Something’s Brewing Here
The early signs of a new restaurant opening the neighborhood are always enough to fill me with curiosity and excitement. But when Empanada Boy and I learned that a new restaurant moving in down the street from us would have over 50 beers on tap, we were itching for it to open. Finally we would have a nearby pub— besides the overly crowded, but wonderful, Hopleaf— that offered better beer than the domestic giants that so often fill the lists in this region of the country. We waited for weeks as the place gradually opened, peering in each time we passed by to see whether it looked any closer to readiness.
Finally, last week I heard from a friend that it was open, so EB and I promptly walked over for dinner after work. The place is called Chicago Ale House. The dark wood paneled dining room and bar area is large, with pool tables in the back and with seemed like twenty TVs playing different sporting events scattered around the room. The draft beer menu is indeed lengthy. It includes everything from local microbrews like Three Floyds to Belgian wheat beers. The menu seems to place a specific emphasis on German brews. EB and I ordered Franziskaner Weissbier and Wurzberger Hofbrau, respectively. Both came in the specified glass and are just as fun to drink as they are to pronounce (which is to say, very fun).
The beer lived up to our self-created hype, but the food could still use some work. I requested my strip steak sandwich medium rare, but it arrived much closer to well done. The meat tasted too dried out, and the flavored mayonnaise spread on the bun didn’t make up for that. Roasted vegetables improved things a bit, but the bun itself was also too dry. The accompanying French fries brought back memories of the deli at Portland’s Jewish Community Center, which is not necessarily a good thing. These were too limp and bland. Thick cut steak fries can be good— they just need to be cooked more crisply!
EB took it upon himself to test the burger. It looked nice and juicy and came with a choice of cheese and grilled onions. The burger was closer to medium than medium-rare, but more significantly, the quality of the meat just didn’t seem up to snuff. A more fatty and juicy selection would have made all the difference. But even if better meat weren’t available, a little garlic and some salt and pepper would have gone a long way toward helping this rather bland sandwich along. As with the steak sandwich, a fresher bun would have also been nice.
Despite the disappointments of the food, EB and I will be coming back to Chicago Ale House soon, if for no better reason than the fact that we can walk there in about five minutes. The food may well improve, seeing as the place is only a few weeks old at this point. And even if the food never gets any better, it will be worth coming back here for a nice, cool glass of beer.
Chicago Ale House
2200 W. Lawrence
Chicago, IL 60625
773.285.2020
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Eating Adventuress said,
June 17, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
M.L
Last year Trader Joanna, Mango Mama and I attended a performance by Body Vox, our local modern dance/performance group, in their rehearsal space above “Bridge Port Brew Pub and Bakery”
We had a fine dinner after the performance in this very spacious establishment. I believe Trader Joanna mentioned that you had eaten there also on occasions.
Forkster said,
June 17, 2007 @ 8:29 pm
Just seeing those fries makes me disappointed. I’m not a fan of thick or “steak cut” fries. I agree–if you’re gonna serve them, they have to be crispy.
Do they serve a dunkel weissbier? That’s even more fun to say!
Empanada Boy said,
June 19, 2007 @ 9:39 am
I absolutely agree about the fries. The smaller the better. It’s more surface area to be delightfully fried when they’re smaller! I hope the food gets better at the Chicago Ale House and I think it probably will. I think the place showed both promise and room for improvement. But having that many beers on tap goes a long way in my book. Also, it seems like the perfect place to bring a large group.
John said,
June 29, 2007 @ 10:54 am
You forgot to mention that the place has like zero ambiance, unless the fluorescent lights from the kitchen flooding into the bar area and pre-fab upholstered furniture better suited for an office park circa 1989 than for a cozy neighborhood tavern are your idea of ambiance. I was also put off by Mario the bartender foisting a menu on me (I was just there for drinks) and putting on a used-salesman shtick as he went on about the comprehensive offerings. The Reader’s review this week is perfect.
Mango Lassie said,
June 29, 2007 @ 11:12 am
You’re right about the ambiance, John. In general, my comments probably weren’t hard enough on Chicago Ale House. The interior was closer to an airport lounge than a cool weekend hangout. It will not be replacing the Hopleaf in my heart and mind anytime soon. Our waitress, like Mario the bartender, was aggressively over-attentive and kept telling us of her German upbringing and extolling the glories of the somewhat lackluster beer list. (The beers we ordered were in the specialty section at the bottom of a list of somewhat boring options.) My assessment of the regular pub food coincides with The Reader’s opinion that Chicago Ale House doesn’t even get the basics right. The Reader also goes into the other strange menu deviations into Thai and Middle Eastern cuisine. I have a feeling that Chicago Ale House won’t be long for this world unless it regroups and gets more focused on its core identity as a beer-centric pub.