BRIDGEPORT — The Duck Inn is open for business.
A project of chef Kevin Hickey and Billy Dec's Rockit Ranch restaurant group, the "gastrotavern" is located at 2701 S. Eleanor St. in Bridgeport, about a block away from the former Four Seasons chef's boyhood home.
The menu, a mix of upscale bar snacks, finer dining options and desserts, is now posted online.
Hickey told DNAinfo Chicago he's aiming for a mix of fun foods in the upfront tavern — chili cheese fries, duck fat hot dogs — along with an approachable, but higher-end service in the back.
In addition to the seafood and meat options, the dining room's seasonal choices include rotisserie duck for two and a four-course tasting menu — clam stew, lamb shoulder, cheese and toffee — that can be paired with wine or beer.
The draft beer choices include Chicago-made beers, including brews from Marz, Begyle, Goose Island, Une Anee, Metropolitan, Ale Syndicate, Moody Tongue and Lagunitas. The bar features about a dozen more bottles and cans, including a $5 Schlitz tallboy.
(Hey, it's still Bridgeport.)
With only eight choices, the wine list is small by comparison, with all selections available by the glass and no bottle priced more than $46.
The cocktail menu includes highball concoctions dreamt up by Brandon Phillips, mixologist for Bottlefork, another Rockit Ranch bar that Hickey helped launch.
The Duck Inn is open 3:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday through Friday and 3:30 p.m.- 3 a.m. on Saturday. Reservations can be made online or by calling the restaurant, 312-724-8811.
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