CITY LIFE

MALIBU BARBIE CAFE CHICAGO

Through 9/ 15 : daily with prepaid and timed entries between 10 AM- 8:15 PM, 324 S. Racine, $17-$100, bucketlisters.com/experience

In a Barbie world

Barbie mania kicks off in Chicago with the Malibu Barbie Cafe

BY ISA GIALLORENZO

Iconfess: I was not excited about the opening of the Malibu Barbie Cafe Chicago.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Barbie. I feel like Mattel has done a great job of expanding the Barbie line to include a wide variety of ridiculously stylish characters (yes, their outfits are fabulous). I was delighted when I realized the Barbie I picked at the Malibu Barbie Cafe preview party had a prosthetic leg. In my time, all the Barbies were blonde and unrealistically slim, so that’s quite a welcome evolution.

My problem with these places catered to kids is that the overpriced food usually sucks, and the janky surroundings often disappoint. Their main focus seems to be the gift shop. That’s defi nitely not the case with the Malibu Barbie Cafe. Actually, the adults at the opening were so giddy that I’m not really sure the experience is mostly for children.

The decor is 100 percent social-media -friendly eye candy, and it’s hard to resist taking a photo in the life-size Barbie toy box. Friends Sir’Quora Carroll and Maryam Jama seemed to have a blast using it to pose like real-life dolls. The pageant-winning Carroll (she was Miss Ohio USA 2022) picked out an edgy, rock-star Barbie look. Jama went for 90s Barbie vibes à la Cher Horowitz.

On the preppy side was teacher Jorel Alex- ander, whose outfit also seemed inspired by the movie Clueless . “My partner and I were thrifting, and we knew we wanted to wear something pink. I also added a cheetah-print boot because we all love cheetah,” Alexander said.

Content creator Rachel Mooreland wore a hot-pink ensemble from GSTQ and accessorized it with sunglasses by Gucci and a bag by Jacquemus. Food critic Jasmine Jones skipped the pink in favor of a bright azure blue (which is a very Malibu Barbie color).

“I had this dress for so long, and I was like, ‘When am I going to wear it?’ And then the opportunity came along,” Jones said.

The food is surprisingly delicious, so much so that I wish this cafe wasn’t just a pop-up.

With a menu created by MasterChef season three semi-finalist Becky (Reams) Brown, the Malibu Barbie Cafe has plenty of fairly sophisticated options for a “fast-casual” joint.

The scrumptious “Live Your Dream Grilled Cheese” comes on a toasted sourdough with gouda, gruyere, and fi g jam. The “Make Your Waves Avocado Toast” uses sourdough as well and includes toasted sesame, arugula, and feta cheese and is served with a fried egg.

A Barbie cafe worth its (pink Himalayan) salt should also serve some veggie options, so there’s the “Golden Coast CALI-flower

Bowl” with curry-spiced cauliflower, arugula, pickled onions, quinoa, and tahini sauce. Desserts go from decadent (“Dreamsicle Ice Cream Sundae”) to healthy (the “Today is the Day Parfait” is made with pitaya chia pudding, mango, fresh berries, and almond coconut granola). Oh, yeah, there are thankfully adult drinks too, and some of them are pretty cute, like the “Cali Collins” (made with 1220 Spirits’s Blue Morpho Gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice). Entry tickets for the cafe include an entree and a side item. Alcoholic beverages cost $15 to $18, other beverages start at $8, and extra sides and desserts range from $8 to $15.

The Barbie experience is not just about taking selfies and snacking on nibbles—definitely not at the Malibu Barbie Cafe anyway. Inspired by the real Malibu Beach skating strip, a roller skating rink was built as an add-on experience. It costs only an additional $1 to skate with all proceeds going to Girls Inc. of Chicago. And, of course, there’s the gift shop, which o ers exclusive Malibu Barbie Cafe T-shirts ($30), key chains ($10), and Barbie dolls ($25). This may not be a bargain outing, but it will certainly be memorable— especially with all those pictures. v

@chicagolooks