On Tap in Autumn
photo: courtesy of Bridget Cicenia; pictured: Kuma’s
With fall under way, it’s time to trade in your 312s for brewskis with a little more heft. Gourds, fruits, nuts?fall is the season when everything is in play; breweries up the ante on alcohol content, paying homage to grandma’s recipe box and churning out tiny harvests of artisan beer. Yet, despite the abundance of finely crafted autumnal brews, cooler temperatures bring with them hordes of college kids loading up on Busch and Bud multi-packs?a perversion that leaves true beer-lovers sorrowfully tearing up like the Native American in that old Keep America Beautiful ad. Let ‘em have their mass-produced swill?that means there are more of these seasonal gems for the rest of us.
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (Delaware) at Hopleaf
To the bored youth of the least-remarkable state on the eastern seaboard, fall has always meant chilly nights of drinking beer and smashing pumpkins (hey, it beats cow tipping). Maybe this is how Delaware’s rebel brewery got the idea for Dogfish Head Punkin Ale ($6). Actually steeped in a blend of mashed-up pumpkins, this golden amber ale packs one hell of an aromatic punch. Brown sugar balances the spicy notes of clove, nutmeg and cinnamon, a mix that accounts for Punkin?s liquid-pie-in-a-bottle profile. Hefty enough to drink on its own, this brew also pairs well with slow-cooked foods, so hit up the Hopleaf menu for some robust lamb stew, roasted chicken or slow-roasted, bacon-wrapped rabbit leg.
Ska Buster Nut Brown Ale (Colorado) at Kuma’s Corner
Don’t worry if you can’t manage to string the words “buster” and “nut” together without a pornographic slip; the laid-back peeps at Kuma’s won’t mind. After all, any bar that shuns Budweiser for the true working man’s beer?PBR?isn’t going to judge you. When you crave a darker beverage, but aren’t quite ready for a stout, the full-bodied Buster Nut Brown Ale ($4) is your best friend. This dark brown brew is dominated by a nutty aroma and a toasted, saccharine-malt taste. Lively carbonation makes it the perfect match for Kuma’s trademark burgers; the apples, cranberries, bacon and walnuts that top the Judas Priest patty play up the fall flavors nicely.
Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial (Michigan) at Sheffield’s
If you want something a little more aligned with the cider-side of fall, but aren’t into the sweet stuff, Jolly Pumpkin’s got you covered. The first thing you’ll notice about this heavily carbonated libation is its zesty, sour aroma. Orange peel presides over low notes of baker’s chocolate and oak, making Maracaibo Especial drink more like a cider. Light enough to pair with any of Sheffield’s BBQ specials, this brew works as well for unseasonably warm nights as it does for crisp ones. This special dark brown ale comes in a 750-milliliter bottle, so bring a friend. For a cheaper option, Sheffield’s keeps a few goose-headed taps on hand, and Goose Island Harvest Ale ($3.50) doesn’t disappoint.
Lakefront Pumpkin Lager (Wisconsin) at Clark St. Ale House
Yeah, I know, I know, another pumpkin beer, but, hey, drink ‘em while you can. Lakefront’s Pumpkin Lager ($5) is a docile blend of the requisite spices (nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and clove), pumpkin mash and caramel malts tucked under a foamy, whipped head. The brewery helped spearhead the pumpkin-beer movement when co-owner Russ Klisch stumbled across a homebrew recipe of Thomas Jefferson’s. That was in 1989, when pumpkin beer hadn’t been around since before Prohibition, so Klisch brought it back, and it?s the only pumpkin lager made today?all the others are ales. The resulting smooth, light taste doesn’t overpower; you smell the pumpkin a whole lot more than you taste it.
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All That Fizzes
photo: courtesy of Bridget Cicenia; pictured: Violet Hour’s champagne cocktail
Nothing gets a celebration going like the distinctive “pop!” of a champagne bottle, but why resign yourself to an evening of drinking boring, unadorned bubbly? After a few glasses, even the good stuff loses that effervescent glow, but champagne cocktails can be a delightfully retro alternative to the standard New Year’s toast. Not just for brunch?although we couldn’t resist recommending a few morning sparklers to stave off your January 1 hangover?champagne added with fruit, bitters or even beer can turn an ordinary flute into a lively party guest.
