The It List: Nightlife News You Need to Know Now

1. Yep, that was proud new papa Pete Wentz hanging out in Angels & Kings’ super-secret new VIP space on Tuesday with Fall Out Boy drummer Andy Hurley. Spy other rock stars when AK finally opens its hidden gem to the public next weekend—if you can get in. The owners are being especially tight-lipped about details, but dressing well can’t hurt.

2. It’s been 75 freaking years since Prohibition was repealed on December 5, 1933, but we’ll use any excuse to keep celebrating. Plan B is the place to be tonight, Thursday the 4th: Burlesque! Whiskey! Shoe-shiners! (Hey, it’s a 1930s theme.)...

Guest Blog: Keller in the House: Eavesdropping on the $1,500 Dinner

When I found out Thomas Keller was coming to town to cook side-by-side with Grant Achatz, his most famous and successful protégé, I thought to myself: Must. Be. There. The two chefs had teamed up to do a series of events—one at Per Se in New York, one at Alinea, and a final stop at The French Laundry in California—each a three-hour, 20-course meal priced at $1,500 a head. I’m not even sure why I found the idea of this event so thrilling. Was it the outrageous price tag as we teeter on the brink of a depression? Was it the presence of Keller, perhaps America’s most...

Guest Blog: Oprah Planning Inauguration Ball

Oprah Winfrey is said to be planning a Candlelight Ball for 1,000 glamorous guests as her inauguration-night fete in Washington, D.C., Chicago magazine’s Marcia Froelke Coburn reports. The talk-show host and Obama supporter has been entertaining bids from Washington-based caterers for the January 20th party at a venue yet to be determined. A spokeswoman for Winfrey said, “We have nothing to confirm at this point.”

Black Wednesday Photos: Sheffield’s

Black Wednesday brought more parties than we could shake a turkey leg at, but smart barflies started off the long weekend at Sheffield’s, where Thanksgiving Eve festivities included a raffle (Opening day Cubs tickets! Fancy beer!) and enough shots to steel patrons for four days of family togetherness.

Hot Toddy Holiday

Two Dudes A-Drinking
Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be over and everyone will need a drink. Or three. In Drinking & Writing Vol. IV: The 12 Steps of Xmas, Neo-Futurists Steve Mosqueda and Phil Ridarelli ruminate on hard-drinking authors from Kerouac to Bukowski to Cheever and Capote, as well as on their own drunken...