Shaw's has a '40s elegance, a huge wine list, and Bianca's favorite maître d’ in Chicago

Shaw’s Crab House has the best goddam maître d’ in Chicago. OK, so I’m clearly biased in this assessment: Shaw’s is pretty much the only place I go where I know the maître d’ by name. Still, it’s hard to forget a name like Virgil Zanders. I’d met him only once before, months ago, and on my most recent visit he remembered my name—“I only remember the beautiful people and the VIPS, and you are both.” Virgil, my dear, flattery will get you everywhere. Well, flattery and a hot buttered rum on a cold winter’s day, and Shaw’s Wine and Spirits Director Steve Tindle makes a mighty good one.

For the uninitiated: Shaw’s is a swanky, 1940’s-style seafood restaurant, with one location in downtown Chicago and another in Schaumburg. The restaurant, not unlike a mullet (the haircut, not the fish), is separated into formal and casual sections. The main dining room, adorned with giant stuffed marlins, has an upscale dress code—it’s the perfect place to take someone on a nice dinner date, or out-of-towners visitors for the decadent Sunday brunch and mimosa bar. The Oyster Bar is a more laidback, diner-style room serving oysters on the half shell (half price 4-6 p.m.), as well as fun stuff like crab cake sliders and fish tacos, with live jazz and blues three nights a week. And of course, they serve vintage cocktails like Manhattans, with house-made brandied cherries, and the Ramos Gin Fizz, a tangy-creamy concoction of gin, egg whites, cream, citrus, and seltzer.

I stopped by on a recent wintry afternoon to try some of Steve’s seasonal cocktails. “Winter drinks have an emphasis on flavors like spice and cream,” he told me. “They tend to be warmer, heavier drinks.” We started with the aforementioned hot buttered rum—Shaw’s in-house pastry chef whips up a “batter” of butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices like cinnamon and clove, which is then mixed with Agnostura 1919 aged rum (yes, the same Agnostura that makes the bitters), and topped off with hot water for a sweet, buttery, warming drink that’s sure to chase the winter blues away. Steve also let me sample a not-too-sweet ginger pear martini with Domaine De Canton ginger liqueur, fresh ginger, and Grey Goose “La Poire” pear vodka. It pairs great with sushi, as does The London Fog, a Brit-inspired drink made with earl grey tea, honey infused sour mix, and marmalade.

As a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, Tindle sits on the same beverage board as Chicago’s favorite master sommelier Alpana Singh; not surprisingly, the restaurant boasts a staggering wine list in addition to an excellent selection of cocktails and beers. They’ve just added a new (and wonderfully appropriate) beer to their line up: Belfast Brewing Company’s hoppy Lobster Ale, which features a tap shaped a claw. Shaw’s is currently the only place serving this beer in the Midwest, thanks to Glunz Beers. So try one with a half-dozen oysters, and make sure to say hello to my favorite maître d’ while you’re there!

Shaw’s Crab House, 21 E. Hubbard, 312-527-4740, shawscrabhouse.com, hours vary.