Sheffield's Beer and Wine Garden
3258 N. Sheffield Ave.
(773) 281-4989
(773) 281-2903 Fax
www.SheffieldsChicago.com

Raven's
2326 N. Clark Ave.
(773) 348-1774

Silver Cloud
1700 N. Damen Ave.
(773) 489-6212
(773) 489-2834 Fax
www.SilverCloudChicago.com

Ah yes, are there any three sweeter words in a Cubs Fan’s lexicon than – “Baseball in October”? Which begs the annual question: Is next year this year? The Cubbies will travel to Arizona this Wednesday to begin a series that will bring them back to Wrigley on Saturday, a day forecast to have temperatures as unseasonable as the Cubs post September play. The prayers of Cub’s fans of all ages have been conditionally answered and we can only wait and see what the future has in store. But there are some simple things we all can do to further the cause. So as a pointed reminder, may we remind those fans that will be traveling to the game - DON’T INTERFERE WITH A BALL IN PLAY!

Yes, the Cubs are in the playoffs and Sheffield’s is ready to step up to the plate. Our kitchen staff has brought their A-game, the bartenders are warming up in the off-peak bullpen of mid-week, and we’re putting the tech guys through their paces to make sure you’re in on the action, live and in HD. In short, we can’t think of a better place in all of Chicago to watch the games (except, of course, the bleachers, or from the box seats behind home plate; but that’s a whole other ballgame). You ticket-less masses bring your true Cubbie-blue selves to Sheffield’s each and every game: we’ll have food and drink specials, raffles with prizes extraordinaire and a beer selection that knocks those six dollar cans of Old Style and Bud Light right out of the park. We’re behind the Cubs all the way; let’s hope that’s the way they play it.

With the eventual advent of cooler weather, our kitchen is making a few seasonal adjustments as well. We’re going to step up the stick-to-your ribs kind of food that Chicagoans like to wrap themselves around when the wind swings down from the north and the ivy drops from Wrigley’s outfield walls. Look for hearty soups, signature mashed potato specials and, of course, our slow-smoked, southern style BBQ. Cubs and ‘Que, what could be better?

While we’re all celebrating post season baseball, it’s good to remember that your own big seasonal celebrations aren’t far off. Thanksgiving Day we’ll be open after seven PM, for those of you who’d like to sedate nerves jangled from a day of family togetherness. And right after Thanksgiving comes the usual onslaught of parties - commercial, fraternal and social. Hit a homerun with your office entertainment committee and suggest Sheffield’s for your annual soiree. Check out our website for details (www.sheffieldschicago.com) then give us a call.

Last, but certainly not least, we’d like to remind you that Sheffield’s pumpkin carving will be held in the beer garden, Thursday the 25th. Innocent vegetables, semi-sharp objects and beer; would it be too much to ask for a Chicago playoff game that same night?

Come November the pumpkins will wilt and baseball season will be a thing of the past - let’s just hope, for all of us who love the Cubs, that this year’s romance will be an affair to remember.

Join us at Ravens for Cocktails and Conversation everyday till 4am (5am on Saturdays)!

• $3 draft special - all day/everyday.

• Beer Garden is now open - weather permitting.

Hope to see you soon!

The 1st of October was World Vegetarian Day and this newsletter is being published too late to laud our laudatory veggie sloppy joe; a sandwich which, by all accounts, was quite tasty. Yes, I missed a deadline - so sue me. For those of you who enjoyed it, thanks. For those who didn’t, there’s always next year.

And speaking of years and commemorations - which of the following is the most accurate: In fourteen hundred and ninety two Columbus sailed the ocean blue - or was it - in fourteen hundred and ninety three Columbus sailed the deep blue sea, or in fourteen hundred ninety four Columbus sailed from shore to shore…? Whatever, at the Silver Cloud we’re celebrating Chris’ and crew’s unanticipated Caribbean collision by opening at 11 AM sharp for lunch, on Columbus Day, Monday the 8th. You postal clerks and bank tellers of the world, who have the day off, enjoy.

Since we’re on the topic of anniversaries, there are two important dates pending that need a calendared consideration. Namely, the 17th annual running of the Round the Coyote and the Silver Cloud’s own Lucky 13th. Okay, okay, so the Coyote is this month, from the 12th to the 14th, and Cloud’s big birthday doesn’t come round till November - but what the hey, we think we’ve a right to blow our own horn. Round the Coyote is the celebrated arts fest that showcases the best of Wicker Park’s creative cast, or at least those that haven’t been cast out by the neighborhood’s rapacious development. The Silver Cloud’s anniversary is art in its own right; thirteen years of serving up the comfort food that keeps our neighbors at their creative peak.

In Chicago, October’s harvest mooned transition weans us from the sultry summer months. At the Silver Cloud, Ween’s new album, La Cucaracha, debuts on the 23rd. Yes, it’s a segue as tortured as vermin trapped in glue-strip motel, but nevertheless we’ll have CD giveaways and special deals on Goose Island 312 to commemorate the event, which goes a long way toward making up for the pain.

Since one good tortured segue deserves another, we’d like to remind you that Halloween’s macabre manifestations roll around at the end of the month. (Halloween, tortured, macabre… get it? Oh boy I kill myself. Wait – Kill, Halloween, tortured… get it? Oh never mind). Just show up in costume at any time of the day from the 26th to the 31st and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win; to win something or the other that we haven’t quite figured out yet. It’ll be good, we promise.

We’ve got the NFL Sunday ticket and here’s the deal – the fans who bring the biggest crowd into the house get to pick the game that’s on surround sound. And appetizers are fifty percent off all day. We’ve got daily specials sure to warm the hearts and souls of man, woman and child. We’ve got all that and all the other fabulous stuff that we’ve been working on these past thirteen years. Triskaidekaphobia? Not at the Cloud.