I’ll have a Polish and a Samba, Sex on the Side

Elston Ave. in Chicago is a long, secretive street. It spans blue collar neighborhoods along the city’s Northwest Side, and cuts a soft diagonal through some rather stark manufacturing corridors. If there is a street that looks, smells, and sulks like Chicago, Elston is it. Resting among the street’s Polish sausage stands, Irish drunkard haunts, and muffler repair shops is the Latin flavored bar N (en-ye). The small, dark, overtly romantic spot hosts some of the most interesting nightlife in Chicago.

N resides in a pewter colored brick building, hidden on the corner of Elston and Wellington. The bar's only identifying features are a wooden sign hanging above the sidewalk and some candle glow from the building's small windows. Once you walk through the door, you’re hit with an undeniable atmosphere that is both welcoming and exotic. The affordable, minimalist tapas menu at N contains dozens of spicy dishes that are perfect for sharing. To soften the blow from the the gallons of rum you will consume at N, try the chorizo (two homemade sausages served with chimichurri), empanadas (beef, chicken, ham and cheese, spinach) or a tortilla (mix of egg, onion, potato). Drinks include various South American beer varieties, domestic brews, wine, and tropical drink standards like Mojitos and Margaritas. N's menu, while elegant and delicious, is merely a prop for the establishment's sultry mood and music.




The sounds at N are pulsating and provocative. The Djs play a genital thumping mix of samba, salsa, and reggae that sends pheromones bounding off the small tables and candle-lit walls. The vibe at N is unpretentious and the bar is sexy without being sleazy. Young couples come to the bar to dance in the flattering light, sample sea food tapas and get blitzed on mojitos. The crowd at N is a pleasant mix of music lovers, potential nudists, foodies, and club hoppers. Tuesday nights feature a live samba band, and as the evening progresses, people get increasingly free with the dance moves and affection. This is the kind of steamy, haunting place that a pirate would visit to pick up a sea bride. N is also one of the best Latin infused bars in Chicago, and in a city that is almost ¾ Latin, that’s saying something.


N
2977 N Elston Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
Phone: (773) 866-9898

THE PERFECT CAKE...IN HELL

Embedded in this post is the most disturbing video you will every see in your life. It has nothing to do with Chicago, or culture, but it scared the hell out of me as I watched it. It involves cakes and a man with the desire to end an instructional cake video with a boisterous musical ode to New York City.


For a brief period of time I worked as a cake decorator. I was paying for a higher education and I was also very confused about the direction of my life. As I watched this video, I became aware of the obvious pitfalls of being really good at something. If the guy in this video ever decides to take his frosting covered wrath out on the general population, god help us all. Click on the 'cake' photo and melt your brain.

CHICAGO FOOD CITY

C.W. Napkin / Its Got Things In It

Today we feature C.W. Napkin. We don't know much about this place, and we haven't eaten their food, but we are all huge fans of C.W. Napkin’s marketing. All the pictures featured here are from the C.W. Napkin website, and these mouthwatering digital photos speak louder than a thousand words ever could.

We’re guessing that the folks over at C.W. Napkin are such a bunch of bad-asses that they just don’t give two sh!ts about lighting, arrangements and composition. Leave that crap for the fags over at TGI Fridays. Visit the C.W. Napkin website and go on a culinary tour of your own. Check out the photo of the Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap (pictured bellow), it looks like it’s going to mug you and kick that shit eating grin off your face.

If you are in the Chicago area, visit C.W. Napkin and pick up a Chicken that Ate Cleveland Sandwich, or a plate of ravioli. C.W. Napkin describes their marinara sauce as "a great marinara (meatless) sauce. It's rich and thick and has lots of things in it."

Who doesn't like a few 'things' in the old marinara? Visit this place today and experience a culinary kick in the groin. The Napkin, it's like getting hit in the head with a whiskey bottle full of comfort food.

CHICAGO'S HYPNOTIC BRASS BAND IN NYC

Chicago brass band Hypnotic is the subject of this elegant web-documentary. The group is filmed as they entertain commuters in the NYC subway. The Hypnotic ensemble includes the sons of the great Chicago jazz musician Phil Cohran. Hypnotic has never sounded better. Enjoy.


