New Logan Square tiki bar Lost Lake is a rum-soaked adventure.
Review:Lost Lake
3154 W. Diversey Ave. 773-293-6048
Rating: !!! (out of 4) Off to a good start
Let's be honest: No matter what I say about Lost Lake in this review, you're going to go. The latest creation from the tiki-infused mind of Paul McGee is the most-talked-about bar in Chicago right now. Remember what happened when Big Star opened? It's like that, but instead of tacos, there are bananas that look like dolphins.
McGee recently left his post as beverage director of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises-where he made a big splash with big poppa tiki bar Three Dots and a Dash-to team up with Land and Sea Dept., the crew behind Longman & Eagle and Parson's Chicken & Fish. But because, as McGee recently told RedEye, he "really didn't want to leave tiki behind," Lost Lake was born, along with itty-bitty Chinese takeout joint Thank You to serve as its kitchen.
Because we're not idiots, my date and I knew the evening's rum quotient meant driving to Lost Lake was a terrible idea. So we hopped in alternate transportation-sadly, not a pirate ship-and set forth on a Logan Square adventure.
Beware, all ye who enter
However, because we secretly are idiots, my date and I also thought getting into Lost Lake on a Thursday night would be a cinch. Instead, we were greeted by a woman whose hair was nearly as bright as her tropical shirt, who informed us that not only was the bar at capacity, the indoor line extending into Thank You was at capacity as well. "Outside, ye scurvy dogs!" she shouted (my recollection may be slightly altered due to later alcohol consumption), and we began our half-hour indoor/outdoor wait. During that time, no fewer than three people approached the host stand, attempting to meet up with friends who had a seat saved inside. But apparently at capacity is at capacity, even when there's an empty chair-pretty frustrating for those left out in the cold.
We put our name in for a table and joined the herds doing the delicate hover-dance for bar stools. Clearly this is how most bars work, but Lost Lake would be better served by adopting a Violet Hour-like policy of seating every patron. Nobody wants to stand while drinking an entire parrot of rum. It's just awkward.
Welcome to our tropical hideaway
Sitting while drinking an entire parrot of rum, on the other hand, totally rules. Land and Sea mined the creative depths to turn Lost Lake into the bar you wish was attached to Disneyland's Tiki Room-from the fish tank of piranhas circling a skull to the stuffed flamingo peeping over the thatched roof-with a soundtrack reminiscent of Don Draper on vacation. I'm heavily considering losing my security deposit by having that fantastic, leafy wallpaper installed in my apartment.
Drink your troubles away
Lost Lake's main lineup of tiki drinks all are $12, and it's easy to want to pick your drink based solely on its vessel. As mature adults, we started with the pufferfish (Pool Rules, featuring bourbon, aged Guyana rum, vanilla and angostura bitters) and the parrot (Cocoanut Grove Cooler, made with scotch, Batavia Arrack, curacao and orgeat). The cinnamon stick-festooned Pool Rules smelled great on approach, but was fairly forgettable, while the Cocoanut Grove was wonderfully balanced. I'm not normally one for peaty scotch, but its rubbery flavor was perfectly offset by a multitude of fruits like pomegranate and pineapple. (That sounds kind of gross, but trust me, it's good.)
We were starving after our time in line, so it was time to take advantage of Thank You, whose menu is even tinier than its storefront, from the comfort of our bar stools. Highly recommended to counterbalance those drinks is the fried rice ($10), peppered with nuggets of Chinese bacon and adorned with a raw egg yolk. The chicken wings ($7 for six, $13 for 12), weren't nearly as spicy as advertised, and I wasn't thrilled by the dollars-to-wings value. The Mongolian beef ($8), featuring house-made hoisin sauce from chef Gabriel Freeman, felt a little overdone, but boy, was it good on top of that fried rice.
While waiting for our next round of drinks, we chatted up our friendly bartender and perused Lost Lake's intense rum menu, which features options from around the globe. This also was a good opportunity to ask ourselves questions like: How does one become a rum connoisseur? When is Johnny Depp getting his own brand of rum? Why do people drink Malibu? This time, we opted for a serious one-two punch (literally and figuratively): the Punch Vieux (aged rhum agricole, cane syrup, lime) and the Tahitian Rum Punch, a $45 concoction featuring two kinds of rum, dry vermouth and curacao and meant for three to four people. The latter was supposed to be served in a conch shell, but ours came in the ship-shaped vessel usually reserved for the Tortuga (also $45 and featuring many of the same ingredients). Were we given the wrong punch? The wrong ship? By the time we realized the possible blunder, we'd made our way to a low table-and certainly didn't need a replacement anyway.
There was no mistaking the Punch Vieux, however, which is true to its name in that it practically knocks you to the floor. The rum-derived from cane juice instead of molasses-is one of those beasts that makes you say "WOOOO!" after every sip, and probably was historically used to revive drowned sailors. It's awesome. The punch bowl-whichever it was-tasted like a blue Otter Pop according to my date, but that probably was the curacao talking and definitely is a compliment. Also, any cocktail is automatically six times more fun to drink when sipped through a 2-foot-long straw.
The bottom line
When you go to Lost Lake-because, as we've already established, you will-keep in mind that you'll probably have to bushwhack your way through a serious wait before settling in with a drink. But by the time you've reached your second cocktail, the crowds will become part of the party, you'll be fanning yourself with the comically large, leaf-shaped menu ... and a shirtless man in a sarong will approach you, carrying an enormous pearl he found while diving in the crystalline waters nearby. (Hang on, how much rum was in that ship?)
damoran@redeyechicago.com | @redeyedana. Additional reporting by Lisa Arnett.
>>How to talk tiki
Confused by some of the ingredients in Lost Lake's cocktails? Here's a quick primer.
Batavia Arrack: A distilled Indonesian alcohol often compared to rum, since both are made of sugar cane
Rhum agricole: Rum derived from sugar cane juice instead of molasses
Curacao: Liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the lahara citrus fruit, which is grown on the island of Curacao
Orgeat: A sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar and rose or orange flower water
>>Tiki timeline
A few highlights in Chicago's recent tiki history
1957 - Trader Vic's opens in the Palmer House Hilton.
2005 - Trader Vic's closes in the Palmer House Hilton.
2008 - Trader Vic's opens in the Gold Coast. Bottom Lounge reopens in the West Loop with a rum-centric second floor called the Volcano Room.
2010 - River North bar Curio launches a cocktail menu with a Tiki Rebellion section. The Orbit Room redecorates its patio in a tiki theme.
2011 - Trader Vic's closes in the Gold Coast. Paul McGee introduces tiki nights at The Whistler.
2013 - Lettuce Entertain You opens Three Dots and a Dash.
2014 - Hotel Palomar debuts a tiki pop-up bar.
2015 - Land and Sea Dept. opens Lost Lake.