Hold on to your cocktail umbrellas: Paul McGee is opening another tiki bar in Chicago.
McGee led the resurgence of tiki cocktails in Chicago with the opening of Three Dots and a Dash with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises in 2013 and, before that, tiki nights at The Whistler in Logan Square.
As beverage director of Land and Sea Dept., McGee will oversee beverage programs at all of the company's properties, including Parson's Chicken & Fish in Humboldt Park and a bar, restaurant and game room in the forthcoming hotel in the former Chicago Athletic Association building on Michigan Avenue.
First up is tiki bar Lost Lake and adjacent Chinese takeout-inspired restaurant Thank You, due to open next week in Logan Square near Diversey and Kedzie avenues.
McGee joined Land and Sea Dept. with the hotel project on the horizon, but "really didn't want to leave tiki behind," he said. "We had all done a lot of work making tiki important, even relevant, in Chicago. That was going to really eat me up inside, having to leave that. It was bittersweet leaving Three Dots and a Dash. We thought wouldn't it be cool to do a smaller tiki bar in Logan Square?"
The group eyed a space near Fat Rice, but when it went to another project-Son of a Butcher from Pearl Tavern owner Adolfo Garcia is due to open there soon-they ended up taking over the spaces formerly occupied by State Fair restaurant and The Previous Administration bar, on the border of Logan Square and Avondale at 3152-3154 W. Diversey Ave.
While McGee's drink menu at Three Dots and a Dash was half traditional tiki recipes and half modern interpretations, his menu at Lost Lake will feature 16 cocktails that will change often. "You'll see maybe a couple of my signature drinks on the menu, like the Bunny Banana daiquiri and the Boogie Board," McGee said.
Expect to see creative garnishes, some custom tiki glassware and a few frozen drinks, McGee said. One specific drink he expects to include on the opening menu is the scotch-based Coconut Grove Cooler made with passionfruit, pomegranate, pineapple and lemon juices, inspired by a cocktail served at the former Ambassador Hotel in L.A. "It was near Koreatown. All the Hollywood guys would hang out there and get drinks at this place," McGee said. "It has really tropical flavors with a nice smoky scotch."
A dozen of the menu's tiki drinks will be individual servings, while the remaining four will be shareable-but not as large or extravagant as the ones Three Dots has become known for. "We won't have a $400 treasure chest," McGee said, adding he estimates a $12 price point for individual tiki drinks and $25-$40 range for drinks serving groups of four to six. Fans of McGee's wallet-friendly drinks from The Whistler will appreciate that an $8 daiquiri always will be available, he said.
The name Lost Lake comes from a tiki drink at The Whistler named by a friend of McGee's. "We wanted to tie it into the lake and how [Chicago] is the third coast, but also it can be this mysterious place that you just kind of came upon," he said. "Instead of having these big tiki torches everywhere, it's this neighborhood spot you happened to pop into and all of a sudden you're in this tropical place."
Though the name won't appear on signage out front, an awning printed with banana palm leaves, a neon "tiki" sign and a hanging piranha will mark the entrance. The latter has become somewhat of a mascot for the bar, appearing on custom-made swizzle sticks and the bar's logo-not to mention the aquarium of live piranhas. "[Land and Sea Dept. partner] Robert [McAdams] had a relative that had a fish tank with piranhas," McGee said. "We're in the early stages of seeing who is king of the tank. We have six or seven in there right now. We're hoping at least one of them will be around for the opening."
Food service at Lost Lake will be provided by adjacent Chinese takeout-inspired restaurant Thank You, headed up by executive chef Gabriel Freeman (pictured below), who has worked at Mott St, Ruxbin and The Publican. The name is a nod to the generic message often printed on Chinese takeout bags.
"Thank You is based on the idea of Chinese takeout in America," Freeman said. "But instead of the processed and canned ingredients commonly associated with takeout, I am using regionally sourced foods, making sauces from scratch and fermenting and pickling vegetables in-house." For example, he toasts and blends spices to make his own hoisin sauce for a Mongolian beef dish.
"There's a rich history of having Sichuan Chinese food available at these tiki bars," said McGee, mentioning famous spots such as Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber. "On the flip side, because the guys that open tiki bars were serving Chinese food, the Chinese restaurant owners were like, hey, if this is what people want, we'll give them tiki drinks."
Thank You also will offer delivery. "There was a little hole in good-quality Chinese food in Logan Square delivery. We love that style of food and it's pretty hard to get around here," said McGee, who lives in Logan Square with his wife (and publicist) Shelby Allison, who also is a partner in Lost Lake. "We're hoping to keep the menu open later, so on your way out of the bar you're able to get some food to-go."
Another partner in Lost Lake is Martin Cate, owner of well-known San Francisco rum bar Smuggler's Cove, which ranked 16 on the 2014 World's 50 Best Bars list. (Three Dots and a Dash, at 27th place, is one of two Chicago spots on the list.). McGee hopes the connection will provide opportunities to collaborate with Smuggler's Cove. "We're talking about doing some house-blended rums and picking out some barrels together and splitting those things," McGee said.
Just inside the front door, a mosaic tile entryway and arrows will direct customers to the right for Thank You and to the left for Lost Lake. McGee said the bar will feature ample standing room in addition to an estimated 19 barstools and seating for 50 in booths, tables and even a cave decorated with stone and a puffer fish chandelier. As for the decor, "there are a lot of fish elements without being tied to faux Polynesian culture," he said. Think netting canopies, fish-trap lights and lots of seashells.
In addition to the main bar staffed by two bartenders, Lost Lake also will have a service bar dedicated to making drinks for customers at tables. "A really interesting thing that I'm super-excited about here is that we will not have bartenders and servers that are just dedicated to their role. Each bartender will serve and each server will bartend." McGee also will work at the bar full-time starting on opening day.
McGee became known in Chicago's nightlife scene for his affordably priced, well-crafted cocktails at The Whistler, which opened in 2008. Prior to that, he worked as corporate mixologist for Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group in Las Vegas. He left The Whistler to become beverage director for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises in 2012.
>>VIDEO:Watch Paul McGee golf with limes at Three Dots and a Dash
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