Hypnotic Underground from moriza on Vimeo.

Porter Records / Eclectic Sounds

Music is a diverse and dense universe, crowded with divergent sounds and artistic interpretations. It takes a good record label to sift through the plethora of sounds and give life to important works of art. Porter Records, a small upstart created in 2007 by a record collector with a passion for sound, is turning out to be one of the most unusual and creative labels running. The label's variety of music is staggering, and label owner, Luke Mosling, is dedicated to keeping the variety flowing in the years to come. Currently, the label releases everything from hip hop, reggae, free jazz, soul, and experimental electronic. While eclectic, the music on Porter records is never elitist or confounding. If anything, Porter gives listeners the unique chance to experience a wide variety of sound in a context that is accessible and understated. The label also has a unique design aesthetic, reminiscent of the well branded packaging from labels like Blue Note and Impulse in the 1960s. Each Porter Records release has a distinct visual presentation, which helps the label stand out in a saturated market.

Mosling runs Porter Records as a one-man-band, and he views the label as an extension of his diverse record collection. In the next year, Mosling plans on putting out a host of rare-reissues and new releases featuring everything from organic hip hop groups to ambient electronic artists. The label also plans to reach into the global music community and release jazz and experimental music from Europe and Australia.

For information on Porter Records and its upcoming releases, visit http://www.myspace.com/porterrecords.


When Porter Records artist The Misled Children remix Dr. Dre and Snoop- it's a wacky affair.

WTF AMERICA?

Alexandra Pelosi, filmmaker, trouble maker and daughter of Nancy Pelosi, has made a new documentary film detailing the opinions of those who consider themselves part of red state America. The film, entitled Right America: Feeling Wronged is a depressingly raw view into the bizarrely undereducated masses that occupy the hamlets of the sprawling 50 states.

This is a brutal piece of work and a film of uncompromising reality. The characters in Pelosi’s film are not cartoons; they are normal, hard working stiffs with American flag t-shits and pickup trucks. It is disturbing to imagine that the wealthiest country in the industrialized world can still have a large segment of its population dwelling in ignorance and blatant stupidity regarding culture, religion, and foreign policy.

As we turn the corner into the 21st century, America has some heavy lifting to do with a portion of the population so willfully ignorant and stubborn. Alexandra Pelosi deserves credit for making a good film, but sometimes the process of making political sausage is better left mysterious.

Hipster Death Warrant

"Fashion designer Doron Braunshtein, aka Apollo Braun, whose store on Orchard Street has been selling T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with the question 'Who Killed Obama?' says the people leaving him angry messages and death threats just don't get hipster irony. See, he loves Obama, that's why he's selling products that invoke his murder!

"I'm very punk rock," Braunshtein explains to the NY Press's fashion blogger, smugly aware that our primitive 2008 technology prevents you from reaching through your computer screen and slapping that smirk off his face. He goes on: "They don't understand what I'm doing. They think I'm spreading hate. Could you imagine if Obama were killed? They might blame me. Then I'd be taken to jail and have to have prison sex."

- Gothamist 2008

The Gothamist blog deserves a big thank you for bringing this first rate douchebag to the world's attention. Where to begin? The side-swept, grease-filled haircut, his Connecticut smirk, his self aggrandizing allegiance to punk rock, his irrelevant hipster posturing, his complete lack of creativity, or maybe we can hate him for his dead, soulless eyes? This ass-hole is a designer living in New York, and after drinking his fill of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jameson, this greasy weasel thought of a sweatshirt that would act as a giant ‘fuck you’ to the world. To combine the potential assassination of the first black president with the hipster ironic t-shirt phenomenon is a new low for modern culture. Guys like the “Who killed Obama?” idiot are what’s wrong with art schools, Williamsburg, and trust funds.

If I'm at a Sufjan Stevens show, trying to look sensitive, and I see this idiot and his moronic sweatshirt, the question will be, “Who killed the jackass in the 'Who killed Obama' sweatshirt?”