Named, presumably, for its size, the Mathbox is a place to go early if you want to sit. All the seats are at the bar (during the summer there are tables outdoors, but the interior is awesome and... More

Named, presumably, for its size, the Mathbox is a place to go early if you want to sit. All the seats are at the bar (during the summer there are tables outdoors, but the interior is awesome and it's dangerous drinking a manhatten from a tilting, wobbly, table) in this tiny, wedge-shaped place. Now I will make a bold claim: The Matchbox is the best place for cocktails in the city of Chicago. Admittedly, there are many swanky joints serving martinis that I've never had the cash or the shoes or the desire to try out; but I'll bet you that the Matchbox will give them a run for their money. Their liquor selection is outstanding. I rarely have the opportunity to sit at a bar and wear out the bartender's ear asking "what's that?" "what's that?" "what's that?" Luckily, the bartenders here are outstanding and friendly and, when it isn't really busy, happy to chat. The care that they put into their drinks is wonderful. A manhatten comes with black cherries that appear to be jarred by hand. A margharita comes with a dusting of powdered sugar and a long, knotted, lime peel sitting across the top of the glass. The first time we went there, we decided to splurge. We each had 3 cocktails ("we" denoting 2 people, for a total of 6 cocktails), with call liquors. Each time, we got the whole contents of the shaker. After three, we gritted our teeth and asked for the check, expecting to stay in for the rest of the week. The bill came to a whopping... $36? We were stunned.
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A tiny, tiny little wee bar on the corner of Ogden and Milwaukee is just what you need every now and then, or more so, depending on your liver's capacity. They offer the necessary, and then they... More

A tiny, tiny little wee bar on the corner of Ogden and Milwaukee is just what you need every now and then, or more so, depending on your liver's capacity. They offer the necessary, and then they offer the unique. The unique being cocktails made with good, old-fashioned albumen, that's right, egg whites. I mean, who uses egg whites any more? And yet, the proof is in the pudding. The bartenders are sometimes inattentive, but it must get so boring paying attention to drunks all night, I don't blame them. The bartender's are however nice, and when you get a martini, you get everything in the shaker. Which maybe I don't need, but I always want it. Check out whatever the special is, it's usually tasty, even if it may not sound that way. The Matchbox is described by it's moniker, so be forewarned. I don't remember tables, maybe one in the back somewhere, but it really is just a bar, with not more than twenty seats...but then that may be being generous.
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