He Shot, She Shot | Burger Bar

PDT Interview
Personal Preferences: booze.

A good day for a burger & a bev with a friend.

Style of Drink: something to go with lunch,
Spirit of Choice: house aged rye, beer
Last Drink: Black Thorn (Irish)

I had a fun afternoon planned with my friend L. today.  It’s been a snowy day in Chi.  Almost 6 inches in the city.  But that was only gonna add to our fun.  We had lunch at Burger Bar.  Falling snow made for a cozy atmosphere that lent itself to lunchtime cocktails.  Since The Partner is under the weather – a-gain – I knew there’d be no happy hour tonight.  So this seemed like the perfect opportunity to evolve the blog.  L. is a photographer too.  Of the professional variety, not the dilettante kind like me.  She also is fond of the tipple.  We placed our orders & cocktails were delivered.  After I snapped our bevs, with my Android, she whipped out her iPhone. 

He Shot: 3-month aged Templeton Manhattan

“Now from my point of view,” she said, shooting them from her side of the table.

Thus the first installment of an occasional series, “He Shot, She Shot”.  Great double entendre there, too.

For lunch, L. had the Les Urbain [sic], which is a burger topped with brie, onion jam & dijonnaise.  To wash that down she sipped a Metropolitan Krankshaft Kolsch which Burger Bar’s 1-inch thick, ring-bound beer guide describes as having “very clean & crisp taste, with graininess & notes of hay in the forefront…wheat malt rounds out the bitterness of the Santiam hops.  Light bodied & easy to drink….”

She Shot: Krankshaft Kolsch

“And is it?”  I querried. 

“It is,” she enthused kitschily. 

When I looked at their cocktail card, I was uncertain if hard liquor was the right pairing for my Wild Bill (bison, arugula, goat cheese, tomato chutney on a pretzel roll).  But then I saw it:

“**House 3-month barrel-aged Templeton rye Manhattan**”

Done.  When it’s snowy and cold out, what better to warm your cockles than a special Manhattan?  Besides, Wild Bill and bison scream bourbon.  If you find yourself at North & Clybourn and want a beautiful cocktail made with home-aged booze, get yourself one or two of these.  A little smoky, with a nougaty sweetness and clear notes of vanilla.  And smoooooth?  Creamy.  Silky.  Yum.

Caveat emptor:  Burger Bar is one of these “boutique” burger joints where if they call them “stackers” instead of burgers and serve bison and elk and top them with onion jam instead of caramelized onions then they can charge $15 a burger.   Do go, but make certain you’re going with good friends who enjoy a fat, messy burger, good beer, and fabola Manhattans!