Sometimes you want to slip into a wrap-around leather booth, sip on a Manhattan and play like you're in Prohibition. Other times call for sampling inventive drinks and shaking it to the latest White Stripes album. People watching from a Euro-style outdoor patio is always a draw, and sometimes, you just want to curl up with a comforting plate of mac and cheese. The cosmopolitan life affords us many options, and in Chicago, the question of what to do at night can make the indecisive weep with frustration.

The Fat Cat doesn't think you should have to make a choice. An elaborate Art Deco interior, gangster booths and dark wooden floors instantly conjure the golden Untouchables era of Chicago. Stunning 10-foot high windows open onto the streets of Uptown, but if that doesn't provide enough contact with the outside world, you can pull up a chair at the sidewalk cafe. Featuring drinks like the Chocolate Peanut Butter Martini, the cocktail menu seems like the brainchild of some drunken mad scientist, but it offers plenty of classic libations, too. Not content with serving up standard bar fare, the kitchen features fresh takes on comfort classics; you can eat an entire Thanksgiving dinner stuffed inside of a sandwich, or chow down on the daily casserole special. Just to cover all bases, the folks behind the Fat Cat take advantage of their location between the Green Mill and Aragon Ballroom by lining up DJs to spin after concerts let out.

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: K. Tighe