BANGERS AND LACE

Get ready, Chicagoans! Matt Eisler and Kevin Heisner of Nightwood have teamed up with Nick Podesta and Jason Freiman of Duchamp to develop a new bar/restaurant concept, focusing on craft beer and sausage. Slated to open mid-September, Bangers & Lace is located at 1670 West Division Street. Why Bangers & Lace? “Bangers” as in the British term for sausage, and “lace” as in “Brussels lace”, the intricate veil of beer foam that clings to the side of the glass as it is consumed, indicating a well-crafted beer and a clean glass.

Bangers & Lace promises drinkers 30 draft beers and two hand pumped cask ales, all with a regional focus, in addition to an extensive bottle selection, featuring unique, barrel-aged, artisanal ales. An antique wooden cooler adjacent to the bar will house six rotating draft selections, usually seasonal beers from local breweries or brewed in-house. Also, with 48 hours’ notice, Bangers & Lace will procure a keg off an extensive craft-beer list for parties at the back-room tables. The beer program will be overseen by a Certified Cicerone™, an expert in selecting, acquiring and serving a wide range of beers, similar to the role of a sommelier in the wine world. But, don’t let the fancy wording fool you; the beer selection will be approachable, catering to beer connoisseurs and casual drinkers alike.

With all that beer, patrons are sure to be hungry. Find the perfect beer pairing with the seasonally rotating menu focused on sausages, but also including such classic Midwestern favorites as beer cheese pretzels and cheese curds. Despite the obvious focus on beer, B&L intends to prove that “bar food” is not a bad thing, with each hand-selected menu item priced from $2 to $12. Nosh your eats at the 50 foot zinc bar, large communal table or handful of smaller tables that inhabit the back room.

Kassy Reiff Senior Publicist