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Mission 4: Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria3 pints (out of four)Pint scale: 1 = totally flat; 2 = glass half full;
3 = big buzz; 4 = beer-goggled goodness
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Our final outing as Beer Garden Guides fell on a surprisingly chilly first day of summer. While we tried to create a celebratory mood, the night was bittersweet: It was one of Liza's last nights in Chicago before moving to Dallas to start a new job.
As the gang gathered at Moretti's, Ted joined us straight off the plane from Vegas. We even had a few friends show up to help us celebrate our last official mission. The CLTV "Metromix" crew paid us a visit too!
The garden: Moretti's is a mammoth bar with a large cement patio and outdoor seating for more than 100: Think standard-issue plastic furniture centered around a tiki bar, complete with giant parrot.
Lo and behold, there were beautiful (can you hear the sarcasm?) unobstructed views of the United Center to the west.
But you almost forget about that when you step onto the grassy area surrounding the cement. You can play bean bags on the well-groomed lawn, and there's even a sand volleyball court. If it wasn't so remote (try getting a cab after last call!), this garden would be paradise.
Crowd: The opportunity to challenge folks to a game of bags or volleyball would have been a great icebreaker, but there were only about 15 additional people in the bar on the Thursday we were there. Since options for mingling weren't many, we went on the word of one of our cronies that the place gets packed after sporting events at the United Center.
Entertainment: This place literally wore us out with games! After a rousing game of bags, we grabbed some pizza; then we got everyone on the sand volleyball court for the opportunity to beat Ted.
Volleyball is free and the court's available on a first come, first served basis. A 10-week, co-ed recreational league starts July 12 ($150 per team, call R.J. at 312-266-3333 to register). Moretti's also launches mini baggo tournaments on July 12 ($10 per team for tourneys on Thursdays and Fridays; otherwise free).
Beer: We downed a lot of the Thursday-night special, $2 Miller Lite drafts; Liza enjoyed Corona bottles ($4.25), while Shannon stuck to glasses of pinot grigio ($5.50). Later on, everyone shared a $3 Long Island iced tea to toast our last night out as Beer Garden Guides.
Food: We took advantage of the half-price, 14-inch pizza deal (available after 4 p.m. Thursdays; regularly $10.99, plus $1.40 per extra topping). Kevin really enjoyed the pizza (he actually said "zesty!"), but we suspect he was drunk. The rest of us thought it tasted greasy, though we hear it's a hit with the locals. Other standouts on the large, varied menu were chicken quesadillas ($5.99) and buffalo shrimp ($6.99).
Service: Our server was quiet but fairly attentive. Given that we were pretty much the only group in the entire outdoor area, we were a little disappointed that we ran out of drinks at times. Also, we're pretty sure she overcharged us for Miller Lite and wine. But she did impress us when she brought a table out to the lawn so we could eat pizza during our game of bags.
Bottom line: With outdoor sports and an ample choice of beers, Moretti's is a great place to enjoy a Chicago-style summer night. However, if you're coming on a weeknight, it's a good idea to bring your own friends--and the number for a cab company--since this part of the West Loop doesn't seem to draw consistent crowds.
While our official run as the Guides is over, we're sure you'll find us in and out of beer gardens around town for the rest of the summer.
[ The
Beer Garden Guides are (in back) Kevin Hastie, Ted Perlstein, (in front, left to right) Liza Bunting, Jessica Christenson and Shannon Ridgeway. They are a Metromix Reader Review crew that critiques what's cool in outdoor drinking through June. Your job? Let us know if you agree with the crew by leaving your own reader reviews.]
Originally published June 27, 2007.
metromix@tribune.com
