Tasting Tuesdays, live music

M Lounge's intimate bar is ideal for mingling with a sexy sig other.


How about a sexy, casual date tonight?

Not with me, silly, but with someone you can take to one of these laid-back neighborhood gems for live music, cocktails and conversation.

I've rounded up a couple of places that you might want to check out:

M Lounge (1520 S. Wabash Ave., 312-447-0201). Enjoy specialty cocktails in this intimate space serving up live jazz every Tuesday and Wednesday. South Loopers love this spot, so it fills up quickly around 7pm. Try to get there right after work. Tonight, the Eric Allen Quartet performs. No cover.

Swirl Wine Bar (111 W. Hubbard St., 312-828-9000). Or sample all your favorites during Swirl's weekly event, "Tasting Tuesdays," when you get the chance to order $3 tastings from their entire wine list. Also, you can still get reservations to attend Swirl's monthly wine tasting tonight for $25. Price includes tastings of the "big red" wines and appetizers prepared by their executive chef. Vocalist Petra van Nuis and guitarist Andy Brown are the scheduled artists tonight at 8pm.

For the bubbleheads

The bubbly's always on at Pops for Champagne.


Two holiday champagne tastings are coming up soon, and you'd better get on it now because these things usually sell out fast:

Webster's Wine Bar (1480 W. Webster Ave., 773-868-0608) hosts its 12th annual party that includes more than 30 champagnes and sparkling wines from around the world. It's held in their private upstairs room and is a great, casual event that usually attracts people from the neighborhood. Dec. 5 at 7:30pm. $50.

And Bin 36's fabulous Bubble Bath is in its eighth year, and the walkaround tasting celebrates all things sparkling. They're bringing aboard more than 75 sparkling wines and champagne to sample with Executive Chef John Caputo's delightful bites. 339 N. Dearborn St., 312-755-9463. Dec. 12 6-10pm. $50.

If you miss those, you can always head to Pops for Champagne (601 N. State St., 312-266-7677) for Open House Mondays, when the jazz-focused lounge opens three styles of champagne to taste by the glass. They're also offering flights of all three featured sparkling wines.

Deal of the day . . .

Don't think of burritos as the late-night treat you need following a night of drinking and carrying on.

Former anchorman Bill Kurtis has teamed up with Burrito Beach to offer a healthier version that's also good for the environment. The Barbacoa Burrito, made with Kurtis' eco-friendly Tallgrass beef, can be found at all seven Burrito Beach locations until the end of the year. Tallgrass beef is naturally-nourished by a food source--grass--and produced without sub-therapeutic antibiotics, growth hormones or grain. The meat is usually found at higher-end restaurants, but with the Barbacoa, you can sample it for only $6.79.

To create the Barbacoa, Burrito Beach slow-cooks and marinates Tallgrass beef brisket in its signature “Baja” salsa, then rolls the brisket in a flour tortilla, accompanied by house-made salsa verde, smoky pinto beans, Spanish rice, shredded jack cheese, diced tomatoes, romaine lettuce, fresh onion-cilantro mix, and sour cream.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each burrito will be donated to the Green City Market.

Jimmy Bannos helps rebuild the Big Easy

He’s a strong supporter of New Orleans’ culture and cuisine, and ever since Hurricane Katrina struck, he’s done all he can to help.

So the latest effort Heaven on Seven’s Jimmy Bannos is doing is this worthy event happening Wednesday, Nov. 14 5:30-8pm. He’s teaming up with the Trust for Public Land to benefit New Orleans’ City Park with a benefit at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington Blvd.).

First guests may observe two presentations in the Claudia Cassidy Theater, “Geographies of New Orleans: Urban Fabrics Before and After the Storm” and “City Park: Progress to Date,” then join Bannos for a reception at his Heaven on Seven Loop location at 111 N. Wabash Ave., seventh floor. He’ll be serving up cocktails and his spin on New Orleans fare. $125 for both events; $100 for cocktail reception; $25 for presentation only. 312-263-6443 for tickets.

The Craft is back . . .

OK, so this just dropped in my inbox: an invitation for a party for MGD's new beer, The Craft, and it's happening on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at Galleria Marchetti (825 W. Erie St., 312-563-0495). Apparently they've been here before for one of these free parties, and they usually get some pretty big-name talent to perform.

