Cookie Bar
We’ve all been to a bar in our life. Rows and rows of different types of wine, beer, and spirits just waiting for you to enjoy. Most of you go every week and some might even be reading this while waiting for a drink right now! But what if I told you there was a bar in Lincoln Park that served milk instead of beer and hot chocolate instead of a hot totty? What if this place replaced the peanuts and the pretzels with rows and rows of delicious cookies instead? Would you go? Back in the day owners Jeff and Joe worked in Hollywood, one as a screenwriter and the other as an animator. In between waiting for scripts to be approved the guys passed the time baking cookies. Being in LA meant that people eat tofu and celery and barely knew what cookies even were! Luckily for us the guys decided to open up the Cookie Bar right here in Chicago! Walk into Cookie Bar and you are right back in the 70’s. The place is orange, has a disco ball, shag carpet, and is pumping out disco. The cookie selection changes a bit daily but any given day gives you about 24 different varieties of cookies, brownies, and donuts. There are also gluten free and vegan options as well if you’re into that. The day I visited I figured I would stuff myself with as many cookies as my wife would let me before she got disgusted! All the cookies have a crisp outside and a great chew once you give them a bite. Nothing is over powering and too sweet, they have found a great balance of flavors. First cookie I sampled is the Sybil (split personality) which is a chocolate chip cookie with soft fudgy brownie chunks on top. The Minty Num-Num is a classic chocolate chip cookie with a melted peppermint patty on top. Num-Num and Yum-Yum! The Lisa Marie Presley is a peanut butter cookie with peanut butter cups, chocolate chunks, and banana chips. The snickerdoodle is pretty rockin’ due to the Saigon cinnamon. I also had the Butterfinger which is the only cookie they sell that isn’t 100% natural but I love Butterfinger and if you do EAT IT! Ok my pants still fit so I can still eat some more cookies! I really dug the Nutella chocolate chip which has a great chocolate hazelnut flavor. My favorite cookie was the Mackenzie Phillips. Named after a troubled 70’s TV star, this crazy cookie should taste terrible! It’s pretty much the kitchen sink in a cookie. It has oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chips, coconut, caramel, banana chips, potato chips, and Cheerios! I bite into it and WHAT THE HELL? It’s freakin’ awesome! The peanut butter is in the forefront but the crunchy and salty potato chips add texture and the caramel smoothes it out. This cookie is a straight up rock star! An awesome option is making your own ice cream sandwich. I chose the Lisa Marie Presley and Nutella cookies and added the cappuccino espresso bean gelato. This giant ice cream sandwich was so good and it was fun being able to assemble my own creation. While I didn’t have one they can also make a giant cookie pizza for you or for a party. Cookie bar is open Tuesday through Saturday and is worth checking out for anyone with a sweet tooth and a love for cookies. So while you won’t get drunk at this bar chances are you will get a heck of a sugar high! Rating **** out of ***** Follow me @hungryz Location 2475 N. Lincoln Chicago, IL 60614 (773) 348-0300 cookiebarchicago.com