VIDEO Chicago Nightlife | Citybuzz - A Vidicom and Christy Ferer Guide to Travel

Nightlife

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+ Pick Your Favorite Brew at Public House

If you could go to a bar where you can have any type of beer, which one would you choose? At Public House, it's all about beer. Located in the heart of Chicago, this bar/restaurant has hundreds of different drafts of beer, a great food selection, and a friendly, laid-back atmosphere. It is a great place to not only eat and drink but also socialize with other beer-lovers. Only after one visit will you want to come back for more.

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+ Have Some Fun At The Drumbar!

Located in Chicago’s Gold Coast, Drumbar takes the ‘speakeasy’ to the next level, 200 feet up to be exact. Perched atop the Raffaello Hotel on Delaware Place, Drumbar is a multi seasonal destination with its speakeasy style inside lounge and outdoor garden terrace. Drumbar is a drinking establishment designed to deliver warmth, style, and an energetic spirit of old meets new. Click here for more information.

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+ Pops For Champagne For Jazz And Champagne

Pops for Champagne is the nation’s most acclaimed champagne bar and one of Chicago’s top night clubs. For more than 30 years, Pops has strived to present an unrivaled champagne list (now at nearly 200 selections), as well as a complete bar selection, live music, and a seasonal menu of champagne-friendly small plates and shareable items. Located in the River North entertainment district, Pops attracts local guests, visitors, and business clientele and is considered a perfect locale for social events or after work gatherings. Whatever the occasion, grand or intimate, Pops for Champagne is where Chicago celebrates.

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+ Rooftop Fun At The Vertigo Sky Lounge

Ranked in the Top 3 of Hotel Bar of the Year Awards 2012 by the Nightclub Bar Awards, soaring 26 stories above the city, Vertigo Sky Lounge is on top as Chicago's premiere party lounge and bar. The only year-round, indoor/outdoor lounge in Chicago, we feature live DJs nightly, an outdoor fire-pit for added ambiance, and in the colder Chicago winter months - the city's only OUTDOOR ROOFTOP ICE BAR. Named 2009's Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List, VSL is the ideal spot for one-of-a-kind special events or to turn it up for a night out with friends. You can start your night at VSL or better yet, make it your night. Check out vertigoskylounge.com for more information.

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+ The Boarding house… mammoth wine selection! Even a wine chandelier!

The Wine Bar at The Boarding House | First Floor The first floor of The Boarding House serves as the restaurant’s main bar. Enjoy a selection of 20 wines by the glass, 450 wines by the bottle, custom cocktails, specialty spirits and craft beers to pair with Chef Gosselin’s menu of traditional wine bar provisions, including cheeses, charcuterie, shellfish platters, and artisan pizzas. The First Floor Wine Bar menu is distinctly different from the The Dining Room menu. Seating in The Wine Bar is available without reservations. The Dining Room at The Boarding House The main dining room at the Boarding House is located on the third floor, featuring exposed beams, inlaid hardwood floors and tables, large bay windows, plush banquettes and an impressive ceiling installation made from more than nearly 4000 wine bottles. The menu features a mix of small, medium, large, and shared plates. Enjoy Chef Gosselin’s wine inspired cuisine, including braised short ribs, chicken three ways, and citrus poached salmon with a 450 bottle wine selection. The Cellar at The Boarding House | Lower Level Ideal for sophisticated, late-night revelry, The Cellar at The Boarding House includes an intimate cocktail bar and comfortable lounge seating. Cap the night off with wine or cocktails after your dinner. Experience 450 wines by the bottle, exclusive, high-end wines by the glass, classic cocktails, and luxury spirits, all available with the same menu as featured in The Bar. For more information, click over to boardinghouse.com .

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+ Bub City- the most fun BBQ, country music and whiskey in Chicago!

Country Music and BBQ at Bub City...Paradise for BBQ fans! Bub City brings in rising stars from Nashville, Austin, and other places, to play on the stage, in Chicago. You might see someone you could only see in Nashville. BubCity

It's a casual atmosphere, where you can stop in for a beer, and some bar-b-que, and listen to some fine country music. Bub City is open late every night. On Tuesday they have Country Karaoke. You wont find a more lively, fun place in Chicago's River North neighborhood. Click here for more information.

