Had a work outing here and it was a blast. Our event was in the form of a cooking competition. We…read moresplit up into teams and each team was given an ingredient to work with. It started off with some planning time within each team to determine what to cook. Once the staff gives you the green light, all hell breaks loose. Ok maybe that's an exaggeration, but it does get really hectic (especially at the end) as everyone rushes to finish their dishes. If you're a noob chef, don't worry because the Cooking Fools chefs are on hand to answer questions and help out with more complex processes. Keep in mind that you have almost every ingredient and cooking method at your disposal so don't limit your imagination. After the final buzzer, we presented our dishes to the judges, we ourselves ate our dishes (everyone cooked a lot), and then the judges declared the results. Protip: take time to plate your dishes (a.k.a. make them look pretty).

Attended the pasta class via Groupon…read more The first thing to know about this place is that it is NOT BYOB. You will want to drink while you cook because cooking is hard and drinking makes you not care. You can buy wine in the attached shop, but I advise you to buy one bottle of wine per person BEFORE your class begins. Between learning, cooking and eating, you will be there upwards of three hours. We showed up at 6:30 and didn't eat until 9:15. By that time, our one and only bottle of wine was empty. And guess what. The shop that sells wine closes at 9:00. They're total dicks about selling you another bottle past 9:00. And no, they won't let you run next door to get a bottle and bring it in because of their stupid liquor license. This will cause you to RAGE OUT. While we had wine glasses, we had to search high and low for water glasses. There's a cabinet full of glassware that says "Display Only." It feels like this is just a dumb oversight on their part. Here's my 3-part plan for making the hydration situation less stupid: 1. Announce when the shop is closing, so people can run and grab another bottle of wine. 2. Just be BYOB, because the alternative is annoying. 3. Provide water glasses and carafes throughout the room. I mean, come on. If you prepare by getting your liquid situation on lockdown before the class, you will have fun. You watch the instructor run through the entire pasta-making process, then you're turned loose to do it yourself. PAY ATTENTION while she talks because she won't repeat herself and you're bound to forget something. The instructors do come around periodically and basically shrug and say, "Yeah, you got it." After making our dough, we turned it into ravioli and pappardelle. Once you're done, they haul off everyone's pasta and they cook it for you. It's kind of a bummer you're not assured of getting YOUR pasta. Everyone's pasta is jumbled together and served on a big platter. If you want to take some home, grab a container and set some aside as you go through the line the first time. When we went to take some leftovers, the platters were empty. Bummer. This is a really good activity for couples or groups with multiples of two. You'll have fun and learn something you'll probably never try at home. But seriously, stock up on wine. It's a long night and they are dicks about their stupid rules.

This is a must do. My friends and I did the Bordeaux Menu on 1/8/2020 with Ryan and a number of…read moreother people. It was a fantastic experience and exceeded our expectations. Ryan was able to manage all of us and get us all involved in the preparation of our meal. We learned a lot of tips, had fun preparing the meal, got to wear chef's hats and aprons, and we all gathered around a table for a wonderful meal. What a concept to get so many people together and then to have us all work together to prepare a larger meal, from appetizers through dessert. Ryan did a great job with us. Will be back.

What an AMAZING experience! I came with 3 friends for a girl's night and we all had an absolute…read moreBLAST. There were about 16 attendees total, which was a good sized group for the location. We started off with about a half hour of mingling, getting setup with drinks (BYOB) and the provided fresh baked bread with assorted cheeses, then all gathered around the large U-shaped island that would be our workspace. As others have mentioned, this isn't a you-cook-everything for your meal type of experience, rather, every step is demonstrated by the instructor then a few people in the class will take turns performing it while others move on to other steps. My class was the Bavette menu, which was (I'm not even going to attempt to write out the french titles for these) a bacon and mushroom puff pastry, sous-vide flank steak with duck fat roasted potatoes and Bearnaise sauce, and a chocolate lava cake for dessert. The food was fantastic. An absolutely amazing meal. But really the best part about this whole experience was the people and the group interaction. Throughout the night, we all got to know each other and had a bunch of fun working together. There was tons of laughter and it was an all around great time. It culminated in us sitting at a long table and having dinner together. It was also someone's birthday, so we all sang happy birthday. Overall, 10/10 experience! I will DEFINITELY be back. This was one of the best girl's nights we've had in a while, but it would also be great for a date or just a couple of friends. Hell, it would even be a great first date! Oh, and our instructor, Ryan, was incredible. He was hilarious and a great teacher.

