The Radler

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One liter of The Radler’s house pilsner.

The other night we visited The Radler and killed a few birds with one stone. Firstly, we got out of the house and had a nice dinner. Next, we got to try out a new restaurant in our neighborhood. Dallas actually went to The Radler once before but I couldn’t go because I was too sick. On that visit he only sat at the bar, so I’m counting this as the first time we visited for dinner. Lastly, this was our first time taking Makai out to eat at a restaurant! I really wish we could have been doing this the last two months, but things have been crazy and with my health not good in those months, I’m just glad I’m feeling better and that I’m finally up for it now!

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The Radler’s house pilsner and house radler. Note on the mural below.

The Radler is a German restaurant and beer hall that opened in Logan Square at the beginning of December. To drink, The Radler has a good long list of beers. I can’t remember specifically, but I’m assuming they were mostly German. There were also a few specialty cocktails and some wine. Dallas and I decided to try the house pilsner, which The Radler teams up with Flesk Brewing in Lombard, IL to make. Dallas had the big, one liter stein and I tried the house radler, which is the same beer, but mixed with San Pellegrino lemonata. I liked what I had but it would be way more delicious on a hot summer day.

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Marinated Mushrooms And Rahmkase Cheese with rye bread.

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Seared Boarwurst with caramelized onions and cocoa nib relish, beet puree,charred frisee, raisins, spicy mustard.

The dinner menu is split into Appetizers, The Best (dishes ranging from smallish to entree size), and The Wurst (a selection of housemade 1/4 pound sausages), and sides. We decided to sample a little from each area.

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German Onion Pie with shaved Brussels sprouts, bacon vinaigrette, chives, pilsner soubise

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Veal Schnitzel with mulled pinot noir, grilled romaine, oranges, pickled kohlrabi, honeycomb candy.

I really liked the boarwurst and that it had different condiments to sample with the meat. The onion pie was very good. Very savory and the slaw on the top was very light and vinegary, which was a good balance. The pie was small, so if you’re really hungry, you might want to share this in addition to a bigger entree. Dallas enjoyed the schnitzel, but thought the honeycomb candy (this was basically angel food candy) made it too sweet. The only thing we were disappointed in was the appetizer. We were both envisioning something hot with melted cheese and it was more like marinated mushrooms with chopped up cheese. It didn’t taste bad, but was not what we were wanting.

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Black Forest Cake baked chocolate pudding, cherry jam, whipped crème fraiche

Dallas didn’t want dessert, but I did! I decided to try the Black Forrest Cake, which was a very rich, dense chocolate cake. It was almost like a brownie and offset with the lightness and sweetness of the cream and the sweet/sour cherries.

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The Radler, Logan Square, Chicago

Inside, The Radler is a mix of communal seating and individual tables. There’s a long bar, if you want to just have drinks and a sausage or pretzel. There’s a LOT of dark wood. The kitchen is open to the dining area and we sat right next to it, so we could see the cooks at work. One thing I read is that while they were excavating the space to build out the the restaurant, they discovered a 120-year-old mural and that is the mural behind the bar. You can see it in my photo of Dallas above. Pretty cool. Oh, also, all of the restaurant tables, chairs and stools were built by one of the restaurant founder’s dad!

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The Radler, Logan Square, Chicago

Overall, we both enjoyed The Radler. I had expected something more like the Lincoln Square German beer halls. Hearty. Traditional. Old fashioned. But The Radler is actually a bit more sophisticated, modern and refined. Fancier, without feeling stuffy. I’m glad to have this as a new addition… and to have it just two blocks away!

Brunching

Brunch at Sola
Black Forest Omelet (gruyere, crispy leeks, black forest ham, caramelized onions) with togarashi potatoes and whole wheat toast :: Sola, North Center, Chicago

This weekend I brunched at two of my favorite brunch places with two of my favorite brunch friends.

On Saturday I biked to Wicker Park and met Margaret at Milk & Honey. I had the panini with scrambled egg, bacon, cheddar and tomato and Margaret had the casserole-style huevos rancheros. We then went to Alliance and used the free wi-fi and drink more coffee and go over Chicagoist stuff. Afterwards, we walked through the Renegade Craft Fair, which was on the street right outside Milk & Honey, and I got a pair of earrings, two necklaces, and a cool tshirt. .. even though I told myself I couldn’t buy any tshirts. I had to have this one because it had fashion plates like I had when I was a little kid on it. I’ll have to take a photo the first time I wear it. After all that walking around at the fair (it stretched from Damen almost all the way to Ashland on Division), we stopped at Sweet Cakes for a sweet treat and more coffee. I don’t know why I drank so much coffee on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and Margaret came over to my birthday party last weekend, but it’d been a while since we’d hung out for the day, so it was great.

On Sunday I biked to the Chicago Photography Center to do some things for class this week, picked up some fruit at Whole Foods, dropped it off at home and then biked to Sola. Erin insisted on taking me to brunch of my choice since she was out of town and missed my birthday party and who am I to not milk my birthday out as long as I can? I chose Sola since I’d been there for brunch once earlier this summer and it was fantastic. We both had the Black Forest Omlette (gruyere, crispy leeks, black forest ham, caramelized onions with togarashi potatoes and whole wheat toast on the side) and coffee, which was delicious. I don’t think I’ve seen or talked much to Erin for 6 weeks or something so it was great to see her too and to sit outside and enjoy a nice sunny fall day.

Also, I was dogsitting this weekend for Jen and Chad, who were out of town at a wedding. So on Saturday I checked in Drake and Cortez in the afternoon and then hung out at the house Saturday night. On Sunday I got up early to take care of them in the morning and then was about to go over after the Packers kicked the Giant’s butts, but Jen and Chad were already back. Always nice to get a little Drake and Cortez time. They’re such nice dogs and so easy to take care of now that we’re only a block away. I didn’t take any photos of Drake and Cortez this time, but here are some photos from other times I’ve watched them: 1, 2, 3.