Mas Moonshine, Por Favor
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Since it opened in January 1999, Mas has been one of Wicker Park’s trendiest restaurants, drawing a nightly crowd of well-groomed foodies and locals. But Mas’s bar scene is as big a draw as Manion’s acclaimed cuisine–especially in summer when the French doors are flung wide and specialty drinks from an array of Latin American countries can be sipped inside in open air or at tables outside. Partners Manion, Greenwald, and Mike Farley are proud of maintaining an authentic Latin atmosphere. “We offer a different kind of experience, like going out in Rio, or Havana in the 20s,” says Greenwald.
Depending on who you ask, caipirinha–Mas’s most popular cocktail–means “little peasant girl,” “little hillbilly,” or “hick.” The current association of the cocktail with a fun, easy lifestyle belies the fact that cachaca, the liquor with which it’s made, originated as a slave beverage. Four hundred years ago, so the legend goes, plantation slaves in Brazil discovered that they could drink the fermented sugarcane juice, and slave owners figured that allowing them to do so would improve their disposition and productivity. Says Greenwald, “Basically, the caipirinha came into being because lime and sugar were what people had around, and cachaca itself, the way it was back then, didn’t taste that great. So they threw some lime and sugar in.” Despite the drink’s current popularity, it was born more of necessity. “The stuff is moonshine,” says Greenwald.
The Mas Caipirinha
Mas is at 1670 W. Division, 773-276-8700.
