By Jeff Freier, ZAGAT.com staff editor
From Blues to Bouzouki, the entertainment at these restaurants promises a memorable meal
Dining out is entertaining in its own right, but if you want to put some extra pizzazz in your pasta, spark in your steak or glamour in your guacamole, a little show biz with your supper may be in order. And that doesn’t have to mean a sad, lonely piano player tinkling away in the corner. Whatever you're in the mood for – a little German oompah perhaps? some Latino sizzle? Sinatra cool? gender-bending acts? – you’ll find something of interest in the following lineup. So sit down, eat and enjoy the show, folks. Just remember to check websites or call ahead for updated schedules and information.
Boston
Jacob Wirth: “Sing us a song, you’re the piano man”…Mel Stiller plays that role at this Theater District institution (circa 1868) known for its German eats and Friday night sing-alongs, which emphasize ’50s–’80s rock along with show tunes and standards (31-37 Stuart St.; 617-338-8586).
Jacob Wirth
Johnny D’s Uptown: Fill up on a smorgasbord of funk, jazz, rock, Latin, blues, rockabilly, folk and salsa lessons at this Somerville American featuring some big-name acts on the marquee; dinner reservations in advance guarantee a seat for the show (17 Holland St., Somerville; 617-776-2004).
Kowloon: Welcome to Fantasy Island – this Polynesian amusement park in Saugus has everything but the kitschen sink (dinner theater, stand-up comedy, lounge singers, pupu platters, lighted waterfalls) in its sprawling, multiroomed complex (948 Broadway/Rte. 1, Saugus; 781-233-0077).
Les Zygomates: Spend an evening in the Left Bank without the plane fare, cigarette smoke or attitude at this Leather District French where you can listen to live jazz every night (starting at 8 PM) and sip from an extensive wine list (129 South St.; 617-542-5108).
Lucky’s Lounge: You can ring-a-ding-ding to the jazzy lounge music while digging into your American chow at this Sinatra-hip retro speakeasy in the Seaport District that’s as cool and breezy as the summer wind (live music Wednesday–Sunday, Sinatra Nights are Sundays and Wednesdays; 355 Congress St.; 617-357-5825).
Chicago
Edelweiss: Got an oompah and schnitzel monkey on your back? Then make this suburban German-American your headquarters. There’s live Deutsche music Friday–Sunday and, of course, an authentic beer selection that will make you shout wunderbar! (7650 W. Irving Park Rd., Norridge; 708-452-6040).
Smoke Daddy
Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club: It’s not your father’s supper club at this Boys Town Eclectic where you can start off with the Zsa Zsa Gabor appetizer, followed by the Salmon Sez entree washed down with a Godiva White Chocolate martini while being serenaded by a dazzling lineup of female-impersonating divas (3700 N. Halsted St.; 773-525-1111).
The Lobby: If you need more style and class in your life – not to mention chocolate – try this River North Continental seafooder that has a jazz trio with vocalist on Fridays and Saturdays along with a chocolate buffet (Peninsula Hotel, 108 E. Superior St., 5th fl.; 312-573-6760).
Shaw’s Crab House: Skip the formal Main Dining Room, loosen your toupee and let the good times roll in the jumpin’ Oyster Room at this River Norther offering blues, jazz, oysters and sushi (21 E. Hubbard St.; 312-527-2722).
Smoke Daddy: The BBQ is finger-lickin’ good and the blues and jazz are smokin’ hot at this Wicker Parker that sports vintage photos of music legends on the walls and features live bands every night with never a cover in sight (1804 W. Division St.; 773-772-6656).
London
Big Easy: If like some folks your New Year’s resolution is to eat more ribs and lobster, then check out this raucous King’s Road crab shack where the eating’s accompanied by live rock bands every night (332-334 King’s Rd., Chelsea; 020-7352 4071).
The Pigalle Club
Boisdale: There’s no need to argue anymore when you’re hankering for haggis but your partner wants to listen to live jazz – both are found at these British-Scottish spots, where The Boisdale Blue Rhythm Band (playing jazz from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s) and other acts jam at the Eccleston Street locale, while the piano bar grooves over at Bishopsgate (13 Eccleston St., Victoria, 020-7730 6922; Swedeland Ct., 202 Bishopsgate, 020-7283 1763).
Floridita: Rumba your way to this large and loud Wardour Street Latino for authentic comida, live Cuban music and rum, rum and more rum (100 Wardour St., Soho; 020-7314 4000).
Oxo Tower Brasserie: Even if Basil Fawlty were running this South Bank brasserie, he couldn’t screw up its recipe for success – a great view of the city across the Thames, Asian-Med cuisine and live jazz every night (Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House St.; 020-7803 3888).
The Pigalle Club: Break out of your 21st-century rut with some 1940s-style glamour at this Piccadilly supper club, where mirrored walls and soft table lighting set the mood for an array of big- and small-name acts, from jazz to swing to rock (215 Piccadilly, Piccadilly; 020-7734 8142).
Los Angeles
Alegria:
Live Latina bands, flamenco shows with audience participation, tapas and fantástico sangria keep things sizzling at this Long Beach Nuevo Latino (115 Pine Ave., Long Beach; 562-436-3388).
Vibrato Grill & Jazz
Cuban Bistro:
“Luuucy, I’m going to the club” – Ricky Ricardo would feel right at home at this energetic Alhambra bistro showcasing Cuban food and live entertainment (Fridays and Saturdays). If you see a woman with a mustache onstage, it’s probably just Lucy trying to finagle her way into the show (28 W. Main St., Alhambra; 626-308-3350).
