Restaurant Review: Chin Up, Buttercup!

Scofflaw, one of Logan Square’s most beloved bars located at 3201 West Armitage Avenue, has been closed for a while due to the pandemic guidelines for indoor dining. However, you can still enjoy their delicious offerings for pick up and delivery as we wait for restaurants and bars to fully open in Chicago. And suppose you’re weary of stepping back out into restaurants amid the pandemic? In that case, this is a perfect chance to enjoy Scofflaw’s menu in the comfort of home.

Chin Up, Buttercup! , Scofflaw’s comfort kitchen for pickup and delivery orders, has a well-rounded menu of items created by chef Matty Lehto that are sure to warm up our taste buds and take the bite out of the snowy, frigid Windy City weather we have all been dealing with lately. 

The “Better than Ikea” Swedish meatballs served over hot buttered noodles are an excellent dinner to warm you up as the temperature drops. Likewise, their Caroline’s roast pork served with maple glazed Brussels, and bacon lardons is a fantastic entree bursting with flavor. Classics you can’t go wrong with include their take on meatloaf served with broccoli sautéed with garlic and chili flake, the cheesy baked rigatoni, and the open-faced turkey Manhattan featuring house-roasted turkey breast on white bread with mashed potatoes and gravy. Each of these entrees is priced at under $14.

Sometimes, a smorgasbord of sides is what we need to hit the spot. Chin Up, Buttercup! has you covered with a range of options sure to please anyone having a hard time figuring out what to eat. You don’t need to wait around for next Thanksgiving to enjoy the buttery mashed potatoes with beef gravy. However, you would be wise to grab two orders as you can never have too much of a good thing. On that same note, their mac n’ cheese with white cheddar and smoked Gouda topped with crunchy garlic breadcrumbs is a side worth having an extra order of. Your taste buds will thank you. The split pea soup with Smoking Goose ham and potato leek soup with fresh chive are surefire ways to combat the frosty nightmare known as a Chicago winter. 

Give your sweet tooth some TLC with Chin Up, Buttercups! delectable banana cream icebox cake. The dish features bananas, whipped cream, banana pudding, and Nilla wafers. This dessert’s ingredients are enough to make that spot in our stomachs reserved for sweets demand that you order this dish immediately. 

While we wait for full openings of our favorite spots in Chicago, you can still order beer and wines from Scofflaw via Chin Up, Buttercup! with offerings like Metro Fly Pils, a German-style pilsner, and bottles of Le Machin Pinot Noir and Pulpe Fiction Muscadet.

Chin Up, Buttercup! is open daily from 5 pm to 9 pm in the same location as the closed Scofflaw in Logan Square. While we wait for our world to slowly get back to normal, we must keep our chin up, and sometimes the best way to do so is with some classic comforting cuisine. 

ERIC KAPLAN AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO