CHICAGO

Carmine's - A Rosebud Restaurant

With heaping portions of mouthwatering Italian cuisine, a decent wine list and live music Monday through Saturday, Carmine's sets quite a stage. Seasonal seating outside on the canopied patio provides great Rush Street/Gold Coast people watching while inside features two levels of seating; conversation-friendly dining upstairs and a clubby, dark bar/dining area downstairs. A rotating menu of seafood, chops, and renowned signature pasta dishes epitomize the Rosebud experience of good food and generous portions that live up to the motto, "...the food is the star."

When I was a guest the service was incredible. General Manager Donny Greco and 2-3 waiters were ever-conscious that all our needs were met. That night the dinner menu featured Beef Brasato - Slow braised beef pot roast simmered with vine tomatoes, basil and red wine tossed with homemade egg noodles (I substituted the house special Square Noodles) and topped with whipped ricotta. A pasta dish unlike anything I'd ever had and so good I'll be back to have it again.

Carmine's / 1043 North Rush Street / Chicago, IL 60611 / 312.988.7676 / http://www.rosebudrestaurants.com/rest2.php

Yolk - Breakfast & Lunch

Whenever I’m in a new city it is my custom to seek out a great breakfast spot. In Chicago, the buzz was all about Yolk, and with good reason. On par with The Griddle in L.A. and Hash House a go go in San Diego, Yolk serves up breakfast with the best of them. With over 40 different egg dishes (not including several build your own options) and almost as many cakes, crepes and French toast selections, the biggest challenge is choosing what to order.

Excited to see a benedict made with corned beef hash (the Irish Benny) I made my choice faster than usual. I should start by saying that everything else I saw and tried looked and tasted delicious, but I was pretty disappointed to find that with a menu full of so many unique, homemade dishes, the corned beef hash was canned. I’ll be sure to try another egg dish on my next visit.

My cousin, his wife and I were about to share the Cinnamon Roll French Toast (Yolk’s large fresh baked iced cinnamon rolls... sliced, dipped in their special batter, and grilled just enough to melt the icing) when our waiter strongly suggested his favorite, Orange Bread French Toast - sweet orange bread, sliced, dipped in the same special batter, grilled and topped with fresh sliced strawberries and drizzled with a homemade orange sauce. I’m not normally drawn to orange flavored baked goods, but this French toast was definitely an exception. So good.

And I would be remiss not to mention the fresh-squeezed strawberry-orange juice with which we started our meal. I would return for another glass of it alone.

Yolk / 1120 S Michigan Avenue / Chicago, IL 60605 (half block N. of Roosevelt Rd. on Michigan Ave.) / 312.789-YOLK (9655) / http://www.yolk-online.com/

Gene & Georgetti Restaurant

I asked my friend to show me the perfect Old Chicago evening, which to me meant dinner at a quintessential Chi-Town steak house followed by drinks and live music at The Green Mill. Gene & Georgetti fit the bill as the quintessential Chicago Steakhouse, and fit it to perfection. From the time you enter the family run Italian steakhouse established in 1941, you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Many of the waiters have been working there for decades and no doubt serving some of the same patrons since they started. My friend Neil Tesser knew a guy that had a “guy” (i.e. Tommy) at G&G, so despite the always over booked Saturday night crowd we were seated immediately at a prime table in the nicest of the three private dining rooms that seat 20, 40 and 60, respectively.

I started the meal with a well-made gin martini and the three of us (Neil, his girl and I) shared the Sliced Tomatoes, Onions & Anchovies Salad, which proved to be the perfect appetizer for the steaks to come. I ordered the 8oz Broiled Filet Mignon, bloody rare (is there any other way), accompanied by a fine glass of Pinot Noir while Neil and Jeanie shared the gigantic Broiled T-Bone. Both steaks arrived cooked to perfection with cottage fried potatoes. For dessert we had 2 coffees, a macchiato and one of the best bits of Spumoni Ice Cream I have ever tasted.

The only thing better than the company, steaks and dessert was greasing Tommy for the table on our way out the door.

Gene & Georgetti's Restaurant / 500 N Franklin Street / Chicago, IL 60610/ 312.527.3718/ http://www.geneandgeorgetti.com/

The Green Mill Jazz Club

Throughout its uproarious history, The Green Mill Jazz Club has played host to a number of famous - and often infamous - celebrities. Opened in 1907 as Pop Morse's Roadhouse, the "Mill" was a stopping place for mourners to celebrate the passing of a friend before proceeding to St. Boniface's Cemetery. By 1910, new owners had converted the roadhouse into the Green Mill Gardens, complete with lantern-lit outdoor dancing and drinking areas, and boasting such headliners as Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker. Actors Wallace Beery and Bronco Billy Anderson also visited the Gardens, hitching their horses to the outdoor post and settling down for a drink after a days work filming westerns at nearby Spoor and Anderson Studios.

As the twenties roared, The Green Mill became mobster territory when Al Capone's henchman, "Machinegun" Jack McGurn, gained a 25% ownership of the club. Manager Danny Cohen had given McGurn the 25% stake to "persuade" comedian/singer Joe E. Lewis from moving his act south to the New Rendezvous Café at Clark and Diversey. McGurn managed to convince Lewis by slitting his throat and cutting off his tongue. Miraculously, Lewis recovered, but his songs never regained their lush sound. The incident was later immortalized in the movie The Joker is Wild, with Frank Sinatra as Joe E. Lewis and a Hollywood soundstage as The Green Mill. Of course, his interest piqued, Sinatra had to visit the club.

Throughout the 1930s, '40s, and 50s, The Green Mill continued to pack 'em in with a heady mix of swing, dance and jazz music. Uptown crowds from the Aragon Ballroom or Uptown and Riviera Theaters would "stop in for one" before or after shows. Business began to slip in the mid-seventies, and in 1986, present owner Dave Jemilo bought The Green Mill and restored it to its prohibition-era, speakeasy décor.

The Green Mill / 4802 N Broadway St / Chicago, IL 60640-3667 / 773.878.5552 / www.greenmilljazz.com