Revisit: Lark

I was invited to dine at Lark free of charge, but all opinions stated below are my own and have not been influenced.

As I've talked about before, up until last year, I'd spent over 10 years living in Lakeview, but what some of you might not know is that my day job is also in Lakeview. I literally used to walk to and back from work every single day, and let me tell you, it was pretty glorious to not have to deal with the CTA. It was during one of those morning walks to the office a few years ago that I first noticed the signage for Lark going up. The space had previously been occupied by some generic Boystown bar that served forgettable food and watered down cocktails, so I was very excited to see what this new development might bring. And as you can see from my original... um... I mean Brandy's original review of the place, I was pretty smitten with their simple, yet flavorful food, especially their wood fired pizzas.

Flash forward to today and Lark is now a staple of the neighborhood, hosting themed brunches every weekend and all kinds of trivia nights and viewing parties during the week. The restaurant recently underwent a few updates, so I happily accepted their invitation to come in and see what kind of changes they'd made.

Although they have a drop dead gorgeous patio, the day we stopped in (I took along my friend Jenna) was pretty warm, so I opted to stay inside and enjoy the AC. Their new drink menu sections off all the cocktails by spirit. I loved this sort of set up, as it enabled me to quickly narrow down what I was in the mood for. I went for the Monotonous Lark, a cocktail from the "Tiki" section of the menu, that combined coconut rum, blue Curacao, pineapple, and vodka. I love a good tropical blue drink. Jenna went for the El Diablo Duck Mule, which was made with tequila instead of vodka, mixed with ginger beer, lime, and cream de cassis. The mule even came adorned with an adorable rubber ducky painted like a panda, and we were informed that the restaurant had an infinite supply of different designer ducks to float atop their drinks. They even had special ducks in lederhosen ready to go for Oktoberfest. Too cute!

I insisted that we start off with one the house signature wood fired pizzas, so we went with the prosciutto, arugula, and mozzarella. The crust was just as crisp and chewy as I remembered, with the slightest hint of char on the edges. This particular pizza's mix of salty, peppery, and creamy flavors was right up my alley, and the little finishing drizzle of truffle oil sure didn't hurt anything.

For her entree, Jenna wanted the Chilaquiles, which turned out to be a re-worked version of the Breakfast Nachos from Lark's original menu. It still resembles the nachos more than a traditional chilaquiles, which are generally prepared more as a hash, but I wasn't about to complain. The chips were nicely crisp, which made it easy to scoop up the mountain of toppings. Jenna had chosen to add some chicken to hers, which was a perfect addition to the zesty guac, spicy green salsa, scrambled eggs, pickled peppers, and streams of sour cream. I may have stolen a few bites from her plate, not gonna lie.

I decided to try the Recovery Burger. This burger was a pretty traditional stack, with cheddar, bacon, tomato, lettuce, a fried egg, and an onion ring, but everything was prepared exceptionally well. The onion ring added a very nice crunch to the whole thing that I really enjoyed. The only aspect I was a little confused by was that I had been asked how I preferred my meat cooked, to which I responded, "medium rare." But as we found out later, these burgers are always cooked as "smash burgers," that is to say, they are smashed on the griddle so that they develop a slight crisp on the outside. Since smash burgers are typically thinner, I'm not sure how they intended to cook mine medium rare, but I was perfectly happy with the result regardless.

Finally, the restaurant surprised us by bringing out one of their signature desserts: a S'mores Pizza. Using the same wood fired oven, they had topped their Neapolitan-style crust with Ghirardelli chocolate chunks, mini marshmallows, chocolate syrup, and crumbled graham crackers to create the ultimate campfire fantasy. Just looking at this thing brought a smile to my face, and the smell of the toasted marshmallows nearly hypnotized me. Though the crust was pretty light and airy, the whole thing was so rich that we could barely finish a slice each. I highly advise bringing along some friends to help you down this sucker.

All in all, I'm very glad to see that Lark is still operating to the high standards they were when I first visited them all those years ago. Though I may not live in Lakeview any more, I'd be more than willing to once more take the journey south from my current home in Rogers Park to visit with Lark and slowly work my way through every single one of their cocktails.

Revisit: Kit Kat Lounge

Long long ago in the spring of 2007, I was new to Chicago and was still trying to find my footing. I'd moved here the previous fall with two friends from college and we had all just barely made it out of our first arctic winter. I had a crappy job (which I would be fired from within the month for accidentally exposing a shady real estate investor's sketchy policies), a cheap, but comfortable apartment, and a very small group of friends. My roommates were both from Pennsylvania and were getting really home sick, especially as Easter approached. One decided to go home for the holiday, while the other couldn't afford the trip. "Don't worry," I told her. "I saw a sign on the restaurant down the block about an Easter brunch. You and I are going to go to that and have the best time ever." That restaurant was Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club, and I had no idea what I had just signed us up for.

