Chicago Day 2: Bloodies & Beers
On Saturday we woke up refreshed and ready to take on Chicago, after some Rocco Pup snuggles of course. We had three things to accomplish for the day: find good coffee, drink Bloody Mary’s at our favorite spot and drink good beer with our family. Make sure you check out part 1 here!
Printer’s Row Coffee Co.
Our goal was to find something small to eat before we met for brunch at 10:30. We walked through the neighborhood to the famous Batter & Berries but there was a 45 minute wait. We heard it’s worth the wait, but we had other plans scheduled so we couldn’t wait . So we continued down the street to Printer’s Row Coffee Co. Broad had discovered this place either through some internet stalking or from our friends Ali and Adam because their cousin and her husband own it. We just had to go to a coffee shop that was owned by Northeast Ohioans turned Chicagoans! We ordered some cold brew (ohmygod we could have drank it all day) and a dark chocolate galette (ohmygod we could have ate this all day) and introduced ourselves to Nicole. We learned more about the shop and the coffee process and chatted about Ohio.
Homeslice Pizza
After ordering some coffee to take home and another cold brew we made the stroll to Broad’s favorite Bloody Mary joint, Homeslice Pizza. Truth be told, she had this famous Bloody Mary at Happy Camper their sister restaurant when she was here with the girls, but its still the same thing. We met Ben’s Aunt Mell, cousin Caileigh, her boyfriend Tyler for food. Luckily, it’s one of their favorite spots too. The Homeslice Bloody Mary comes with a cold slice of pizza, pepperoncini and pepperoni. We don’t know what’s in the mix but its sooooo good. To top it off, it comes with a mini High Life. It’s seriously a dream. We all got them except Ben who ordered a Michelada which is also out of this world. For food, we ordered the avocado toast, breakfast calzone and breakfast za to share. We highly recommend all of these items.
Kingsbury Street Cafe
After stuffing our faces, we started our brewery tour journey. Caileigh had a detailed itinerary and map planned for the day. On the way to the first one, Caileigh decided we needed to try their other favorite Bloody Mary at Kingsbury Street Cafe. This Bloody was also out of this world different and a bit spicer. The vibe at this cafe was very artsy and museum-y. We’d like to go back for some food and fancy cocktails.
Off Color Brewing
Across the street was the first brewery and one of our personal favorites, Off Color Brewing. We get most of their beer here in Cleveland but the Taproom had so many more beers we would never get here. It was like our own personal heaven. The taproom was decked out in their personal style (check out their labels if you haven’t they are so cool and feature a lot of animals). We honestly could have spent hours there (we plan to when we go back). Our favorites were: Beer For Tacos, a margarita inspired tart beer, Book Club a berliner weisse fermented with Chardonnay grapes and Eek their collar with Miler High Life (be still our heart!).
Maplewood Brewery & Distillery
It was very hard to leave Off Color but we had a itinerary to stick to. Our next stop was Maplewood Brewery (& Distillery). Tucked away on Maplewood Avenue, its a newer brewery and also a distillery. It’s part cocktail bar, part taproom with a cozy lounge feel. We tried the Berliner, Mega dry Brute IPA and Fat Pug Milk Stout. All were pretty solid. It became very crowded very quickly so we waited for some more people to meet us then set off for our next stop.
Metropolitan Brewing
We walked in the rain to Metropolitan Brewing which is set in a warehouse-y type building overlooking the river. The views was gorgeous even with it pouring outside. This one was also super crowded because of some biking or running event. We tried the Javatron and Raspberry Magnetron and they both were some of our favorite beers of the day.
Revolution Brewing
Our next stop was another personal favorite of ours Revolution Brewing. It’s probably one of Chicago’s most famous breweries and honestly, one of the first craft breweries Broad got into. We’ve been dying to go there especially after seeing the movie Drinking Buddies. The place is huge and very warehouse-y. They offer tours and we were lucky enough to grab the last tickets for the four o’clock tour. We loved getting the behind the scenes views of the place. Our guide was great, efficient and so knowledgeable but kept the tour interesting. They don’t have food which was a bummer but you can bring in food (we got some Honey Butter chicken sandwiches to hold us over).
Half Acre Beer
After Revolution we went to Half Acre, another famous Chicago brewery, Half Acre. We were familiar with Daisy Cutter but were excited to try some new ones. The tap room was so tiny and it was so crowded! Our group was definitely too large for the place at that time. But the bartender was friendly (a fellow Ohioan) and we were able to snag a few samples before we left.
Dovetail Brewery
We made a necessary Starbucks stop to refuel then walked to Dovetail Brewery. They focus on “Continental European styles with traditional methods.” Think Belgian, German and Czech styles. We drank the Rauchbier, Hefe and Dunkel which were all very tasty and very different from everything we drank during the day. They also had a great selection of snacks. We ordered a pretzel with mustard and sausage and they had it immediately available.
Begyle Brewing
At this point, we were starting to get tired (as you can imagine). But we were convinced to head to the next brewery right around the corner. Begyle Brewing is a no frills, just good beer type of brewery which is exactly the type of place we love to go to. We each got some samples and decided we needed more food and going to bed would be the best idea so we could get an early start home the next day.
Los 3 Panchos
We ubered back to our place and planned on getting more pizza but we went across the street to Los 3 Panchos, a late night authentic mexican restaurant. It really is a tiny hole in the wall but we are drawn to those places. They have an extensive menu to choose from but Broad ordered enchiladas and Beard ordered tacos. The food was superb and it is the perfect late night food option.
We were sleeping by 9:30 and on the road by 8 with a pitstop at Printer’s Row for more coffee. We had such a crazy fun weekend, it went by so fast. We will be back soon for more food, beers, family time and maybe even a little shopping.
You guys find ALL THE BEST STUFF. I just pinned this to my Travel & Wanderlust board for my next Chicago trip. 🙂 I don’t like Bloody Marys, but MAYBE WHEN THEY COME WITH PIZZA?! That’s amazing.
We’re gonna get you on the bloody mary train soon enough!!
Can you pack me in your suitcase on your next trip? I am seriously digging your agenda for the day (coffee, bloody marys…pizza….) and the photos are making me drool already at 9:00am!
Karen | GlamKaren.com
Love this article! I visit Chicago quite a bit to see old college friends, so I can’t wait to try a few of these places out next time I visit.
I’ve heard good things about Happy Camper! I think a trip to Chicago is definitely needed.
Yes for sure it’s a must!