Where to have the best girls nights out
Hannah Montana calls it "G.N.O."
Suburban women simply call it girls night out, an event where women get together and take a much-needed break from their jobs, kids or the men in their lives.
It can be large, organized groups or just a couple of girlfriends from the neighborhood. And it can be a low-key, sophisticated event or rowdy middle-aged women acting like 21-year-olds.
But the goal of girls night out is always the same: to have fun. "Fun" could be anything: shoe shopping, wine tastings, scrapbooking, cooking, playing WhirlyBall or getting spa treatments.
As girlie get-togethers grow in popularity, suburban restaurants, bars and retail stores are courting ladies with special GNO events and prices.
Some examples of the girls night out events around the suburbs:
Manis and martinis
The D.O.C. Wine Bar knows what women want: free manicures and pedicures, free champagne, $6 martinis and a comfy, upscale, anti-meat-market environment.
The swanky Lombard wine bar recently launched "Manis and Martinis," a monthly event that has all those things. Even their 42-inch flat-screen TVs air episodes of shows like "Sex and the City," "Lipstick Jungle," and "Desperate Housewives."
"With the economy and stress going on, women need this now," said manager Tony Burger. "It's just a comfortable zone for a lot of girls to get together with their friends."
D.O.C. Wine Bar is at The Shops on Butterfield, 326 Yorktown Center, Lombard
(630) 627-6666 or docwinebarchicago.com
Seeing the band "Sixteen Candles"
Everybody will cut loose, Footloose, when they hear the band Sixteen Candles play '80s dance tunes like "Jessie's Girl," "Sunglasses at Night," and "Take on Me." The band draws a largely female crowd of both sorority girls and suburban moms. At one show last year, the girl-to-guy ratio was probably 10:1, said band member Dave Ensslin, 34, of Fox River Grove, the youngest of the five band members.
"I think women like it because it's dance music," Ensslin said. "It's so cheesy that it's fun."
Upcoming performances include:
Saturday, March 28 and Saturday, May 2 at Durty Nellie's, 180 N. Smith St., Palatine ($6 cover)
Friday, May 8 at the Kingpin Social Club, 243 W. Roosevelt Road, West Chicago (formerly Boogie Nights), $8 cover.
Friday, May 29 at Cubby Bear North, 21661 N. Milwaukee Ave., Lincolnshire.
Scrap Mania
Every Friday and Saturday night, all suburban Archiver's scrapbooking stores host Scrap Mania parties. While they're open to men, none ever attend. So by default, these parties have become big girls night out hot spots.
A group of 14 women came to the Naperville Archiver's last week, but others were in groups of two or three, store manager Laura Quinn said. For $15, each woman gets a hot dinner, snacks and a chance to sit and scrapbook in the store with their friends. While they cut, paste and compare pages, they can shop for items in the store. When the store closes at 9 p.m., it's still open to them exclusively until 11 p.m. One rule to note: alcohol is not allowed.
Archiver's suburban locations include:
2212 S. Randall Road, Algonquin. (847) 458-7052
1328 E. Butterfield Road, Downers Grove, (630) 705-9280
6170 Grand Avenue (in Gurnee Mills Mall), Gurnee, (847) 855-1286
476 Route 59 in Naperville, (630) 305-9290
Shoe party
If you plan in advance, several suburban clothing and shoe stores host after-hours private shopping parties. Ciao Bella, the shoe boutique in downtown Arlington Heights, is a popular place for such a party.
Owner Travis Johnston allows women to bring in their own wine and food, and then, while sipping and dipping, they shop for shoes in the homey store.
Several local women's groups, including PTAs, bunco groups and tennis leagues, have booked parties here in recent months, and some make it their first stop before heading to a restaurant in downtown Arlington Heights or Chicago (the boutique is next to the Metra station).
For women wanting to make the night into a charitable event, Johnston offers to donate a percentage of all sales to the charity.
"Sometimes, our groups are just ladies on the block who haven't been out in a while," he said. "They just come to have fun, with an evening of shoes."
Ciao Bella is at 3 W. Davis Street, Arlington Heights
(847) 342-2043 or www.ciaobellashoes.com
Cooking for the family
Meal assembly kitchens have become popular girls night outings, because women can cook, talk, eat, bring their own beverages (including alcohol), and get a month's worth of custom-made dinners to take home.
The Dinner by Design chain is one place where women like to go. At the Libertyville location, most G.N.O. gatherings take place at 6:30 p.m. Fridays. Ladies can choose from any of the 15 entrees on the monthly menu, which this month includes Irish beef stew, Spaghetti Pie and Bourbon Barbecue Chicken. Six entrees are $130 and 12 are $214. Each entree serves 4-6 people.
Libertyville manager Angela Searcy said a lot of women order carryout from the pizzeria next door to eat before they start cooking. Dinner by Design also has a G.N.O. for Girl Scout Troops, who get a tour of the kitchen and sanitary cooking instructions along with their cooking time.
Dinner By Design has suburban locations in Arlington Heights, Downers Grove, Crystal Lake, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, McHenry, Schaumburg, St. Charles and Wheaton.
Wine tasting
Females love the wine tasting at Tasting deVine in Wheaton, which is affiliated with the famous Lynfred Winery, for many reasons: it's seven days a week, at any hour the business is open, and costs just $7 for seven 2-ounce glasses of wine (plus bread to cleanse the palate). The tasting includes two 3-glass flights of wine, one white and one red, plus one fruit wine.
Women also like to order the fruit and cheese platter and shop in the gift shop for wine, cheese, sausages, pretzels and dips.
"Wine is such a social pleasure that it attracts people that want to get involved in conversation," said manager Bev Fishleigh. "We even have ladies who come in all by themselves, and they feel comfortable. This is not a pickup bar."
Tastings will start later this spring at Lynfred Winery's newest location, at 971 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wheeling.
Tasting deVine is at 127 W. Front Street, Wheaton
(630) 752-WINE or www.lynfredwinery.com/devine.html
Sit N' Knit
Knitting is cool again, which is why so many women like to hang out at String Theory Yarn Co. in Glen Ellyn. On Thursday nights, girls congregate for their free Sit 'N Knits. Some women bring their own food and drink, and they gather around a big table and work on their latest projects. When it's time to set down their needles and take a break, girl can walk around the store and shop for materials and tools.
This popular downtown Glen Ellyn store also offers mother-and-daughter knitting classes, free workshops on Sunday afternoons, and private lessons for groups of three or more.
String Theory Yarn Co. is at 477 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn
(630) 469-6085 or stringtheoryyarncompany.com/
WhirlyBall
The pool tables and flat screen TVs make it feel like a guys hangout, but women show up in groups to play WhirlyBall, a game that's sorta like playing lacrosse and basketball in electric-powered bumper cars. During breaks, ladies can order food or belly up to the full bar. The Lombard location was recently renovated and expanded, and the Vernon Hills location offers Lasertron laser tag.
WhirlyBall locations include 285 Center Drive, Vernon Hills and 800 Roosevelt Road, Lombard.
(800) 894-4759 or www.whirlyball.com