After staying fairly successfully under wraps for some time, Old Town Social—from Chris Freeman (formerly a partner in the group that operated Kirkwood, WestEnd, Brownstone, Sidebar) and Chris Dexter (formerly a partner in the group that operates Stone Lotus, Elm Street Liquors and Spoon)—is set to open its doors Saturday night, August 29. And damn, I haven’t been this excited for a bar opening since Rootstock opened its doors back in, like, May. At the top of my list of things I’m excited about:
The cocktail list
Summer Cup (summer berry spirit, St. Germain, Moscato D’Asti)
Lavender & Lemon Gimlet (Hendrick’s Gin, lavender, lemon juice)
Six Months in Mexico (blanco tequila, agave nectar, apricot brandy, lime juice)
Flowery Tattle (Effen Black Cherry, Crème de violette, roses, lemons, Sprite)
Cleveland Avenue Cooler (bourbon, grapefruit juice, ginger beer)
Knotted Pine (gin, cherry brandy, orange juice, German pilsner)
The food menu, conceived and executed by chef Jared Van Camp (a veteran of Rick Tramonto’s restaurants), which includes plates like:
Salt cod fritters (fried bread & butter pickles, spicy aioli) — 8
Bouchot mussels (Belgian: Chimay Ale, lemon and thyme or Portuguese: housemade chorizo, potatoes) — 12
BLT (crispy pork belly, heirloom tomato, arugula, aioli) — 9
A really exciting selection of charcuterie, including saucisson sec (Lyonnaise garlic sausage) and duck rilletes (duck fat, cognac) — 4 each
A great beer list, a short wine list, and I expect, much more to be excited about as soon as I make it to: 455 W North Ave, 312-266-2277. Mon–Fri 5pm–2am; Sat 11am–3am; Sun 11am–2am.
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