The Bristol - Wine & Spirits Magazine

The Bristol


What happens when three restaurateurs team up on “value”? Thankfully, nothing involving frozen chicken cutlets. John Ross, Phillip Walters and chef Chris Pandel created The Bristol, a glowing, pubbish spot in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. By dividing the menu into snacks, medium and large dishes, the trio makes it hard to spend money on food you won’t eat. The content of the menu, however-dill-and-sea-salt monkey bread, roasted bone marrow with red wine jam, roast chicken with mustard spätzle-means that you’ll probably eat too much anyway. Also bingeworthy: The staggering beer list, which offers everything from Miller to Trappist ales, and the thoughtful wine program, which offers glasses of Argentine torrontés and Illinois claret. All in all there’s nothing about this experience that says “budget.” And yet there’s not a single bite over twenty bucks.

2152 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, Illinois

American

773-862-5555


This story appears in the print issue of February 2009.
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