Interesting, sure. Unexpectedly delicious, even. But definitely, certifiably strange.
Allow us to elaborate by introducing Slightly Toasted, a cozy café, bar, pop-up restaurant and generally hospitable place for eating fancy toast and drinking fine whiskey, opening Monday in the West Loop. See what we’re talking about here.
As you may’ve guessed, this one has several layers. Let’s peel them back.
By day… You’ll plop down in a comfortable chair near the window to enjoy fresh-baked pastries and a cup of Sparrow coffee. Also: toast. Avocado toast, bourbon-butterscotch toast, strawberry-and-basil toast, more toast…
By night… Perhaps you take a seat at the L-shaped marble bar, behind which you’ll spy an assortment of approximately 170 whiskeys. A braised short rib sandwich and/or draft Old Fashioned may appear. Then, you’ll order the Aces and Eights, a rye-based cocktail that comes with a hand of blackjack. If you win, you can drop a ping-pong ball in their “Drinko” board.
Come Saturday evenings in March… You’ll reserve a table for two for Mercúrio, a biweekly prix fixe dinner prepared by a pair of exceptionally talented Elizabeth vets.
So if you thought this was all toast and whiskey… yeah, that was probably our bad.
