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Highball Lounge

River North's classic cocktailing loft

'50s- and '60s-era nostalgia is guaranteed to kill it these days, so long as "it" refers the careers of the producers of shows like The Playboy Club and Pan-Am. Well, at least you can raise an appropriate glass to the deceased, at The Highball Lounge.

From the dude who originally opened The Tasting Room, HL's a second-floor throwback cocktail hideaway appointed with low-slung booths (modeled after those found in photos of the actual Playboy Club) and an L-shaped bar backed by Eames-inspired cabinetry, so it's likely filled with the Chair-man's Reserve.

Classic highballs include Moscow Mules and Monkey Glands (gin, grenadine & OJ in an absinthe-rimmed glass), while contemporary creations count the Sophia & Marcello (equal parts Hum & Campari topped w/ ginger beer), but adventurous types can create their own tipple from a robust list of ingredients featuring freshly squeezed juices, dandelion & burdock soda, and cherry bitters, which sums up Don ever since his buddies went overboard on the fruit and nicknamed him "Grapes". Those trying to lay off the hard stuff, though, will find 16 wines by the glass, and craft brews like Founders Centennial IPA, Flying Dog Doggie Style, and Two Brothers French Country Ale, which is all the manpower you need to overrun the French countryside.

Submit your email and you'll even get exclusive invites to special tastings, cocktail seminars, and era-specific parties, which the staffs behind most mid-century-themed TV shows won't be throwing, since they're actually stuck in the Great Depression.

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ExhortDrink to your health, or lack thereof, at HighballLounge.com

Highball Lounge (Emailed on November 15, 2011)

738 N Clark St, 2nd Fl, btwn Chicago and Superior; River North; 312.397.1961

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