Marcus Samuelsson’s C-House pushed back

Those waiting for acclaimed Ethiopian chef Marcus Samuelsson (New York's Riingo, Aquavit) to make his Chicago debut will have to wait a little longer.

A call over to Streeterville’s Affinia Chicago Hotel (166 E. Superior St., 312-787-6000), where his Scandinavian-style cuisine will take centerstage at C-House, rewarded 312 Dining Diva with the latest and greatest info. Turns out that the hotel is still renovating and running behind schedule, so the restaurant will not be opening in early 2008, as other media outlets have been reporting.

At this point, they’re looking for C-House to open in late March or possibly sometime in April. Really, who knows, as you know how these things go. As usual, we’ll keep you posted.

Soiree opens this weekend

There’s absolutely no relation between the two, but Soiree Bar and Bistro (2438 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-477-8880) just opened in Lincoln Park and Soiree Bar and Restaurant recently closed over at 4539 N. Lincoln Ave.

That’s where the similarities end as the former replaces The Gramercy—an overrated Lincoln Park college bar masquerading as a Miami-esque lounge. New owners have replaced the all-white interior with lush colors of crimson and purple hues. And they’ve added a menu of French-American bites, which is targeted toward those who sit in the front section.

It’ll be interesting to see if the young, post-collegiate crowd that frequents this Lincoln Avenue strip warms up to the idea of this pretty sophisticated concept dropped in the middle of frat boy heaven.

Weekend dealios . . .

Not sure what you've got going on this weekend, but if you've got wine on your mind—and shopping for your wine enthusiast friends—head over to Randolph Street Cellars (1415 W. Randolph St., 312-942-1212). Every Saturday, they're popping open some wines for you to sample as you shop. 2-6pm.

And if the infamous Uptown Poetry Slam at Green Mill (4802 N. Broadway, 773-878-5552) is your thing, get to Agami (4712 N. Broadway, 773-506-1845) first for half-price cocktails and sushi at the bar. $6 for Uptown Poetry Slam; 7-10pm Sundays.

What the critics are saying . . .

. . . about:

Honky Tonk Barbeque (1213 W. 18th St., 312-226-7427): "Memphis-style baby backs and Saint Louis-style spare ribs are sprinkled with a mildly piquant dry rub, then cooked low and slow to render fat while leaving loads of flavor on the bone."—David Hammond (Chicago Reader)

The Gage (24 S. Michigan Ave., 312-372-4243): "Downtown's the Gage has a split personality, and that's a good thing. In the front is a traditional pub with one of the city's best Guinness pours. At the back of this turn-of-the-century building is a more serious restaurant, with big booths and plenty of tablecloth-covered tables. But no matter where you sit, you win with Irish-inspired food from Chef Dirk Flanigan (Meritage, Blue Water Grill)."—Lisa Shames (UR Chicago)

Les Nomades (222 E. Ontario St., 312-649-9010): "For a bigger punch of flavor, I preferred (Chris) Nugent's elegant take on salade Lyonnaise — frisée and lardons meet octopus and a poached quail egg. The sweet tartness of aged sherry vinegar ties it all together, offsetting the salty bacon and just-charred hint of grilled seafood."—Alison Neumer Lara (Crain's Chicago Business)

Shop, sip and stroll in these ‘hoods

There's a major holiday party going on at the 900 Shops (900 N. Michigan Ave.) tonight, but if you miss out on it, you can check out these shop-sip-and-stroll events on Friday:

Head to the Division Street Corridor: Slick new unisex boutique Funkshion (2121 W. Division St., 773-697-4119) hosts an event with Fortune Denim. Party includes cocktails, dessert and special product giveaways. 7-9pm. After-party takes place at Bon V (1100 W. Randolph St.) at 10pm.

Also, head down the street to Gamma Player (2035 W. Division St., 773-235-0755), where designer Agga B. presents her spring/summer collection. 6-9pm with cocktails.

And Plein Aire (2036 W. Division St., 773-227-3772) throws a Hanky Panky party from 6-9pm for its buy-two-get-one-free sale. Cocktails, dessert and other nonsense will be going on.

Over in Roscoe Village, merchants host a Holiday Stroll (Roscoe Street from Damen Avenue to Oakley Street) from 6-9pm with cocktails, appetizers, trunk shows, discounts and a tree lighting ceremony at 6pm at Costello’s (2015 W. Roscoe St.).

And finally, the Southport Holiday Stroll runs along Southport Avenue in Lakeview from 5-11pm, with late-night shopping, cocktails, carolers and horse-drawn sleigh rides.

Deal of the day . . .

There's just no fighting this snowy weather, so just go somewhere and chill out tonight.

You can start the weekend off right at sushi hot spot Blue Fin (1952 W. North Ave., 312-394-7373), which offers half-priced beer, mixed cocktails and hot sake every Thursday.

Fat Cat leads Nightlife Poll

312 Dining Diva's poll to pick the best new night spot to open in '07 is off to a great start, with Uptown's retro martini lounge Fat Cat (4840 N. Broadway St., 773-506-3100) holding on to a strong lead.

Agree? Disagree? Cast your vote now at the bottom of the page.

Webster's Wine Bar still open, Bluebird is next big thing

If you've driven past pioneering wine bar Webster's (1480 W. Webster Ave.) recently, you probably noticed a lot of construction going on over there. Have no fear, says owner Tom MacDonald, adding that they're just updating the interior to compete with the newer bars out there.

Tickets are also still available for tonight's annual Champagne tasting at Webster's, where guests may walk around sampling more than 30 Champagnes and sparkling wines for $50. Starts at 7:30pm.

And speaking of new, I talked a group of friends last night into going to MacDonald's brand-new wine-and-beer-focused lounge Bluebird Bistro & Winebar (1749 N. Damen Ave., 773-486-2473), which is only about five minutes away. It was actually refreshing not to see a bunch of familiar beer and wine brands on the menu, as Bluebird specializes in offbeat libations. Those really looking for something offbeat can indulge in the 12 or so bio-dynamic wines by the bottle only. I didn't really eat, but my friends noshed down on the fiery chicken wings (accompanied by grilled citrus fruit) and what appeared to be the most popular flatbread that night, the one with tomato, basil and pine nuts with calabrese salami, arugula and fresh mozzarella. Mmmmmmmm. Wish I hadn't eaten so much earlier.

Also, try to get here during the week because the weekends are complete madness.