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The Extrovert.

You love to go out. We love to go out. You love to eat. We love to eat. You love to drink. Well, you get the idea. So when you're itching for the lastest Chicago nightlife has to offer, check out The Extrovert for up-to-the minute details on the scene.

Archive: March 03, 2008

Chef Ramsay moonlights in LaGrange

 While shopping in downtown LaGrange this weekend, we stumbled upon Fox TV crew filming at Cafe 36 for Fox TV's Kitchen Nightmares. On this Hell's Kitchen spinoff, the indomitable Chef Gordon Ramsay sweeps into a struggling restaurant and spends a few days ripping the kitchen apart from top to bottom and whipping staffers into shape.

Trailers and vans filled up nearly half of the Calendar Court parking lot near the restaurant, and both local police and Fox TV production staffers made sure passersby were steered clear -- a whole lot of hype for this quaint and usually quiet suburban downtown. Staffers at the Fey & Company jewelry store across the street reported that they'd caught glimpses of Ramsey throughout the weekend, never without a bodyguard by his side.

We when called Cafe 36 this morning to check in, their voicemail box was -- surprise -- full. We finally did catch an audibly frantic Carol Gilmer (she's ran the restaurant since 2005 with her husband Terry) this afternoon. "I just got done going through 100 messages," she said. Restaurant owners can nominate their own eateries on the Kitchen Nightmares website, but when we asked how Cafe 36 was chosen for the show, we received the expected Fox-TV-has-sworn-us-to-secrecy response. Gilmer did confirm that they're hoping to reopen with regular lunch and dinner service tomorrow. Stay tuned to The Extrovert for details on when the show will be airing. 		 gordon ramsay
 

 

 

 

Categories: Lisa Arnett restaurant makeovers Suburbs
March 03, 2008 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Precious metal

Bang Camero

I never thought I'd be disappointed when "only" 11 people on a took the Double Door stage.

Bryn Bennett and Alex Necochea--the founders of heavy metal choir Bang Camaro--told us the band usually performs with 12 to 20 singers (read our interview here), so I was hoping to see at least a dozen dudes on stage Friday.

To my surprise, there were only, like, six or seven singers, plus a couple guitarists and a whole lot of fist-pumping. No matter: This serious-yet-silly metal act totally, fully rocked, despite playing for only about 52 minutes and cranking out a roster of songs that pretty much all sounded the same.

Driven by chugging hooks and vocals done completely in unison, their performance was full of "Yeah!"s and "Hey!"s and, more importantly, just plain fun. The hard-rocking took people back to the late '80s without motivating anyone to start a mosh pit. (Yes, that's harder to do than it sounds.)

Plus, the two-thirds-full crowd was only about 65 percent men, lower than the predicted, uh, 90 percent. For anyone who doesn't feel like shelling out the cash to see washed-up versions of actual '80s metal bands like Motley Crue churn out their hits, Bang Camaro makes something old look new again. And it's certainly the rockin'-est 10 bucks I've spent in weeks.

Categories: Matt Pais Music
March 03, 2008 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Box office blog: Ferrell 'Semi'-fouls out

Semi Pro Will Farrell 

Yes, Will Ferrell's latest sports comedy, "Semi-Pro," topped the box office this weekend. But only $15.3 million? That's pretty weak for a movie with one of the biggest stars in comedy, and just barely enough to hold off last week's champ, "Vantage Point," which brought in another $13 million. The ridiculous piece of historical fiction "The Other Boleyn Girl"--with an emphasis on the fiction part--placed fourth with $8.3 million, and Christina Ricci's effective fairy tale "Penelope" landed at No. 8 with $4 million.

Does this mean people have had enough Will Ferrell sports movies? How huge will numbers be for this weekend's mammoth-sized, mammoth-starring "10,000 BC"?

Categories: Matt Pais Movies
March 03, 2008 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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