Chicago's Lakeview Neighborhood
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Matsuya serves excellent sushi and Japanese fare, including such knock-out starters as deep-fried chicken wings and whitefish with smelt roe. Although many imitators have opened nearby, Mia Francesca remains the best place in the neighborhood for sophisticated but simple Northern Italian fare. You could survive solely on the flaky, freshly baked cinnamon rolls that accompany every meal at the hallowed Swedish diner Ann Sather, which has several gay-popular locations.

Those seeking healthy food should head for the Chicago Diner, which specializes in creative vegan and vegetarian fare and serves delicious baked goods. An attractive little Thai restaurant where the rice and noodle dishes are delicious and cheap, Joy's Noodles serves a terrific ginger chicken with a fragrant bean sauce. If you're a java junkie, keep in mind that the cozy Lakeview outpost of the Caribou Coffee chain is known locally as "Cariboy" and "Queeribou" - that should tell you all you need to know about the crowd.

Boystown is the heart of the city's gay-male nightlife scene. The yuppie bar Roscoe's is practically a Chicago institution, fun for dancing and cruising any night of the week. A guy guzzling Bud longnecks and another sipping cosmos can feel right at home together at Cocktail, an intimate storefront bar where friends often meet up before heading out to larger clubs. Chicago's classic stand-and-model video bar, SideTrack has plenty of rooms for mingling. Hydrate is one of the hippest gay bars in town, great for after-work cocktails or late-night dancing and cruising.

A swank, smoke-free lounge known for its colorful cocktails and slick crowd, Minibar opened somewhat recently and has become a favorite after-work spot. A circuit-boy favorite on weekends, Circuit pulses with a feverish late-night dance crowd even at midweek, when Latin nights are a hit. The stylish Berlin disco draws a decidedly funkier and more alternative crowd than most of the preppy haunts in Lakeview. Nearby Spin is an eclectic gay club with an all-ages crowd and fun dance music. Charlie's brings in fans of country-western music, while the Gentry on Halsted is a Boystown branch of downtown's popular piano bar, favored for happy hour and later for live cabaret. Leather-and-Levi's types cruise the Cell Block. Steamworks Chicago is a popular, clean, well-run sauna - it's one of the nicest such facilities in the country.
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