Moonshine on Division (Long, Self Indulgent, Overly Verbose)

Ow.

I'm often aware of the fact that I'm at a different place in life than the regular crew of people posting here. Calling Wicker Park "home", single and 25 I'm living a lifestyle that the regulars here have grown out of by now. (At least casually lurking would give that idea.)

It's never more apparent than on Thursday mornings. Thursday morning is my morning to leap out of bed with a start, stumble barefoot around my apartment mumbling expletives that I reserve for special occasions (and of course "What were we thinking last night?"), and search for Advil - all while concocting yet another clever excuse to explain being late for work.

This is all something I blame squarely on Moonshine - at least every other week.

I first investigated Moonshine based on an article about bourbons; it'd mentioned that Moonshine served Booker's at a reasonable price. I have a great fondness for Booker's in a Manhattan and Moonshine is just a stumble away from home, so I gathered some friends to check it out.

As is often the case with restaurants in this city, it took a good deal of time for them to get their liquor license. They had just recently gotten it at the time of my first visit, and business was slow. The biggest impression we took from the first visit was the service - it was exceptional. They serve most of their drinks in "Moonshine-themed" glassware - namely jars in differing sizes. (There's no jar shaped martini glass, and people would likely drop a pitcher without a handle - so they make do with the standard issue variety in those cases.) I was commenting on the glassware as a manager happened by on the first visit - he stopped to explain the sizes of all of their glasses, and offered us a gratis appetizer for the "confusion", real or imagined on his part. (We didn't complain.)

The food was good on our first visit, but I'll have to admit it was a secondary purpose for visiting. We simply ordered several appetizers and shared them at the table. Chicken quesadillas, wings, spinach & artichoke dip - nothing fancy or unique, but all rendered nicely. The one so-so item was the calamari. It was pretty obviously taken out of a bag of frozen calamari in the back and deep-fried. It wasn't overcooked which was nice, but it was nothing special.

On my second visit we went even later and on the evening before a Holiday weekend. (I forget why, it was a Thursday and everyone had Friday off, sometime last spring.) Business had definitely picked up, and the bar and lounge area were crowded. Several of the people in our party were smokers, so the management had several employees arrange seating for us in smoking section - moving furniture and tables to facilitate this. (We didn't actually eat on this visit.)

Now, back to Wednesday nights. Starting back in May some friends that run a promotional company (pretty much exclusively involved in the nightclub industry, save for this night) started doing after work events here. You could almost refer to it as a Happy Hour, except for that fact that it's illegal to do so - and it goes for 6 hours. The idea being to bring people that normally only see each other out at clubs together in an after work environment, with music and food. These events were successful and have been going on every other Wednesday, since then. (This is probably the night that I wouldn't bring children, or even go to if you wanted a relaxed dining experience. It's crowded, loud, and it gets rather hot inside. They have to close the overhead doors and windows to keep the noise inside - and the air conditioning and fans don't really keep up.)

They run a 1/2-price pizza special on these nights, and it really has to be one of my favorites. Having grown up lived in and around Chicago for my entire life, I've been predisposed to the thought that all pizza should have a thicker, doughy crust. Moonshine's effectively broken me of that. The pizza there is almost cracker thin, lightly topped and ever-so-slightly burnt around the edges. My favorite is the fresh tomato and green chile - whole slices of fresh tomato set atop the cheese and baked until partially softened, with the slight spice of green chiles lying underneath. Not too much sauce, not too much cheese.

Aside from the pizza and aforementioned appetizers I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that the only other menu item I've had the occasion to eat there is their burger - a good-sized chunk of beef with green chiles (optional) and a solid bun, with the normal accoutrements on the side. Worth checking out, but certainly nothing that'd make it a destination.

My only caveat is the margaritas. They run a special on them by the pitcher on Wednesdays, and we've jokingly theorized that they're actually a potent combination of saccharine, yellow dye and rohypnol diluted with water. Veterans of the bar scene go down when they try and confront these evil drinks head on. You can't really taste the tequila in them - until the next morning. (Well, unless you get an especially potent batch. Then you're really in for trouble.) I mentally promise myself that I'll avoid these monstrosities every time - and I do, up until someone hands me a glass. And then before you know it, it's Thursday morning and I'm leaping out of bed...

Moonshine
1824 W. Division St.
773-862-8686

Moonshine's a good option for lunch. They have a parking lot, and you can get a decent little steak or porkchop for a good price. I was very disappointed with the slim bourbon selection, however, especially given the name and the theme. They don't even have Maker's, for God's sake.

On the other board I posted about Moonshine's pizza - it is, with the exception of wood-fired pizzas which are a different category, the best pizza I have had in Chicago.

Our favorite is the pepperoni and green chili - very tasty, clearly handmade, and even when slightly burnt way above all other thin crusts I have had in Chicago.

Definitely a great place. I have had their ribs in the past and enjoyed them, though Smoke Daddy down the street is probably a better bbq option. Moonshine is a great, large space with really tasty pizza.

Shannon

Pete, I've been meaning to check out Wednesday nights at Moonshine for a while, some of my friends go regularly. Thanks for the rundown, now I'll know what to order (Booker's Manhattan!) and what to avoid. See you there sometime.

