Mity Nice Bar & Grill: Tucked Away & Tasty

It is surprising to me that until recently, I had never been into the Water Tower Place Mall. I can't tell you why exactly, as I am a huge lover of shopping and have passed it numerous times. While the shops are what you would expect of a Magnificent Mile shopping center, there is one small restaurant hidden in the back of the food court that is surprisingly good. During a recent visit downtown, I worked up an appetite and decided to browse the food options available at Water Tower Place. Tucked away behind Foodlife on the Mezzanine level sits Mity Nice Bar & Grill, where the motto is good food, served right. I couldn't think of a better slogan to describe this casual, yet classy, joint.

The Vibe

Though it is located in a mall, Mity Nice is not your average food court option. Large leather booths line the exterior while small wooden tables fill the inside. It is by no means fancy and, since it is located in a food court, many of the patrons were dressed casually. However, it is also much nicer than you would expect from a restaurant in a food court. If you make plans to visit, I wouldn't dress like a slob.

The back wall of the restaurant features a large sign that states “Mean people are ugly” – a sentiment that I wholeheartedly agree with. The words give the restaurant a light-hearted feel and looking around at the groups laughing and talking, I could tell that everyone felt the affect of them.

In addition to the restaurant, Mity Nice features a bar, where you can get half-off appetizers everyday from 2:oo PM to 5:00 PM. The bar offers many cocktails and local draft beers. If you want to try more than one, they also have beer flights available.

The Food

Every meal at Mity Nice begins with gluten free cheddar popovers, which I found to be a welcome break from traditional bread. I grew up eating popovers that my mother would bake and these ranked just as high. When they arrived at the table they were warm and cheesy with just a hint of eggs. If you love them as much as I did (I had to ask for seconds), Mity Nice provides the recipe on their website so you can enjoy them anytime.

For lunch I ordered the Baked French Onion Soup in an attempt to warm myself up, having just braved the frigid Chicago temperatures outside. The soup came topped with a three-cheese combo of mozzarella, swiss and asiago cheese. Yum! Breaking it with my spoon rewarded me with a melted, warm, and incredibly stringy bite of cheese as well as a bit of the soup underneath. The soup itself was good, with chunks of bread and onions in every bite.

My boyfriend ordered the Green Chili Chicken Nachos. He received a plate piled high with tortilla chips and topped with a healthy serving of chicken, melted cheese, corn, black beans, and cilantro. Of course, this all came with a side of green chili salsa, which was so good he had to ask for seconds since he quickly finished it.

We also ordered Macaroni and Cheese to share, which was exactly what mac and cheese should be: cheesy with bread crumbs on top. While I found it tasty, it was not the best I have ever had.

All of our food was delicious, and the wide range of options on the menu tempt me to go back again. They offer salads, sandwiches, tacos, burgers and signature plates, such as meatloaf, chicken pot pie, and even enchiladas. With so many options, there is something that everyone will find to their liking.

The Beverages

The best part of my meal, by far, was my choice of drink. I am a lover of root beer, and Mity Nice offers several different options for people like me. What caught my eye especially was the ‘Not Your Father's Root Beer,' an alcoholic version of the classic. Wait… root beer and alcohol? Yes please! It was, of course, perfection. The balance between the root beer and alcohol flavor was just right – not too strong of an alcohol taste but definitely there. I could drink about a million and still love it.

Mity Nice also has several other root beer flavors, all made within the USA, including salted caramel (Chicago), butterscotch (Milwaukee), and even an old world recipe made with all natural spices (Los Angeles). And if that weren't enough to tempt your tastebuds, any root beer can be made into a float. Yummy! If you come to Mity Nice for nothing else, let it be for the root beer!