(jazz music)
- This is The Drifter.
Oh, no wait, this is the Green Door but apparently
inside this is a hidden gem of a cocktail bar
that's kind of a speakeasy.
And the only way you can access it is through here.
I just gotta find it.
(quirky music)
So where are we?
Because most people know the Green Door.
It's historic, it's been here forever,
a lot of people don't know about this place, The Drifter.
- A lot of people do not know about The Drifter.
It is an original speakeasy from prohibition days.
It's the real deal.
Gangsters, sordid characters hung out here.
And over the years it was a storage closet
and then it could be rented for private small events
and about five years ago we opened up
as this high-end cocktail lounge.
- I'm a little bit simple so I had a few problems
trying to find this place.
Please tell me I'm not the only person to struggle to.
- Not the only person.
(upbeat music)
- The first time I came here I walk around
probably for a good 10 minutes.
- You're going through the bar
and you wouldn't think that another bar is below.
- If you didn't know where it was, you would find it.
(screaming)
(quirky music)
- So you actually enter through The Green Door Tavern
but we are separate establishments.
When you walk through the doors it's magic.
We have these little mini pop up acts
that are about every 45 minutes.
You never know what you're going to get.
(upbeat music)
Liz Pierce spearheads out cocktail program.
She came up with the idea
to have our cocktail menu on tarot cards.
- Their drinks are listed on the tarot cards
but luckily for you, I read tarot cards.
- I am the beginning. - I have a gift.
- The end. - And so it shall be.
I can see the future.
Pick a card.
Just not the top one.
Your spirit will guide you to the right card.
- I feel like this one's it.
- This is called the Home Alone 2 card.
You're gonna become a bird lady.
- Oh god.
- You're gonna have pigeon crap on your arms
but you will become friends with Macaulay Culkin.
That's the devil card.
Don't think of it literally.
I would advise you against
crab walking down stairs anywhere.
I served this to someone earlier and I said to them,
this does not mean the devil but in your case it does.
- It has Malört in it.
- You can draw a perfect circle.
You're gonna feel like you wanna take your red scarf
and wrap it around your head.
- You're a true psychic.
Oh, 'cause of the red scarf on the guy's head?
- No, because I can read the future.
You're welcome. - Thank you.
Nice to meet you. - No that's for a tip.
- Oh wait hold up. - For reading your future.
- I'm hoping that you got some food on the go ahead?
- We do.
(upbeat music)
So in The Drifter, it's a small menu.
Venison Sloppy Joe's, one of the highlights down here.
- They're a whole new spin on the traditional Sloppy Joe.
- They're just messy and you can just feel free eating them.
- It's just something about having
the juice running all over your hands.
- What's not to like honestly, it's comfort food.
- So the kitchen was much easier to find,
than The Drifter, my word.
- We try to keep it hidden.
- We're gonna make Venison Sloppy Joe's,
so this is our venison.
- [Lou] And what we need to do is brown this.
(quirky music)
What we're gonna do is set that brown venison aside
so that we can cook down our vegetables.
Mix that all together.
- Back into one big happy family?
- Sure. - All right, vinegar's in.
- All right, let's go ahead and add our spices.
The first one is the cinnamon, add our cayenne pepper in.
- If you can - If you can
- Cayenne.
- Now we have some nutmeg we need to add in.
All right, stir it up. - Stir it up.
- [Lou] Paprika, chili powder, sugar.
- [Elliott] Now it's starting to smell familiar.
- Yeah we need to start getting our sauces
in there before we get too dry.
Barbecue sauce. - Barbecue sauce.
- And go ahead and throw our ketchup in as well.
- That, coincidentally, is about how much I use
per portion of fries.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
Tomato paste to bring it all together.
(quirky music)
So we're ready to make our sliders.
- That's right. - All right.
This is where the real magic happens.
- [Lou] You really did a good job.
- Those words from Lou warm my heart.
Or it could be the three cocktails I've already had
but I love you man. - Thank you.
- [Elliott] We're one step closer to slider heaven.
- [Lou] They are a little sloppy so go ahead and pile it on.
So what you wanna do is add a little bit
of a special flair here.
We have some sliced jalapenos.
Dip those in the sugar. - Oh fancy.
Just put on my fancy face.
- And then just a few slices of pickle on each one.
- [Elliott] We have it there.
- You've finished your build there.
- All right. - Venison Sloppy Joe.
- [Elliott] What's your favorite drink?
- Just grab me a beer.
- I love this guy even more now.
(quirky music)
So you brought the sliders so I showed you some local love
with a local beer, here from Metropolitan
and I have the huaraches cocktail, clink.
- Cheers to you.
- [Elliott] You wanna know what's in huaraches?
- I would like to know. - Me too.
I'll find out for you later on but it tastes great.
I'm desperate to get venison sloppy with you, clink.
I think it's a Sloppy Joe, all grown up.
He's still sloppy but he's a respectable gent.
I love the venison in there.
- But it's a little spicier than most Sloppy Joe's.
The gaminess of the venison adds another dimension to it.
It's really a great twist on
an American classic that people love here.
It's one of our best selling items.
- [Elliott] I like it.
- We are a Chicago classic.
We are the only original speakeasy from
the prohibition era left and it's a small venue,
we have great entertainment, the cocktails
are world class and the food is great.
- We should order some more and watch the show.
The show's about to start.
The stage is that way, Lou.
(laughing)
Watch the performance Lou.