West Side story

POLE DANCE Leave your inhibitions back in River North, please.

Photo: Amanda Rivkin

Chicago’s Eastern European communities maintain a reputation for uninhibited partying that puts so-called hipster joints to shame. After a month of researching the city’s northwesterly, particularly Polish, nightlife enclaves, we can safely say they’re the real deal.

Visiting Jedynka (5610 W Diversey Ave, 773-889-7171), for example, is an easy way to escape lurking old flames (and find new ones). Open since 1993, the hot spot’s bigger-than-life reputation extends all the way to Poland itself. Huge, looming screens project videos of girls in string bikinis rolling around on the beach and limo-service ads. Among a mix of recognizable tracks, there’s a bit of the Polish twist on techno with a sampling of Eastern European disco. On Sunday nights, DJ Kuba hosts the Euro Retro Party, one of the longest-standing Polish dance parties in the city.

For too-cool East Siders, a Saturday night at Jedynka is like celebrating New Year’s Eve over and over again—everyone is charmingly, sloppily bumping, and even your most socially uptight friends can’t help but storm the dance floor. “Polish dancing is very different from American,” says Halina Misterka, an archivist for the Polish Museum of America. “Polish people are taught to dance very young. So we know all the moves. It’s in our blood.”

It’s true, these Polish clubs play host to few wallflowers. Girls move, flaunting robust chests in skin-tight outfits while the guys’ style seems to be out of a thrift store from the future. One of the odder points of the night is when Jedynka’s DJ drops a heavy-metal house mash-up on the system and the crowd keeps grinding as if it’s listening to R. Kelly. “Polish dancing is romantic. The man holds the woman very close at times,” Misterka says.

Polish singles looking for some friction have been flocking to Capitol Night Club (4244 N Milwaukee Ave, 773-685-1194) for the past 22 years. The walls are covered in Lisa Frank–style murals of dolphins diving through frosty waves. The mural, along with the Red Bull and vodka cocktails scattered about, radiate a ghostly glow under the bar’s many black lights. Open just three nights a week, the bar specializes in trance music and Polish pop.

“There are no other real Polish night clubs in the city,” boasts club owner Chester Kiercul. “I am the only one.” Kiercul is quick to add that you don’t have to be Polish to shake it under the disco balls and TV screens. “Any kind of people come,” he says. “I got Mongolians.” And indeed, cute, trendy, petite Mongolian girls can be found taking tequila shots while mature Polish men sip cognac. Regulars swear Saturday nights are the time to make the trek to Capitol Night Club.

If disco, techno and trance are not your thing, but you still want to taste some sugary Polish liquor, get over to Bim Bom Lounge (5226 W Belmont Ave, 773-777-2120), the heavenly heavy-metal bar and club. Enter through the Frank Gehry–esque exterior of this joint with its swooping, bent metal sheeting. Sit yourself down at the bar and let the cute, blond shot server of the last 12 years, Edyta Kruk, pour you a couple of doses of Zubrowka, named for the grass on which bison graze. Kruk says it’s especially delicious when mixed with apple juice: “It’s like a nutty flavor and it is very tasty. Very refreshing.” During the summer, the Bim Bom cocktails follow fashion. “The mojitos are not very Polish,” Kruk says. “But they are very popular.”

Maybe it’s the nudie pictures pasted all over the bathroom walls or the small, intimate feel of the bar, but Bim Bom has a long tradition of getting people in the mood for loving. “I think we should have a reunion here because, like, 12 couples have matched here. It’s like a matchmaking bar,” Kruk says with a little giggle.

At first glance, Bim Bom might not seem the ideal place to dance. But it is: Just put a dollar in the jukebox and shimmy away from the foosball players. And don’t worry about waking the regular passed out at the end of the bar—we’re pretty sure he’s out cold.

Look for more adventures in Polish clubbing in our suburban nightlife special—coming in September.