![]() The cocktails have a lot going on, and GreenRiver’s food menu is a nice counterpoint-the dishes are familiar with gentle twists. The eight highballs are the sleeper hits of the menu, like housemade Japanese plum vinegar soda spiked with Carpano Bianco vermouth, a bright concoction with a vegetal edge, and cassis liqueur with housemade oolong tea soda, which is lightly sweet with herbal notes. To do justice to this menu, you need time to read through it-do it with a drink in hand by ordering a highball from a separate list. There’s a primer on each on the cocktail list, which is divided by key ingredients, such as corn, agave and grape and apple. GreenRiver has a Chicago history/Irish theme, but it’s subtle, aside from the drink names, which nod to Chicago historical figures. With their talent, GreenRiver is one of Chicago’s best bars-with a gorgeous view to boot. They confirmed that by signing on Julia Momose (the Aviary/Office) as head bartender and Aaron Lirette (Celeste) as executive chef, two people whose work I’ve admired for awhile-Momose for her use of unexpected ingredients and innovative flavor combinations, and Lirette for his refined takes on classic dishes (I still recall his jidori chicken and octopus dishes from Celeste fondly). The seats are comfortable enough to camp out at for a bit, but larger groups should retreat to the tables, which also boast a great view.When restaurateur Danny Meyer and the team behind New York’s Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog announced they were opening a Chicago location, it was instantly a Big Deal. Where to sit: The bar is your best bet if you’re planning to try lots of drinks and watch the bartenders work their magic. ![]() ![]() Other good picks include the Six Bit with sotol and aquavit turned into a nutty drink focused on dukkah, an Egyptian spice. On the lighter side, pick the Drama Queen with genever and Chinese five-spice. What to drink: Order the Disc Jockey-it’s weird but definitely worth a try. Unlike GreenRiver, which boasts a wider meal selection, Annex is focused on the drinks. ![]() What to eat: There’s a small menu from chef Aaron Lirette with oysters, pork pâté, olives, cheese and a few other items. You could dress up or dress down, whatever suits you best. As for décor, the space is modern but comfortable, similar to GreenRiver. After sunset, the lights are yellow, making the transition easy. Like your makeup vanity, the menu at Annex has all the right ingredients to create a great finished product.Ītmosphere: I was expecting Annex to be dark, but before dusk the bar is sunny and warm. Complex flavor profiles surprise you at every sip, and each ingredient plays a major role in highlighting the rest of the drink. The cocktails at Annex are so artfully assembled you’ll leave for the night making plans to come back. It’s the ingredients that stand out, like in the Disc Jockey-easily the oddest cocktail on the menu with a mix of gin and sherry. The drinks come in pretty glasses without many frills-you’ll see a twist of lime garnish or a small carafe for the Antiphase (which my date fondly called “the cutest cocktail I’ve ever seen”), but for the most part, the drinks stand on their own. It’s boozy, but not overpowering-think of it as a well-rounded Scotch drink, but smoother to sip than an old-fashioned. Take the Law-maker, with a sesame spice base, sherry oak Scotch whiskey and silver rum. That said, not everything on the menu goes down so easily. I sucked this one down quicker than I should have, but it was just so easy to drink. Each cocktail comes with a corresponding spice, and I’m a sucker for turmeric. Asking your bartender for their favorite will get you nowhere, because the answer is likely “all of them.” You should definitely order more than one-just pick a few that you’re interested in, starting at the front of the menu and ending at the back.Īfter much deliberation, I finally settled on the Chorus Girl to start. There’s an occasional curveball in the mix, but if you order 12 cocktails at once-as I was tempted to do-you should drink them according to the menu’s progression. When you sit down at Annex, you’re presented with a wooden box filled with cards that serve as the menu of seasonal cocktails, from easy sippers to spirit-heavy drinks. And she should, because the drinks she comes up with are nothing short of enchanting. It’s the same kind of magic I imagine Julia Momose, the head bartender at Annex and GreenRiver, feels when she looks at the array of tinctures and spirits behind the bar. I’d be lying if I said this ritual happened every day, but when it does, it’s magical. Sitting down at a vanity packed with tiny vials of powders, pigments and liquids to experiment with your look, well, there’s nothing quite like it.
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