‘meh’ cocktails, but great dance tunes at the whistler

The Whistler in Logan Square came highly recommended by several talented local bartenders as a great up and coming place to check out cocktails in Chicago. Based off our visit, I would beg to differ.

After a 30 minute wait to get inside, only to discover the place was more than half empty (somehow it still took forever to get a drink at the bar due to their unorthodox mixing procedues– one person only pouring spirits, the other stirs, the other garnishes?), I would say it was not exactly worth the wait.

Had the drinks themselves been killer, you’d hear me sing a different tune. Unfortunately, my cocktail was a sloppy mismash of disparate flavors. No balance, no intrigue, no subtlety. I can’t say much more for the drinks my brother and Zach ordered either, although they liked them well enough to finish.

I switched to a good stand by craft brew from one of my favorite breweries, the Great Lakes’ Elliot Ness, and was quite happy to stay and imbibe for awhile longer. It’s a shame the drinks weren’t up to snuff, because some serious Motown grooves were playing over the loudspeakers, making the open floor a substantial dance party (complete with, pardon the cliche, but a gorgeous African-American woman with a killer ‘fro getting serious about getting down).

So overall, space was nice enough, music was great, cocktails were meh, and not worth the wait to get inside. I wouldn’t really recommend to anyone heading to the city for cocktails specifically. Especially since the bar is also out in Logan Square, which is a hike from all the other cocktail bars worth visiting.

latin love at xoco chicago

If you know me, you know I don’t tolerate waiting in lines, for anything. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves. So for example, the nation’s best barbecue, Franklin’s, yeah haven’t been there yet. I refuse to line up two hours in advance for a piece of brisket. While that might get me tossed out of many levels of the local food blogging ranks, It’s the truth. When I think of all the other things I could be doing instead of waiting in line for that slab of delicious meat, I just can’t justify it.

Now, Tortas on the other hand, I’ll wait in a substantial line if the end product is going to blow my mind. Especially if the wait is 45 minutes and not two hours. So every time I go to Chicago I try to visit Xoco. Usually we beat extreme lines because we know when to hit it, but this time around, it was just a matter of needing badass Tortas to deal with the fact that it could very well rain all day and ruin our only full day together in the city. The line was long, it was pouring rain, but was that going to stop us? Nope. So we hung out in the rain for awhile, and when greeted with a tasty local beer inside to wait out the rest of the line, no problem.

I indulged in the special of the day, the Goat Barbacoa Torta, which led me to the conclusion that goat is a highly underrated meat. The Barbacoa style was tender and cooked to the point where it falls apart but wasn’t squidgy or awkward. Taste-wise, I’d say it was a middle ground between beef and lamb. Paired with the best of standard taco seasonings — onion, cilantro, avocado, black beans — it had my eyes rolling back in my head.

And of course had to wrap up the meal with their Aztec Hot Chocolate. A self-professed chili pepper fiend, a little cayenne and chili goes a long way when paired with chocolate. Sexy.

absurdly good pig parts at the purple pig

Unfuckingbelievale Porchetta Panini. The space was also designed impeccably. I should have snapped more pics, but I was in a massive pig part coma after lunch, so it didn’t happen (Yes I may have consumed the entire sammich, after which I may have sprawled out in Milennium park for several hours watching clouds.) Narf.

vintage chicago in shadows and sunrays

the soot and the shine of the city after dark

a windy city summer afternoon

chicago. hipster style.

bliss.

The top of the Hancock Building. Glorious silhouettes and cityscapes. My two favorite things.

high culture.

The Chicago Art Institute Modern Wing = a Renzo Piano masterpiece.

I would love to see how the natural light works during the day, because apparently he employs the use of special auto-adjusting lights to keep a very specific, consistent balance of light in the exhibition rooms. I can only imagine how bright white daylight would illuminate the exhibitions in a very clean and elegant way. All that aside, I have to say it was spectacular at night also.

some things are just better in b&w

“We should have framed this place, and kept it on your shelf, next to your big city dreams.”