Linda has an abnormal fascination with Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, so we went out yesterday looking for a place near home to catch the Packers v. Bears game. Curious, we strolled into Ranazul, a tapas bar in Maple Lawn, and to our pleasant surprise, we found a big screen projector playing the game behind the bar.
Our bartender, Zach, introduced himself and shook each of our hands, as did the manager Michael, who was wearing an exquisite pair of sneakers with his snazzy suit. We felt immediately welcome and taken care of. Michael later told us that he aims to be known as “that manger who wears Chuck Taylors all the time,” and that he had just bought a nice blue pair that day.
Aside from watching the game, we were also out to grab a casual drink to celebrate a good friend’s recent birthday. We were pumped to see that Ranazul has happy hour from 3PM – 7PM everyday (even on Sundays!), which includes $2 off beer, glasses of sangria, full glasses of wine and rail cocktails. They also offer a select menu of tapas for $7 and under.
Missy had a glass of the sangria and an order of ceviche, both of which rivaled those she enjoyed in Costa Rica (which says a lot).. Linda had a glass of the Domaine Schlumberger, a Pinot Gris from Alsace, France. It wasn’t too dry and had wonderful fruity hints. [Don’t worry, we’re going to a wine tasting soon so that we can beef up our wine-o lingo.]
Our orders were modest, and we took our sweet time with our drinks. This did not bother our bartender one bit, and we actually had some great conversation with him. He even gave us a round of his specialty, Chocolate Cupcake shots. Zach informed us that the secret ingredients were Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate vodka, Pinnacle whipped cream vodka and delicious chocolate syrup at the bottom. It was so scrumptious that we shamelessly licked the bottoms of our glasses… Don’t judge.
Ranazul’s atmosphere was classy, with mood lighting and snazzily dressed staff, without being uptight. We’d highly recommend Ranazul for a casual after-work drink, a romantic date night, or any kind of intimate get-together. Ask for Zach’s Chocolate Cupcake shot!
HoCo Hangover 
Ahhh, I work here!! Sorry I missed you, I have my Sundays off. But I’m so glad you like it, I’ll make sure this article gets to Michael and Zack. It may even go on our bulletin board in the back!!
Blayre
Ladies.. it was my pleasure to take care of you.. I hope all the unpacking went smoothly.. come back and see me soon.. I got some new drinks I would love you to try..
So glad to see/hear your voice among the hoco bloggers. Hey, heard of Balted Marley? Might be one to add to your list: http://baltedmarley.wordpress.com/about/ (super local)