Last night Katie and I discovered something truly awesome.

Karaoke Restaurant.

Located in a Korean neighborhood so far north that we needed our passports, this little place offers private karaoke rooms with drinks, a TV, and a remote control to select which songs you want to sing. Reminiscent of the tiny karaoke rooms seen in Lost in Translation (Why, oh why, didn't we sing "Brass in Pocket"?), it can accommodate two people, or a huge group of friends.

Katie and I went through all the hits. Ride Wit Me? Check! Sweet Caroline? Check! Night Fever? Check! My Humps? Check! Hollaback Girl? Double check! After two hours of singing our hearts (and souls!) out, a Korean guy stuck his head into our room in the middle of our rendition of "Midnight Train to Georgia" and awkwardly informed us, "Um, we actually have a two hour limit. We're going to have to ask you to finish up." "Oh," we said, looking away from a screen, a bit embarrassed. "We'll be out in a minute."

Sigh, we'd rather live in karaoke's world, than live without it on the near northside.