Scofflaw Chicago

Pull up a stool. In Chicago's Logan Square district, Scofflaw is a gin-focused cocktail bar. Scofflaw brings together a varied range of drinkers for wonderfully prepared cocktails, artisan beer, and small plates that go far beyond "bar food." You'll be treated to polite service and a familiar pleasant feel whether you're eating dinner and cocktails in the Victorian-style salon, grabbing a barstool for a shot and a beer, or brunching on the patio—not to mention fresh baked cookies at midnight. Danny Shapiro deserves us eternal appreciation for creating the city's best Serious Cocktail Bar and Logan Square's nicest local. If you take a seat on one of Scofflaw's Victorian-style settees, the server will greet you with a friendly remark. Then she'll serve you a life-changing gin drink, like the Forest Floor, which is prepared with Letherbee gin and gently mixed with fir tree scent. If you can, stay by the fireplace until midnight, when the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies appear and you begin researching local real estate to make this one-of-a-kind gem your permanent neighborhood bar. To be honest, referring to Scofflaw as a gin joint is akin to referring to Martin Scorsese as a cameraman. It's just been two years, but it's already a master class on how to run a first-quality bar without being pretentious. Partner Danny Shapiro's perfect and inexpensive cocktails ($8! ), some of which are created with Scofflaw's own Old Tom Gin, are Exhibit A. Then there's the Guapichosa, a mythical off-menu beast of a sandwich. And the fresh-from-the-oven free chocolate-chip cookies at midnight. The red light above the door, which the hostess uses to alert passing cabs when you're ready to leave, is the best of all. You don't want her to activate it.