This is a fantastic place. They have so many drinks to choose from and it's really fun to browse…read moretheir selection. The shop has a lively and fun atmosphere and it's a great place to socialize. That being said, I thought being charged $4 per person to sit down and drink at the shop was a bit much. However, I really enjoyed my time here and will be back.

Stopped in here before a dinner down the street. I've heard good things about Beer on the Wall and…read moreI can understand why! The bartenders here are very welcoming and helpful. I enjoyed the few beers I had while here and they have a great selection of drafts, cold cans and to go packs. Very nice bottle shop/bar vibe with plenty of tables and comfortable sofas. I'll be back!

Great drinks! Great pizza! Great atmosphere! We highly recommend this brewery as an after work…read morerelaxation spot.

This brewery is tucked away in an industrial park, which can make it a little hard to find--but…read moreit's absolutely worth seeking out. Once you're inside, they've done a great job creating a relaxed, fun atmosphere that makes you want to stay awhile. Every time we've visited, the people have been extremely friendly, and that's honestly a big reason we keep going back. It feels welcoming and genuine, not pretentious. The beers are local and really good, with a wide selection--perfect if you're with a group that likes different styles. There's something for everyone. Definitely worth the stop if you're in the area.

Stopped at a Route 66 diner in Pontiac, IL for lunch, The Log Cabin. It was established in 1926…read moreand they are celebrating their 100th anniversary in May 2026. The Yelp reviews were mostly five stars, and it was touted to be a locals' favorite, so we decided to give it a try. We both chose the patty melt with a cup of vegetable soup. The soup sounded like an excellent choice on this cold cloudy day. The food, the service and the ambience were all wonderful. We finished off the meal sharing a slice of hot peach pie with vanilla bean ice cream. It was all fantastic.

Sports bar with good Polish food and the vibe of a tiki bar mixed with a pirate bar with multiple…read morebocce alleys out back. This place is a little slice of heaven. Established (as the wall told me) in 1936, I expected "Polish" to be in menu alone...and I was wrong. The gal behind the bar had an accent. Halfway through the Bears game, I started hearing folks concerning and cheering in Polish. I felt like I had slipped into a cool little club to which I would never have otherwise been invited. Loud (but not too loud) and boisterous. I read some other reviews talking about rude regulars: rubbish. Chicago is loud and direct. If you don't like that vibe, the shoulders in this city may just be a little too broad for you. The pierogi and the pyzy were great, both served with sour cream. The beers, while not draft, had a wide, Euro-leaning selection but still respected some local favorites (Old Style). Good food. Good folks. Confusingly brilliant ambiance. You're missing out if you skip The Log Cabin.

Ambiance - casual, great for small to large group hangouts…read more Service - good, kitchen made the wrong entree and added an additional 10-15 min before I got my food Food - steak was definitely on the chewier side even when I got medium rare

We drove here on the recommendation of a co-worker. We had maybe tried the beer after she bought us…read moresome, and with a day off, getting out of the city seemed a good idea. We came in around 2pm on a Friday. It was quiet but we were fine with that. We sat at the bar with college basketball playing. The bartender and waitress were helpful and friendly in helping us pick out what we wanted to sample. We got both limited edition and regular to sample, as well as the chicken quesadilla. They were also ok with giving us samples of beers to see if we would want them for tasting. The beers were fine, and we bought a 4 pack to go. The quesadilla was ok. The Bison Chili was awesome! They had outdoor seating, covered with heaters but it seemed too cold for that. The view from there was nice I admit. I like how the 'hangar' theme meant pictures of airplanes and pilots, including Amelia Earhart! I like winter beers, but I'd like to go back in the spring or summer to see what's available. The restroom was clean and approachable.

