Home // Favorite Friday Nights // Lincoln Square

Lincoln Square

It’s Friday, the evening is young, and nothing says sexy like a little German ambience…minus some guttural vowels, of course. Tonight, your date is set against the Old World backdrop of Lincoln Square. Residents know this one-time cucumber farmland as “Chicago’s Neighborhood.”

“You don’t feel like you’re in the city yet you can take the Brown Line right down to the center,” says Melissa Flynn, 37, executive director of the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce and an eight-year local. “It has that neighborhood feel.”

The connection between its European roots and its independently owned, up-and-coming shops keeps the area low-key. Lincoln Square’s got a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare (North Lincoln Avenue), summer concert stage, and distinct German feel that make it the ideal setting for a romantic stroll. “It’s a hidden destination,” Flynn says of her neighborhood. “But once people find out about it they make it a regular destination.”

So leave your lederhosen at home and save up your appetite for a night of canoodling and consumption in this European-esque oasis.

Huettenbar

4721 N. Lincoln Ave. (between Giddings and Leland)

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Start off the night at the Huettenbar. “Because life is too short to drink cheap beer,” says an advertisement on the wall for Warsteiner, one of many German brews on tap. You’d think life was too long to drink expensive beer, especially by yourself, but this bar offers up a date atmosphere that’s worth the money.

And don’t expect to order a Bud Light, because it’s all German choices on tap, and each brew comes in a unique glass. Kostriker, a dark beer, costs $5, and is served in a gold-rimmed, chalice-style throwback of a glass.

If you get there early enough (by 5 p.m.), try to grab one of two tables near the open window, with the flower box in front. It’s a photo opportunity for sure.

“In the summer, [when] the windows are open, it’s just about the best spot in the neighborhood,” Flynn says.

With a wood-beam ceiling, a couple high-def televisions, and no minimum on debit cards, your cup can runneth over a few times. Also on tap: Gaffel Kolsch, Franziskaner Weissbier, and Kutscher Alt.

You’ll also notice the ambient music (Tom Petty when we were there), the Cubs on TV, and people strolling by on the sidewalk. But after staring into your date’s eyes and throwing back German lager, you’ll probably crave a bite to eat. And this place doesn’t have a kitchen. Luckily, Lincoln Square has more than enough restaurants to keep the night going.

The Chopping Block

• 4747 N. Lincoln Ave. (between Lawrence and Giddings)
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

That Warsteiner was undoubtedly the perfect start, but now it’s time for the main course. Just steps from Huettenbar, past an adorable fountain, you can fill up at The Chopping Block.

We know it looks like any other kitchenware store, minus the cavernous feel and the high ceilings. But The Chopping Block carries some marvelous culinary gadgets, like a magnetic grilling light that attaches to most barbecues for nighttime cooking. And its ceilings are lower than your average big-box store for a reason: Upstairs is a kitchen space where you and your date will prepare dinner for each other from scratch. So tie on the aprons and roll up those sleeves. Friday night’s about to get hot and heavy.

The $75 per person fee might seem pricey and it may seem burdensome to register weeks in advance, but hey, The Chopping Block’s neighbors are childless couples with disposable incomes.

“Since this is an up-and-coming neighborhood, we see a lot of couples ages 23 to 25 coming in on the typical date nights,” says Kateri Somark, 26, The Chopping Block’s floor supervisor. “And a lot of them are coming in for the menu.”

Oh, the menu. When you read what’s for dinner, the price tag just dissolves in the stream of drool running from your mouth. The “Summer in Provence” meal comprises caramelized onion and fennel tart, sole with artichokes and olive ragout, and lemon cake with lavender cream. (There are also vegetarian options.)And don’t forget, a chunk of that $75 goes toward the cooking instruction, which will pay off the next time you and your love bug are alone over a hot stove.

Davis Theater

• 4616 N. Lincoln Ave. at West Wilson Avenue
• 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Are you too distracted by digestion to call it a night with your sweets? Now’s the perfect time for an after-meal trip to the Davis Theater, Lincoln Square’s old-time neighborhood cinema.

The Davis is more than 80 years old and after a renovation in 2001, the movie house upgraded from second-run to first-run movie showings. Buy your $8 tickets ($6 before 6 p.m.) from the guy behind the wooden counter and get yourself a treat at the concession stand.

And don’t forget to stop and take in the decor: The movie house is classically decorated in black-and-white with single rows of bright round bulbs. The low ceilings and slanted floor create a cozy space.

“It reminds me of the theaters I went to when I was little," says Katie Cusak, who came to see Public Enemies. If you have a few more minutes to kill, pop a quarter into the Claw Machine for a stuffed toy.

Despite the sound system and seating updates, there are some romantic remnants of the Davis’ past. Each auditorium is equipped with a pair of love seats (though some are in need of repair) that could, for the lucky couple that snags one, turn the public space into a two-hour smooch fest.

But hold up. We’re not there yet. Nighttime movies play between 9 p.m. and 9:30, so take a moment to meander down the street before show time. Head south on North Lincoln Avenue to find a bustling, alternative shopping scene, which includes records, vintage duds, and wines. Then make your way back through the theater’s wooden French doors, cuddle up on a love seat, and enjoy the last hours of your date night in Lincoln Square.