Mother's Ruin — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

A man can do some damage while visiting Chicago. The good kind of damage - cutting loose, staying up too late dancing at the goth bar, just not knowing when that last beer should come - but, hey, those are Monday problems. On the third night (Easter Sunday) of a long weekend, after having the most energy expending day in the city: getting to St. Hyacinth for morning service, dunkin’ on brunch at Avondale Tap, napping with Mabeline, taking in a Divine amount of masterwork at The Art Institute, then wrapping with the transcendent Biffy Clyro at HOB, that man’s appetite can be deep for some wind-down sustenance.

Enter Mother’s Ruin stage right

Low-lit, unpretentious, bar seating available. Multiple menu items leapt from the board - double cheeseburger, nachos, spicy chicken sandwich, to name a few. My empty stomach yearned, primarily for grub, secondarily for cocktails. I put in for the chicken sandwich, ordered a drink, got to the end of it, my two companions had received their food, I asked about mine, Chris (bartender, busy serving all the patrons) mistakenly didn’t put in my sandwich. “THAT’S PERFECTLY FINE, I SECOND GUESSED MYSELF AWAY FROM THE NACHOS ANYWAY. THIS IS DESTINY, CHRIS.” Oh, that order got put in. Those ‘chos breathed life back into me, boyo, I tell ya! Washed down with some well thought out drinks such as the View Carrie. Chris penitently and happily tossed us some Red Velvet Oreo Bombs…Boy, howdy!! Popped one of those bad boys in my mouth, had to slap the bar and take a lap! I had risen indeed! My good man, Chris, kept our glasses full and spirits up that night. We whacked Malort and shot Fernet, we laughed aloud and got well spent. I’d like to think that we didn’t just close down Mother’s Ruin that night, but that Mother’s Ruin sang us to sleep. Be seeing ya, Logan Square.

Sincerely, Drag racing outside of elementary schools; Jumping the chasm with winged sandals; Ocular discharge; Getting zooted on loud and having your...

Really want to love this place as it is so needed in the neighborhood. We've been there multiple times and the food/drink quality is actually good, but... Ordering logistics are terrible.

1. Food comes out and nobody knows where it needs go (even after the new numbering system has been instituted).

2. Drinks are made and the customer has already gone to a table, so now the bartender is walking around without knowing who to give the drinks to.

3. Spicy chicken sandwich is not spicy at all. Should just be "Fried Chicken Sandwich" on the menu. Bring your own hot sauce -- not just for the chicken sandwich. Nothing on the menu that says "spicy" or "habanero" is spicy enough for anyone who actually wants spicy.

We've been there 4 times. Twice, our food order was messed up. Other times, food that was not ours was brought to us multiple times (because the food runner wasn't properly/accurately informed of where the food needed to go).

To the owners/management: Please, please, please hire a server. Let the bartender make the drinks and not worry about where the food goes. You have complicated, multi-touch drinks (which we want)... but managing that along with everything else really spreads your employees thin and kills the customer experience. Get a server to take orders and remember to what table food/drink goes. Don't make customers return to the bar to pick up drinks... (or hope the bartender can find the proper table and recognize the person who ordered).

EDIT: Docked some stars since management thought it was cool to steal my quote and take pride in how awful the ordering experience is there. Felt like a superstar being featured on their sidewalk sign for the summer, though. Now if only they knew how to react to legitimate,...

I went during their first week open, so I'm sure things will get better, but my experience was hectic, crowded, and draft-beer-less because the tap lines weren't ready yet(!?).

We asked our bartender about one of the cocktails, and had to remind her twice more because she walked away, talked with other bartenders for a few minutes, came back, and said 'I totally forgot what you wanted, what was it?" TWICE!

The decor and vibe overall has that 'relaxed upscale' vibe, which is a nice addition to the neighborhood. Can't comment on the food because we only had one drink before deciding it wasn't ready for prime time. Drinks are pricey but tasty.

Edit: went back for brunch last weekend. It was busy but not crowded when we went, and things ran smoother. The food was a little pricey for what it is, but it WAS delicious. Same for the drinks, though it is a pet peeve of mine when a place offers beer on tap and charges pint prices for 10-12oz pours.

They've got a cheeky sign out front quoting another review that says 'ordering logistics are terrible', and yeah, that's all I could think when looking around. For a space this big, with so many communal tables, they need about double the length of bar, since all ordering is done there. There were 4 people at the bar and it was full up, which made it hard to cut in and order drinks and food- the nature of the drinks here taking a few touches to make, mixed with the fact that there's room for maayyybee three bartenders max back there means ordering everything at the bar is a...