Mint Male Magazine

Phoebes
Phoebe's Cupcakes: Phoebe Walters and Kate McNamara opened this cute little pastel blue shop about year ago. With weekly specialty cupcakes from peanut butter brownie to salted caramel and blood orange dreamsicle, they offer it all. This duo has over 200 different cupcakes that rotate weekly. Phoebe's also offers coffees, teas, dog treats and even wedding cupcakes. A friendly and knowledgeable staff is there help pick out these unique and artistically styled cupcakes. What separates them apart from others is their Italian butter cream frosting and perfectly designed cupcakes that pack a scrumptious and consistently excellent flavor. Phoebe and Kate are both culinary schooled pastry chefs and combined with business partner Chad Mollman, this team will for sure raise the bar for cupcake standards not just in Chicago but nationwide.

Intelligentsia

Mission statements are the core of most companies, but Intelligentsia truly upholds theirs. "To provide our customers, staff, and community with an unparalleled and complete coffee and tea experience in an environment steeped in understanding, knowledge, skill, service and mutual respect." Our favorite location is at 3123 North Broadway where many of Mint Male's initial meetings first took place. The environment is like no other coffee house, and it's where the creative of our city come to meet and drink great coffee (it's presented artfully as well!). The servers, who are quite attractive we might ad, serve up the perfect cup of coffee and are always well trained and friendly. They offer up their coffee and tea knowledge with the same artistic passion of the crowd they serve. These bustling cafes offer all types of drinks from lattes to iced coffees and local baked goods with great indie music playing in the background. Intelligentsia truly understands coffee and tea and how to serve it the way it should be. In 1995 Doug Zell and Emily Mange started their coffee roasting company and now boast locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. What makes them truly unique is their direct relationship with growers and the passion they share with their team. They strive to sell, cultivate and produce the best coffee you can find in the States. This is a company that brings art, education and dedication in towards a common goal and excels.

Tweet & Big Chick's Bloody Mary

Tweet, accompanied by the bar Big Chicks, offers unlimited reasons to visit. They have delectable food with a menu that would make any person happy. They have a full bar with a weekly themed party and the ever popular FKA event on every first Thursday. Besides all these wonderful attractions, they carry the best ever hangover cocktail, the Bloody Mary. Their Bloody Mary can be served traditionally, with Pepper Vodka or various combinations of sarichi and wasabi mixes as well. Pair any of these with their famous brunch menu and you have a combo for the perfect Sunday. It's served up in a tiki glass with carrot, celery and green olive garnishes that also makes this drink a great appetizers. Big Chicks is always staffed with friendly and eclectic servers and if you ever need a good paddling, just ask the bartender (please note: he is not joking): it's for real, as is their delicious Bloody Mary.

Favorite Building by Dominic Garascia

Crown Hall, an architectural icon located on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, is arguably one of Chicago's finest and most famous buildings. Designed by Mies Van der Rohe in 1956, it became a masterpiece of modern architecture upon completion. ?Van der Rohe designed the building while he was director of IIT's architecture department, and the building completes his modern campus vision. The building stands out not only for its modern simplicity, graceful proportions, and innovative use of steel and glass, but also because it represents one of the most important paradigm shifts in contemporary architecture — from dark cloistered masonry buildings to airy, open steel and glass structures. On a sunny day sitting in Crown's multi-use space, you feel like you are floating in a canopy of trees. Crown Hall represents the spirit of Chicago: openness, forward thinking, and technological innovation.

Greenheart Shop:

Greenheart empowers consumers by giving them the opportunity to make a positive impact on the planet and mankind with their purchases. At Greenheart, they have variety of items available on any budget, and some are surprisingly affordable considering their origin and high quality. The store has an abundance of jewelry, clothing, food, home decor and much more. Did we mention Greenheart is non-profit? They exist so that we can have somewhere to go and buy these items that are so important to our economy and to social justice. ?The point is, whether you're buying a product for yourself or another, you're also recycling, giving to the underprivileged, and supporting social enterprises all at the same time! ?Greenheart was founded in October 2007 under a parent non-profit called Center for Cultural Interchange. CCI is an international education exchange organization dedicated to the promotion of academic development, cultural understanding, environmental consciousness, and world peace. ?For more information, check out our December Issue with a full spread on Greenheart and their products.

Stardust

Stardust (hosted by Scott Cramer of Outdanced, Mini Shaina of Beatnix, Jenae Williams of Dirty Girls, Bobby Pins of Soundbar & Rew of Debonair, and Intern Jayme of Depaul and the last Thursdays of the month Co-Conspired with Ratcatchers.com and Cult: Zain Curtis of Teen Witch, Matt-Matt of Baby Bamboo, Andrew Hensley of U Nast) is a weekly dance party. This Thursday event brings out a little bit of everyone from the community. The party is usually blanketed with a crowd of hipsters, queers, and sprinkled with every random type of Chicagoan you can imagine. They have a new theme, music, and performance every week and have welcomed Mint Male on numerous occasions to join them in these exciting events. Get there by 10pm and you can expect to be handed a glass of champagne and as of late, some free Colt 45. Stardust is widely known for their amazing guest performers and DJ sets with such names as; Sammy Jo (Scissor Sisters), Amanda Lepor, Cazwell, Crystal Castles (DJ set), Cut Copy (DJ set), and many more. There's always an interesting event going on and at a fantastic venue to meet interesting types from all ends of the scene.