Chris LaMorte, dining producer.
Eating our words
Synergy. Deliverables. Leverage. Just hearing these nausea-inducing corporate buzz words is enough to make us want to commit the kind of crimes that would send us someplace a lot worse than Martha Stewart’s Camp Cupcake. But aren’t we guilty of our own cringe-worthy phraseology? Let’s just take “foodie,” for instance. We’ve used this careless crutch of a noun 1,342,007 times last year (well, it seems like it anyhow). What does it even mean? Someone educated about food? Some kind of food snob? This year, we resolve to banish “foodie” from the metromix vocabulary. To keep us honest, we’ll send the first person to catch us using it after today a free cupcake.
Wearing rose-colored glasses
We’re talking about rose, a too-often overlooked wine that’s quietly asserting itself as a respectable choice again. “It’s food-friendly, fresh, fruity and bone dry,” says Joe Kafka of Kafka wine shop (3325 N. Halsted St. 773-975-9463). So why aren’t we drinking more of it? For starters, Kafka says people still confuse it with white zin, which yuppies guzzled in the ’80s (then sneered at in the ’90s). So let’s educate ourselves by picking up a bottle of Domaine de La Genestiere Tavel ($12.99). And if you’re still in a champagne mood, Kafka recommends picking up a rose sparkler: “It doesn’t get any more festive than pink bubbles.” Try the Mionetto ($10.90), which comes in a bowling pin-shaped bottle, offering notes of fresh strawberries and cherries.
More Top Picks Bose Quietcomfort
Matt McGuire, music producer
Avoiding the ticket trap
What’s the best way to make a moderately priced concert ridiculously expensive? Buy the tickets through Ticketmaster. That’s why we resolve to avoid those outlandish fees whenever possible. Sometimes there’s no way around those pesky fees, though most of the time there is. For example, tickets to the upcoming Neko Case concert at Metro are $17.50 a pop. Buy one through Ticketmaster and it’ll cost you (gulp!) $29.81. Buy one at Metro’s box office–located next door in Hi-Fi Records (3728 N. Clark St.) and it’ll cost you $18.50. (There’s always a $1 fee on tickets, and it’s cash only at Hi-Fi.) The Vic, Allstate Arena and United Center also have box offices where you can save varying amounts of money on Ticketmaster fees. No, it’s not as convenient. But neither is paying a 70 percent markup.
Amina Akhtar, nightlife producer
Bubbling over
Sure, we can spend this year drinking swill (PBR, anyone?) and saving our pennies, but frankly, we’d rather enjoy life a bit more. That’s why we’ve decided to drink more bubbly. Why save the Veuve for special occasions? Hey, any day we make it out of bed is a reason to celebrate. So we’ll be living at Elm Street Liquors (12 W. Elm St. 312-337-3200), tossing back $10 champagne cocktails like New Money (made with Stoli peach vodka, Cointreau, orange juice and Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc) and Sugar Daddy (made with Skyy vodka, Pilini limon cello, raspberry puree, fresh peach nectar and Louis Roederer) while doing our best Ab Fab impersonation.
Nailing it
After a semi-disastrous tequila rubdown at the Four Seasons last year, it’s time to get back to basics. We’re skipping the spa treatment trend du jour and instead doling out dollars for the simple–yet necessary–manicure and pedicure. Forget fluffy robes and new age music. We’re heading to Paint (930 W. Diversey Pkwy. 773-868-6400) for a little cuticle TLC. With treatments like spa manicures (hot towel, exfoliation, polish and loads of products for just $23), you’ll feel pampered without spending big bucks. Plus, you won’t reek of tequila.
Karen Budell, intern
Partying with a purpose
During the season of giving we partied so hard that bar owners were the only ones benefiting from all the cash we dropped. We missed most of the holiday parties for charity, and now we feel guilty. So this year let’s party with a purpose! We’ll be at HotHouse’s (31 E. Balbo Drive, 312-362-9707) benefit concert Sunday, where a $25 donation goes to help South Asia’s tsunami survivors. Rather start small? Bring a buck or a canned food item to “The Dollar Store” comedy performance at Hideout (1354 W. Wabansia Ave. 773-227-4433) and help stock the Greater Chicago Food Depository the first Friday of every month.