I was neck deep in this review of Michael Kornick and David Morton’s new barstaurant when I heard that “spiritual adviser” Tim Lacey had left. I was going on about the recently shattered glass ceiling for bartenders: how ever since the Violet Hour opened in 2007 more and more barkeeps are given top billing above chefs, how the food is often secondary to the libations, and, in particular, how Lacey’s subtle creations were well suited to the graying and plasticized North Shore slummers and city-dwelling young’uns that have been packing the joint since early March.
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Lacey, who was Charles Joly’s onetime right-hand man at the Drawing Room and who joined Ada St. after a short stint at Ripasso, has a long career behind the stick, dating back to the Achatz Dale Levitski days at Trio. Kornick and Morton have been trumpeting his involvement from the beginning, and I wanted to recommend that you line up before the doors open so you can assure yourself a seat at the bar from which you could engage Lacey in a round of Dealer’s Choice (or several), allowing you to see for yourself how his cocktail menu only hints at his full powers.
Just as you rarely hear about the fine work of Scofflaw’s Mickey Neely or Barrelhouse Flat’s Nick Hertel, Schor’s is given short shrift by categorizing it as “small plates bar food,” as if it’s only a liquor sop that keeps you upright on your barstool. OK, the plates truly are small and the dishes inherently snacky, but Kornick and Morton have found someone that transcends that ghettoization, preparing tasty and thoughtful dishes that ought to be appreciated on their own terms.
I don’t know how long Lacey’s list will remain intact, or how well his backups will execute it, but for now the drinks—their names taken from song titles—go down easy, never ponderous and always balanced. Even frequently aggressive elements are restrained: Fernet Branca’s medicinal bitterness is smoothed with ginger beer and lime. Blended scotch is tamed by syrupy yellow chartreuse. Even the finishing blast of flaming mescal comes across as a mere whiff ahead of the first sip in a tiki-esque rye drink sweetened with pineapple.
1664 N. Ada 773-697-7069adastreetchicago.com