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+ The Underground

The Underground, located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, has elevated the Chicago nightlife to unprecedented heights and is Chicago’s premiere, upscale, cutting-edge nightclub where every guest is a VIP. Among the congregation of Chicago’s brightest and most talented you will always find a rotating whose who of celebrities, international DJs, and other bold-faced names. The Underground’s interior is an avant-garde recreation of a top-secret, military hideaway complete with artillery cases as cocktail tables, illuminated world maps and lighting as soft and complimentary as it is dramatic. Upscale American cuisine complements the venue with a mouth-watering menu of late night bites to pair with our cocktail and Champagne list.

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+ Hopleaf hops no matter the time of day/night

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Even when every seat is taken in Hopleaf, it’s considered a slow night. But when patrons pack inside for the extensive beer list and gourmet restaurant menu, things really get hopping at Hopleaf. Despite the busy bar, the atmosphere is decidedly laid back both on the first and top floors.

When waiting for a table, grab a beer and maybe even a book on the history of beers and liquors. Hopleaf’s small library is appropriate for this tavern, considering it opened 18 years ago, just before the craft beer market exploded. Today, it offers more than 250 beer options.

The tavern opens at 3pm every day of the week, 365 days a year.

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+ Smartbar Proves Wisdom Comes with Age

With a new nightclub opening each month, the hotspot seekers are never short on a new place to call home- even if for a day. But Smartbar has built a reputation of quality that keeps it packed every night. Smartbar in Lakeview, just below its equally popular sister venue, The Metro, has been going strong since 1982. In club years that's the equivalent to a dynasty's ruling.

Aesthetically Smartbar is nothing to brag about. The drinks aren't exciting or unique. The dancefloor? It's not even that big. Yet, Smartbar continues to host hot crowds night after night, year after year, and pull in some of the biggest names in DJ culture. Notably, the favorites from Om Records like Kaskade and Collette are always true to Smartbar.

DJs and killer beats aside, an evening here guarantees a night of authentic house music. After all Chi-town invented house music back with Frankie Knuckles in the 1980s- so of course there had to be a club that stayed true to this legacy!

Verdict? Smartbar will always remain smart: posers and fair-weather fans need not apply.

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+ 10 Pin Puts a New Spin on Bowling

When you think of bowling, often times the images that conjure are disgusting shoes, stale air and beer bellied men. Well say good bye, to that image when stepping in to 10 Pin who offers "bowling with a twist." It's a twist in deed; cocktails shaken, stirred or straight up - whatever your fancy. A wide array of colorful and tasty cocktails are met by a menu featuring typical faves- also with a twist. Instead of greasy bar food expect chips with fresh guacamole, hummus plates, upgraded cheeseburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, pizzas and of course, Chicago hot dogs. As for the lanes you'll be bowling on, they're so colorful and cool they look more like a nightclub's installation than bowling lanes! Serious players or those looking for serious fun, line the lanes for plenty of laughs, mingling and flirting. And with the nightclub-worthy stereo system you just may want to ditch your bowling shoes and break out your dancing shoes. Insider's Tip: 10 Pin is available for private parties and runs plenty of its own events (faves coincide with Chicago sporting events), so check their calendar for specials.

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+ Illuminate Yourself at Lumen

Meatpacking district in Chicago. Confused? Chi-town also has a meatpacking district and it happens to be at the cusp of the fastlane. Known as Fulton Market, this 'hood is opening up hot little numbers each and every month. Whether it's the bistro-du-jour or a great new lounge, this neighborhood is a bouncin'.

One of the newer favorites is the contemporary lounge-slash-dance space, Lumen. With 5,000 square feet of space, Lumen describes itself as "a visual indulgence for the eyes," so too is the crowd that adorns it. Those there to chill and those there to dance all have one thing in common: they're dressed to impress.

The 3-D sound system and accompanying uber-technologically advanced light system at Lumen is enough to transport guests to a true escape. The sound? Depending on the night you'll find your regular hot-list for Chicago party-goers: jazz, chill-lounge and deep house.

As for the social elixir of life to keep you going whilst there? Choose amongst their chic list of cocktails all bearing the name of a different locale: Tahiti, Casablanca, Geneva. Havana, and Milan.

There isn't a drink called "Meat-packer" - yet.

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+ It’s Paradise at the Crimson Lounge

People looking to paint the town red won't have to search too hard in the Windy City. Such sought after DJs like Samantha Ronson have been known to spin at this lounge where a sultry setting and creative cocktails create a nocturnal paradise for party goers. Glowing crimson mirrors and globally inspired accents are icing on the cake at this exotic venue that promises adventure.