Chicago

1227 W 18th St, at Allport; Pilsen; 312.784.9100

Opening today in the historic 1892 Thalia Hall, this 200-seat two-level Italian behemoth is decked out in red mahogany trim, blue fleur de lis'd banquettes, and scenes from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition; foodwise they're slinging 20 brick-oven pizzas, several handmade pastas (mushroom-stuffed tortelloni with cream sauce, spinach and ricotta-infused ravioloni, etc), and a selection of 24 gelatos all made in house, like the pineapple, coconut and rum infused gelato colado, which will have you makin' love at midnight.

Party starts May 12 at Brando's Speakeasy; 343 S Dearborn Ave, at Van Buren; Loop; 773.216.3213

Fighting their way through tough economic times the way grandpa would, BS is offering up cheap drinks ($3 Miller Lites, $2 bartender-calls-it shots), New Deal-esque free bread and soup, and -- most importantly -- boobies, compliments of a Depression-era burlesque performance from the girls of Vaudezilla, who have been known to make Japanese people scream, but totally in a good way.

Conceived in the Midwest, GolfStakes takes the the business of scoring your golf round away from flimsy card and stubby pencil and to your Web-enabled phone, allowing you to calculate handicaps, track scores from previous rounds, and play side games like Abilene, Nassau, Bingo-Bango-Bongo, and Best Ball, which isn't really fair since it's genetics.

1165 N Clark St, Suite 400, btw Division and Elm; Gold Coast; 312.640.0878

Housed in a converted office suite given a homey makeover with vintage wooden furniture, old medicine cabinets, and antique chandeliers, SV is a newly opened boutique aiming to meet all your classic clothing needs -- from those finishing touch accessories (suspenders, '70s Gucci ties, cufflinks), to staples (vintage T-shirts, plaid shorts), to full ensembles like '70s Issey Miyake tuxedos, not to be confused with Kesuke Miyagi tuxedos, which come w/ the option of wax on or off.

3310 N Halsted, btw Aldine and Buckingham; Lakeview; 773.325.9664

Just opened by the chef from Restaurant Michael, W&A is a 16-seat, fire-engine red interior'd gourmet sandwich shop cooly named for his two puffball dogs featuring deli selections, pastries (toasted almond biscotti, blueberry-almond financier, etc), and an extensive list of sammies like the Georgie (Mr. Gee's Italian Beef w/ sweet peppers), Rosie's Mambo Italiano (proscuitto, taleggio cheese, grilled scallions, roasted peppers, drizzled truffle oil), and the Wally, which is peanut butter, fluff, and banana served on a batter-dipped croissant, to crunchily mask the Frenchness.