Mimosa flight at Bin Wine Cafe
Is there a better way to start your day? This quintessential cocktail is typically associated with the hangover brunch. While there has been some squabbling over the origins of this sweet, effervescent “hair of the dog” tipple (the Paris Ritz claims to have invented it in 1925, but a bartender at Buck’s Pub of London was pouring the drink three years prior), one thing is certain: No New Year’s Day brunch is complete without one. Bin Wine Cafe takes the classic further, giving it the ever-chic flight treatment. Featuring four three-ounce tasting portions, in flavors like pomegranate, pineapple, bellini and Madras (classic OJ with just a splash of cranberry), Bin’s mimosa flight ($12) is ideal for the indecisive. Bellini at Pops for Champagne
Who would have thought it would take so long for bellinis to get some props? This currently popular drink dates back to a Venetian bar, circa 1935. Frequented by literary giants like Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles, Harry’s Bar began offering the drink seasonally to stave off the warm weather blahs. When owner Harry Cipriani opened a New York location, bellini fever spread like wildfire, but the excitement was short lived. So, why all the fuss now? Maybe people just wanted a return to simplicity; Harry’s original recipe, like the one Pops uses, calls for nothing other than fresh peach puree and prosecco. It’s hard to imagine how anyone can improve upon such perfection, but Pops has figured it out: It serves the cocktail in a pitcher, for only $17. Positano at Vinci
Although Vinci is a mainstay for the theatre crowd, coming earlier in the day opens up a whole new menu from this rustic Italian eatery. While Hemingway was busy knocking back bellinis at Harry’s Bar, another American writer was becoming intimately familiar with Italy’s Amalfi Coast. John Steinbeck later raved about the wonders of Positano, adding that his impulse was to conceal such a beautiful place. Maybe that’s why he never mentioned the refreshing cocktail, made from local fruits, that takes the town’s name. Steinbeck may have known how to keep a secret, but Vinci doesn’t; fresh strawberry puree, blood orange juice and crisp prosecco mingle together in its Positano ($7.50). Le Perroquet at Motel Bar
For mimosa enthusiasts who moonlight?Motel Bar’s Le Perroquet ($12) plays up the sweet citrus fizz of your morning fave. It begins, of course, with the tried-and-true combo of Vida Organica Sparkling Wine and orange juice. Hendrick’s Gin gussies the drink up for cocktail hour, and a splash of Campari, a type of bitters, adds a touch of old-world class. French for “parrot,” this beverage is traditionally made with mint syrup and pastis, an anise-flavored aperitif. Motel Bar’s version is more popular in New Orleans, likely for the hedonistic stigma of Campari and the extra alcoholic bite of the gin.
Champagne Cocktail at Violet Hour
Celebrated mixologist Toby Maloney makes the best champagne cocktail around, and the secret is in the sugar?cube, to be precise. Placing a sugar cube in the bottom of a coupe glass?that’s the stout devil you’ve seen in old movies?Maloney then add Angostura bitters, sparkling Gruet, lemon oil and a twist. The cube keeps the drink ($11) bubbling, and the lemons add crispness. You might be asking why a bar that has a handcrafted line of its own bitters would opt for the bottled stuff. Simple: The bitters, which were created in 1824, put the drinker in touch with generations past; since the 19th century, this cocktail?always made with Angostura?has littered upper-crust soirees, silver-screen toasts and genteel dinner parties.
Fizz on!
Blue Sparkle Bellini at Scoozi!
The Blue Sparkle Bellini ($9.95) bubbles with the best of ‘em, but it offers a bit more pizzazz by including orange-flavored Cointreau and the saccharine tones of Blue Curacao. Black Velvet at Flo
Stout and champagne? Okay, we’ll be the first to admit that it’s a little strange, but the Guinness-spiked mimosa at Flo ($8) is a silky way for beer drinkers to indulge in the celebratory bubbly.
