Dive into LAKE FOREST!
Our writer Leena Tailor enjoys a cocktail-filled small-town getaway just outside Chicago
Air New Zealand’s recently relaunched flights to Chicago are good news for those keen on shopping, art galleries, rooftop bars, museums, restaurants and enough tourist activities to keep a traveller busy for a week in the third-largest city in the United States.
But just a 30-minute drive in the opposite direction from the airport lies a hidden gem of a town, Lake Forest, home to the British-themed Deer Path Inn.
I heard about the adorable hotel through its Insta-famous cocktails – whimsical works of art created by Jorge Centeno, who has tourists flocking in to shoot their next TikTok reel. However, it only takes a few minutes in Lake Forest to see there’s more than pretty drinks to fill your feed with envyinducing holiday snaps.
Tucked onto the shores of Lake Michigan and home to around 20,000 locals, the quiet town’s central hub merges cute flower shops, patisseries and gift stores with all-American staples like Starbucks, but with every store finished with a uniform brick exterior – and many gorgeously draped in ivy – even corporate chains can’t stop the area feeling like a rom-com-worthy escape.
Meandering through the square, I stop by Lake Forest Book Store, a treasure trove of novels, trinkets and souvenirs, before brunch at Egg Harbor Café, which offers everything from lobster scramble to Swedish pancakes, along with bottomless mimosas to wash it all down.
That bubbly-fuelled buzz comes in handy after picking up complimentary bikes back at the inn and cycling to the lake through an immaculate neighbourhood reminiscent of Desperate Housewives’ Wisteria Lane.
“Is that a church or a house?” I ask my friend, mesmerised by jaw-dropping mansions with sprawling front lawns the size of local parks back home in Aotearoa.
A 10-minute ride brings us to a private beach, accessible only to locals and Deer Path Inn guests, where scorching heat calls for chilling under a tree.
By late afternoon, it’s time for a royal reprieve in our “Montacute” suite, featuring a cosy lounge, mini-library, fireplace, lavish bathtub, snacks and a bar stocked with complimentary alcohol.
While it’s tempting to spend the entire stay in the room, the inn has awardwinning dining at its restaurant, plus a bar and pub.
One minute, I felt like I was in Downton Abbey as staff presented a grandiose tray of tea while I lounged in an elegant drawing room off the lobby; the next, I felt like I’d fallen down a rabbit hole and into Alice In Wonderland in the hotel’s “wine and liquor room”.
Drinks wizard Jorge, originally from Mexico, was on his way to an engineering degree when he moved to Chicago and began bar
‘Sprawling front lawns are the size of parks back home’
tending. Passionate about botany, flavours and creating, he was given free rein with the beverage menu after joining Deer Path Inn, but he had no idea how popular his off-menu creations would become.
From music and flowers, he finds inspiration everywhere for the drinks he concocts, serving them up in teacups, lightbulbs and even cereal boxes. His trendy Frosted Flakes and Strawberry Old Fashioned sees him infuse bourbon with cornflakes, then add strawberry syrup and chocolate bitters – an idea that came to him over breakfast at the inn.
Made using Kiwi vodka Broken Shed, his My Garden cocktail utilises the bergamot petals and other ingredients Jorge grows at home, while Breakfast at Tiffany’s, made with gin, local honey and raspberry tea, was inspired by both the iconic Audrey Hepburn movie and the 1993 hit from Deep Blue Something.
Holidays spark even more creativity, with spooky Halloween creations, fun Easter drinks and Yuletide favourites. Jorge is now working on adding mocktails to the menu and also runs cocktail classes, like the Ginstitute, where he teaches hotel guests how to use gin to make anything from salad dressings to classic cocktails.
I’m definitely signing up next time I revisit this cinematic small town!