Mad River Chicago

Mad River - No, it's not VT ... but it's still awesome

I'm a native of the beautiful state of Vermont, so when my friend (whom I went to school with at the University of Vermont - Go Catamounts!) informed me that there was a Vermont-themed bar in Lincoln Park called 'Mad River' (after the famous ski resort, Mad River Glen) I knew I had to check it out. I was extremely curious to see how a bar in Chicago might 'replicate' the Green Mountain atmosphere; as it turns out, they did a pretty good job, save for a few tacky details here and there.

My friend and I visited Mad River during Happy Hour, and as it turned out we were the first customers of the day. (Always fun, because you get to make the 'I rented out the bar for us!' joke. Which obviously never gets old.) The bartender/server/manager/cook extraordinaire was really friendly, and didn't mind amusing me when I started questioning where the idea for a VT-themed bar came from. As it turned out, Mad River Chicago is one of a small chain (small being less than five) of bars located around the northeast and, of course, Chicago. 

Mad River was definitely going for the ski lodge-atmosphere, and in my opinion they basically pulled it off. They had a fireplace with a couch in the dining room, the furnishings and the decor was mostly made up of wood, and there were pictures all over the walls of skiers, mountains, etc. (Full disclosure: I snowboard - I do not ski. Mad River Glen does not allow skiers onto their mountains, so I have never actually taken a run on Mad River. Thus, I have no idea whether or not these pictures were generic, or actually from Mad River Glen.) Overall, they made a pretty good effort, but there were a few discrepancies. 

First, there were WAY too many TVs; as in, every booth had its own small TV on the wall, and there was a TV hanging from the ceiling on either side of the booth. That would make three TVs per booth - no Vermont lodge would ever have that many TVs. Just sayin'

Second, they had these lights attached to the wall with antlers on them. There are almost as many antlers in Mad River as there are TVs. This is slightly more realistic, but still a bit tacky.

These very small discrepancies, however, did not take away from the rest of Mad River. The happy hour drinks were cheap ($3 for you-call-it cocktails), the food was good but pricey (we tried the jumbo shrimp), and the service was solid. Not a go-out-of-your-way Chicago nightlife destination, but absolutely worth a trip if you're in the area. 

This review was made by the www.chicagotraveler.com site editor based on personal experience. Chicago Traveler was not paid for this review, but we may receive compensation for placement of this travel provider advertisements on our site.