This post was originally published on July 7, 2015.
Fare you well, my honey, fare you well, my only true one. I returned to my home this past weekend– good old Illinois. I traveled back with my boyfriend, M, to spend time with my family, friends, and the remaining members of the Grateful Dead during their shows at Soldier Field in Chicago. We spent some time in the suburbs, then traveled down to city Friday for the shows. Friday was amazing (I will go into more detail in a later post– I will be making a Grateful Dead-inspired Bloody later this week in commemoration of final tour of the Core Four) and Saturday was the Fourth of July. On the morning of the 4th, M, my best friend Alyssa, and I went in search of a place to have a bite to eat and some cocktails. A lot of places were closed in Chicago’s North Center area, so we stopped at Gannon’s Pub on the corner of Lincoln and Cullom.
Decked out in our Independence Day gear, we jammed out to some Phish while sipping on cocktails and waiting for our food. Gannon’s has a jukebox with a lot of music variety, a nice patio to enjoy the summer sun, and a homey, sports bar feel inside. Quite the neighborhood spot! For my meal, I got the Wisconsin Burger, but switched out the burger patty for grilled chicken. The Wisconsin toppings included cheese curds, American cheese, pepper relish, and horseradish pub cheese. It was DELICIOUS. I, of course, ordered a Bloody Mary from the friendly bartender taking care of the entire front of house for my choice of cocktail. Absolut was on special for $4.50, so I got a double (and man, was there a lot of booze in the Bloody!). The bartender put just the right amount of ingredients in the Bloody and the booze didn’t overpower the taste by any means. It was a great start to my Fourth of July– you can check out the review of Gannon’s Bloody Mary below.
My best friend Alyssa & I drinking on Gannon’s patio in CHICAGO!
“Ooo, freedom, ooo, liberty
Ooo, leave me alone
To find my own way home”
~ From the Grateful Dead’s song “Liberty”
AT A GLANCE 17/20
Gannon’s Bloody Mary looked delicious and simple when it was served to me. It was bright red, quite clean, and had many spices on top of the cocktail, as well as throughout the cocktail. A slice of lime was the only garnish, but it was a pub, so I wasn’t expecting anything too eccentric.
GARNISH 13/20
The garnish was only a lime, so I didn’t really “taste” it per say (I just squeezed it and tossed it in my Bloody!). The lime was fresh, looked attractive, but was not very creative. I would recommend tossing in some olives, a pickle, or SOMETHING else besides the lime.
SPICE 18/20
Gannon’s spiced up my Bloody Mary nicely; there was a lot of pepper and celery salt in the cocktail. There wasn’t a crazy amount of spices, but the addition of hot sauce and a good helping of pepper gave the Bloody a bite. It was tasty.
TEXTURE & ACIDITY 19/20
The texture of the Bloody was perfect, a nice mix between thick and liquidy, and went down very smoothly. It was not acidic at all, though it did have a little bite to it (as mentioned in the “Spice” category).
UNIQUENESS 14/20
In terms of creativity, Gannon’s Bloody was not very unique. It was simply a pub Bloody– cheap for a double shot of Absolut and garnished with solely a lime. But it tasted good! So I can’t complain.
FINAL SCORE 81/100
Want a cheap and delicious Bloody Mary from Gannon’s Pub in Chicago? Check out Gannon’s website here. Gannon’s Pub is located at:
4264 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL, 60618