Nightwood...for drinks

A lot has been said about Nightwood's food, but I noticed they were conspicuously lacking from the drink board. We are often looking for good places to grab a drink in or near our hood (Pilsen) and though we love beers, burgers, and tots at Skylark, cocktails are rudimentary. And, unfortunately, I've never had a completely good cocktail at Simone's (they're always lacking some important aspect - alcohol, acid, or flavor being the top three culprits). Every time we've been to Nightwood for a meal, we've managed to enjoy a cocktail though (usually before wine) and they are great, so last night we headed there for cocktails alone.

The Granadaland (which figjustin always screws up as "Graceland") with Beefeater gin, Cynar, and rose is slightly fruity, herbal, and nicely balanced. Last night I took one of their non-alcoholic drinks - the Tamarind Rickey - and added tequila which was perfectly sweet and sour. I ended the night with the Ten O'Clock Scholar which kind of tasted like an alcoholic iced mocha; it was a tad sweet for me, but would have been fabulous with dessert.

The bar was virtually empty, even with Restaurant Week, and it wasn't a "loud bar."

Nightwood has one of the best Manhattans in the city, proof that even a simple drink can be done better at some places than others.

Great bar. The cocktail menu and spirits list are thoughtfully curated, and the drinks are almost always well-executed. I've had a couple of misses but the vast majority of my drinks at Nightwood have been quite enjoyable and memorable.

Vitesse98 wrote:Nightwood has one of the best Manhattans in the city, proof that even a simple drink can be done better at some places than others.

It's the simple ones -- the classics -- that, in my experience, are most often botched (not at Nightwood but in general).

=R=