Unlimited Korean BBQ dinner for $35! I've been to many k-bbq, and do them at home too, so know they…read moreare not all made the same, and a cheap price isn't always a great deal. At KOW, I was properly impressed. First off, service. All the orders go through a kiosk machine on the table. This might deter some technologically-challenged folks. But with the great service I received, I think if you just ask the servers, they will be happy to help you or even let you just take your order. While the order itself is self-service and the robots are supposed to bring you all the ordered food, our server (and the manager joined forces later, as there were 14 in our party) was busy coming and setting us up with different sauces and side items. Aprons I don't think they advertise aprons here, but in Korea, all bbq restaurants will give you an apron upon request, since you are cooking on the table and oils will get all over your clothes. I haven't seen many places in the States that follow this tradition yet. But this restaurant seems to legit authentic, that I asked and they gave us aprons! (Exactly those single serve ones we get in Korea.) Food Unlike other k-bbq places, their menu is quite limited. They don't have soups and cooked side dishes. Which is fine, as they focus on the quality of meats instead! Their limited side items include all the basics you need to make k-bbq wraps. If you really like grazing on side dishes (rice cakes, cheesy corn, fried chicken, etc), you won't find them here. The keto kow in me was happy with what they had though. Oh, and I almost forgot. They have a ramyun station in the back, where you can cook your own individual portions of instant noodles. There's a variety of brands in the shelves, so you just pick you favorite, and use the pan and stove to make your bowl. There are also condiments for the ramen (eggs, green onions, etc.) for your toppings. So leave a little room in your belly for it! Or skip it like the keto carnivore I am. We got to our heart's content all the lettuce wrap, garlic, pepper, pickles, radish wraps and kimchi we needed to make a legit lettuce wrap. Brisket - Go easy! For a table of 4, we ordered 3 briskets on our first round, thinking we would order more later, but when we got the meat, it was a heaping huge pile! 2 orders of brisket would fill up that grill easy. I would not order more than 2 so we can have other cuts as well. They are not stingy here. Flat iron steak - personally not my favorite (I'd rather eat more brisket), but hubby loved it. It has more bite. Pork Jowl - one of my personal favorite cuts. Tonight, they didn't seem very fresh and had a slight gamey smell. Hopefully it's just a one-time thing. Garlic butter shrimp - very buttery, but delicious. Just don't get it too mixed with other meats unless you love butter. Serrano baby octopus - this has potential, but I wasn't impressed. Skip. Garlic pork belly - get it again! But just one order Large intestine - make sure to cook it long enough and it's delicious. Each order of an intestine is about the size of an Italian sausage. I'd even get 3 for a table of 4. Personal preference. Serrano bulgogi - surprisingly good! I'm not a fan of getting marinated meats at the buffets in the US because they tend to be too sweet, but these were authentic tasting rather than americanized sweet. Vibes The vibe inside is a bit like a bar or club, with super loud Korean music and HUGE screens wrapping around the wall playing Korean music videos. My throat hurt from having to talk loud with my friends on the table, but it was a fun atmosphere. I live out of state, but have a feeling we'll be coming back.

Went to KOW in Des Plaines and had a really fun night. It's Korean BBQ where you cook everything…read moreyourself at the table, which made it feel more interactive than a typical dinner. The beef bulgogi was probably our favorite, and the cheese corn was really good too. They also have a DIY ramen station with a bunch of different ramen packs and toppings you can add, I didn't get to try it this time, but it looked fun. They have these little robot carts that bring food to your table, which was kind of fun and unexpected. The place itself was clean, and I liked the K-pop videos playing on the walls, it added to the vibe. Only minor thing, the metal chopsticks were a little hard to use for some of us, but they'll give you forks if you ask. Our server was great and checked in on us throughout. Overall, really solid spot if you're looking for something a little different and more hands-on.

Neat spot in downtown Arlington Heights to enjoy a drink. This spot has a bit of everything, with…read moreindoor and outdoor seating, savory and sweet snacks, and drinks on draft and cans. Prices are not the cheapest, but in line with what you'd expect to pay in downtown Arlington Heights. Service is friendly, and fairly quick even when they get a rush of visitors during beautiful summer afternoons. For those looking for something different like trivia or board games, they do have special nights here and Meetup Groups that hold special events here from time to time.

Beer on the wall is such a great concept. So many different beers to buy or to grab on the go. I…read morealso saw some malort on the shelf..just saying. The inside is small, so this is great for a group of 4 or less ideally - but they really do make the most out of their space. There's lots of seating around the bar. When it's nice out, they also open the outside area for even more seating, which is nice to see. What I didn't love is that most of the chairs are those godforsaken metal chairs that anyone over 30 years old most likely has beef with (or is it just me?). also adding, this may have just been the time we went but oh god there were so many kids running around in there. It honestly took away from the vibe. With the kids and the chairs, we unfortunately could only do one drink here. Would love to check it out when it's more of an adults only time.

Illusion's is your standard bar. Kid you not. Don't expect…read morecourtesy, kindness, nothing. Simply know what you want and order your food or drink. A friend and I went here on a Thursday and it was empty inside. Had to have been a party of 3 old dudes getting ready to leave. You could tell they were regulars. No greeting when you enter and the lady (who I would later learn was the manager), looked like she was on her last straw and nerve. Type of person to be very mean and rude but would say they're not, they're just direct. Mmmmh! Wasn't a clean table in the table and took forever to get a menu and water. When I asked about happy hour that I saw advertised she simply pointed to the menu and said these without recognizing it was the regular drink menu with the regular prices. I simply ordered the chicken tenders and sweet potato fries. She swore to heaven that their honey mustard was bomb. I don't think this lady knew her elbow from her wrist. The sauce was ehh. The food itself was good but again it was bar food so I didn't expect much. I wouldn't return or anything. Absolutely not.

Great place. Got to chat with one of the ones. Good people. From out of town but hope we make it…read moreback again someday.

