Young American - Chicago
At Logan Square’s Young American, you can get zero-proof cocktails infused with cannabis instead of mixed with alcohol – you won’t get high from these beverages, but you might get healthy. The legal hemp used in drinks and, perhaps soon, in the food, is a flavoring agent with potential (though unproven) health benefits, including relief of pain, anxiety and depression.
At Logan Square’s Young American, you can get zero-proof cocktails with cannabis instead of alcohol – you won’t get high from these beverages, but you might get healthy. The legal hemp oil used in drinks and, perhaps soon, in the food, is a flavoring agent with potential (though unproven) health benefits, including relief of pain, anxiety and depression.
Spirit-free cocktails include Electric Eye (Lapsang Souchong tea, citrus, lemon soda), No New Friends (turmeric tonic tea, hibiscus, lime, aquafaba) and Honey Do (schizandra berry tea, star anise, lemon, bee pollen, honey). For an upcharge of just a few bucks, the bartender will hit up the drink with a shot of CBD (cannabidiol). You can, of course, get some tasty cocktails that actually contain alcohol, but heck, you can get those anywhere.
There are also some intriguing food items on the menu, like Goth Bread, made with leek ash and activated charcoal, topped with an egg yolk, as well as more familiar items with a twist: cottage fries are served with ghee and tomato powder; lamb tartar is mixed with cardamom and “tiger bomb oil,” and Brussels sprout leaves are tossed with grapefruit and natto (oh my!).
All of which is, in a word, trippy.
Young American is a bar/restaurant like no other currently existing within the Chicago city limits. Stop by again when weed is legalized in Illinois to see where Chef Nick Jirasek and Bartender Julia McKinley will go with the actual stuff.
