Yusho's Craft Cocktail Program

Logan Square's really become quite the place to be opening a
new restaurant/craft cocktail establishment.
Recently opened on Kedzie Avenue just north of Diversey, Yusho bar program is really amazing.
Mathias the owner hired a "young kid" named Alex to join him behind the bar- and what a knowledgeable guy Alex is.
Alex's background is in the History of Food & Beverage (really- a U of C Graduate program) along with working
at Charlie Trotters (front of the house) and many places in The Bay Area.
This guy's knowledge of food is amazing.
How many bars can you name that keep a "Misto" atomizer filled with Frankencense?
How many bars can you name that produce their own house made "Squirt" Soda for a real
Paloma cocktail?

While sitting at the unusually high bar (46" due to code issues with food prep) Alex prepared us two starter cocktails-
a 'Two Tribes" made with Single Malt Scotch substituted for Rye (Rye, Palm Sugar, Cardamaro, Barrel-Aged Stonefruit Bitters )
and a "Draught Cocktail" = a Seasonal Shochu Soda/a house-made citrus flavored "punch" if you will- very Asian flavored-
very refreshing-sweet, but not coyingly so.....and damn tasty!

Alex's knowledge of well made drinks will keep this place a "keeper" in my rotation between Whistler, The Violet Hour, and
others.
http://yusho-chicago.com/bar/

Yusho
2853 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 904-8558

The Alderman's Hodo Hodo is one of my new favorite cocktails. Made with bourbon, gomma syrup, phosphate, bitters and soda, this is a cocktail I could dip in either winter or summer.

Tried a few different cocktails tonight. I really liked the Twin Tribes - definitely my favorite of the night. I also had the Alderman's Hodo-Hodo, which was pretty good, but I found it to be not as complex as Twin Tribes, and a little too sweet.

My friend had the Boswell's 20th Century, which I thought was very good - and the frankincense was very distinctive, followed by a Hemingway in Hokkaido, which I didn't really care for, though it should be noted I am really not a big white rum fan.

We also split the special seasonal shochu cocktail - very light and refreshing.

All in all I really liked the vibe of the place, and the drinks were a great value - particularly the Twin Tribes, which was a large, strong, tasty drink for $8.00. If I didn't have a giant, great dinner at Sun Wah before hand, I would have tried a few small plates...oh well...there is always a next time.

I was, however, dismayed to see how few people were in the place for a Friday night. I arrived at about 10:30pm, and there were about 10 people filling a ~60-80 seat space. By 11:30pm, there were only about 4 people remaining.

It is really a shame, considering the great cocktails plus a very interesting late night (1am) menu. They need to work on getting more people to know about them! I had no idea they had even opened in the summer, and they have already had their liquor license of over a month.

Hopefully things will improve.

I think they opened for business in November or early December.

DClose wrote:
I was, however, dismayed to see how few people were in the place for a Friday night. I arrived at about 10:30pm, and there were about 10 people filling a ~60-80 seat space. By 11:30pm, there were only about 4 people remaining.

It is really a shame, considering the great cocktails plus a very interesting late night (1am) menu. They need to work on getting more people to know about them! I had no idea they had even opened in the summer, and they have already had their liquor license of over a month.

Hopefully things will improve.

Trust me they aren't hurting. Monday night the place was jammed at 9:30. By the way the food is awesome.

Hombre de Acero wrote:While sitting at the unusually high bar (46" due to code issues with food prep)...

Are there other places that have been subject to that code? Not really a problem, but that has got to be the tallest bar at which I've ever sat. We only had one round at the bar before moving to a table (i.e. I was sober), and tippling buddy mbh had to help me down from my stool, the ground was so far away. LTH team work!

Mathias (the proprietor) of Yusho claimed that there's a "law",
that requires any time food prep
exists in the presence of customers- there needs to be a barrier (normally a sneeze guard)
between the food prep and the coodies laden customers.
One way around that was raising the height of the bar from a standard 42" height-
to 48" high- causing the need for the SUPER HIGH Bar Stools (36" in height) (30" is the norm).

Personally- I would have explored a hanging (possibly retractable) sneeze guard operating on a pulley system.
(or- conversely one that retracted into the bar counter surface like a piece of toast dropping
into the toaster.....

boudreaulicious wrote:I think they opened for business in November or early December.

I'm just going off what our waitress said, which was that they opened in the summer and received their liquor license in December.

JLenart wrote:
Trust me they aren't hurting. Monday night the place was jammed at 9:30. By the way the food is awesome.

Well, I'm glad to hear that, but it doesn't change the fact the place was almost deserted when I was there, at prime drinking/late night dining time - Friday 9pm-12am.

Hopefully things continue to improve. Look forward to trying a few dishes next time!

Hombre de Acero wrote:One way around that was raising the height of the bar from a standard 42" height-
to 48" high- causing the need for the SUPER HIGH Bar Stools (36" in height) (30" is the norm).

Yeah, I did notice that those appear to be the world's least comfortable bar stools. Uncomfortably high, small, slick, round, hard seats, with no backs. No thank you...I'd rather stand.

Luckily there is an ample amount of other seating, everything from lounge-type chairs near the front (we sat there, very comfy), to 2/4 tops, and even a few larger 6-8 person tables.

Checked out Yusho for the first time last night. I was happy to support them before I even patronized the place, because I like where they chose to open their doors. I live in Avondale, and my allegiance is strong. I also like the idea of places like this foregoing the security of the square.

I had already eaten dinner so I shamefully did not finish my Logan "Poser" Ramen, but it was good. The Three Arrows cocktail was delicious and the glasswear was beautiful.

Addressing Sula's prediction of Yusho and Alex filling the void Paul McGee will leave, I just can't imagine sitting at that bar for more than two.