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Waterhouse's $3 chocolate martinis leave Erin and friends with a bargain bar tab.

Monday Aug 20, 2007.     By Erin Brereton

Lifestyle Feed

Back in spring, I vowed to stop going to bars that charged $12 to $15 for a martini—at least through summer, when drink specials abound, and I'd rather opt for outdoor seating than swank anyway.

Still, the best martini deals I could find hovered around the $5 mark. And there are some worth noting, like $6 house martinis at Dine on Fridays and $5 Skky martinis at Jefferson Tap and Grille on Tuesdays.

But last week, I heard that Waterhouse serves $3 chocolate martinis on Wednesdays, and I had to check it out. Three dizzos? Were they served in thimbles?!? It seemed unreal.

I met some friends at the West Lakeview bar at about 8 p.m. The space has been home to a number of bars—most recently Cabo Bar & Grill and, years ago, a bar called Kerouac Jack's. Now it's a low-key American eatery, with a small outside seating area and a cozy interior with a brick and red decorating scheme.

As it turned out, its Wednesday specials included more than just cocoa cocktails; we could also score half-price bottles or glasses of wine and $4 wraps. That's a decent deal, considering the bar's turkey, chicken ceaser and a teriyaki chicken wraps usually cost about $6.50.

But the martinis were the real steal. We had our pick of three flavors: regular, chocolate mint or chocolate cherry, each served in a standard-size martini glass lined with a chocolate syrup spiral…cheap and fancy!

My friend Matt sampled the mint variety and reported it was light on the mint, but heavy on the chocolate. (I once saw him eat brownies with chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle for lunch, so I don't think he minded.) I started off with a half-price glass of Pepperwood Pinot Grigio, a crisp, fruity variety. I ordered another tipple of vino, but then decided to sample a chocolate cherry martini. With just a hint of cherry, it tasted delicious and not too sweet or strong. It made for the perfect drink to end my evening, but with one fault: If I drank it too slowly, the warmth from my hand caused the syrup to slide to the bottom, leaving a gooey, melted mess.

Although the bar was crowded, we received excellent service; the waiter came by our table every 10 minutes. Because we started out with a party of 15 that had dwindled to four by the time the bill came, I worried that the money everyone left wouldn't cover the total. It was almost impossible for it not to; $3 martinis and discounted wine left us with one of the smallest tabs I've ever seen for a group that size, ringing in at less than $100.

It was so reasonable, in fact, we considered staying for one more round. But then we realized the bar's name may have meaning beyond being just a catchy moniker: After a half hour of one friend asking repeatedly if anyone else felt like they were sweating excessively, we realized his shoulder was soaked, courtesy of water gently dripping from a giant duct above. I took it as a sign that it was time to go home.

But I may be back. I hear Waterhouse has $3 bellinis on Sunday; I can't let a little condensation keep me from a deal that good.

Erin Brereton is our resident urban cowgirl on a bi-weekly search for life on the cheap. If you know of the mythic happy hour that she missed, do clue her in.