Amazing fun and truly spectacular instruction..you WILL leave with a finished product that looks…read morelike the website photo. Welcoming warm friendly patient staff - professionals who care!!! Have done layer cake..sculpted cake..cookies..cookies on top of a tray cake --have attended with my sisters, my niece - my daughter and son-in-law.... Loved the cocktails- mocktails-salad-focaccia and trifle--don't hesitate -don't miss the fun!

Charming, inviting, and truly magical time at Bon Vivant in Albany Park…read more From start to finish, you feel a community with the 15 other cake makers there. Tasty treats and the best mock tail I've ever had started the party as you got to know your table mates. Amanda - our hilarious and patient leader, did a wonderful job explaining the steps, and letting us create our own path when it came to the decorating. Anika was also super sweet and was the behind the scenes magician. I can't wait to go back. I'm so proud of what we all did. Truly a unique and uplifting experience.

A true 10/10 experience! My two year old had a BLAST at the one hour tots class. He was able to…read morechop veggies, mix Rangoon filling, wash dishes and... EAT! It was a fast paced class to keep kids' interest, but everything was clear and perfectly tailored to toddlers. As a former early childhood teacher myself, I was highly impressed! I'm sad to know their brick and mortar is closing at the beginning of next month because I want to sign my son up for a thousand more classes! If you can squeeze in a class while they're still open, it's absolutely worth the money!

My brother and sister in law sweetly got me a gift certificate for classes here for my birthday…read more Their thought was I could use it for virtual cooking classes with my 10 year old son. I reached out initially to them via email and Kallie replied since they hadn't posted their fall schedule mid summer but she promised to email me as soon as they released. A month later she sweetly sent me an email notifying me (I was impressed she remembered!). Unfortunately being west coast based, the live class times were too early for us on weekends and my son wasn't keen on an on demand class. I wasn't too sure what to do with the gift certificate and Kallie explained that although their focus isn't on retail sales there were some items they stock and she sweetly took pictures and my gift certificate was able to cover some lovely items (including recipe cards for my son's gluten free diet). I was so impressed how Kallie went so above and beyond that if we were living in Chicago would be frequenting this spot often given their exemplary level of customer service.

So glad to have this space back open! I rented it out for my son's 2nd birthday party. We had a…read moregreat experience and would highly recommend. The kids loved racing around the open space and exploring all of the toys. The toddlers loved climbing through the tunnels. The adults enjoyed the space to gather in the party room. As the host, I had a terrific experience! The owner allowed me to drop in early to store some of my supplies in the fridge. She was very helpful during the party supplying me with things I'd forgotten and checking in to ensure all was well. I look forward to dropping in for classes in the future. As I was dropping things off, there was a cute baby sign language class taking place. The environment is so fresh, clean, and calm! Welcome to the neighborhood, Southport Fundamentals!

We recently attended a birthday party and the kids (and adults) had a great time! The space is set…read moreup to allow children to be active, creative, and engaged. We would highly recommend this space for birthday parties, as the party room is perfect for decorating, storing food/drinks, and mingling. Fun aside, the space is exceptionally clean and the owner was on site to help with the flow of the party. This space would also be ideal for hosting adult gatherings (classes, parties, meetings, etc.). Welcome to the neighborhood!

I hosted a baby shower at the DL loft in 2018 and then hosted a 30th birthday party/dinner this…read moreyear (2020) and both events were unbelievable! Debi and her team are available, responsive and creative. In both instances I shared a theme and they ran with it, far surpassing our expectations. We had another 30th birthday planned and unfortunately the plans were ruined due to COVID. With 6 days notice I reached out to Debi and asked if she was available and could help me pull together a "Vanderpump Garden" theme dinner. She was emailing me late into the evening on the weekend making arrangements, and when we walked in we could not believe what she had accomplished in such a quick timeframe. The decor was stunning, the food was amazing and the overall atmosphere was exactly what we needed to be able to relax and spend time with our closest friends. Thank you so much to Debi and team for a truly special night. We will be back!

