It was sunny and 27 degrees when I told my daughter we’d be having dinner that night in a tent. “That’s silly,” she said. Even a 2-year-old knew better.
It’s that time of year in Chicago when the calendar trumpets spring but the skies deliver slush. We’re convinced we’re going to lose our minds if we can’t play outside, and so, on the days when the wind is gentle and the sun is warm, we bask in it, cheering the thermometer as it creeps up into the 50s.
So when three igloo-shaped tents popped up on the spacious plaza outside Next of Kin, in Evanston, we booked a table inside one of them. It’s one of several Chicago-area restaurants and bars that made the leap into off-season patio dining this year, a trend that should make this spring pleasantly balmy, no matter the temperature.
On the day of the reservation, the temperature plummeted to 7 degrees. We called the restaurant and were told the clear domes had only been running about 10 degrees warmer than the outside air temperature, so we re-booked, despite a hospitable offer to add more blankets.
Yes, blankets.
When we finally arrived on that 27-degree day, the tent was outfitted with a large, round table, six chairs and a two-seater lined with faux fur. Thick blankets were draped over chairs, and along with two rubber plants, a space heater stood behind the table. In laying out the evening’s “ground rules,” our host warned us not to raise the heat; last time someone had done that, they’d blown a fuse.
We’d come prepared; one of us had even thought to wear long underwear. We had a 5 p.m. reservation, and with the setting sun, the space heater and our thick sweaters, the climate under the dome felt more like crisp fall than bitter winter. This should bode well for those dining in April — particularly since the restaurant has installed new electrical boxes to allow the space heaters to run hotter. Though the National Weather Service’s recorded average temperature in Chicago for the month is 48.9 degrees, the 14-day forecast anticipates daily highs reaching into the upper 50s. The strong cocktail menu is a good way to warm up too; consider ordering the Witching Hour — bourbon mixed with tamarind-coriander syrup and allspice dram, cut with bitters and lime.
Next of Kin is an ideal restaurant to host this sort of fun; the evening’s vibe had the feel of a high-end tailgate. The food balances hearty comfort — fried chicken, mac and cheese, and a burger dressed up with duck-fat-roasted onions — with more delicate, nuanced dishes, like whitefish over polenta served with a salty tapenade spiked with sweet grapes.
What’s more, the food arrived hot, despite a short trip outdoors. The servers dutifully zipped the tent open and closed each time they came and went, bending to duck in and out, and occasionally posed questions from the outside to avoid letting any heat escape. We wondered if the servers were cold, but each time we asked, they said they enjoyed getting outside.
I’m not sure I totally believed them, but general manager Maura Denenberg said the worst thing about the igloos has been keeping them from getting blown away. Next of Kin currently has one functional dome after two others blew apart during a bad wind storm.
“It kind of becomes like a parachute when the wind gets to it,” Denenberg said.
For us, the igloo was less a parachute than a bubble with a view of the winter sky, an ideal retreat for a small group of us to enjoy a meal, the fresh air and the conversation that seemed to bounce off the tent walls. It was a lark, but one we wouldn’t soon forget — and one well worth the $200 reservation fee ($175 of which gets applied to the tab for up to eight guests).
By the time our dessert had arrived, the sky was black and the temperature was dropping. Coffee was necessary — at least for the person farthest from the space heater. Our 2-year-old, however, was unfazed. She was on the edge of unraveling, bouncing up and down, and gleefully asking, “Everybody want McDonald’s?!” As we ushered her out, we were thankful to have been in our own little bubble.
Restaurants offering tent dining
Booking an igloo table typically requires a reservation fee and/or a minimum tab. If the price tag seems too steep, don’t worry; summer is coming soon. Aba just shuttered its tent program to ready the patio.
City Winery Chicago at the Riverwalk, 11 Chicago Riverwalk, 312-229-5593, citywinery.com. Through May 5. Reserve through OpenTable.
I|O Godfrey, 127 W. Huron St., 312-374-1830, iogodfrey.com. Through March 30.
Next of Kin, 625 Davis St., 847-563-8242, nextofkin.restaurant. Through spring.
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