Sep 30, 2016
From boozy slushies to elegant martinis, these Chicago hot spots have raised the bar on our city’s drinking scene. Far beyond the confines of Downtown, new booze dens can be found along nondescript stretches of Logan Square, high inside hospital buildings and everywhere in between. Consider this our help in navigating.
1. Estero (Logan Square)
Pouring a combination of coffee drinks and crafty, Latin-accented cocktails, this triangular Logan Square hangout also offers a handful of snacks in breezy digs with glass-paned garage doors and tiled flooring.
2. Vol. 39 (Loop)
The lobby of the Loop’s Kimpton Gray Hotel houses this handsome lounge serving classic cocktails, caviar and creative New American small plates in clubby surrounds with law library shelves, midcentury-style furnishings and silver-gilded bar carts.
3. 1952 1/2 Liquorette (Bucktown)
Specializing in bourbon and seasonal cocktails such as juleps, this Bucktown lounge attached to Charlie McKenna’s Southern kitchen, Dixie, offers a handful of comfort-food snacks in a chic setting with barstools and banquette seating.
4. The Ladies’s Room (Logan Square)
Inspired by Macau, this intimate, reservations-only cocktail bar from the Fat Rice team is adjacent to their original Logan Square eatery. Pricey, large-format cocktails are served alongside classic drinks, house creations and a reserve wine list amid glowing red lighting, vintage Chinese furnishings and pin-up art.
5. LH Rooftop (Loop)
They have literally stacked the (roof) deck at this tri-level bar and restaurant in the London House Chicago hotel. Three swanky indoor and outdoor spaces (LH on 21, LH on 22 and the pricey private cupola) offer up craft cocktails and New American fare in ultra-chic surroundings with views of the lake, river, Loop and River North.
6. Mahalo Chicago (Wicker Park)
Hawaiian fare is what it’s all about at this casual Wicker Park spot serving everything from Spam meatballs and poke to plate lunches and skewers, all paired with tropical cocktails including a concoction in a whole pineapple. Island-style decor includes decorative surfboards, a deck with thatched umbrellas and a rooftop bar.
7. Arbella (River North)
The Tanta team shakes up the River North cocktail scene with this hip lounge pairing a long list of elaborate, globally inspired mixed drinks with equally international small plates in a lofty setting with funky light fixtures, etched mirrors and a dramatic mural on distressed brick.
(H/T zagat)
Sep 22, 2016
Move over, brown bags, there’s a new lunch app in town that promises to go easy on your wallet and tummy. Launching today in Chicago, MealPal—which is already available in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Miami—is the brainchild of Mary Biggins (ClassPass) and Katie Ghelli (ZocDoc) and offers users weekday lunches for a flat fee of $119 per month. For the math deficient, that rounds up to about $6 per lunch.
If you’re thinking to yourself that this sounds just like every other food-delivery app we already have at our fingertips, there’s one small catch. There isn’t a delivery element to this technology, unlike GrubHub, UberEats and Fooda. MealPal members must peel themselves away from their computers (big ask, we know) to go pick up lunch at participating restaurants.
“In terms of convenience, it’s certainly convenient to have a meal delivered right to your door, but that really takes away from the affordability,” Biggins said. “With MealPal, you’re going to get the same meal you’d get through some of these other services. It won’t be delivered right to you, but you’re going to get it for a fraction of the cost.”
Of course, this extra step could deter some, as research has shown that only one in five Americans steps away for a midday meal. Still, Biggins argues that her app could be a push in the right direction.
“There will certainly be times where people want to or need to pay for the convenience of having something delivered right to them on demand. But we think most of the time people are probably better served to actually get up from their desks and take a five- to 10-minute walk and go pick something up,” Biggins said. “It’s probably better for your overall mental health as well as your wallet.”
Biggins said she expects that MealPal will launch in Chicago with about 75 restaurants including Freshii, Vapiano, Just Salad, Peach and Green, and Asada Mexican Grill. In other participating cities, there’s a balanced mix of healthy (juices and salads) and stuff-your-face-with-carbs (pizza and ramen) options. Restaurants reveal their one-item MealPal menus at 5 p.m. the night before, and users have until 9:30 a.m. the morning of to place lunch orders.
Like ClassPass, MealPal (which used to go by the name MealPass) has already undergone some changes in its infancy. The latest version, available in Chicago today, boasts more customizable preferences, reminders to order and a longer booking window. Because the database of restaurants associated with MealPal is expected to grow, these updates allow users to refine their search through a series of questions about personal likes and dislikes.
In a technologically advanced city that loves to lunch, only time will tell if MealPal can get folks out of the office to make the service worth the monthly fee.
(H/T RedEye)
Sep 16, 2016
Lovers of brown spirits, rejoice. You’re living in the right city. The Bourbon Review has named six different Chicago bars to its list of the 80 best bourbon bars in the United States, and if you haven’t visited them all, this is a great list to tape to your refrigerator.
It’s not a surprise that a significant number of the bars on the list are in Kentucky. After all, it’s the home of most of the nation’s biggest bourbon brands. In fact, more than a quarter of the list comes from Kentucky. Which makes it all the more impressive that Chicago managed to get six entries (New York City only got five). The article itself isn’t that great, honestly (the prose reads like someone had a few bourbons before they started writing), but we’re willing to trust that the people who wrote it have tasted a lot more bourbon than we have.
So which bars made the list?
Sable (505 N State St)
Barrelhouse Flat (2624 N Lincoln)
Longman & Eagle (2657 N Kedzie)
Big Star (1531 N Damen)
Delilah’s (2771 N Lincoln)
Untitled Supper Club (111 W Kinzie)
Nothing super surprising, but a good list. These bars boast large selections, plenty of unique single-barrel selections or special bottlings, and staff members who know enough to make drinking all of this stuff worth your money. If we could be so bold, we’d also add to the list The Berkshire Room, Big Jones and Fountainhead, but none of those are quite as prominent as the ones that actually made the list.
(H/T chicagoist)
