"Checker Hall is a massive restaurant/bar on the second floor of an old Masonic Lodge in Highland Park. And if that doesn’t pique your interest, we’ll make it quite clear - Checker Hall is fantastic. The crowd is local and probably listens to better music than you, the cocktails are tremendous (get the Carmen #Six), and there’s also a full Mediterranean-leaning food menu. Which is good news for you, because your date’s been in the bathroom for 20 minutes, and you wanted your own hummus appetizer anyways." - brant cox, brett keating