When the guys behind DMK Burger Bar took over the old Lao 18 space in River North earlier this summer, they turned the sprawling room into a one-size-fits-all bar, Henry's Swing Club. The cocktail list covers all the bases—there are frozen drinks, bottled cocktails, cocktails on tap, shaken drinks, stirred drinks, shots and more. These cocktails range from decent to really good (the Dogwood Manhattan, an herbal version that includes strawberry-rhubarb bitters, is a standout). There’s also beer and bottles of Champagne.
To balance out all these drinks, there’s also a food menu that skews toward typical bar fare: cheese fries, tacos, nachos and a big tamale. There are also 23 sliders, ranging from fried oysters to an Elvis sandwich, all of which cost between $2 and $3. That’s a ton of sliders, so one night last week, five of us tried them all. The results? Not what we would have expected. Here’s our ranking, from worst to best.