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Haunted Haunts
photo: courtesy of Bridget Cicenia; pictured: Amber Bree opens the door to Red Lion’s haunted bathroom
The countdown to Halloween is a foreplay that inspires the most skeptical minds to believe?if for only a short while?that the dead walk among us. In a city rife with brazen paranormal activity, much of it originating from our historical flirtations with vice, there’s no better way to summon the spirits than in a cozy pub with a sordid past. Forget sitting around a campfire and telling ghost stories. Pull up a bar stool and take your haunting with a shot of whiskey.
The hippie hippie shakes at the Tonic Room
Surely, this trendy Lincoln Park lounge with sleek furnishings and hip-hop music couldn’t possibly be housing any phantom tenants, right? But long-time bartender Robert Newman explains that EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) Researchers captured the voice of a young woman in the building. The woman, who was purportedly murdered in the basement, revealed her social security number and they discovered her name was Mary Haggerty. The low-slung, five-foot-tall basement once housed a series of tiny stalls used in the seances of a fringe occult group that inhabited the building during the ’60s. Two well-worn pentagrams still cover large parts of the floor and an oxidized dagger, adorned with a skull and a cross, was found embedded in a wall during a recent renovation. The Tonic Room folks are fairly certain it belonged to the clan of black-magic hippies that did the decorating down here.
A drunken flirt at Ole St. Andrew’s Inn
It’s said that Frank Giff has an affinity for taunting redheads, so those with copper locks who enter Edgewater’s most haunted pub rightfully worry it may lead to ghoulish trouble. Nearly 50 years ago, the pub owner drunkenly stumbled behind the bar, falling with great force on his head. The next morning he was found dead by his red-headed wife, and his spirit decided to stick around. Throughout the years the pub, which was initially called Frank Giff’s Pub before being rechristened The Edinburgh Castle and finally becoming Ole St. Andrews Inn, has experienced a glut of ghostly activity. Stemware has flown from shelves, ashtrays have flung themselves from the bar and many a female customer has reported the ice-cold fondlings of an over-eager (albeit invisible) flirt. Giff was passionate about ladies and liquor, with a particular taste for vodka, a substance that has continually disappeared from the bar’s inventory for 50 years; bottles?open or sealed?often inexplicably drain overnight.
A tough critic at Red Lion Pub
It’s always a party at the Red Lion?even when living and breathing folks aren’t around (which is often, . An ominous structure built in 1882, the pub’s seedy history has no doubt contributed to its build-up of ghosts. A “Wild West” saloon, a gambling hall and rooms of “ill repute” occupied the building in its early years, and sightings of various ghosts have been reported since. The chief culprit is a dark-haired young woman named Sharon. Mentally diseased in life, Sharon enjoyed locking herself inside rooms and screaming like a banshee. She presently enjoys locking patrons into the second floor bathroom, despite the fact that the door has no lock. The most concentrated paranormal activity in recent history occurred on a warm August night last year when local artist Susan Barton, wife of pub co-owner Joseph Heinen, curated an art exhibit on the second floor. Apparently, the spirits didn’t appreciate the rearranging of the furniture; a painting of Shakespeare flew from the wall, an isolated part of a suspended glass installation began swinging wildly, a visitor found herself locked in the bathroom, and the curator heard thunderous banging on the bathroom door?while she was all alone on the floor. Note: Red Lion Pub is currently closed; get your ghostly fix sometime in Winter 2008.
Gold Star
This Ukie dive was once a vice-ridden enclave tucked into the seediest stretch of Division Street. Illegal boozing, rampant gambling and loose women called the Gold Star home, and the victim of a 1950s murder still hangs out around the front doorway, supposedly. Wonder how the ghost feels about the way the neighborhood’s changed? ___________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for more ways to celebrate the season? We’ve got you covered with scarily accurate info on:
Candy Stores
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Creepy Chicago Tours
Pumpkin Patches
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Fall Food
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