Felix’s Belated Birthday: Drinks at Kumiko’s Whisky-Shochu Bar, Dinner at the Bazaar

For my birthday night out, we’re back at Kumiko. We came here last year for drinks, but Liz discovered they have a basement bar… that has a lot of specialty Japanese whisky and Shochu (something neither of us have tried).

Downstairs, in a fairly dark and cozy bar area (there were three other couples at the bar with us).

Interesting note: our bartender was incredibly knowledgeable. Lots of incredible details, and tons of info to share. We also learned that he was planning on starting a new job next year (in Tokyo), at a bar there. Felt like we were in good hands.

Trekking a bit, to our dinner destination.

En route, I spotted my old and new workplace at the Merchandise Mart.

We made our way to The Bazaar (we’re fans of José Andrés – and loved Jaleo).

We both got a complimentary glass of white wine to start as well, which was both pleasant and unexpected. I’m not a huge white wine fan, but it was crisp and delicious. Appetizers were great, and definitely made us think of Jaleo (we learned later that Jaleo had closed down, unfortunately).

A lot of meat plates, but designed for sharing.

The place was incredibly full, but we had a late reservation. And by the time we finished our meal, a lot of the restaurant had cleared out.

A lovely night out, good drink, good food. A nice reminder that there are benefits to living this close to the city. We can’t go out like this every night (I wish), but it’s nice that we can do so when we do.

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