Moms Night Out at the Kit Kat Lounge

Who is this sparkling singing sensation, you might ask? No, it's not me. We'll get to that in a bit.

Once a month, a group of moms I'm friends with gets together for a Moms Night Out. No husbands and no babies; just us. We each take turns planning the monthly event. September was my turn and I decided we needed to do it up right. In planning this event, I decided that the place I selected needed to meet three criteria:

1. The restaurant needed to have fabulous food and cocktails
2. The place needed to be somewhere we'd never take a child
3. The atmosphere and style of the destination should encourage us to dress up a bit and sparkle

When I had my criteria together, the perfect restaurant popped into my head. The Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club, of course! I've eaten at Kit Kat twice before and have loved the inventive food and decadent cocktails both times. I also knew that Kit Kat boasted a very hip, stylish atmosphere and had unique entertainment such as performances by drag queens. Cool cocktails, delicious food and singing drag queens...what more could we want?

So off to Kit Kat we went. We got an excellent table, perhaps the best in the house, and sampled a few of their cocktails to start while absentmindedly glancing at the old movies they were projecting onto the restaurant's walls. I had the Ruby Slipper which is a concoction of vodka, triple sec and ruby red grapefruit juice. Smooth, just the right blend of sweet and tart, and oh so good.

I loved that there were five of us at the table because that meant we could sample a lot of Kit Kat's dishes. Fortunately, everyone wanted something different, making for even better sampling. I had the "Now That's Amore" ravioli. Ravioli stuffed with brie, asparagus, and herbs in a creamy, perfectly flavored sauce. Another friend had the "Big Daddy's Shrimp Goes Tropical" (an artfully presented plate of coconut shrimp) and wasabi mashed potatoes. Two others had a halibut daily special and a stuffed chicken breast daily special. Finally, another friend ordered the "Cafe Filet," a gorgeous beef filet with a completely unique coffee flavored sauce on top. We all loved our meals and commented that they were both beautifully presented and absolutely delicious.

Our only disappointment with the food was that they didn't have a full dessert menu. When we were offered dessert, we learned that the dessert selections for the evening were apple pie or carrot cake. I'm sure both would have been lovely, but neither jumped out at us as a "must have." So we passed on dessert.

So I've mentioned the great food and spectacular cocktails. What else made this evening so much fun? A stunning performance by a drag queen named Tracey! Tracey, pictured above in her Diana Ross attire, treated diners to several performances throughout the night. The lights would flash for a brief moment and then out would come Tracey, strutting into the main dining room, in full costume, makeup and wig, ready to dance and lip synch some popular songs. First Tracey performed as Anita Baker and she was practically a twin to the star. Then a few minutes later she reemerged in completely different costume, wig and makeup as Whitney Houston. Then we were treated to Dionne Warwick, then Diana Ross, and then finally in a surprising turn of events, Madonna. Watching Tracey perform was so much fun and her energy and enthusiasm was contagious. While it's slightly disconcerting that the performer in drag looks more beautiful than 90% of the women you know, it's a testimony to Tracey's art.

Tracey came over to our table and welcomed us at one point in the evening. She told us to "have as much fun as is necessary." I don't know how much fun is necessary, but I like the thought of that. It's my quote of the week.

The Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club has a terrific, hip atmosphere and its staff is very helpful. One of the staff's best traits is that they completely understand when diners want to take their time and just relax over their meal and cocktails. I never feel pressured when I'm at Kit Kat and I always get the feeling they'd let me sit there all night if I wanted. The food is excellent, with inventive flavor pairings and pretty presentation. The cocktails...don't even get me started on how good some of those are. And of course there's the added benefit of really fun, unique entertainment.

I think all my friends enjoyed this Moms Night Out. I know I did.

Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club
3700 N. Halsted Street
Chicago, Illinois
USA
773-525-1111