Citrus Bucket List

In the midst of winter's unholy death grip, one of the sole beacons of light is citrus. Seasonal produce this time of year is a far cry from the fruitful bounties of spring and summer, but hey we've still got oranges and grapefruits and Meyer lemons and other sunny vittles to chirp about. To help ease the sting of frost bite, here's your citrus dining and drinking bucket list this season in Chicago: 

 

Baker Miller: Lemon meringue pie is all well and good, but the classic pie template is even better when heaped with a whole bushel of varying citrons. Try the new citrus meringue pie at Baker Miller, featuring grapefruit, lemon, and orange layered over whole wheat-graham cracker crust with a puffy cloud of toasty meringue on top. 

Sixteen: Citrusy and tropical fruits are dotted all throughout the new winter menu at Sixteen, entitled "Dining in Progress." Throughout the new themed tasting menus, expect to dine on items like an amuse of langoustine with chorizo, pine nuts, and citrus; monkfish cooked on the bone with endive, truffle and blood orange; foie gras with kumquat and bergamot in a navet consommé; papaya-guava spritzers; and chocolate cake with pecan, coconut, and kaffir lime. 

Doughnut Vault: The regular menu at this cultishly popular doughnut shop may be perpetually small, but they don't shy away from exciting seasonal specials. Being winter, some of the rotating doughnut flavors you can expect to find include chocolate-covered orange jelly doughnuts, which make regular jelly doughnuts taste like doorstops by comparison. 

Glazed & Infused: In other doughnut news, one seasonal standout on the winter menu at Glazed & Infused is the cranberry-blood orange doughnut, a lustrous yeast ring with cranberry glaze and blood orange drizzle. 

Brunch: In quasi-doughnut news, there's doughnut French toast being gluttonously served at Brunch. And to cut through the embarrassment of riches, a little citrus cream should do the trick. Or backfire and make things even richer. 

Analogue: If orange-cardamom syrup sounds like a great thing to sip from a cocktail glass, then head over to Analogue to indulge in their new Slow Fade libation. The citrusy spice syrup rounds out a medley of mezcal, Campari, Cocchi Americano, and angostura bitters. 

The Allis: Citrus-poppyseed cake is at once a nice, elegant riff on the standard lemon-poppyseed muffin and a nifty addition to afternoon tea service at The Allis at Soho House. 

- Matt Kirouac