I was hired by DebILilly to provide ice cream sandwiches for a wedding that she was planning. I…read moreexplained that the outset the challenges, but I went ahead and followed through with what I promised, which was with that I delivered to her Uber that she had hired to drive them to Grand Rapids met in Ann Arbor. It was clearly explained that once she received the ice cream sandwiches, they would need to go into the freezer as they would not be served until the next day evening. Apparently, she did not put them in the freezer as discussed, so when she went to serve them, they were melted. That only has she refused to pay me. She refuses to communicate at all and acknowledge of the situation and acknowledge her responsibility I would be more than happy to find a resolution that works for both parties. However, I do that if she's not willing to communicate. I would not recommend working with her at all. Completely unprofessional.

DO NOT consider a winter wedding here, and absolutely DO NOT expect transparency or flexibility…read morewith any hiccups in their formula. Also, they apparently blocked my account on Zola -- I can't find them in a search when I'm logged in anymore. Thankfully I was able to leave a review without being logged in, and am also sharing here. TLDR: they can't accommodate winter weddings, despite including those months as available on their website, and they aren't transparent about their inability to do so. They can only provide half a venue, with 40% decreased capacity, but still expect you to pay full price. I was appalled by their poor communication and business practices throughout our experience trying to book them for our January wedding. -- -- The issues started when booking a tour -- their availability is challenging if you work a day job, and we were also limited with my partner's 24/48 shifts for the city. But I rearranged my work to accommodate their schedule. The day of the tour we received a vague cancellation with 3 hours notice, saying they would work with our schedules to get a new tour on the calendar. They very much did NOT work with our schedules, declined several options I requested that would work without us making major concessions on our end, and only offered a small window later than their once-a-week evening slots. We were once again rearranging our schedule to work for theirs after their cancellation. When we finally had the tour, I'll admit it's a gorgeous venue. We were excited about booking there, but concerned about how they'd handle January events. Since their website includes Jan in their off-peak season rates, I figured they had a plan for accommodating cold weather (they have a tent for the yard, but it's insufficient for temps under 30 degrees and that's a heavy gamble for evenings in January). They didn't seem to have any ideas outside using that tent. They do have an upstairs to the venue that reflects the ground floor footprint, so I asked if they would include these in the base rate (they're usually an add-on expense) because we were losing space in the yard. They said they would "compromise" by including just one of the rooms, but would reduce capacity to only 70. We had been straightforward that our guest list was 80-90, and their website advertises up to 120 guests for a buffet or cocktail reception, which was our plan. I understand they don't do a ton of events in the winter, so I thought maybe they just didn't have a well-designed plan for colder months and we could find a way to work one out. But they refused to work with us to expand capacity beyond 70 guests AND made no concessions on price. I have no idea what they would have done had we moved forward and temperatures were too cold for a tent (leave our guests shivering? cut our guest list week-of? at the door?) -- I asked and and they couldn't answer. On top of it all, they made me feel like I was a problem for having these concerns. At the end of the day, I can't believe that a venue would expect clients to pay full price for half a venue and 40% decreased capacity, especially in a season they admit having little to no bookings. They clearly do not want business in their winter months, but will jerk you around for a month pretending they do.

Exceeded our (extremely high) expectations at every step, turn, and touchpoint!…read more We worked with the AMAZING Teddy and Sarah and from the start knew we were in the right place, space and best of hands. First of all, Firehouse is charming as all HECK. This isn't your drab hotel ballroom where partition walls, lighting rigs and bunches and bunches of flowers can barely start to cover the lack of character. This space has personality and soul, every last inch. Classic Chicago neighborhood setting, we didn't want to leave the beautiful courtyard space. Everything about the venue is built to make your guests feel at home, comfortable and intimate to the party. Did we mention the firepole?! Best entry ever for a groom to make. We can't recommend enough - Teddy and Sarah listened to all our thoughts/concerns/ideas and custom built a space and flow that complimented the night in every possible way.

This place is good to host a party. There is enough space to play and run around for the little…read moreones. The staff is helpful and available. They provide a lot for parties and work with you in setup. The space looked clean and staff wiped down toys.

We hosted our 2 year old's birthday party here. We wanted something that he would enjoy for his…read morespecial day, and this place did just that. Little Adventures was a hassle free, no stress way to host the party. They give you 30 minutes prior to your party for you and 2 other adults to set up your party. They provide you with two tables, plates, cutlery, napkins, garbage bags and cups. It was intimate, clean, spacious, and fun. I will definitely host again here in the near future!