When one thinks of awesome things to do in Chicago, going out to the suburbs usually isn’t on the agenda. Unless you’re talking about a screening of “Jaws” at a brand-new theater complete with an introduction from Richard Dreyfuss.It may have been the shark blog I help run that took me back out to where I grew up — Naperville — but the new Hollywood Palms theater is a pretty sweet place. It is a bar, restaurant and movie theater all in one. Since it was a grand opening event I thought it was just going to be an occasional thing to have actor appearances — River East 21 in downtown Chicago usually takes red carpet premiere honors — but Hollywood Palms has gotten a lot of attention for the Dreyfuss appearance as well as one from “Twilight”‘s Ashley Greene. It’s a little pricey to see a movie this way, but for something unconventional — and an excuse to hang with the parents — it’s definitely worth the visit.
For more family fun, or just a wild time with friends, there are a couple of fun bowling alleys to hit around the North Side. Diversey Rock N Bowl is open every night until 2 a.m. and until 3 a.m. from September to May, which is later than some bars even. Logan Square’s Fireside Bowl has a little more history to the place, as it used to double as a music venue that hosted some legendary punk rock shows in the 1990s, but today just remains as a place to throw a ball at some pins and have a few beers.
Alkaline Trio at Fireside Bowl
[...] I am interested in the concept of non-traditional theaters like Hollywood Palms Cinema, which I wrote about a few months ago. To me, if you’re going to have to spend X dollars on a movie in a theater, [...]