First Batch Hospitality's, Liva at Chicago Winery, is now open in the city’s River North neighborhood. Chicago Winery features Liva, a working winery, a private event venue and a tasting room.
CUISINE
Chef Andrew Graves has developed Liva’s “Modern Chicago” menu. Graves’ menu reflects his Midwest bona fides alongside his passion for the region’s products, purveyors and farms, including Slagel, Kilgus, Nichols and Werp Farms and Wisconsin’s Superior Fresh Aquaculture.
The chef, however, looks to broaden the definition of pairing to more than the typical wine, cheese and charcuterie. Graves matches wines and cocktails with different culinary categories including the garden and the sea. Guests select from Starters like Heirloom Carrots with dukkah and labneh, Smoking Goose Capicola with peach mostarda, or a selection of the region’s cheeses, like Wisconsin’s Little Boy Blue. An ever-changing “Chef’s Whim” board features a variety of meats, cheeses and vegetables in a shareable format.
The shareable menu is divided into three market-driven sections: Vegetables, Seafood and Meats. Vegetables feature seasonally inspired selections like Roasted Delicata Squash with cider gastrique, hazelnut, sage and apple; and the House Made Ricotta Ravioli with sweet corn, Calabrian chili and bread crumbs.
Meanwhile, Seafood includes Smoked Fish Dip with house sourdough and giardiniera; and Grilled Shrimp with white bean puree and harissa. For Meats, guests can select Venison Tartare with huckleberry, pumpernickel and wild rice; the Umami Short Rib with black garlic caramel, roasted carrot, and bread and butter pickles; or the Lamb and Squash Sugo with tagliatelle, roasted onion and confit fennel.
The menu also showcases a few large format shareable entrées – such as Whole Branzino with celery root slaw, mussels, clams and saffron broth; a 52oz Steak Florentine with Calabrian chili, and charred peppers; and other butcher cuts.
COCKTAILS
Bar Manager Roger Landes, whose work history includes time with The Loyalist, Rick Bayless’ Bar Sotano, and m.f.k., has created the cocktail program. The cocktail menu features four categories of libations. Draft Cocktails, like the Palmetto Rose with Santiago Queirolo Ancholado Pisco, Cocchi Rosa, raspberry, ginger, lime, grapefruit bitters; and the Luchador Love Song with Tanteo Jalapeno-infused tequila, Chareau, lime, albariño, cucumber bitters, are force carbonated to provide a bubbly lift. ‘Luchador’ is an ode to Landes’ many attempted honeymoons, and incorporates wines from the winery.
The En Vogue section features cocktails from the “very here and very now” like the Sea Salt Spritz with Cascadia Bitter, Carpano Bianco, sparkling wine, soda and orange. There, in a take on an aperol spritz, Landes subs saline for a typical olive and a Portland amaro for bitterness.
For more seasonal sippers, the Ephemeral Tipples section includes the Season of Mists with Roulette Rye, Cocchi di Torino Vermouth, Cynar, turmeric honey and orange bitters; as well as the Fall from Grace with La Higuera Sotol, blood orange, marigold, lime and salt.
The Ageless Concoctions section includes the purple Cats Eye Blue Sky with vodka, Cointreau, butterfly pea flower, Dolin Dry Vermouth, lemon and Mega Melon; the Perdido Street Station with Banhez Mezcal, grapefruit, Fruitful Mission Fig Liqueur, lime, Hoja Santa, black walnut bitters; and the Reversing the River Styx with Bombay Sapphire Gin, Shiranami Shochu, sake, orange and lemongrass bitters. The last cocktail is a riff on the martini in a tableside presentation with individual components presented to the guest.
For those looking for non-alcoholic options, Flightless Birds features the Tiki-Taka with Fever Tree Light Tonic, cranberry, rooibos tea, ginger and black pepper; and the Hotel Evangeline with Seedlip Spice 94, pineapple, apricot, lime and cinnamon.
Liva will open for dinner Sunday - Thursday from 5:00 - 11:00 p.m. (dinner is served until 10 p.m. and the bar is open until 11 p.m.) and Friday & Saturday 5:00 p.m. to midnight (dinner is served until 10 p.m. and the late night menu is served 10:00 p.m. until midnight while the bar is open until 1:00 a.m.).
