The Bedford Wicker Park's new underground den of drink-dining

Going to the bank can be a drag, what with the lines, the grating music, and the total lack of amusement when you scream "Everyone on the floor! I've got guns!" and then hilariously start flexing. Improving your bank experience by making it not one, The Bedford.

Named for the Bedford, IN limestone that continues to comprise the exterior of the historic Home Bank & Trust building, TB's an 8,000sqft den of dining and drinks that includes the bank's original vault room, which's lined with wall-to-wall lockboxes and and boasts a (reclaimed from the bank) 11ft marble two-way fireplace, whose anything-goes lifestyle explains the constant burning. Things start with gussied-up bar bites of fava bean dip w/ spicy flatbread, Wisconsin cheddar pimento spread & grilled sourdough, and deviled eggs sprinkled with hot sauce and powdered bacon, though get hooked and your pants might not be able to contain your crack. From there feast on mains like the Bedford fish fry (crispy-skinned whitefish, minty pea puree, curried yogurt), poached egg-topped duck confit grits w/ salsa verde, and pan-seared flank steak with blue cheese-creamed chard, housemade tater tots, and red wine syrup, which Lil' Wayne claims pairs perfectly with Game.

Drinks-wise they're deep on Midwestern craft brews, rock a 40-strong global wine list, and're slinging bowls of muddled fruit- & rum-filled Scallywag Punch, and a cachaca/ yellow Chartreuse/ agave syrup/ sweet basil number called Edison's Medicine, desperately needed by anyone who's a dim-enough bulb to shout about their guns at a bank.