District Bar’s goal is “to provide outstanding service along with exceptional food quality, taste, drinks, specialty cocktails and presentation while creating a truly exciting experience for our customers.”

I must admit that I was skeptical when I first read District’s philosophy on food, drink, and service on their website. I imagined every sports bar I had ever been to in Chicago, complete with bad 80s rock songs, linoleum floors sticky with beer, and frequently absent servers. Then again, perhaps I have just been to one too many mediocre sports bars in the city… Friday night at District, I was in for a rude awakening.

As I waltzed through the front door of the bar, my somewhat pessimistic attitude in tow, I was confused. Where were the uncouth frat boys drinking Coors Light? Why wasn’t “Livin’ on a Prayer” blaring from the loudspeakers? Why was the wooden floor so glossy and pretty?! Mallory and I were lead around the crowded bar to a VIP area filled with black leather seats and tables where we met up with Anthony.

I could not have been more pleasantly surprised by the cocktails we ordered once seated. The All Saints is a gin-based cocktail, featuring sweet elderflower liquor, and the cool flavors of cucumber and mint. A big Bombay Sapphire drinker myself, this frosty, pale-colored cocktail may be the most refreshing, appealing drink I have ever had. Mallory ordered the Red District. This drink is bursting with the summertime sweetness of fresh muddled raspberries, raspberry-flavored vodka, and Domaine de Canton, a liquor derived from Vietnamese baby ginger and spices native to the Cognac-producing region of France. The drinks took a little while, but I felt that that was the way it should have been given the effort and ingredients which went into each martini glass. I’d go back in a heartbeat for those cocktails alone.

When it came time to order, Mal got the chopped chicken salad, Anthony went with the grilled vegetable appetizer, and I ordered the steak salad, which was INSANE. First of all, the 6 oz hanger steak was like buttah, grilled to salty rare perfection. Each bite was an umami party in your mouth. That gorgeous piece of red meat lay on a bed of peppery arugula and spinach, sprinkled lightly with bacon and blue cheese so as not to overpower the awesomeness of that steak. The subtle sweetness of grape tomatoes and red onion was brought out by a sweet balsamic vinaigrette.

Now normally I don’t care for iceberg lettuce but Mal’s chop salad was the exception in this case. The peppery homemade ranch dressing complimented the crunchy, watery lettuce perfectly. The charred-flavor of grilled chicken contrasted nicely with red onions and grape tomatoes, and a beautifully sliced avocado topped the salad in all its green splendor.

Anthony added grilled chicken to his veggies which transformed the dish from appetizer to entree. A plethora of charred squash, zucchini, tomatoes and bell peppers were colorfully arranged on a white rectangular dish. Streaks of garlicky chimichurri lined the plate. To be honest, I thought the plate was somewhat lacking in presentation, but the vegetables were al dente, and the grilled chicken was delicious and tender.

It was really a fantastic night, both during the meal and thereafter. High-quality, flavorful, and yet unpretentious food is what pervades District’s menu. Servers are just the right amount of attentive without being annoying, and bad beer and Rick Springfield seem a million miles away while you’re five (incredible) cocktails deep, listening to the DJ play electronica and hip-hop. And the hard-wood floors really are pretty. This is in no way your average Chicago sports bar. Touche’, District…. Touche’.