This Week's Farmers Market Scenes
And a visit to Lucky Dorr, the craft brew hub next to Wrigley Field
If You Love Your Farmers Market, Wag Your Tail
The ever-changeable Chicago region weather gave us four seasons last week, maybe five. I was nursing a mildly sprained ankle I endured on the previous Friday while performing the death-defying feat of… walking home. Nonetheless, we got around with only the slightest of limp, enjoying the food, bonhomie and atmosphere of several farmers markets, and being reminded that there are many good food lovers who also have cute dogs.
Enjoy the travelogue and tune back in on Market Monday, when 29(!) markets debut in the day by day schedule.
Wicker Park Farmers Market
Sunday, May 23
Daley Plaza City Market
Thursday, May 27
Green City Market
Saturday, May 28
The Lincoln Park Farmers Market
Saturday, May 28
Lucky Dorr: Craft Brew with a Wrigley Field View
Now that we’re vaccinated and back making the rounds, craft beer haunts are a primary destination. And Lucky Dorr is recommended if you want an excellent curated selection of local brews on tap with a very closeup view of Wrigley Field.
How close? This close.
Lucky Dorr is a fairly new place, located on the east side of the office building that also includes the offices of the Chicago Cubs. It is part of the Folk Art Management Group of restaurants and craft bars created by Matthias Merges, one of Chicago’s cutting-edge farm to table chefs. The group also includes Mordecai, located across the street from Wrigley in the Hotel Zachary; Old Irving Brewing on the northwest side; Billy Sunday in Logan Square; and the Spindle Bar in Charlotte, North Carolina.
It’s a cozy place with a tiny interior and an outdoor patio, located in the alley next to the stadium that’s known as Caretaker’s Way. (The name Lucky Dorr is a tribute to a long-ago groundskeeper named Bobby Dorr who lived in a house next to the ballpark that was provided by the team.) If you like a buzzy gameday atmosphere, go when the Cubs are playing at home. If you like a laidback slow-sipping experience, Lucky Dorr is much less crowded and more laidback when the Cubs are on the road.
The day I went recently there was a tap takeover by Maplewood, a superb brewery and distillery in the Logan Square neighborhood. Sour beers are a bit of an acquired taste but I love them, and Maplewood does them very well.
I started out light and sessionable with their Brunch Punch Fruit Punch (4% ABV). Maplewood says, “Our fruit punch mixture consists of strawberries, pineapple, cherries, passionfruit and tangerine.” It is fruit forward refreshing, and I could have settled in with several glasses if I didn’t want to try another sour… which turned out to be something special.
Maplewood describes its Fizzle Drizzle Key Lime Pie as “Oats and lactose are added for body and mouthfeel, and a massive dose of fruit provides huge aroma and flavor.” And that aroma! I’m sure there are other talented brewers who can make beer taste like key lime pie. But I swear this beer smells like key lime pie. You can almost taste the meringue.
Now that’s brewer’s art.