I was very suspicious of Moonshine - looked like an independant TGI's or something of that ilk - but it has turned out to be pretty good. Indicative, however, of the final, official, R.I.P. of Division/Wicker/Buck as anything but Lincoln Park S.W. - not that I can quibble, as I obviously contribute to that scene. I haven't had the pizza - thanks for the suggestion Pete and Shannon.

j3s wrote:Pete, I've been meaning to check out Wednesday nights at Moonshine for a while, some of my friends go regularly. Thanks for the rundown, now I'll know what to order (Booker's Manhattan!) and what to avoid. See you there sometime.

One other warning for you then, j3s. Make sure and instruct them to make the Manhattan in a martini glass, and not the 2-3oz jar. For some reason they like to serve me Booker's on the rocks in a tiny jar when I order the Manhattan. It always happens when a server places the bar order for me, and not when I place the order with the bartender directly.

I was surprised that I didn't run into you at that loft party on Grand last Saturday, I'll look for you at Moonshine. (Keep in mind that the Wednesday events are every other week, with the next being on the 14th. The Grant Park Summerdance events are an excellent replacement for Moonshine on the off-weeks.)

We went last night (Friday 20 January) and had burgers, pizza and BBQ chicken. We got there between 8:30 and 9 and it was pretty busy. We didn't have a wait, but it seemed like if it had been less snowy out there would be a bigger crowd. They have DJs and the one DJ had the same beat on all the songs! It got very monotonous. We could tell when they changed DJs at 10 or so, the music got better

The burger was not as good as Darwin's, but was fine - the fries were deemed adequate. I had the pepperoni and green chili pizza, the other pizza was "meat lover's". Both pizzas were good - if you like very thin crusts. It's one style I like, and these were good representatives. I haven't been to Candlelite, so I can't compare to that, but I'd say they were better than My Pi, which has a similar style.

We had the "grilled" calamari appetizer. I think it was sauteed, not grilled in any way - and it had a really strong fried taste, even though it was clearly not fried. There were chunks of breading in among the calamari bits. Maybe they dunk it into the fry oil for a second to cook it?

They had a good selection of beers on tap. The waitress said they had a long list of beers in bottles, but we didn't look at that or at the wine list, since the tap list had things we were happy with.

It was overwhelmingly smoky. I suspect this will be the case with any remaining smoking places - all the smokers will go to the places they can still smoke, so there will be more smokers in these places than there were in the past, and fewer smokers in the non-smoking places.

There was a strong bathroom-deodorizer scent by the entry. Our guess is that they are trying to mask the smoke as you come in?

Prediction - the 3-year delay will be used to prove that the non-smoking places are losing money and the smoking ban will be repealed.

I'm not sure I'd say it's a destination restaurant if you're not nearby, and due to the smoke I probably won't be back soon. But after the ban, I might go more often.

leek wrote:Prediction - the 3-year delay will be used to prove that the non-smoking places are losing money and the smoking ban will be repealed.

would you like to wager a C-note on that? studies of LA/NYC bars/restaurants have proved this unlikely...

back to topic: Moonshine's canned jalapeno used on the pizza tasted tired and sickeningly metallic... but the pizza itself was indeed thin and crusty...

Remember tony, "prove" and prove are very different things in the world of politics. Especially Chicago politics

TonyC wrote:

leek wrote:Prediction - the 3-year delay will be used to prove that the non-smoking places are losing money and the smoking ban will be repealed.

would you like to wager a C-note on that? studies of LA/NYC bars/restaurants have proved this unlikely...

back to topic: Moonshine's canned jalapeno used on the pizza tasted tired and sickeningly metallic... but the pizza itself was indeed thin and crusty...

In LA and NYC, the smoking ban was applied to bars and restaurants. The Chicago ban is unevenly applied. Places like Moonshine (bars that serve food) may have a certain "advantage" over restaurants that serve liquor in the eyes of smokers.

Another reason to like Moonshine is that they support the neighborhood. They generously provided space, food, and beverages for a fund raiser last year in support of a tutoring program for kids in Wicker Park with which I am involved.

leek wrote:There was a strong bathroom-deodorizer scent by the entry. Our guess is that they are trying to mask the smoke as you come in?

What the hell is that smell, anyway? In search of patio last Friday that was open before 5, I ended up at Moonshine, hoping to enjoy the beautiful weather. We sat outdoors, near the entry, and my friend complained incessantly about this deodorizer smell, and she couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

Bad as that was, I'm pretty much over Moonshine, not that I was ever under it. It's proof to me that Wicker Park has morphed into Lincoln Park lite. Besides the tables of loud, yelling former frat boys, the food was bad, and the service was ditzy. After one drink, I remembered that Avenue M's patio is open before 5, is gorgeous, has better drinks, is more relaxed and has good service. Phew. Afternoon saved.

Sorry but I have to say that moonshine is my least favorite place in all of chicago. I am biased because my friends always seem to want to go, and my passion for this subject has therefore grown over time. I have only been once in the late of night and thought it was fine (sorrty not a whiskey drinker); however, for lunch or dinner I abhor it. The menu is your generic, "nothing pops out at you" bar menu, and when the food comes it is even worse. I'm not even going to start going into length about the horrible cracker pizza, but even the rest of the menu items that I ordered were below mediocre. I should say the outside seating is a plus and some of the wait staff are attractive, but I would much rather go to jewel and get a loaf a bread and deli meat and sit on my stoop then be subjected to another dinner there...
sorry, as you can see I needed to get that off my chest, and realize that I might be wrong seeing as everyone else likes it, but then again I liked the sopranos finale.