For Chicago’s gay community, “family-friendly dining” doesn’t necessarily mean highchairs and Happy Meals. Luckily, the city’s large gay population, including highly visible gay restaurateurs, means there are enough places to please everyone’s palate and let us be ourselves–both in and out of Boystown. We’ve selected a few of our favorite spots where gay and lesbian diners can find good friends, good times and great food.
Buddies
The deer-antler doorknob on the front door of this popular gay bar/restaurant gives vegetarians fair warning: Buddies likes its meat. Among the carnivorous concoctions is the Three-Meat Meatloaf, made with beef, pork and veal. Lighter fare includes The Big Sir! California Turkey Chiller Wrap. Stuffed with generous portions of hand-carved breast, mayo and guacamole, it’s certainly a mouthful. Even macho Ted Nugent would feel right at home with Buddies’ hunting-lodge motif, but we prefer the fresh air of the outdoor patio. 3301 N. Clark St. 773-477-4006.
Ann Sather
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, the best way to rid oneself of temptation is to yield to it. So go ahead and have one of Ann Sathers’ cinnamon rolls. Just consider these gooey masterpieces your incentive to get back to the gym. Also sample one of the seven varieties of eggs Benedict. We like the turkey Benedict, made with cranberry relish. Tom Tunney, the owner and openly gay Chicago alderman, has turned a restaurant best known for Scandinavian breakfast platters (Love those Swedish pancakes with loganberries, by the way!) into a case study of how to make diversity work for a business. 5207 N. Clark St. 773-271-6677.
Tweet
Big Chicks has made owner Michelle Fire a big hit with the gay community. Her new weekend breakfast spinoff, Tweet, will let her take the rest of the city under her wing. Tweet serves respectable breakfast fare, including eggs, pancakes and breakfast burritos, in country-kitchen-meets-urban-chic surroundings. Fire retains her personal touch, however, when she greets tables with a scrumptuous cheese Danish treat. Emphasizing the organic (“uncaged eggs from happy chicks”), the menu features the favorite morning meals of many of the artists whose work fills the walls. We like the asparagus omelets–a perfect mix of veggies and cheese–as well as sides of sweet apple-pear compote and chicken sausage. 5024 N. Sheridan Rd. 773-728-5576. Read more about Fire on page 39.
Jin Ju
If you think mandoo and pajun were characters in the last “Star Wars” movie, it’s time to head to Andersonville’s Jin Ju for an education in contemporary Korean cuisine. Order a sojutini (made with soju, the Korean take on vodka, made with sweet potatos), enjoy the dark-paneled, minimalist interior and let the waiters bring you up to speed. Smart and hip, these guys know their bi bim bap. There’s also bulgogi, thinly sliced marinated beef, or opt for the chicken version, dak bulgogi. Pan chan, a tray of accompaniments including kim chee (pickled cabbage) and marinated cucumber and veggies, comes with entrees. Jin Ju has become the favorite starting destination for those looking to explore Clark Street’s gay nightlife. 5203 N. Clark St. 773-334-6377.
The Room
The Room offers an elegant but never stuffy, take on contemporary American cuisine. Like its sister restaurant, lesbian-mecca Tomboy in Andersonville (5402 N. Clark St. 773-907-0636), this stylish Edgewater BYOB is a favorite among those who want to keep the emphasis on the food, not the ‘tude. You can’t go wrong with starters like pear and asparagus salad or tuna tartare. Other favorites include lamb loin with heavenly mashed coconut-sweet potatos on the side, Caribbean jerk chicken with collard greens and New York Strip with pomme frites. The eclectic menu, divided between “petit,” “mid,” and “grande” selections, makes this a great place for groups that like to pass their plates. 5900 N. Broadway, 773-989-7666.
Las Mananitas
Casual Mexican joint Las Mananitas’ large patio is the perfect vantage point for watching Halsted weekend cruising while you get lost in Margaritaville. Try the Cancun Margarita, a cerulean sensation that’s the next best thing to a Puerto Vallarta vacation. Though the carne asada is popular, seafood’s the house specialty here. If you want to avoid the standard cantina offerings, try the camarones a la Veracruzana, butterflied shrimp served fajita-style. 3523 N. Halsted St. 773-528-2109.
Firefly
The rich, sumptuous colors and semi-private booths draped in golden gauzy fabric have made this French bistro one of gay Chicago’s favorite romantic destinations. Pass by the sidewalk patio during the evening and you’ll see young love bloom there, as well. The large martini and wine selection will help get you in the mood, as will appetizers like escargot en croute (the little suckers are sauteed in herb butter to help them go down easy), or mussels and clams with duck sausage. The steak frites is excellent, featuring shoestring potatoes and served with bearnaise sauce. Other entrees include balsamic-glazed salmon and chicken pave. 3335 N. Halsted St. 773-525-2505.
She She
With a vampish interior that would make legendary Chicago madams the Everleigh Sisters proud, She She features waiters sporting form-fitting leopard-print pants to match the dining-room chairs. Talk about tight seating. For starters, try the cucumber frisee, which includes field greens, apricots, nuts, a thin slice of blue cheese and champagne vinaigrette. The romaine heart salad’s phallic presentation–leaves upright in a crunchy Parmesan shell–left us momentarily flustered. For entrees, we liked the chicken breast with a pleasingly sour lemon-caper sauce, baby-back barbecued ribs in a fig glaze, coconut- and wasabi-encrusted tilapia, and rosemary-mustard rack of lamb. The menu doesn’t offer any vegetarian options, but you can order one of the three pastas sans meat or seafood. 4539 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-293-3690.