My first ever Easter brunch at Kit Kat Lounge, 2007

We walked in Easter morning with no reservation and were lucky to be seated. In those days, Kit Kat wasn't doing a brunch service every week, and this might have only been the first or second time they had done a special service on Easter. They had a prix fix menu that included unlimited mimosas and three courses (biscuits, an entree, and a dessert) at a pretty damn good price. Best of all, they featured numbers by the exquisite Madam X, a showgirl drag queen of the highest order who made all her own costumes and sang all her songs live. Keep in mind, this was before RuPaul's Drag Race transformed the drag scene forever and brought it's history, artistry, and lingo into popular culture, so having brunch at a drag club on a religious holiday seemed very rebellious to us at the time. My poor home sick room mate was infatuated with Madam X, even asking if we could take a picture with her to commemorate our first Easter in Chicago.

For the next ten years, Kit Kat was my go to neighborhood spot. I knew the nightly specials by heart. I knew the martini menu by heart. I knew the performance schedule by heart. I took friends there. I took dates there. I took my mother there. When this blog was launched in 2010, Kit Kat was the subject of one of our very first reviews. That was just at the point where they were beginning to expand their brunch service to include holidays like Halloween and Mother's Day, so things were a little shaky, but I never minded. Mostly because I was usually pretty wasted.

Now, Kit Kat's Sunday brunch is a mainstay of the neighborhood. Every Sunday, you'll find huge groups of girlfriends, boyfriends, families, bridal showers, birthdays, and everything in between flocking to Kit Kat for their perfect mix of entertainment, great food, and amazing cocktails. When I moved out of Lakeview last year, I knew that heading to Kit Kat anytime I wanted was going to be one of the things I would miss most.

That is why I decided to make my triumphant return to Kit Kat this past Sunday. They've recently expanded their menu quite a bit, so I was interested to see what they had in store, as well as revisit some of my old favorites. And of course, I wanted to see what new numbers Madam X had added to her repertoire.

Where as in the past, Kit Kat Lounge had only offered unlimited mimosas with their brunch, they've now expanded the choices to include Bloody Mary martinis, white and red sangria, pink champagne, and vodka spritzers. I'm pretty partial to the sangria myself, but I also had to get one of my old favorites off the martini menu, the Lava Lamp (which is basically a lot of vodka and a Jello shot). I was near to distraught not to see my all time fav cocktail, the Black and White, was no longer listed on the menu. I beg you, Kit Kat. BRING THAT ONE BACK.

My friend and I started off with the Crab Cake Benedict, which has been on their brunch menu since the very beginning. It was still satisfyingly crabby, with a softer texture then a typical New England style crab cake, but they had added a bit of bacon to the top, which gave it a welcome meatiness and a little crunchy contrast.

Next up, a stand by and a new addition to the menu: The Kit Kat Burger and the Korean BBQ Chicken Sandwich, both of which came served with a literal mountain of truffle fries (their fries are outstanding, by the way). Once again, the burger was just how I remembered it: cooked perfectly medium, topped with a thick slab of bacon, a perfectly fried egg, and melted Gruyere cheese. It's nearly impossible to go wrong with this burger. The chicken sandwich was a nice new addition to the line up, with a sweet and tangy flavor that matched nicely with the crunchy slaw and the juicy chicken. It was a little difficult to pick up and eat (especially while trying to hold out a $5 bill to Madam X in my other hand), so eventually, I had to resort to a fork and knife. Still, hoping this one sticks around for a while.

Lastly, we finished off with my personal favorite sweet treat on the menu, the Rice Krispie French Toast. For this dish, they coat their French toast in a layer of puffed rice cereal, then serve it with a tres leches syrup and marinated strawberries. It's not overly complicated, but it's still such a fun take on a classic brunch dish.

As always, Madam X was perfection. She delighted the crowd with several pop diva medleys (Beyonce, Miley, Katy Perry, etc.), which included her signature vocal talents as well as dramatic costume changes. Some Sundays will see her doing an entire show of themed numbers, like ABBA for Mother's Day (Mama Mia... get it?), Rocky Horror on Halloween, or just an entire morning of Lady Gaga to celebrate Mother Monster's birthday and such. Regardless of her set list, she is never a disappointment.

People are often surprised when I recommend the food at Kit Kat, but I cannot remember a time when I got a dish I didn't like. The prices are always more than reasonable (seriously, most bars would be charging upwards of $20 for comparable cocktails, whereas Kit Kat charges $13 for most everything they serve, and has 4 nights per week where all martinis are half price!). Can they get a little crowded? Yes. Is the service a little slow and spotty sometimes? It can be. But in my over a decade acquaintanceship with this restaurant, always come away utterly delighted with my experience there. Also, Madam X? My mom said to tell you hello!

I was invited to dine free of charge by the restaurant, but all opinions are my own.