Chicago - August 31, 2007

Beer Factor

Paramount Room Opens

In college, beer smashing, beer pong, and beer bongs were not only acceptable, they were respectable modes of social interaction.

But shotgunning PBRs and tapping kegs don’t provide the euphoria they used to.

Embrace good taste (and your age) at Paramount Room, Jon Young’s (Kitsch’n) latest River West gastropub. With twelve rotating beers on tap and more than twenty bottles and cans, this ain’t your average frat party.

Stephen Dunne (MK) has created a menu that will make Cup o’ Noodles a distant memory: ale-steamed Prince Edward Island mussels, grilled organic chicken with wilted spinach and lemon butter, and seared Kobe tri-tip steak.

The old speakeasy has been transformed into a dual-level lounge with custom bar, metallic banquettes, and a beer goddess statue presiding over the whole operation. A swanky pool table and plasma TVs round out the decor.

See? Being grown-up isn’t so bad.

Paramount Room, 415 North Milwaukee Avenue, at Kinzie Street (312-829-6300 or paramountroom.com).