River North Girl
Hey there all you cool cats and kittens!
jk jk 😉
I don’t know about all of you but I’m low key dying for a Boozy Brunch with all the ladies. There’s nothing more rejuvenating for the soul than putting my face on, maybe throwing on a floppy hat and big sunglasses, and reliving all the gory details from me and my girls’s weekends over some *~cute~* cocktails.
So, I figured since the whole wide world is currently shut down, the next best thing was to list all the very best cocktails and where to find them in our fair city (hint: they’re mostly going to be in my hood, River North hehe). I guess you could consider this a power ranking of brunch
1. Bloody Mary at Hutch American Cafe
Bow down to the Queen, bitches. When it comes to boozing at brunch, Mary doesn’t mess around. A true Russian vodka-fueled ice queen in red bottoms, the Bloody Mary is a God send to hung peeps everywhere. A little hair of the dog to get your mind right and oodles of electrolytes in the tomato juice to help you recover like a high performance athlete. Bonus points for bacon, cheese cubes, or pickles. For real risk takers, load it up with hot sauce and watch the hang over make like a rabbit in a hat and disappear.
Hutch American Cafe is a delightful little American contemporary spot with delish bloodies and some serious salmon avocado toast. It’s like I died and went to Omega 3 heaven. The vibe is heavy on mason jars and burlap ribbon, s’cute. Be sure to check it out.
2. Mimosa at Brunch
That’s not a typo, folks. Brunch (the restaurant) has one of the best brunch (meal in between breakfast and lunch) games in Chicago. Like the Fruity Pebbles French Toast, r u fkn kidding me??
Absolute insanity.
Beyond that, they’re more than qualified to represent the little sister of breakfast cocktails, the ever-present mimosa. Mimosas can be a little bland TBH and play down to their weakest elements (aka shitty champagne) but when done properly with fresh squeezed OJ or something exotic like blood oranges or pineapple juice, mimosas can be graceful and exquisite AF.
This lock down can’t end soon enough :^)
3. Aperol Spritz at Bongo Room
Call me Will Smith because we’re getting spritz-y with it. Some folks would argue, incorrectly, that Aperol spritzes are not a true brunch drink but rather is just a seasonal beverage, like a summer shandy. And those people, fortunately, are wrong. Aperol spritzes are absolutely yummy and are ever bit as deserving of a seat at the brunch table as your one roommate that likes Disney just a little too much.
Bongo Room has 2 different locations, one in Wicker Park (meh) and another in Andersonville (wtf??). Check out their sinful brunch menu for some Saturday and Sunday exclusive treats, but not every weekend or you won’t get invited out on that one guy’s boat in the Playpen.
4. Paloma at Kirkwood
K so Kirkwood may not be everyone’s idea of a trendy brunch spot but low key they have the best Palomas in Chicago. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
So actually, Palomas are the pink Latinx princesses that not only elevates the brunch experience from tipsy to turnt, they do it in style. Everything’s prettier in pink, especially tequila. But you thots already knew that.
5. Bellini at Eataly
Bellinis are often confused with their more fab sister, mimosas, but are definitely their own girl. This hoe is packing a real peach in the back, no pun intended, and is for sure a different breed of breakfast drink. She’s a proud principessa di Italia so make sure so show some respect to the Don and check out the Bellini Bar at Eataly. Blessed are the hung over, for ye shall inherit Eataly.
Lastly and not leastly, please, please, PLEASE be sure to support all of these resturants during the coronavirus shut down. Call them directly, use an app, whatever suites you best and do your part to have their back because they’ll have yours next time you vom in the little girl’s room at 11 AM.
Be sure to follow me on instagram @RiverNorthGirl for more!
