As far as chic Chicago neighborhoods go, Old Town isn’t exactly at the top of anyone’s list.
I’ve lived in Old Town for almost 10 years, trust me… I KNOW.
While we are home to the Second City theatre and some of the loveliest architecture you’ll find in all of Chicago, Old Town is also home to an endless sea of uninspired restaurants and dime-a-dozen “bro” bars.
Despite it’s reputation as a safe, family-friendly neighborhood, our restaurant selections historically have been rather lackluster.
And short-lived.
But in the past year that’s been changing rapidly. In less than 12 months we’ve been inundated with delicious spots all over as restaurants suddenly realize what an untapped potential Old Town really is.
And when Bombobar opened its doors on Wells last month all I could do was say “FINALLY!!”.
Finally, we’re getting some GOOD food in Old Town.
Bombobar adapted their popular West Loop window-concept to better mesh with Old Town’s needs: a great, fast spot for breakfast, lunch, dinner, AND dessert. All with a focus on chef-driven ingredients (you can peak at the menu here).
And there’s a wine tap bar…
Maybe I should have started with that.
Because there’s a WINE. TAP. BAR.
Well played, Bombobar, well played.
(Talk about knowing your local market… right?)
Regardless of how you look at it, Bombobar’s newest location fills a much-needed gap in Old Town’s restaurant scene, offering a little bit of everything for everyone… just like our neighborhood itself!
Bombobar’s second and largest location is a cute and quirky space, with plenty of signature stringed lights along the ceiling.
And plenty of drink options….
including the on-tap wine bar!
All filled with the obsession-worthy smell of fresh, wafting pizzas being made behind the line.
And — since Bombobar has always had a playful approach to food — there are plenty of playful accents around the restaurant too.
I fully expect to spend MANY hours here this summer with friends.
And once you see the food, you’ll immediately understand why.
First up, there’s the coffee.
Bombobar serves a whole menu of coffee drinks but the exciting part is they can put ANY photo on the top of your latte… how cute is that?
Or any saying!
“My latte just went viral!”
Needless to say, I expect to be here a lot of mornings because life is… truly… better buzzed. And a good coffee is hard to come by!
But I promise you the food is even BETTER.
Since I came early in the morning, I ordered one of Bombobar’s newest creations: the Egg White Avocado Toast.
Part breakfast and part lunch. A quick, easy take on the traditional avocado toast.
And perfect when paired with Bombobar’s BOMB fries (dubbed ‘bomb’ by me, not them).
I don’t know exactly how they achieve it but somehow these fries are ridiculously crispy and zingy without feeling overly “battered”, if that makes sense. They have a great crunch to them and the perfect blend of herbs and spices.
Pair them with the truffle aioli to make them really SING.
Here I am about to try my first fry.
And here I am a few moments later, ignoring the camera and rapidly stuffing 12 more fries in my face…
They were THAT good.
SHOP THE LOOK:
Dress – Mara Hoffman || Clutch – Olympia Le-Tan || Sandals – Crocs
Let me say a huge thank you to Morgan for helping me get these shots when I discovered my new 16-35mm lens was too heavy for my smaller tripod! Glad I figured that out before my trip to Italy next month… Phew!!
As if their delicious savory food wasn’t enough, Bombobar also has a killer selection of desserts… many of them the most instagrammable in all of Chicago.
(Here’s one of my favorite shots from last summer of Anna at the West Loop Bombobar… see what I mean by Instagrammable desserts?)
My favorites are the fresh-made stuffed bomboloni…
And the larger-than-life gelato selection!
Which I just HAD to try.
You know, for research purposes…
And model with.
You know, for blogging purposes…
And I may have been guilty of trying to color-coordinate my sundae to my dress because, again, their desserts are so utterly Instagrammable.
How could I NOT?
And, on my way out, I couldn’t resist stopping at this Bombobar mural for a little shoot:
How perfect was this Olympia Le-Tan book clutch for this shot?
Now if only she’d make a ‘Donuts for Dummies’ clutch, no?
Welcome to Old Town, Bombobar. We’ve been waiting for a spot like you for the better part of a decade!
Now all that’s left is to come back and test out that on-tap wine bar…
Disclosure: I received a complimentary visit to Bombobar to facilitate this post but I was not monetarily compensated, and all opinions expressed are my own.
