Billy Sunday's Passion-Fruit Daiquiris Shine | Logan Square, Chicago
Exciting cocktails and unusual bites at Billy Sunday
Sure, Billy Sunday is small, hip and low-lit, appointed with vintage artwork and antique cocktail coupes.
It wears all the trappings of a by-the-books cocktail boîte, but the Logan Square newcomer–from Yusho's chef-owner, Matthias Merges, and barman Alex Bachman–is far from typical.
Its menu is littered with unusual, appetite-piquing options. On a recent visit, for example, we sipped passion-fruit Daiquiris ($12) and Pisco Punch ($12) alongside an eclectic flurry of sweet and savory snacks.
That Daiquiri, with two white rums, passion fruit juice, pineapple bitters and crushed ice, is a sophisticated taste of summer, a respite from the icy outdoors. Pisco punch is equally refreshing; nutmeg gomme syrup anchors it to the Caribbean islands, and herbaceous Elixir Vegetal, a French Chartreuse, provides a verdant finish. On-tap tonics ($10), like the lemongrass- and gin-laced Kent, are effervescent and bright.
Pack the table with sustenance for a night of drink sampling: silken chicken-liver mousse with raisin mostarda ($8); cucumbers in sweet bread-and-butter-pickle brine ($6); and a plate of La Fournette bread with butter ($5).
Savory cream of wheat ($13)–think polenta, but with farina–is a surprising, satisfying standout, topped with slow-roasted tomatoes and wilted mustard greens.
Finish with that superlative banana pudding...and another Daiquiri, perhaps.
Billy Sunday, 3143 W. Logan Blvd.; 773-661-2485 or billy-sunday.com