I forgot how much I loved a good Hugo's meal. Hugo's was always one of my favorites downtown so…read morewhen my husband suggested we eat at the Des Plaines Hugos before seeing Billy Ocean at the Rivers Casino I was game. When I first walked in I thought it was a very small restaurant, but it's actually way bigger than it looks and they walked us thru a few different rooms before getting to our table in the back private room. We had the room to ourselves for the first 30 min of our meal, which was lovely. The service was beyond incredible. Fernando was our server who went above and beyond the entire meal. And Jason (i believe the manager) stopped by to chat and shared fun tidbits about the concert...as well as gave us detailed directions of how to find the venue within the casino. The food did not disappoint either. We started off with some oysters and the chilled vinegar sauce served with it was amazing. I got shrimp cocktail as my main meal, which may have been the best shrimp cocktail I've had in awhile. I often eat shrimp cocktail from Costco at home as a good protein snack, but it's going to be tough to eat their shrimp after a taste of Hugo's. My husband was very happy with his steak, but was nice enough to share some bites with me and I can see why he was thrilled. Seasoned and cooked to perfection. They said dessert was on the house in honor of my husband's bday. He's a huge carrot cake fan and they brought out a slice of carrot cake that could feed 15 people. We had a bit and they even stored the leftovers for us until after the concert so we could take it home to our cake loving children. Both my husband and I agreed this was one of the better meals we've had in a long time and wondered why we've stayed away from Hugo's for so long!

What an amazing experience!!! We were treated like royalty from the moment we stepped in until we…read morewalked out. Food was phenomenal especially the calamari which was sweet with heat. So good. Hubby had the porter house steak and I had the sea bass. So fluffy and delicious. We also had the asparagus which was crunchy and perfectly cooked. Dessert was blueberry cheesecake. The crust was to die for. Our server was so attentive and kind and was so thrilled with our generous tip but he totally deserved it and more. This place is great for special occasions. Check them out. There were parties of 5 plus and lots of couples. They have something for everyone with their Gibson's steaks. Check them out.

A short fuse and a close call…read more After Emily and I checked in to our hotel room, we wanted to stretch our legs and see if there was anything nearby for some beer and some food. Turns out, Short Fuse was right up the road and a 5 minute walk got us there. For a Sunday, it wasn't too busy but not dead, so we got seated right away. We ordered some beer and took a look at the menu. While nothing really struck our fancy, our waitress made a comment that if we did want any food, it might be slim pickings as they were running out of stuff. Turns out, this day was the last day they were open. Talk about timing! After she mentioned that, I started to notice that people were buying bar signs and various other things. Emily started off with a Guava Gose and I grabbed a Krankshaft kolsch. We sampled each other beers and we both really liked what the other ordered. I don't really know what a gose is but, damn, was that good! I've had Krankshaft before so I knew what I was getting myself in to. We ended up ordering a second round of the same beers and let each other sample the other's beer a little more liberally this time. While we were kind of hungry, nothing on the menu really struck our fancy, especially considering they might've been out of it. Room service took care of those hunger pangs later after a few more beers in the hotel bar. Online reviews for this place seemed hit and miss but I really enjoyed my time there and really enjoyed the artwork on the walls and the vibe of the place. We did contemplate buying some bar signs on our way out but declined as we don't know what we would exactly do with them. It sucks to see a small business close but they did say they may try to open up a new place in a new location in the future.

Enjoyed the wide variety of beer options. The food was okay, but it's definitely worth coming for…read morethe beers! I loved their Bear-ie White and Loosey Juicy. The waitress was friendly and gave great recommendations. I also loved the huge space with its superhero vibes. Parking was limited, but it's totally worth checking out.

Came here solo after a tiring morning at work (ended up being a late afternoon meal), and this…read moreplace was exactly what I needed. The food absolutely hit the spot--I left feeling refreshed and energized! I've come here several times and have always enjoyed the food. Most recently, I tried the Grilled Lemon Salmon and loved it! It was flavorful, filling, and beautifully presented (see photo). I also enjoyed a glass of Sauvignon blanc that complemented the meal wonderfully. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, which was perfect for unwinding after a long morning. Kelsey was great. She was attentive, friendly, and personable. TL;DR: Great food, great service, and great vibes. I will definitely be back. Highly recommend!

The ambience is welcoming with a nice bar seating type atmosphere. Very roomy. Large bar area, and…read morelots of booths and tables We ordered the cheese curds as an appetizer. They were ok. They were really greasy which is not to my liking I ordered the steak medium well. The steak was good. It was more on the medium well side. Came with broccoli and finger potatoes. The broccoli was good and the finger potatoes were very good. The potatoes were nicely seasoned. My favorite part of the dish. Too bad the steak was only good. We had a desert special. Fried Ice Cream. It was good. It had a Smokey flavor to it. The waiter was attentive and nice.