Scout Network Blog» craft beer

Mad Scientist Chef Turns to Mixology

Jeff — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:00:02 +0000

What do you do when you’ve become one of the most recognizable chefs in the world, beaten Stage IV cancer of the mouth, have had your restaurant earn three stars from the Michelin Guide (its highest honor), and otherwise have seemingly conquered the culinary world?

If you’re Grant Achatz, you sit back and have a drink. But not just any drink. And you don’t sit back and relax. You go back into your lab and come up with some of the craziest, but tastiest, libations you can dream up, and then you open a bar.

Achatz, whose restaurant Alinea is widely recognized as one of the finest in the world, is about to open one of Chicago’s most interesting bars it will likely ever see: The Aviary. It’s not just a bar, though. There actually won’t even be a bar, but table seating only. It will feature drinks like gin and tonics with cucumber bubbles reminiscent of Asian bubble tea and an “old fashioned” offering a technique that’s anything but.

While you can still find your neighborhood beer-and-a-shot watering holes, it’s apparent that the craft of making alcohol is making its way into everything around Chicago, from craft beer going from microbreweries to showing up in sports bars to the mad science behind the soon-to-open Aviary.

California has wine country. Kentucky has bourbon distilleries. St. Louis has the Budweiser brewery. Could Chicago become the hub where artisan alcohol is showcased?

Aviary's take on an old fashioned.

Chicago the Next Spirit Hub?

Jeff — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:00:57 +0000

As a chef, what is there really left to do when you beat cancer of the mouth and then your restaurant earns the coveted three stars from the Michelin Guide?If you’re Grant Achatz, you open a bar. While I’ve admittedly never dined at the three-star winning Alinea in Lincoln Park (nor could I likely secure a reservation, should I ever be so inclined), I am extremely excited about his one of his two upcoming projects, The Aviary. It’s been teased for nearly a year now with short videos during the R&D process for the drinks.

It remains to be seen what’s going to happen once The Aviary opens for business, but with Achatz being considered one of the greatest chefs in the world, I think a lot of doors are going to be knocked down when the world sees his food-as-science-experiment concept applied to drinking. He believes that Alinea is an experience in senses, and, from the looks of it, it seems The Aviary is going to follow in its footsteps.

Which makes me wonder: Is Chicago going to be the next drinking destination hub? California has wine country, Kentucky has bourbon distilleries and St. Louis has the Budweiser brewery. Craft breweries and, more recently, craft distilleries have exploded around Chicago. With its world-class restaurants and tourism, is a drinking revolution just over the horizon?

A Villainous hero, and a new ‘Sausage King’?

Jeff — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:00:11 +0000

Chicago has had its fair share of villains over the years: Al Capone, Richard J. Daley, any Bears quarterback between Jim McMahon and Jay Cutler, but few villains are as loved as Villains Bar and Grill in the South Loop. The place is appropriately themed after many of Chicago’s famous prohibition-era gangsters of the 1920s like Capone, and it has the dark, divey feel of a classic speakeasy. But its impressive selection of craft beers — more than 10 on tap and 50+ bottles — and tasty all-natural burgers are far from dive bar fare. Villains sources its beef semi-locally from a farm just north of Chicago, which is free of antibiotics and steroids.

And though I write often about the seemingly endless supply of places to get a tasty craft beer and burger — something I am certainly not complaining about having an abundance of — a new type of craft beer and [insert trendy food here] place recently opened this month in Chicago, Bangers and Lace, which specializes in pairing beers with various sausages. Another winning combo of beer and meat! I have yet to go but read from a friend who is a bartender at Bar Deville — the owners of which are behind Bangers — from his Facebook status that the place is incredible. I can’t wait to try it.

Move over Abe Froman, there might be a new Sausage King in Chicago.

Bangers and Lace image via bangersandlacechicago.com

Sports bars sporting craft beer?

