Looking to have a leisurely chat with friends over cappuccino and custard?  Or a rendezvous with a side of baklava?  Step into Papagalino Café in Niles, where you can enjoy conversation and sweet treats. The menu at Papagalino Café is highlighted by Greek pastries, including loukomades (sweet fritters served warm with a honey syrup), bougatsa (baked custard in homemade fillo topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon) and baklava. Those with a sweet tooth can also indulge in desserts such as Black Forest cake, tiramisu, strawberry torte, crème caramel and profiterols, among others.  If you want …

Beers, beanbags and bonhomie are some of the things you’ll find at Excueses Bar & Billiards in Des Plaines. It’s a neighborhood watering hole, but you needn’t be a townie to enjoy the setting. There are four pool tables – you can play billiards free with a drink purchase – two dart boards, a jukebox and an outdoor patio that also has beanbag games during the summer (score!).  Thursday is karaoke night, and weekends sometimes feature live bands.  Related: Crazy Jaws: Show Us Your Ribs! The atmosphere is casual (think rec room) with wood paneling, plenty of flat-screen TVs, and comfy swivel …

If the thought of Mardi Gras, Cajun food and hurricanes (the drink, not the weather phenomenon) sets your toes a tappin,’ head to Morton Grove-based restaurant Crazy Jaws. Easily, the single most popular dish served is the spicy jambalaya, notes Niral Patel, who co-owns Crazy Jaws with his cousin Sanjay Patel. “It has a nice kick,” says Patel. “People order it two or three times more often than anything else.”   More fun: Sports bars The menu also includes such New Orleans mainstays as gumbo, po’ boy and muffuletta sandwiches and red beans and rice.  These are complemented by more …

Seeking some grown-up respite, perhaps with food, adult beverages and televised sporting events? Try Playbook Ultra Sports Bar, a family-owned establishment which opened in Niles in June. The venue should satisfy die-hard sports aficionados, as it has some 30 flat-screen TVs – and a 100 inch LCD display - which broadcast sporting events including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, boxing, auto racing and soccer. The spacious layout has a sleek, modern feel, with plenty of dark wood, stone and glass in evidence.  A patio offers warm weather outdoor dining.  In keeping with the sports …

A horse is a horse (of course, of course), but do you know how to ride one? Wondering where to score a pony ride for the little one this weekend? Find answers at the Glen Grove Equestrian Center in Morton Grove. Located at the corner of Harms and Golf Roads, the facility offers boarding and riding lessons seven days a week, by appointment, year-round (thanks to an indoor heated arena). Glen Grove has four staff instructors and there are 15 facility-owned school horses which are used in lessons. Kids must be at least 7 years old to take lessons. Private lessons ($40/half hour) and semi-private…

Aloha! Lovers of Polynesian culture and all things tiki - rejoice!  Find your paradise in Des Plaines, at The Tiki Terrace, where the food, décor and weekend shows will put you in a Hawaiian frame of mind. Wear your finest Hawaiian shirt and lei, and prepare to take in the impressively authentic ambiance: subdued lighting, dozens of tikis, a thatch-roofed bar, hand-crafted Hawaiian artifacts, and sarong-clad waitresses set the scene.  Relax with one of the exotic tropical drinks: Zombie, mai tai, and pina coladas, among them. (yes, you get an umbrella, too). Friday and Saturday nights feature…

Is chlorine your preferred perfume? Pride yourself on your awesome pike dive?  Even if you just prefer to soak up the sun in a reclining lounger, come enjoy the offerings at Oasis Fun Center in Niles. Operated by the Niles Park District, the clean and well-maintained renovated water park was re-opened in May 2008. It features a splash pad playground with lots of sprayers and buckets for younger kids, a zero depth wading pool, two diving boards, a drop chute, and two water slides – one smaller, one bigger - built into rock facades. Lifeguards are vigilant about patrolling the sizeable pool (…

Now that June is (finally) here, it’s time to explore what might qualify as a hidden gem: Lake Opeka and Lake Park in Des Plaines. Under the auspices of the Des Plaines Park District, the facility offers outdoors lovers a variety of options to take advantage of the lazy summer days. Lake Opeka water activities available are paddle boating (available for rental by the half hour), fishing (fishing license required, available at Fishtech, 5802 Dempster, Morton Grove, and other places), and – if you own your own sailboat – sailing. Regattas take place throughout the season on Sunday afternoons …

Live life on the edge this weekend by heading to IceLand Arena in Niles. Operated by the Niles Park District, the indoor ice rink welcomes all gliders - no need to be able to do (or to pronounce) a triple salchow. IceLand offers open public skate at designated times seven days a week. Hockey enthusiasts who bring helmet and full equipment can participate in open hockey sessions: unsupervised, no checking allowed, held weekdays. Skates are available for rental at $3.00 per pair. While you're busy doing mohawk turns, toe loop jumps (or just gingerly marching forward), note the many banners …

Westward, Ho! Hit the links this weekend at Mountain View Adventure Center in Des Plaines, whose 18-hole miniature golf course - designed to resemble a rustic old mining town - is a real gem, or gold nugget, as the case may be.  The course features challenging obstacles throughout, in addition to various mining-era artifacts (check out the tombstones - one inscribed: "Horse Thife Hanged Today By Mistak"). It is highlighted by a beautiful natural landscape. Tall grasses, lush foliage and greenery, rock formations, bridges, waterfalls and ponds create a serene atmosphere in which to play. Oft-…

Looking for a cinema experience more avant-garde than the usual mindless shoot-‘em-up, blow-it-up fare? More a fan of Truffaut than Michael Bay? Find it at Talk Cinema, an intriguing sneak preview film series, whose latest offering will be screened Sat. April 30 at 10:00 a.m. at the AMC Showplace Niles 12 Theater at Golf Mill Shopping Center.  Talk Cinema offers a lineup of innovative independent and foreign films, followed by discussions led by guest speakers including critics, filmmakers and other industry experts. The films are curated by veteran film critic Harlan Jacobson. Here is a …