Ask Maria Jaimes what makes her Logan Square bar so popular, and she’ll tell you about the homemade buffet she sets out every Tuesday night. “The young people from the neighborhood, they tell each other, ‘Go by the Whirlaway, Maria makes good food for free,’” she explains.
In many ways the Whirlaway is Maria. It’s impossible to walk in and not meet her–she rushes to the door to hug regulars and makes a point of introducing herself to newcomers. And her design touches–a twig wreath accented with a painted wood Welcome sign, autumn-leaf tablecloths, a low, comfy couch–make the bar seem less like a business and more like a dad’s paneled basement retreat. The kind where mom tut-tuts about the mess but always brings down dinner.
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Beginning promptly at 8, Maria starts loading a back table with foil baking pans full of things like chicken mole, bean casserole, salad, roasted vegetables, and pasta. “Every week it’s completely different. I never like to make the same thing twice, so no one gets bored,” she says. Because everything is made from scratch, she often starts cooking at 6 AM. Her favorite dishes are Mexican; stuffed mushrooms are a customer favorite. Usually, she says, the food is gone by 9:30.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Rob Warner.
