Last Call: Get a Taste of Tokyo in Chicago
The team behind Three Dots and a Dash host Tokyo Last Call, a cocktail pop-up series with top Japanese-focused bars from Tokyo and New York.
Creating a new bar concept is always a hefty undertaking. You have to find the right space in the perfect location. Come up with the right mix of drinks that reflects your style and taste. And then there’s the music to help set the vibe.
So imagine trying to introduce something new every week for a month. That’s exactly what Three Dots and a Dash beverage director Kevin Beary and bar manager Scott Kitsmiller set out to do with Tokyo Last Call. The pair discussed doing a large-scale pop-up for some time and came up with the idea to marry a Japanese-style cocktail lounge with a Japanese listening bar — places with pristine sound systems playing vast vinyl collections ranging from soul to jazz to vintage house that grew from the jazz kissa of 1950s Tokyo — that started popping up around the U.S. over the last few years.
To do this, they invited four highly regarded bars from New York and Tokyo — Bar Goto, Katana Kitten, Bar Trench, and SG Club — all which have won awards and hold spots on various World’s 50 Best Bars lists and all of whom pretty quickly said yes. It’s a way for people to experience these bars they maybe have heard of, but can’t easily visit.
“It was important for us to bring some cool bars that people don’t have the opportunity to see often or ever,” Kitsmiller said. “Not everyone can fly over to Tokyo and pop into Bar Trench very easily.”
When I first heard about the series, which is being held in the former Sub 51 space at 51 W. Hubbard, I knew I wanted to check it out. I’ve heard of these bars, especially Katana Kitten because one of my friends in New York seems to pay rent there as well as his own apartment. I know it’s not the same as being there, but getting the chance to try some of the cocktails you read about is pretty cool.
I missed Bar Goto and its founder Kenta Goto because we were in Michigan that weekend (although I wanted to swing by on the way back on that Sunday). So Drew and I popped in around 11 p.m. last Friday to catch the second installation with Katana Kitten's Lorenzo Cyril behind the bar. To say it felt weird for us to hang out in River North on a Friday night is an understatement. That we were out on a Friday night at 11 these days is also, well, a little unusual.
We had just left some friends at a party at Epiphany Center for the Arts (inside the former Church of the Epiphany that dates back to 1885) associated with Expo Chicago (after we hit the opening of Meshuganah at A Very Serious Gallery). The energy in River North on any evening these days feels frenetic, but especially on the weekend.
Walking down into Tokyo Last Call, I expected some of that energy, but it was quite the opposite. It was well lit, fairly calm, and, frankly, a bar we could kick back in. Being out at 11 on a Friday night was starting to feel a bit more normal again.
You enter the space through a well-marked door on Dearborn and descend the stairs among a number of red hanging Japanese lanterns into a bright and vibrant lounge with midcentury modern vibe. Various seating areas — some divided by a large bookcase featuring loads of vinyl albums — are set up with leather couches, low-back chairs, area rugs, and plenty of plants. Disco balls and lights hang from exposed duct work. And a large neon “Suntory Time” sign illuminates the space.
We easily got a couple of cozy seats and settled in. Having just six cocktails on the Katana menu made choosing easy (although you can technically order other drinks or even tastes of premium Japanese whiskey). I went with the Melon Lime Soda, a highball of sorts with Haku vodka, Midori (yes, the neon green melon liqueur you vowed never to drink again after that night in high school), lime, matcha, and shiso leaf. Drew opted for the fairly simple Shiso Gin & Tonic with Roku gin. Both were super refreshing although I would have liked more of the earthiness from the matcha to mellow out the citrus.
While this was my first taste of Katana Kitten, my pal Sharon Bronstein, the client service director for Sidecar Drinks, has been to the bar in New York many times.
“It was a dream to enjoy a taste of one of my all-time favorite cocktail bars in my hometown,” she said. “I loved how Lorenzo curated a menu of cocktails that felt quintessentially Katana with a nod to Chicago as well, like the Ichi Pop, a boilermaker with Orion Beer and Garrett Popcorn-infused bourbon.”
Each bar team creates its own menu of six cocktails (between $18 and $20 each) using spirits from Beam Suntory. A couple of Goto’s that I missed included the Bitter Highball (Legent bourbon, ume plum, aperitivo, and soda) and Sakura Martini (Roku gin, sake, Maraschino, and salted cherry blossom).
“New York's Bar Goto is a favorite, so it was really fun to have Kenta Goto here making drinks I've had and loved, like the floral Sakura Martini,” said
, Chicago magazine’s dining editor and co-creator of , who attended the first weekend. “The Plum Sazerac was my favorite from the pop-up. Rye and bourbon is not a split base you see often for this drink, and it worked super well with the plum and absinthe.”Tokyo Last Call kicked off April 4 and if this is the first you’re hearing of it (and if you’re in Chicago), you still have a chance to check out two more. So, literally your last call.
First, the very intimate, 13-seat Bar Trench is April 18-21. Founder Rogerio Igarashi Vaz will be on hand to pour his cocktails like the Sleepy Camilla (Legent bourbon, apricot, chamomile, fresh lemon, soda, and orange bitters) and the Una Vez Nada Mas (Sauza Plata tequila, elderflower, chili miso, lime, and ruby grapefruit).
The final weekend, April 25-28, features The SG Club from renowned bartender Shingo Gokan, who owns a number of bars in Tokyo, Shanghai, and now New York. I wasn’t able to get the menu for SG Club so you’ll just have to go and report back.
As you can imagine, music is part of everything here, from the hundreds of vinyl records Kitsmiller found to add to the vibe to the vintage Rock-ola jukebox loaded up with 45s, many of which came from Kitsmiller’s own collection. You’ll hear a mix of soul, blues, jazz, and Chicago-based artists like Pastor T.L. Barrett and others from Chess and Checker records.
“I wanted to call back to the Midwest and Chicago,” Kitsmiller said. “I wanted the space to be really fun. We’re encouraging people to be loud, hang out, and converse with their friends.”
I’ll probably go back at the start of my night the next time. I like being home by 11 on a Friday night these days.
SG List: Things I’m high fiving this week
People’s 24 Hour Food Tour: Chicago
It’s funny, I’ve been reading People magazine since I was a kid and now I have an article in it! I wrote up where to eat in Chicago with just one day. It’s a mix of spots around town for breakfast through a late-night bite.
Quirk Hotel Charlottesville
I was in Virginia last week on a wine trip visiting a number of wineries in the Monticello AVA (more on that in the future). I got to town the night before and stayed at this super cute boutique property within walking distance of everything downtown Charlottesville. It has a great lobby bar and an area you can work after grabbing coffee at its cafe. The rooftop bar has sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. I had dinner that night with my friend at Smyrna just down the street (and dinner a couple nights later at Black Cow Chophouse across the street) and got up in the morning to do a self-guided tour of the UVA campus and its Colonial buildings.
The Three Dots and a Dash folks did an incredible job putting this together.