On the Division Corridor often the appeal of a bar and grill is only secondarily the food and drink. In the see and be seen atmosphere of Division Street, ambiance and hipness play a major role, and the establishments along the way strive mightily to cater to that crowd, often at the expense of once cherished themes. At Moonshine the remnants of a southern/Cajun theme are in evidence in the decor, but peruse the menu and you’ll find precious little to support it. Instead, the menu is all over the place, seemingly grasping at anything and everything to please its fickle audience.
Want buffalo chicken wings? You got it. Want pizza or pasta or tacos? It’s all here. How about a mojito? How about whisky? How about a beer brewed on site? Look no further. What you end up with is a mish-mash of every conceivable bar food and drink, none of it done particularly well, some of it a notch or two above average, some of it a notch or two below. Nothing to bring you back again save for the spacious sidewalk seating with its whimsical picket fence where you can hang out and watch the traffic cruising by and – most important of all – they can watch you.
Moonshine’s greatest marketing gambit is their sidewalk café, situated beside an oddly placed stop sign at Honoré that makes every car stop and ponder for a moment the happy chattering crowds at Moonshine. You would think everyone was there for a reason. You would think it might have something to do with the food. But you would be wrong. The draw is the location.
As if to prevent you from making a misstep, the menu wisely highlights the house specialties, thereby keeping you on target. The buffalo chicken wings are as good as any buffalo chicken wings I’ve had anywhere, which isn’t saying a whole lot. Buffalo chicken wings are like popcorn; it’s hard to screw them up. More ambitious were the fajitas, which proved too much for the kitchen, overcooked stands of flavorless gristle smothered in onions and green peppers that added little in the way of actual flavor. The cheeseburger was okay. The house brewed beer was inoffensive.
Perhaps we should have indulged ourselves in a little whisky. Moonshine has one of the largest whisky selections in the city with over 70 varieties and it’s the about the only menu item that justifies the name, and the theme. I’m not much of a whisky drinker but I might have been tempted to give it a go if I’d felt it was in step with the vibe. I mean some southern dishes on the menu would’ve helped, some fried chicken, okra and hush puppies, some jambalaya. Angels and Mariachis attempts the same thing with a Tex-Mex theme, undergirding their vast tequila selection with food that compliments tequila. Not Moonshine. The whisky selection just hangs out there on its own, seemingly the last remnant of a theme that didn’t gain enough traction.
None of this will keep the crowds from assembling on the sidewalk, however. As a place to see and be seen, Moonshine is one of the most popular venues on Division Street, and if that’s what you’re looking for, by all means go for it. But if you’re looking for something more ambitious than run-of-the-mill bar food and you think Moonshine is offering a tempting menu of southern specialties, consider yourself disabused. It’s a bar and a lounge that happens to have food – and a great sidewalk café.
Moonshine
1824 W. Division
773-862-8686 / Reservations Accepted
Hours: T-F 11am-2am; Sa 10am-3am; Su 10am-12am; M 5pm-2am
Features: Outdoor Dining, Bar Scene, Late Night Dining, Brunch, Carryout, Beer Brewed on Site
Avg price of a meal for two including drinks and tax $65
Website: www.moonshinechicago.com
Comments