in Streeterville.

We're especially excited about the menu, of course, which is following the trend of offering diners market-fresh dishes made with organic and sustainable veggies, meat and seafood. We got a taste of what to expect when Market House debuts in mid-February (they're shooting to open by Valentine's Day!), as Walton trotted out his twists on small plates, offering wild boar corndogs (wild boar sausage in blue cornmeal dipped in whole-grain mustard), toasted cauliflower hummus on herbed flatbread, and jumbo prawns accompanied by Bloody Mary sauce and avocado and horseradish cream.

Also new: Opened just yesterday is the yet-unnamed hotel lobby bar that's done up in chrome with a centrally placed fireplace behind the bar. Of course, Walton's had a hand in this project as well, particularly in the new handcrafted vodkas in seasonal flavors like candy cane, tangerine, citrus and vanilla bean. If you cannot make up your mind, just order them all in an infused vodka flight, served chilled, for $20.