UrbanDaddy is a free exclusive email magazine devoted to keeping you in the know.
Chicago Home > Leisure > The Tally
12/26/12
The Tally
Everything That Was Important in 2012
Those Mayans may have missed the mark on the whole end-of-the-world thing, but if they had anything to say about 2012 being a great year for places to eat, drink and buy clothes... well, then they would have been totally right. Here’s a look back.
DONUTS AND VODKA JOINED FORCES
Drunken Donuts at Delightful Pastries
Your morning routine got a shake-up when this bakery began injecting otherwise standard-variety donuts with
vodka, chocolate liqueur and Grand Marnier. We’re not sure who the intended audience is for these, but we
can say the cops seem a lot happier lately.
- 411:
- Drunken Donuts at Delightful Pastries
YOU GOT SKY HIGH
The Return of Rooftop Drinking
If the booze didn’t make you dizzy this year, the altitude did. Let’s see: Drumbar was hopping. So was
StarDeck. Let’s not forget about Sky Terrace. And just before the summer ended, the J. Parker became your
perch in Lincoln Park. All we can say: thank God for elevators.
CHAMPAGNE ROCKED
Nellcôte and RM Champagne Salon
Opening one place successfully is a challenge. The guys behind Old Town Social rose to it beautifully with
Nellcôte, inspired by the Exile on Main St. recording sessions. Then in August, they debuted RM, a
snug champagne cove, right next to it. Any excuse for a toast, we guess.
- 411:
- Nellcôte and RM Champagne Salon
A MAN FROM PAWNEE ARRIVED
Stories from Nick Offerman
Yes, there’s that mustache. But we were looking for the man behind it. So when Illinois-bred and
Chicago-trained Nick Offerman came back to perform during the Just for Laughs comedy festival, we chatted
with him. Turns out... he in fact had some pretty great mustache-grooming tips.
- 411:
- Read our Nick Offerman profile here
YOU GLAMPED
A Cabin in the Woods That Wasn’t Scary
You wanted to go all Bear Grylls and get back to nature—which to you includes leather chairs, pulsating
showerheads and a personal chef. So hello, Sandhill. This fully loaded cabin near Kohler, Wisconsin, debuted
from the American Club Resort folks. People who really get you.
- 411:
- Sandhill, 1168 Garton Rd, Mosel, WI, 800-344-2838
YOU LOOKED DASHING
A Menswear Explosion in the Gold Coast
Apparently, wearing clothes was back in style. There was a boom in menswear stores in and around the Gold
Coast. Suitsupply, Brunello Cucinelli, Gallery Aesthete, J.Toor and Apartment Number 9 all opened shops
within feet of each other. This probably explains the corresponding dapperness boom.
BUTCHER SHOPS BECAME COOL
Publican Quality Meats
You expect good things from the guys who brought you Blackbird and Publican. You didn’t expect those good
things to come in the form of a butcher shop. Now that they have, your working lunches over meatball
sandwiches have never been better. Of course, before this place, they never existed.
- 411:
- Publican Quality Meats, 825 W Fulton Market, 312-445-8977
ADVERTISEMENT 
Only what you need to know.