Weekend Update

It was a busy weekend, to say the least. Drinks after work on Friday at Catch 35 (a classy joint), turned into a bar hop from Witt’s (on N. Lincoln... not so great if it were not for the free drinks we got), to Y Bar (hilariously pretentious, but hey there was free champagne), the Rock & Roll McDonalds on Dearborn (we got hungry), John Barleycorn (we decided it was time to dance), and finally, Pizza Ria on Clark (we got hungry again).

On Saturday, grabbed a late lunch / early dinner with Leanne and our friend Christine, who was visiting from out of town. Hankering for some lunch / brunch fare, despite the fact that it was almost 3:30pm (we had played our frisbee games that morning), we decided to try to check out Toast on Halsted and Webster. However, when we walked in the door, we were informed that they were closing—we were too late. A tad bit crestfallen, we figured that there must be some other good little spots around, so we wandered down Halsted... and right into the friendly confines of Nookies Too.

We were seated right away, and upon opening our menus, we all quickly realized that Nookies Too was EXACTLY what we were looking for... diner food with a cozy Lincoln Park flair. With a generous breakfast menu including banana toffee pancakes, strawberries & cream waffles, and eggs any way you want them, Nookies Too also offers a full menu of hot & cold sandwiches, burgers, salads and even dinner entrees for later in the evening. And apparently on Friday and Saturday nights, they are open 24 hours, to the delight of late night revelers (like myself). Good to know!

Although I was terribly tempted by the banana toffee pancakes, I instead opted for a Turkey Reuben, which came with a bowl of soup, a pickle spear, and Nookies own thick cut chip-fries... basically thick cut potato chips, but with the soft fried texture of steak fries. I’ve never seen anything like them:

Christine and Leanne were also pleased with Nookies, especially the delish diner coffee:

Saturday night was a little less hectic, but just as fun. Started the night at a concert at the House of Blues with my friends Ian and Justin (Matt Wertz, Stephen Kellogg & Jon McLaughlin playing—REALLY great music!), then afterwards we headed down the street to Rock Bottom Brewery, to grab a craft beer and a bite to eat. Then it was over to that infamous after-hours spot, The Hangge Uppe, to meet Laurel and Jenni and dance the rest of the night away with the 80s music videos and the popped collars.

When I woke up this morning I was STILL tired. But it was worth it.