The Glunz Tavern

I recently joined a friend for dinner and drinks at the newly reopened Glunz Tavern on Wells. This was my first visit, her second. It certainly won't be my last. We started with two nicely done cocktails - a Sidecar for her, a Sazerac for me. To take the edge off our hunger, we shared deviled eggs to start. I'm a sucker for deviled eggs anyway and these were very good. My friend switched to wine, I went for an Old Fashioned. The drink had a touch too much soda for my tastes, but maybe the Sazerac had dulled my taste buds already.

Since it was the Friday before St. Patrick's Day, we split the corned beef dinner, which came with a side of colcannon, carrots and an Irish soda bread muffin. This was some of the best corned beef I've had. Full of flavor, the right amount of fat. Excellent stuff. We agreed that the colcannon was a worthy side dish -- a plate of it would have been welcomed.

When it was time for round three, our fine server Darren brought the bartender over to consult with me as I was undecided. Colin steered me to a Manhattan, which he proceeded to make tableside, an unusual thing for him to do according to our server. Hey, we were an appreciative audience for both his mixology skills and his banter. (Colin used to own the Red Lion Pub on Lincoln. He was great fun to talk with.)

I think The Glunz Tavern has the makings of something special. It hit all the right notes for me on my first visit - great service, food and drinks. I look forward to exploring it more.

The Glunz Tavern
1206 North Wells St.
Chicago, IL
(312) 642-3000
http://www.glunztavern.com/

I've had two dinners here. The first was some beers and the burger, which was really good.

Second was with the wife pre-Second City for Valentine's Day. I had a Sidecar and a well made Manhattan. She had an Old Fashioned (had never had one period, didn't like it) and a champagne cocktail. Food was excellent as well. We started with mussels and a cheese plate. The peppered honey with the cheese plate was amazing. Made the brie taste 1000 times more like brie. I had the whitefish since it was a Friday during Lent and really liked it. Definitely adding it to our Old Town rotation.