First Batch Hospitality's, Liva at Chicago Winery, is now open in the city’s River North neighborhood. Chicago Winery features Liva, a working winery, a private event venue and a tasting room.
CUISINE
Chef Andrew Graves has developed Liva’s “Modern Chicago” menu. Graves’ menu reflects his Midwest bona fides alongside his passion for the region’s products, purveyors and farms, including Slagel, Kilgus, Nichols and Werp Farms and Wisconsin’s Superior Fresh Aquaculture.
The chef, however, looks to broaden the definition of pairing to more than the typical wine, cheese and charcuterie. Graves matches wines and cocktails with different culinary categories including the garden and the sea. Guests select from Starters like Heirloom Carrots with dukkah and labneh, Smoking Goose Capicola with peach mostarda, or a selection of the region’s cheeses, like Wisconsin’s Little Boy Blue. An ever-changing “Chef’s Whim” board features a variety of meats, cheeses and vegetables in a shareable format.
The shareable menu is divided into three market-driven sections: Vegetables, Seafood and Meats. Vegetables feature seasonally inspired selections like Roasted Delicata Squash with cider gastrique, hazelnut, sage and apple; and the House Made Ricotta Ravioli with sweet corn, Calabrian chili and bread crumbs.
Meanwhile, Seafood includes Smoked Fish Dip with house sourdough and giardiniera; and Grilled Shrimp with white bean puree and harissa. For Meats, guests can select Venison Tartare with huckleberry, pumpernickel and wild rice; the Umami Short Rib with black garlic caramel, roasted carrot, and bread and butter pickles; or the Lamb and Squash Sugo with tagliatelle, roasted onion and confit fennel.
The menu also showcases a few large format shareable entrées – such as Whole Branzino with celery root slaw, mussels, clams and saffron broth; a 52oz Steak Florentine with Calabrian chili, and charred peppers; and other butcher cuts.
COCKTAILS
Bar Manager Roger Landes, whose work history includes time with The Loyalist, Rick Bayless’ Bar Sotano, and m.f.k., has created the cocktail program. The cocktail menu features four categories of libations. Draft Cocktails, like the Palmetto Rose with Santiago Queirolo Ancholado Pisco, Cocchi Rosa, raspberry, ginger, lime, grapefruit bitters; and the Luchador Love Song with Tanteo Jalapeno-infused tequila, Chareau, lime, albariño, cucumber bitters, are force carbonated to provide a bubbly lift. ‘Luchador’ is an ode to Landes’ many attempted honeymoons, and incorporates wines from the winery.
The En Vogue section features cocktails from the “very here and very now” like the Sea Salt Spritz with Cascadia Bitter, Carpano Bianco, sparkling wine, soda and orange. There, in a take on an aperol spritz, Landes subs saline for a typical olive and a Portland amaro for bitterness.
For more seasonal sippers, the Ephemeral Tipples section includes the Season of Mists with Roulette Rye, Cocchi di Torino Vermouth, Cynar, turmeric honey and orange bitters; as well as the Fall from Grace with La Higuera Sotol, blood orange, marigold, lime and salt.
The Ageless Concoctions section includes the purple Cats Eye Blue Sky with vodka, Cointreau, butterfly pea flower, Dolin Dry Vermouth, lemon and Mega Melon; the Perdido Street Station with Banhez Mezcal, grapefruit, Fruitful Mission Fig Liqueur, lime, Hoja Santa, black walnut bitters; and the Reversing the River Styx with Bombay Sapphire Gin, Shiranami Shochu, sake, orange and lemongrass bitters. The last cocktail is a riff on the martini in a tableside presentation with individual components presented to the guest.
For those looking for non-alcoholic options, Flightless Birds features the Tiki-Taka with Fever Tree Light Tonic, cranberry, rooibos tea, ginger and black pepper; and the Hotel Evangeline with Seedlip Spice 94, pineapple, apricot, lime and cinnamon.
Liva will open for dinner Sunday - Thursday from 5:00 - 11:00 p.m. (dinner is served until 10 p.m. and the bar is open until 11 p.m.) and Friday & Saturday 5:00 p.m. to midnight (dinner is served until 10 p.m. and the late night menu is served 10:00 p.m. until midnight while the bar is open until 1:00 a.m.).
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