It’s no secret that Chicago has some of the best food in the world, but it is also home to some of the best bars, cocktail lounges, speakeasies, and more. Because of this, Chicago houses an array of incredibly impressive bar managers, mixologists, and beverage directors. One accomplished beverage director who calls Chicago home is Stevan Miller, beverage director for Michelin-starred Esmé, its cocktail lounge Bar Esmé, and the newly opened French brasserie, Petite Edith.
Esmé was opened in August 2021 by chef Jenner Tomaska and his wife and partner, Katrina Bravo. The Michelin-starred restaurant is located in Lincoln Park, as is its cocktail lounge, Bar Esmé, which shares Esmé’s building and offers patrons a more intimate, casual energy. Petite Edith, Chef Tomaska’s French bistro in Chicago, opened a couple of months ago and is located in the heart of River North.
A few weeks ago, I sat down with Stevan Miller, who captains the beverage programs at these three spaces, and got the inside scoop (pun intended!) on what it takes to be a beverage director, insight on working for chef Tomaska’s restaurants, Miller's favorite creations, and more.
Being a beverage director sounds like such an exciting job. Tell me about how you got into the restaurant industry, and specifically what drew you to the beverage side.
My third job was as a barista in California. We had this coffee machine that was able to do these precise brews of different styles of single varietal coffees. My coworkers and I started playing this game where we guessed where the coffees were from, and I got them right every time. This is when I realized that I had a gift. Someone asked if I had ever considered being a sommelier, and after that, I just started going down a rabbit hole. I’ve always been drawn to things that don’t have a bottom when it comes to acquiring knowledge, and the beverage world fits right in there. Every single beverage category has thousands of years of history, and so many ways to do things. Being able to showcase small pieces of our Earth gets me really excited.
You are the beverage director for three Chicago hot spots: Esmé, Bar Esmé, and newly opened Petite Edith. What has been your favorite part of working for this collection of restaurants?
It’s important to surround yourself with people who are more talented than you, and I found that in the current restaurant group I work in. I started at Bar Esmé over two years ago, but I quickly realized I could do more. I had a great conversation with Jenner, and now I do the pairing menus across all the concepts. We haven’t looked back since.
Petite Edith just opened, and it’s been a really exciting journey working there. I curated the wine myself, and our giant, beautiful bar is home to unique spirits and cocktails that represent the French connection to Chicago. It’s really interesting to see the influence French culture has had on our city.
I’ve also really enjoyed being part of, from the beverage side, events in the community outside of the restaurant space. We’re planning on continuing these initiatives, such as doing pop-ups to help connect Chicago to different styles of beverages and discover more unique ways to connect with each other.
Dry January just came to an end, but having mocktails and non-alcoholic options is important year-round. What are some of your favorite non-alcoholic drinks across the three concepts you work for?
Honestly, non-alcoholic cocktails are something I think of before I do every other part of the menu. I love how non-alcoholic drinks showcase flavor and ingredients. The Midwest has some beautiful produce. For the last cocktail menu I did at Esmé, I created a mocktail called Apple Island, named after the island roughly 40 minutes outside of Detroit that rests in the middle of Orchard Lake.
I brought some flavors that I’m familiar with from my heritage and mixed them with these Michigan apples. The Apple Island is a blend of apples, habanero, and agave, and then we force-carbonated that. It’s probably one of the drinks I’m most proud of.
Valentine’s Day is coming up! Are there any Valentine’s Day-themed cocktails that we need to try? Or, are there any that you recommend people make at home?
Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love, and in my opinion, the best way to celebrate love is by sharing. At Petite Edith, we’re going to do Galentine’s Day at the bar Valentine’s Day weekend, since not everyone can celebrate with a significant other. Our theme is sharing, so we’re going to offer shareable martinis, which I also think are great to make at home.
I feel the same way about coffee cocktails. I gave myself a very difficult challenge of figuring out how to put green chartreuse into a coffee cocktail. The product of that challenge was the “Noire de Banane,” or the black banana, which is essentially a banana chartreuse espresso martini. It instantly became our bestselling drink, and we only put it on our menu two weeks ago. We’ll be making little pitchers of that to share as well.
Also, I can never resist an incredible bottle of rosé, so at Petite Edith, we’ll have a discount on all rosé bottles. The wine menu at Petite Edith is focused on the French coast, so we kind of have our pick of some of the best rosés in the world, so it’ll be fun to share those with everyone on that weekend.
Personally, I really only drink clear liquor. As I get older, I’ve been interested in expanding my palate and exploring darker liquor; however, I haven’t had much luck enjoying drinks with darker spirits. What advice do you have for me/others like me who are looking to try and enjoy liquors that they usually shy away from?
I also tend to lean toward clear spirits, but I’ve been in Chicago now for seven years, so I’ve had moments where I need something that’s been aged in a barrel to warm me up. My advice would be to go to the nearest cocktail bar or bartender that you trust and just have a conversation about what you like and what you want to try. It’s important to be adventurous and realize that there are so many options out there. I’d also recommend trying spirits that are made from smaller producers because that means they’re taking extra care to make sure that you enjoy every drop.
Lastly, what advice do you have for people who might want to pursue a career like yours?
You need to find someone you actually want to learn from and be comfortable absorbing information from them. So, try to find a mentor, but if you can’t find one, then be your own. It’s so important to learn from yourself and want to better yourself every day.
Esmé and Bar Esmé are located at 2200 N Clark St. Petite Edith is located at 878 N Wells St. For more information, please visit https://www.esmechicago.com/ and https://www.petiteedith.com/.
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