Maude's Liquor Bar

This place killed it.

We opened the night at the bar, waiting for another couple to arrive for our reservation, with a Martinez (Me) and a glass of sauvignon blanc (girlfriend).  I can't attest to the wine, but she seemed to like it fine as she was slugging it back, and the Martinez was spectacular.  The gin was the dominant flavor in the drink without overpowering the other ingredients and the maraschino cherry was house made, eschewing the nuclear neon red maraschino cherries you find in liquor stores.

Thinking it was a bar and not a restaurant, the couple we were with showed up having eaten dinner, and then proceeded to eat a second dinner because the food was fantastic.  Me and my girlfriend split a dozen of the Beau Soleil and Misty Point Oysters, which were just as fresh as anything you'd find at a restaurant on either coast, then had the steamed mussels.  We were drinking the broth afterwards.  The highlight of the meal was the cassoulet, which we closed with.  The garlic sausage in the cassoulet made the dish.

I would recommend this place on a list of about five to any of my friends visiting the city and looking for a great restaurant to go to thats pseudo casual (ie no Alinea/Next etc.).

I really enjoyed this place. Seafood tower was excellent, if a little pricey at $150, but hey it had lobster. My favorite was the roast chicken on the dinner menu. It was soft and juicy with the right amount of spicing to complement the delicate flavor of the meat as opposed to overpowering it. Drinks are also tasty and interesting.

TOURIST REVIEW*

Went here for a double date with my boyfriend and his brother and girlfriend.  The moment we walked in I loved the ambiance, dim and romantic.  They took our coats and had us hangout at the bar until our table was ready.  We walked upstairs and were sat at a table that was half booth/half chairs.   The chairs were quite comfy.  The noise level was perfect, it wasn't too quite but, but not too loud.

We debated about getting their seafood tower (clams, muscles, lobster, crab, & shrimp) or a bunch of dishes.  We chose the later.  Everything on the menu looked delicious.  I think it took the four of us about half an hour to decide on 5 dishes.  We also ordered 18 oysters, one of each for each of us, plus 2 extra since they were sold by the half dozen.  The oysters were fresh and delicious.  The first three dishes all came with country bread.  We ordered the chicken liver, steak tare tare, and the pork shoulder pate wrapped in bacon. Our first thought was 'WOW' that's a lot of bread, but by the time we were done, we probably could of ate more bread!  Unanimously, we all loved the steak tare tare the best.  I could probably eat a big plate of it as a meal.  The last two dishes were french onion fondue (yum what a fantastic idea) and the Cassoulet.  Both were perfect.

Their smashes were delicious along with a couple other cocktails. The one thing that kept it from 5 stars is though things were listed as "Hors d'oeuvres" "Traditional French" & "Almost French"  Small plates and entrees were mixed through the whole menu.   The waitress noted this at the beginning and even noted which ones were entrees, but I personally forgot right away.  In my mind, Hors d'oeuvers would be the "small plates" and the rest entrees.

*I'm from Seattle and was visiting Chicago for the first time.