Fine and Affordable Dinner at Acadia's Bar

The Lobster Roll on the Bar Menu at Acadia (1639 S. Wabash)

We've spent plenty of time covering Acadia and are happy to give them their props.  However, for us, consistent dinning at Acadia is tough given our lack of monetary resources (sigh).  We happily will treat ourselves every once and awhile for a special occasion, but that simply doesn't happen all the time.

If you're in the same boat as us, but still want to experience this fine establishment at a more affordable price point, we have a suggestions...check out the bar menu.

While it's not a huge menu, most of the items won't break the budget and will definitely bring a smile to your face.  Better yet, you get to experience Acadia in a more low key environment.

When we went it was a low key Sunday night.  Carlos was tending to the bar and was masterfully mixing cocktails.  We were pretty confident on what we wanted to eat (see old Sloopin post about Acadia's Lobster Roll), but had a little more uncertainty about the drinks.

We quickly put in an order for the famous Acadia Lobster Roll ($16), the Acadia Burger ($13) and asked some questions about the drink menu.  As we experienced last time we were at Acadia, the drinks are well thought out and amazingly concocted   The head bartender, Arunas, does a solid job of being creative but not at the expense of providing a tasty drink.  Anyway, we opted to start off with the Local Agent (a new seasonal drink on the menu) and the Moscow Mule (a drink that is usually on the menu).

The drinks came first and were beautiful.  The Local Agent is a vodka/gin based drink which intrigued us. Carlos gave us some background that this was inspired by the Vesper Martini.  Lovely!  It was delicate, flavorful and easy to drink.  And for those of you asking about the creativity, there was an interesting ice cube made from olives and orange peel (see image to the right).  A nice creative and functional touch.

The Moscow Mule was delightful and clearly made from natural ingredients, including Acadia's own ginger beer.  Definitely different than any mule you will find at the typical bar.

After some sips on our cocktails, we were pumped for dinner.  Not surprisingly, the presentation was top notch.  While the Lobster Roll was not huge upon first glance, but it was a solid portion (see image at the top).  As a person who doesn't love creamy dishes, I was naturally a little worried about ordering a lobster roll.  But this thing was delicious.  Chef McCaskey knows lobster, so we knew we wouldn't be disappointed -- we weren't!

I barely had time to breath as I devoured the roll.  The seasoning (chives and parpika) were delicious and the lobster was buttery and tender.  We were thinking about ordering another, but had to quell that urge.

The burger was solid.  Again, not a "man-that's-a-huge-portion", but that was to be expected.  This isn't a split your pants type of establishment.  Regardless, we were happy with the portion and more importantly the taste.  One of us attributed the great taste to the Capretta cheese on the burger..the other thought the onion bacon jam gave it the unique taste.  It also came with some potato salad and for those interested, the other saucer in the picture to the left is a spicy 1000 island dressing that we asked for on the side.

But then came the decision...get another round of drinks and some more food?  or go home?

Wanting more we decided to stay and go for round 2.  We went for an order of Mussels to share ($10), a "Gin / Tonics / Limes" drink, and a glass of Chardonnay that was recommended by Carlos based on our Mussels order.  Again everything was good in our book and we left knowing that we would be back soon.

It's definitely a different experience, but a good one.  If you're up for a low key experience that will excite your taste buds we suggest trying the bar at Acadia.  They don't take reservations, which is probably a good thing for people in the neighborhood like us!

Kudos to Chef McCaskey, Arunas, Carlos and the entire team at Acadia for providing a new way to the Acadia experience.  See you soon!