Centerstage - Chicago's Original City Guide

Articles Sections >> Arts + Words Bars + Clubs Dating Festivals Fitness Food Lifestyle Music Theater Travel + Tourism Who's Who > View All Arts and Words Food and Drink Music

There's plenty of champagne love to go around at Pops for Champagne.

Monday Feb 05, 2007.     By Dana Kavan

Who's Who Feed

One of love's cruel twists is the subjectivity of romance. Some people swoon over cheesy Hallmark rhymes, while others cringe at their generic attempts at flattery. Yep, successfully wooing your significant other can often feel like a guessing game. Here's a sure thing: crisp champagne, smooth jazz, rich chocolates and raw oysters. If this combo were any sexier, I'd have to tell it to find a room—but you can find it all at Pops for Champagne.

With Valentine's Day right around the corner and Pops honoring it with five days of festivities, I figured there was no better time than now to catch up with Pops bartender Kevin Rebhan. Before Pops and Rebhan moved to its River North location, he had spent nearly six years pouring bubbly on the North Side. The address has changed, but this place and Rebhan still take champagne seriously. And that's a good thing whether you're ordering a bottle that costs as much as a car payment.

The best drink in the house is: Champagne. A lot of people ask me what's my favorite champagne and then you've got to ask them the question, by the bottle or by the glass? And then you've got to ask do they want to do vintage or non-vintage? Do they want to do a rose, sparkling wine world or sparkling wine U.S.A.? It's a subjective question; it's hard to say. By the bottle my favorite house is Charles Heidsieck. The vintage, the non-vintage, the rose—they're all completely consistent to their style. They're clean. It's just a really well-rounded house.

Patrons might score a free drink if: Our focus on free drinks is that we want to, I think, build a regular clientele, along with appreciate others in the business. Otherwise, how can they score a free drink from me? I can't promise anything, but I'll do what I can to make your time here as enjoyable as possible.

Little known fact about this joint: We have one of the largest by-the-bottle selections in the nation and one of the top three to five in the world. People who come in and want to drink champagne are in the right place. And for people who don't want to drink champagne, we still have a full spirit bar and other things to offer. We're working on a cocktail list that should be coming out in next month or so.

For good grub before or after a shift, you hit up: Before, I try to eat at home for the most part, but I'll go down to Weber Grill to get a burger. After our shift, we'll go to Bijan's Bistro. Bijan's is kind of across the board...burgers, antipasti plates, steak sandwiches and everything. We close at 2 a.m. and during the week they're open until 4 a.m. and open until five on Saturday. We go there for a couple of drinks, just to wind down and grab some food if we get there in time.

When you're not boozing here, you prefer to patronize: Oh, man. I enjoy going to Webster's Wine Bar or any wine bars. It depends on if I'm in the mood for beer, wine or champagne. If I'm in the mood for beer, Hopleaf. The food's great there, and they have a huge selection of Belgian-style and European beers.

Another bartender we should know is: I would actually say if you're looking to go to McCormick and Schmick's, Greg Broyles. I used to work with him up north. He's a great guy and can have a conversation with anybody. He always knows something about something.

Most romantic and unromantic things you've seen go down: Not at this place because we haven't been open for Valentine's Day yet, but up north, the most romantic thing was we actually had a guy propose to his girlfriend. I don't remember how he presented the ring, but it was really nice and the whole room started watching, and when he was done, they all started cheering. Unromantic? There's nothing really that sticks out. A woman had a couple too many Parisian cocktails once, and as she was leaving, she lost the majority of her cocktail right there on the table. That was the worst. It's not necessarily romantic or unromantic, though. I can't remember if she was with a date or not.

For more about Pops for Champagne's Valentine's Day events, visit www.popsforchampagne.com.