No kidding, root beer floats are for adults
Around town, root beer is getting back to its booze-infused roots.
Used to be that root beer was a low-alcohol drink, made by fermenting sugar and yeast with herbs and barks. The most famous was sarsaparilla.
(Jean Lachat/Sun-Times)
The root beer you find on grocery shelves today might include some of the natural ingredients, it's alcohol free and uses artificial colors and -- like most sodas -- carbonated water.
But Cafe Matou (tomcat in French), 1846 N. Milwaukee, has created a grownup root beer float ($8) that returns a bit of a boozy kick to the creamy drink and dessert. The Bucktown eatery puts a scoop of made-in-the-restaurant ice cream and tops it with Thomas Kemper cane sugar root beer as well as a shot of Myers' dark rum.
Served in a pint glass, the drink (or dessert) is downright velvety and not too sweet, a great cool-down on a sultry summer night.
Indeed, James Rahn, general manager and wine director at Cafe Matou, said he came up with the simple drink after the restaurant set up its sidewalk cafe earlier this summer.
"I was out there [and was thinking] I just want to sit out there and drink a root beer float," and that's how it started.
He remembered Thomas Kemper root beer after spending eight years in Seattle, where it was produced by the local Pyramid Breweries. He knew it would pair nicely with several of the restaurant's homemade ice creams, including the standard vanilla and even the almond flavor.
Some in the restaurant were calling it a brown cow, but Rahn didn't like that. He wanted to keep Cafe Matou's French theme going, so he named it chat de calicot d'ivrogne. Translation: drunken calico cat.
Turns out Cafe Matou isn't the only one offering a grownup root beer float.
One of the city's better-kept secrets is the newly opened City Escape lounge in the 15th floor lobby of the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, 350 W. Mart Center Dr. (and a short walk for Sun-Times staffers). With sweeping views of the east and south branches of the Chicago River and all the skyscrapers that frame it, it's a good place to try a root beer float ($9) -- starring root beer schnapps, among other boozes -- served in a martini glass and topped off with a root beer-flavored candy stick.
Curious about an unusual edible or kitchen tool? Want to share some mysteries in your own cabinets? E-mail the Food Detective at ldonovan@suntimes.com.