Arthur "3rdarm" M.'s Profile

I went at 2am with my girlfriend and her friend.  We got three hotdogs and a pound of fried shrimp and a pink lemonade.  My girlfriend's friend paid.  We ate in the car.  It was the best part of my week.

Two more things-

1) Those shrimps are snappy in the hot sauce.  

2) I figured it out, whether its Phil's Last Stand or Red Hot Ranch or Jim's Original- the best fast food spots have pink lemonade available.  Get a pink lemonade with your doggy, be it a char dog, red hot or Polish- The acid of the pink lemonade cuts the fat of your thingy.

There were many hiccups.  The host was not able to understand my name, multiple times, and I didn't even have the burger w/ egg + bacon in my mouth yet.  Arthur, not Harper, my name is Arthur.  My companion and I were told a 30 minute wait for a table- we decided to eat at the end of the bar, behind the beer taps instead.  That was a mistake.  

The room is striking- there are no edison bulbs.  I was so impressed with the lamps not being edison bulbs.  They are unique and glow soft.  I am officially over edison bulbs, big time.  Edison bulbs are dead to me.

The problem with sitting at the bar behind the beer taps is that because of the beer taps, the bartender is not taking care of you.  And because of the beer taps (one of which is a brown penis and one of which is root beer, guess what I had) we were in our server's blind spot.  There were long gaps in service.  

Bartender was nice he explained the reel to reel mixes he makes- its good stuff.  Madlib-y.  Au Cheval means put an egg on it.  We got the salad to start- the fluffy one in the pictures.  The dressing probably is not good for you because of the oil, but it tastes really herby and good.  I would call the salad Madlib-y, as well.  Get that salad, you're gonna need the greens.

The server got our order wrong (blame it on the beer taps) and so we split a double burger au cheval instead of two burgers au cheval, and then we told her, and split a second burger au cheval, except by that time my companion couldn't  speak eat any more.  We took it home.  They did not put bacon on the second burger au cheval.  Who's keeping score?

I am not knocking stars for unfortunate service.  The server felt bad about the bermuda triangle effect.  She touched me lightly on the back and gave us a free scoop of mint gelato.  By that time my significant other was mad (not Madlib-y) and we were out-

There are no edison bulbs.  The food is rich.  They play reel to reel and tried to make right the missteps.  Points for all of the above.

The late night part of Probably the Most Fun Night I have had in Chicago.  Its midnight and I'm with two ladies at the bar.  The Tiki Lounge is good for all- its like Chinese reflexology where the iced booze hits key nerve endings in the belly.

Despite the bartenders warning of the licorice taste, I recommend the good Doctor Funk of Tahiti, as digestive aid. Show owner comment »

The dinner portion of Probably The Most Fun Night I have had in Chicago.  Our waiter, Mario, was a storyteller.  The multi course Italian meal, starting with a loaf of bread and complimentary pizza bread, was delicious.  The cocktails my lady friends enjoyed- yes, I dined with two lady friends, were praised.  They had manhattans and negronis, for the record, the bar knows how to make a balanced cocktail.

For entrees I had the spinach ravioli with cream and gorgonzola sauce- vegetarian and super rich.  My girlfriend had the steak and her friend got stuffed veal.  The place was pretty full on the late side of Wednesday evening.

For dessert we got the baked Alaska for two.  Mario told us about baked Alaskas past.  The maitre D lit the meringue on fire.

I live down the street and am eating my way around the neighborhood on a circular path- stopped in for fried chicken Monday and were greeted by owner- always a good sign.  Girlfriend and I waited ten minutes for a table.  She had a delicious dry cider and I had iced tea at bar.  We sat in the back and I had a view of whole dining room.  The waiting team was like 3 superheroes in black- a shaggy haired sheep dog guy, a Shante You Stay pompadour guy, and our waitress in round owl glasses.  They were a cool trio.

The busser offers wheat or white bread and the butter is terrific. We ordered and shared the anti pasti plate- cured meat, olives, pesto, goat cheese, toast, it was a perfect starter.  We also got fried calamari from Rhode Island.  I got to talk about Point Judith where the fishing boats haul in the squid.  There's a seafood restaurant there with a pirate's treasure chest full of stupid toys.  Its a stupid childhood memory.

The fried chicken had crisp and deeply flavorful skin- always a good sign.  The chicken meat was moist.  There were traditional fried chicken sides but the most important takeaway is the fried chicken itself.  And we did take some away, because we'd gotten full.  And it was good later too- the drumstick.

Server was new and awkward but in a disarming way.  Maybe the room needed to be sexed down.  Speaking of the room- I asked my girlfriend what do you like and what do you hate.  She has the good taste.  She said she liked the wood floors and the lighting.  She hated the weird chess scene masking the private dining room and the knick knacks separating the dining room from barcito and the kitchen towels as napkins.  For record, I liked the upholstery but I don't have good taste.  And I disliked how the drink names are prominently written above the bar but I reckon its a sales pitch.

The drinks we had were winning- the sweet vermouth cocktail was a digestif dressed up right and the chile ginger soda was better for its mild dose of honey.

Server awkwardly addressed girlfriend and not me, but perhaps because of the angle of the table, or perhaps because she is beautiful and I was dressed in a Deadliest Catch in memoriam Captain Phil teeshirt and black hoodie.  You know how folks react to those hoodies.  I thought it was weird that food runner was on Madonna style headset short band radio but girlfriend reassured me that it was natural.

The food was consistently tasty across all sections of menu.  The raw oyster cocktail had mango papaya and shrimp in a large chopped up oyster.  At first I was taken aback at the disrespectful handling of the sea critter (myself being from East Coast) but it made sense in the context of real fork to mouth eating.  The duck flatbread with the little segments of orange was balanced.  The artichoke and golden beet blue cheese salad was girlfriend's favorite.  I liked the rich croquetas ("there's meat in there?") and the fried custard for dessert.

Went for lunch with girlfriend and friend.  To start we split the house pate which was venison roulard with small pickles and mustard and the lettuces salad which had other shaved vegetables.  For mains we had the pork belly sandwich and the sea trout.  The pork belly sandwich was on the balanced side of sweet.  The sea trout perfectly cooked with crispy skin.  

My friend Laura was visiting from Colorado and had done a pastry stage at the restaurant that week.  While I walked the stately room and saw private dining area beneath massive light fixture and headed into the men's room with memorable scented hand soap, she ordered all the desserts she had seen in her stage.  The buttercrunch cake was so good but I am a peanut butter man and the malted milk chocolate mouse was like a molten kit kat- the best.

Thank you to chef Cindy and all for great lunch.

Went with two women- girlfriend and her friend from Colorado.  They drank Allagash tripel (like a light barleywine) and Lost and Found Abbey Ale (hoppy) and I had a ginger beer.  We started with chicharrones- light and popcorn-y seasoning- not Mexican.  The smoked arctic char on bread with mascarpone, peas and cucumber reminded me of Door county in the summer.  Country ribs had a lot of flavor, served with ramps and chunky tomato relish.  The taste of 3 hams was hammy.  Fennel gratin was more focused on burrata and parmesan.  Fries at the end put me over edge.

The shrimp and fish and short rib tacos packed a lot of Korean flavor.  And near Trader Joe's.

Rode about 12 miles on trail in the early spring foliage.  The small bugs flew into my mouth and one got in my eye.  Afterwards went to Superdawg per Aurore L.'s recommendation and got a Superfish.