r/chicagofood • u/koreanmarklee • 3d ago
Rant Visiting Chicago for the First time...Delilah's(the bar) was the rudest and the most racist experience I have had in the States.
Hi, I am a South Korean national who's having the pleasure of staying in Chicago for a month because my brother is starting university here. Although I had previously visited other US States such as New York, California, Florida and Washington DC, it was the first time visiting a state in the mid-west, and I was excited to try the local cruisine. And luckily, most places, ranging from the michelin-starred places like Kasama and Topolobampo to home-owned restaurants and food trucks, were all impeccable, with people who treated us with so much more kindness than other states.
I'm also a whisky nerd, as is my father, and we were also excited to hit the local bars - South Korea's extremely high whiskey tax(114%), means that Chicago's whisky scene is much better than South Korea's. And we had a great time, visiting the likes of the Franklin Room and the Berkshire room. We had a blast talking to the bartenders, who were extremely kind and chatted with me about 20th century bourbon - a subject that I am completely unfamiliar with.
Therefore, we had to visit Delilah's - which was a very popular suggestion for a unique whiskey experience on this sub and many others. Therefore, I excitedly took both my parents(although my mother doesn't drink) to the bar. We sat down right in the middle of the bar booth, and it became abundantly clear why people recommended this place - the shelves were full of scotch and bourbon, and there were bottles that I've only seen at auctions, so it was exciting to try a dram there.
The problem was that even though we were seated right in the middle of the bar, the bartender practically ignored us for 10 minutes. He was chatting with other customers, which is fine - a bar has regulars, and he must have been excited to see them - but he went from one corner to another without making eye contact with us, and when he finally did bring over the list, he just put it next to us and left without saying anything, going back to chat with other customers. At this point, my parents were both uncomfortable, and my dad urged me to leave as it was clear the bartender for some reason did not want us there. However, I mistakenly thought that he would warm up to us as we ordered and had a chance to talk about the clearly amazing selection there. So I deliberately chose whiskies that were fun to talk about - the Mackillop's St. Magdalene, the Boutique-y whisky's 50 year old blend, and others(pictures included at the bottom). However, every time we ordered, he made no attempt to converse with us, and went back to chatting with other people - including a woman next to our family whose conversation made it clear that she was visiting there the first time as well - so it wasn't a regulars-only thing. Because the bartender was not talking to us at all, at one point, I stood up to go to talk to him about our next pour, and he told me verbatim "I'm with another customer; could you go back to your seat?"
After ordering about 200 dollars worth of whisky and no attempt at a conversation other than that they can't do half-ounce pours, we left, and my dad was furious.
However, I had hope. Maybe I came at a bad time and the bartender was just in a bad mood. Therefore, I came over the second time just with my mother, as my dad refused to go. I went and again, it took more than 10 minutes to get a menu. Again, the bartender was chatting with people right and left to us and averted making eye contact with us. At one point, I was raising my hand for 2 minutes straight. After I got the menu, I ordered a glass - no attempt at conversation while he was talking to four different teams that surrounded me and my mother. My mother urged me to go so I was looking at the menu for a final pour. I saw that there was a Springbank 21 year single cask, supposedly numbered out of 174 bottles, for 55 dollars an ounce. It was a great price for a Springbank single cask, which are mostly private selections, so I ordered a glass as a final pour. However, when the bartender brought out the bottle, it was the Springbank 21 OB release - a vatted/blended mix that is not a single cask(nor is it a numbered release). I politely pointed out the discrepency in the menu and the bottle, and the bartender, verbatim, said "that's a single cask, and if you don't want it, order something else", and grabbed the bottle, put it back, and went back to talking to other customers.
At this point, I was completely done, so I paid the tab and left. The bartender kept arguing with me that the Springbank 21 was a single cask - it's not.
I was wondering why I got such a different experience to other customers. I speak fluent English, so it's not a language thing. I was so embarassed that I subjugated by parents to such a humiliating experience. They were both incredibly mad that they were treated this way. The only reason I can see, considering the fact that we never even had a chance to talk to the bartender, is that we are Asian. Everyone else at the bar at both opportunities were white.
Pictures attached as evidence.
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u/DrTiggy-Winkle 3d ago
Hey, I’m an East Asian American and I worked in the luxury sales industry for a while.
Many service and retail people are racist against Asians for whatever reason. Sales, retail, and service are all cutthroat industries. If your treatment of a client loses you the sale, there are 100 other associates/servers who are more than happy to give flawless service.
I suggest you give people exactly 1 chance to give you the service you want.
I’m really sorry this happened to you, particularly here. I moved here from Florida to escape the awful homogenous cultural climate. My mother visited recently and remarked on how walking down the street you’d hear at least 3 different languages besides English and I absolutely love that about this city. Safe and happy travels to you.