The Angry Waiter

European researchers have released a study in which they conclude teenagers and young adults use alcohol and drugs hoping to increase their chances of having sex.

According to the report on ScienceDaily.com, one-third of men 16 - 35 years-old and one-quarter of women drink to facilitate sexual encounters. The report also indicates they use drugs such as coke, ecstasy and pot to improve the sex they do have.

Really? Who would have thought it? This is truly groundbreaking research!

These researchers could have saved a lot of time and money by simply asking anyone who’s ever worked in a bar. It’s called ‘liquid courage.”

This is the bar business’ bread and butter. Take away sexual desperation and half of the people who now drink would stay home.

And the other half?

They’re the ones who drown their sorrows having come to the realization that they’re never going to get laid regardless of how much alcohol they drink or how many drugs they do.

Want to hookup in a bar? Stop hitting on the cocktail waitress and bartender and look for someone who’s not paid to be there.

The Check Please!-bump can ruin a restaurant for pre-fame customers…but for burger and beer lovers who first learned of Kuma’s Corner (2900 W. Belmont) on an episode of the WTTW hit eight months ago, the bump was a blessing.

Named after owner Mike Cain’s Akita, Kuma’s went from neighborhood hotspot to city-wide sensation in an instant. This Avondale corner pub has so much good word-of-mouth right now that a couple of nights ago when we arrived at another restaurant minutes after their kitchen closed, the waiter there recommended we head on over to Kuma’s where they serve late-night food. We were two neighborhoods away.

I’ll get to the food and beverage, the hook here is atmosphere and attitude. (more…)

Judith “As if Idol isn’t gay enough” Weirauch (pictured), a former bartender who fled the Denver bar scene nine months ago to pursue her dream of going to grad school, won last night’s preliminary round of Gay Idol at @mosphere Bar (5355 N. Clark St.).

Judith brought down the house with a killer rendition of Janis Joplin’s Cry Baby and walked away with $100.

Second place went to James (no last name-pictured with Judith below) who squeezed out a victory singing New York, New York. James won tickets to Broadway in Chicago’s Avenue Q.

Judith and James advance to the semi-finals to be held Saturday, May 31, at Sidetrack (3349 N. Halsted) where they will compete against winners from eight other Chicago bars and the winners from a wild card round.

Semi-final winners, which Judith is sure to be among, compete for a $1000 Grand Prize and other prizes Friday, June 13 at Circuit Night Club (3641 N. Halsted).

Go Judith!

The Note (1565 N. Milwaukee Ave.), one of Wicker Park’s most eclectic and affordable music and performance venues, takes its final bows tonight, Sunday, turning off its iconic neon signs for good.

The owners aren’t abandoning the space, but they are ditching the live music and dj’s in favor of a jukebox. Word is they’re ripping out the stage and dj booth, remodeling the bar and re-opening in one month under a new, yet to be decided (or maybe just yet to be disclosed) name.

The decision to close The Note apparently centers around eliminating the cover charge. Bands and dj’s cost money which means customers here paid a cover - usually $6 - $10 - and that chased away customers just looking to drink and hangout.

The Note first opened in Bucktown as the awesomely loud, always packed “The Blue Note.” In 1996, they moved to Wicker Park, losing the “Blue” along the way. The owners also own Nick’s Beer Garden (1516 N. Milwaukee Ave.) and the new Nick’s on Wilson (1140 W. Wilson).

Though The Note will be missed, most important to The Angry Waiter is the future of the staff. According to a bartender there, all of the staff is being retained.

Cafe Bong (5706 N. Clark) - though it may technically be named “Cafe Bong Ho” - is small, run down, a little gross and kind of pathetic and I hope, selfishly, that it never gains a wide reputation as “The Newest, Coolest Dive Bar.”

No, the beauty of this hole-in-the-wall is that it’s seemingly known to only a few…and I hope it stays that way.

Located about one block north of Bryn Mawr on the west side of Clark Street, Cafe Bong is easy to miss. The sign hanging over the sidewalk gives the impression the place is a cheap Korean restaurant. There are no large picture windows here for passersby to peak in. Instead, the facade is nondescript, bricked up save for a small, rectangular window at eye-level or higher.

Nothing about the outside indicates this is one whacky dive bar.

Everything on the inside screams dive - A few tall tables, about 18 - 20 seats at the long, dusty bar, a slightly under-sized pool table, no real decorations to speak of and bathrooms that make using the alley seem appealing.

Walk into The Bong unprepared and you’re likely to turn right around and go elsewhere…unless you know its secret appeal. (more…)

The Chicago Tribune today ran an interesting article about how tips are divided among restaurant employees and how some restaurants keep a portion of credit card tips to cover the fees charged to the restaurants by credit card companies.

There’s nothing in this article restaurant, bar and coffee house people don’t already know, but it may help inform a few of your customers.

And for you restaurant and bar patrons reading this, if you really want to do something nice for your server, pay your bill with a credit card, but tip with cash.