The Joule's long-awaited cocktail bar opened for business on Friday, and Midnight Rambler is definitely a welcome arrival for serious cocktail fans. Visitors to the hotel's lobby are pointed in the direction of the subterranean bar by a neon sign reading "COCKTAILS," and from there it's just a couple flights of stairs down to a drinker's paradise. Two bars and several different drinking nooks provide plenty of seating, whether you want to settle into a cushy leather couch surrounded by nude paintings and a miniature piano or grab a marble-topped table.
Cocktail geniuses Chad Solomon and Christy Pope have designed a hell of a cocktail menu incorporating a laundry list of exotic infusions, syrups, and house-blended "aromatic essences." Standouts include the Savory Hunter, a concoction of lemongrass and kaffir lime-infused gin, coconut, cilantro, and Thai chiles served over a mountain of "Sonic ice," and the Pho-King Champ, a one-of-a-kind savory shot with an aroma that bears an uncanny resemblance to the beloved Vietnamese soup. Prices start at $6 for the aforementioned shot and top out around $15. Shared punches like the Hogo-A-Go-Go (rum, lime, bay leaf falernum, hibiscus, nutmeg) are available for groups of four, six, or eight.
Midnight Rambler is open nightly from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.; a selection of food from CBD Provisions is served until midnight, including black-eyed pea hummus, smoked fish dip, a burger, a Cuban sandwich, and housemade charcuterie.
Midnight Rambler at The Joule: 1530 Main Street; (214) 748-1300; midnightramblerbar.com
