Drinking Celery Soup at a Speakeasy Bar? 🥃✨

The Office at Aviary or Kumiko + Bistro Monadnock is my go-to route for treating friends visiting Chicago to good food and drinks. This weekend, I took a junior who has pretty different taste in drinks than me and tried some dishes and cocktails we’d never ordered before—ended up with some interesting takeaways! At The Office, this time we booked a regular reservation (no set course, not the one-hour Office Hour experience) and sat on a comfy mid-century sofa—highly recommend! (Check my past post for why Office Hour wasn’t my thing.) The most interesting drink was Leche de Tigre (Tiger’s Milk?? 🐯🥛). I ordered it as a “green juice” since it’s gin-based with celery, but my junior said it tasted like a Chinese-style soup! 😂 Drinks 3–4 were a Dill-infused cocktail, a Tomatillo Margarita (hold the tomato 🙃), and an Espresso Martini with stronger coffee notes. You can also ask the bartender to tweak or freestyle any classic cocktail from their menu We also pre-ordered the black truffle pairing—this time it was Italian black truffle ricotta ravioli, way better than the black truffle popcorn from last time! 🙌 Earlier, we stopped by Bistro Monadnock for a low-key birthday pre-celebration (I’m a regular here, so the servers always ask if I’m celebrating… pressure’s on 😅). My junior from NYC was shocked by the generous portions of the beef tartare and salad. The escargots were as delicious as ever, but the beef tartare egg and the sauce on the lobster thermidor were overly salty. Pro tip: maybe stick to the foie gras and steak next time! Can’t wait to be back in my happy place—NYC—next week! 🌆 #ChicagoEats #ChicagoBars #LifeInTheUS #StudyAbroad #RestaurantRecommendations