Galletto Bar and Grill: You’ll be saying yeah, yeah, yeah to the British invasion as well as classic rock, bossa nova, jazz, you name it – it’s all belted out live at this Italian-Brazilian in Westlake Village seven nights a week (Westlake Plaza, 982 S. Westlake Blvd., Westlake Village; 805-449-4300).
Great Greek:
If just watching the entertainment is too sedate for you, roll up your sleeves and be part of the act at this Sherman Oaks Greek joint where you might find yourself dancing in the aisles with the waiters, while bouzouki music jangles and plates go a-smashing (13362 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 818-905-5250).
Vibrato Grill & Jazz: With jazz as sweet as a taste of honey and a beautiful room as airy as whipped cream, Herb Alpert’s Bel-Air American is the perfect setting for a sophisticated, classy evening (2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air; 310-474-9400).
New York City
Bateaux New York: As if fabulous skyline views aren’t entertainment enough, this three-hour cruise aboard a glass-walled boat departing from Chelsea Piers features live jazz during dinner (Chelsea Piers, Pier 61; 212-352-2022).
The Box
The Box: Patterned after vaudeville houses of old (with the modern twist that it’s expensive and tough to get in), this Lower East Side hot spot is where you’ll find the hipoisie taking in decadent avant-garde-meets-Moulin-Rouge stage acts (189 Chrystie St.; 212-982-9301).
Oak Room: The American fare comes with a side of NYC history at this Algonquin Hotel cabaret where you can mingle with the upper crust, make droll asides to the ghost of George S. Kaufman and listen to performers interpreting the Great American Songbook (Algonquin Hotel, 59 W. 44th St.; 212-840-6800).
Rasputin:
Slug back some vodka and get into the party spirit at this Russian-accented Brighton Beach restaurant/cabaret known for its unreal Las Vegas–style floor show (2670 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn; 718-332-8111).
Spotlight Live:
You don’t have to be a star, baby, to be in this show but you’ll feel like one at this more-than-just-karaoke experience (pro backup singers, simulcasts on the streetside JumboTron) in Times Square serving a full American menu (1604 Broadway; 212-246-2693).
Philadelphia
North by Northwest: Set in a former Woolworths, this Mount Airy American gives you more than a nickel-and-dime’s worth of entertainment thanks to its huge menu of live R&B, salsa, jazz, funk, rock, DJs, dancing and comedy (7165 Germantown Ave.; 215-248-1000).
Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus: Cool cats and chickie babies make the scene at this cozy Northern Liberties Cajun where the old-time jazz will round the edges off any square from Squaresville (847 N. Third St.; 215-922-1035).
World Café Live
Victor Café:
“O Sole Mio” – it’s a night at the opera (sans Groucho) at this South Philly Italian when the waiters break out into arias seven nights a week; N.B. don’t fret – there’s no Sanity Clause in the bill (1303-05 Dickinson St.; 215-468-3040).
Vincent’s:
Come hear former Nat King Cole pianist Al “Stumpy” Russell tickle the ivories while digging into your Wiener schnitzel at this West Chester Continental, or climb upstairs to experience the hot jazz and blues in the second-floor club (10 E. Gay St., West Chester; 610-696-4262).
World Café Live:
Eat to the beat at this split-level performance venue that was literally designed for music and features every kind of genre you can imagine with an American menu complementing the grooves (3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400).
San Francisco
AsiaSF:
Not for the staid, this SoMa hipster hot spot features gender illusionists performing on a red runway bar, color-morphing walls and a Cal-Asian menu featuring dishes like Asia-dillas and Baby Got Back ribs (201 Ninth St.; 415-255-2742).
Shanghai 1930
Café Claude: Sneak down an alley, put on your beret and step into Paris at this French bistro where you can swing to magnifique jazz played Thursdays–Saturdays (7 Claude Ln.; 415-392-3515).
Foreign Cinema: Multitaskers will appreciate the opportunity to combine movie-going and dining out at this Mission Cal-Med that shows foreign, independent and classic films out in their candlelit courtyard (2534 Mission St.; 415-648-7600).
Shanghai 1930: You’ll find sultry jazz lingering in the air at this atmospheric Chinese in an exotic underground setting reminiscent of 1930s Shanghai (133 Stewart St.; 415-896-5600).
Tonga Room:
Check your three-piece suit at the door and slip into a mai tai as you rock and sway to the cover band that plays on a boat in the ‘lake’ that sits in the center of this campy Pan-Asian–Pacific Rim tiki party in Nob Hill (Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason St.; 415-772-5278).
Washington, DC
Busboys & Poets: It’s power to the people at these hoppin’, changin’-the-world U Street Corridor and Shirlington restaurant/lounge/bookstore/community spaces where you can listen to poets and musicians hold forth while digging into American-Eclectic fare (2021 14th St. NW, 202-387-7638; 4251 Campbell Ave, Arlington, VA, 703-379-9756).
701
Dukem:
Scoop up some authentic fare with injera bread while scoping out the nightly live Ethiopian music at this U Street Corridor spot that also features a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony on Sunday afternoons (1114-1118 U St. NW; 202-667-8735).
Primi Piatti:
“Oh, ho, ho, it’s magic” at this Foggy Bottom Italian when chef-owner Savino Recine performs his sleight of hand and magical illusions for wowed diners (but no, he won’t make the bill disappear); call ahead to see when he’ll be performing (the next show will be April 5th; 2013 I St. NW; 202-223-3600).
701:
There aren’t enough “o’s” in the word smooth to describe the soothing jazz that fills the dining room seven nights a week at this Penn Quarter American (701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; 202-393-0701).