This time, Doug E. Fresh is the host, with Black Thought from The Roots and Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan scheduled to perform. You'd better get there early if you want to get in. RSVP at rsvp.chicago.mgd.com/av.do or RSVP@SLDMarketingGroup.net, and of course there's free beer for all. Doors open at 8pm.

Deal of the day . . .

So what it's Monday.

There's always time to hit a happy hour after work. And you don't have to settle for the usual wings and burgers if you head to McCormick & Schmick's. They've finally updated their popular happy hour menu--and all items are still under $4.

Even though you can still get the steamed black mussels, half-pound cheeseburger and pot roast sliders for $1.95, they've added some $3.95 items like the Mahi Mahi cakes, Asian cross-cut ribs and blackened fish tacos with pico de gallo and sour cream. No drink specials, but with those prices, I'm sure you can spare a few more bucks.

Hours: Happy hour at Loop location, Monday-Thursday 3:30-6pm; night happy hour Monday-Thursday 10pm-midnight; Friday, Saturday 11pm-1am; and Sunday, 9-11pm. The Rush Street location offers happy hour Monday-Friday 3:30-6:30pm, and then again Monday-Thursday 9-11pm. Two city locations: One E. Wacker Dr., 312-923-7226 or 41 E. Chestnut St., 312-397-9500.

The Friday night special

If you don't know Eric from Wicker Park's Silver Room--the purveyor of cool--then you're missing out.

If you get a chance, check out his stylish jewelry/accessories boutique in the 'hood (1442 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-278-7130), but he's also known for putting his stamp on urban hipster nightlife.

Tonight, he's launching a Friday night party, "Show & Tell," at 343 S. Dearborn St. With DJ Duane Powell, he's spinning a tantalizing blend of nu jazz, soul, rock and whatever. 10pm-2am. $5. Be there, or your ass is square.

What the critics are saying . . .

. . . about:

The Bluebird (1749 N. Damen Ave., 773-486-2473): "Want some bacon with your porchetta? On the menu at the Bluebird, a late-night lounge/wine bar/gastropub from the owners of Webster’s Wine Bar, it’s hard to find anything not spiked with smoked pig."--Martha Bayne, Chicago Reader

Brasserie Ruhlmann (500 W. Superior St., 312-494-1900): "The steak au poivre was impossibly tender, and the flavors—the bite of the pepper crust, the richness of the sauce—expertly balanced. And while there is no lamb chop on the menu per se, there’s a luscious lamb stew, the morsels of lamb almost as soft as the cheese soufflé we had greedily ordered to eat alongside it."--David Tamarkin, Time Out Chicago

Brunch: "Ruby here. The other day, a friend asked what my favorite weekend brunch spot was, and I realized: I hate brunch. The whole tradition that we follow like robots: rising early on Sunday, packing into a crowded entryway, vestibule, or sidewalk, to wait for a table where an overextended server will bring me an omelet I could’ve made myself? This isn’t dining. It’s compulsory eating, and I want my time and calories back. What is the allure here? Is it the ritual? The camaraderie? The hangover? Nothing against restaurants that provide brunch—nor those that do their best to add a little flair to it, like Orange, M. Henry, and Toast—but I’ll sleep in. And I’ll make my own French toast, thanks." --Jeff Ruby, Chicago Magazine

Old Town Brasserie (1209 N. Wells St., 312-943-3000): "Finesse? I'll say. (Roland) Liccioni knows how to fashion sauces the way Armani does clothes. Sauce merguez. Sauce Perigueux, sauce champignon ... this attention to the food-sauce connection takes years to hone, and Liccioni has never been sharper. If you never got to try his food at Les Nomades or Le Francais, this is your chance, and at easy-to-digest prices." -- Pat Bruno, Chicago Sun-Times

Paramount Room (415 N. Milwaukee Ave., 312-829-6300): "Congratulate yourself for being a member of the cognoscenti for finding this hidden boite on Milwaukee Avenue in the shadow of the Blommer Chocolate Co. factory. Chef/co-owner Stephen Dunne (Roscoe Village's Volo) and partner Jon Young (Kitsch'n) have successfully created a solid destination for upscale bar snacking, late-night dining and any-hour grazing that's not too far from the Loop." --Alison Neumer Lara, Crain's Chicago Business