Jeff — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:00:33 +0000

If a beer lover were to pass by Jimmy Greens in the South Loop on any given Sunday — or any time a Chicago sports team was playing, for that matter — they’d miss out on one of the more interesting gems in the city. The first time I went there I had a hankering for bourbon and was surprised when the waitress told me they had exactly what I wanted. I then suffered buyer’s remorse right after it came to me and on a whim I cracked the beer menu after initially ignoring it, thinking it would be the typical sports bar fare of Bud and Miller products.

It astonished me that a bar that had promotions up for an upcoming UFC event had the great selection of craft beers that it did. My waitress told me she helped come up with the list, but I am pretty sure she was just trying to work me for a bigger tip. I know they say to never judge a book by its cover, but it’s still hard for me to fathom just how deep the craft beer revolution is penetrating. Especially when you see a 300 pound Superfan lookalike delicately sipping an IPA from a tulip glass.

I feel more at home, however, just around the corner from Jimmy Greens over at Hackney’s, which has some of the best burgers in the city. The bar is quaint and often packed with intellectual types, likely professors from some of the nearby college campuses. The dining room is usually packed, and though we’re encroaching on the dreaded season in Chicago, the patio heaters make al fresco dining quite lovely.

Hackney's is at the end of the block near Dearborn Station

Like stepping into a time machine

Jeff — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:59:36 +0000

If you’ve ever wondered what Chicago nightlife was like in the early parts of the last century, take a trip to one of Logan Square’s newest enclaves, Longman & Eagle.The restaurant opened at the end of January and, once spring rolls around, will be like an old-time traditional inn complete with six rooms and breakfast in the morning. For the time being, it’s a great place to grab a whiskey drink — try the Longman Manhattan, made with Wild Turkey 101-proof bourbon — or some craft beer and enjoy the fineries of a modern gastropub with an old-time feel. Some of the eats include roasted marrow bones with red onion jam and sourdough crostini, as well as wild boar sloppy joes.

The place gets packed and there’s often a wait. A tip: if you’d like stick around after dinner for a post-meal drink, it’s not uncommon for the staff to offer to buy your final round if you’re willing to move to the bar so they can seat the next table.

When I just feel like a quick, ethnic bite but don’t need any thrills, I like to make my way to Sinbad’s in Lakeview. I’ve been going there for years, and while I have found better shawarma elsewhere, the friendly staff and amazing juice bar keeps me coming back almost weekly. It all started when I lived just a few doors down from the place on Belmont, and now when I come in they start making my usual order — the beef shawarma dinner served over a bed of rice, tomato and cucumber salad with pita bread and a side of sauce. Whenever friends from the suburbs come in and visit I usually make sure we stop there for a quick bite, and they usually end up hitting Google to try to find Mediterranean food out where they live.

[Longman & Eagle photo via dumin. Sinbad's photo via soumit]

Brew local, drink local

Jeff — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:41:45 +0000

Being home for a couple of weeks over the holidays, I got a chance to check out a few of the new establishments that have popped up around Chicago’s western suburbs. One that especially caught my attention is the new Limestone Brewing Company in Plainfield. While there are a few brewpubs around the suburbs, this one is less than five miles from my parents’ home and serves up some of the best beers brewed in the midwest. The place is big and airy, with a stage in a corner that’s going to play host to a lot of local talent around Chicagoland once some of the kinks get worked out of the management’s system.

Another place I’m very excited for is the forthcoming Revolution Brewing Company in Logan Square. It’s got quite the following on its Facebook fan page and I can’t wait to join the mug club. There are a lot of great places to drink locally brewed beer, but only a few around Chicago where you can drink the beer about 50 feet from where it was born.

Both of these endeavors have been years in the process, and, thanks to Facebook, the fans and future patrons have been able to follow along as during the construction process all the way down to having the all-important brewing equipment installed. It’s a great way to create a sense of community for the local beer lovers eager to get a taste.

[top image via Limestone Brewing Company's Facebook page, bottom image via Revolution Brewery's Facebook page]