In honor of those who wish to partake in not partaking, I went on a bar crawl around the area to see what I would get served when asking for a non-alcohol drink. The results were positive, except for one bar which declined to participate. They know their clientele!
At Marlins on Pershing in Lyons, bartender Brenda Mendoza met my request with a raised eyebrow that said she was up to the challenge. Though they don’t have an official mocktail menu, she whipped up a pineapple sour and a pineapple sunrise. Both had lemonade and pineapple juice. The sunrise added a splash of grenadine that, I thought, balanced the sweet and sour in a very pleasant way.
La Barra in Riverside actually does have a “zero-proof and mocktail” menu. I chose an amaretto sour, made with Lyre’s Amaretti (the company has a whole line of non-alcohol spirits). It was paired with lemon juice, simple syrup, bitters and fee foam (had to look this up – it’s a plant-based alterative to egg white foam). The drink was elegant, balanced with a tinge of bite at the end. Just how I like it.
Across the street at Catrina Tequila Bar the vibe is Day of the Dead and dead-serious liquor. After discussing what could be transformed into a solid non-alcohol drink, I opted for a virgin version of their Serpiente Emplumada, which blended lime juice, fresh-muddled mint leaves, jalapeno, cucumber and ginger beer. The copper mug was rimmed with Tajin. The smokiness of mescal was missing, but the overall flavor was a spicy delight.
The last stop was Zubar and Grill in Brookfield. Again, my request was met with humor and can-do attitude. The bar’s stocks were a bit low, due to the recent raucous Bears v. Packers game, but bartender Tracy Smith was game to give it a go. She poured a cranberry, lime concoction with a splash of lemon-lime soda. While there I also tried Guinness 0.0 beer. Typically, near beer doesn’t do it for me. But if you hold your head sideways and squint, you might not even notice this one is lacking anything.
