The Duck Inn is easily the most likable, comfortable, douche-free restaurant ever from Rockit Ranch, the group responsible for Ay Chiwowa!, Sunda, and of course Rockit Bar & Grill. That’s partly because Billy Dec kept his hands off, allowing it to be an expression of someone else’s personality rather than his. And that’s also because it’s safely located miles away from the orgies of River North, on a quiet, half-deserted corner of Bridgeport that used to house the classic Gem-Bar. The turf is also home to chef Kevin Hickey, who grew up here and has imbued the space with the spirit of a neighborhood corner tavern from times gone by, naming it for a diner his great-grandmother owned during the Depression. Vintage cigarette ads, bowling trophies, and a Richard J. Daley campaign poster look down over yellow vinyl bar stools and Eames-style wire chairs.
The Duck Inn offers a short $55 tasting menu with intriguing-sounding things like clam stew and sumac-spiced lamb saddle, but the real object of desire is the ducks that are supposed to spin in a rotisserie oven in the open kitchen, in full view of the dining room. Last month in the Reader Hickey recounted his unfortunate experience trying to order rotisserie ducks in a New York restaurant famous for them: “I went back and I look and . . . there’s no ducks in the rotisserie,” he said. “‘Oh, you have to order 24 hours in advance,’ they say. That’s lame.”
2701 S. Eleanor 312-724-8811theduckinnchicago.com
