Results tagged “volsteadact”

You didn't think we'd focus totally on the speakeasies this week, did you?

Back in the day we closed down Green Mill (4802 N. Broadway, 773-878-5552) more times than we care to remember. Few things are as perfectly matched as 3 a.m. creeping on sunrise, a perfect martini in front of you, someone from out of town looking for an "authentic Chicago experience" and the Sabertooth Hammond organ combo providing a fitting soundtrack to a night that ends with salty diner coffee, runny eggs and the Sunday Sun-Times. It almost makes one long for the smoking ban to be lifted for only a few hours. Almost.

The Green Door Tavern in River North (676 N. Orleans, 312-664-5496) manages to walk the balance between classic tavern and tourist trap with aplomb. Housed in a 130-year-old wood frame building built shortly after the Great Chicago Fire (the last building of its kind built that close to the Loop) if you look at it hard enough you'll see that it has a noticeable lean..

This week you're going to see articles online and in print noting the 75th anniversary of the repeal of the Volstead Act, which will be celebrated throughout the city on Friday. Prohibition didn't stop people from drinking, particularly in "the city that works." Places like the Green Mill actually thrived during Prohibition (we'll be writing about Green Mill and its Prohibition-era history later this week).

You'd think that, writing for a large blog, we'd be able to keep up with RSS feeds and tips. So how the Chicago chapter of the Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails went past our head is beyond us. Should've known that Sonja Kassebaum of North Shore Distillery was the mastermind behind this. Currently, LUPEC Chicago has nine members, including Master Mixologist Bridget Albert of Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois.