Do not judge a book by its cover. Cutesy old house with teas and sandwiches? Nay. Hidden dive-gem of the western suburbs. How can a beer and bar-food enthusiast not totally dig this place?
Beer menu = really good. Lots of stuff you can find in most decent beer bars, but a good selection of the finer craft brews. They had Scurry by Off Color Brewing on nitro, which tasted excellent. They also had some brews from Solemn Oath, Deschutes, Lagunitas, Left Hand, Stone, and Three Floyds on draft. There were other good selections available in bottles/cans, like Founders, Oskar Blues, Revolution, Great Lakes, Church Street, and Two Bros. Good to see they support local brews! They had a tap for Penrose hanging on the ceiling, and that place isn't even open yet (soon to be in Geneva, I believe).
Anyway, beer was good, right? No Miller Lites or lawnmower beers. Lots of whiskey and bourbon to choose from, and a couple ciders available (not Woodchuck). I think that any craft beer lover would be happy. ALSO, you can get a 6oz beer, if you want to try a few beers instead of drinking one or two large pints. It's a nice option, if you aren't sure what you want a lot of, or if you just are in the variety sort of mood.
Food, woah. They have a grilled cheese with CHEESE on the OUTSIDE. It's crisped on the outside of the bread, so don't expect something oozy-gooey on the outside, but don't be dismayed. It's really good and flavorful. We added grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, tomato, and bacon. This thing was overflowing but not gross or messy. Lots of flavor without an obscene amount of cheese. We split that, and then also split the Patty Melt. It was fairly standard...homemade burger patty on toasted, marbled rye, swiss, and grilled onions. The burger was a bit more than medium, but it was juicy, so no complaints. If I had to pick a winner, I'd vote for the grilled cheese, but I'm not sorry I ordered the patty melt.
THOSE FRIES THOUGH. They look like boring-@ss fries, but don't be fooled. My husband ordered sweet potato tots and was a sorry sucka. He didn't finish his tots and was picking from my pile of carby, salty french fries. Not too thick, not too thin, with a crunchy outside and fluffy inside. Fried to perfection, and you get a lot. Yummmmm.
Cory behind the bar was friendly and knowledgable. Everything was prompt and he checked back on us frequently. He even asked "Does everything taste great?" assuming that the found was excellent (which it was). Glad to see this place and its quality inspires confidence in its employees.
I'll be back here. There are other items on the menu that I NEED to try, plus they have rotating specials, like spaghetti, ribs, tacos, etc. Their beer menu is rotating, and its nice to see that they have it posted on their website. Drop in for a plentiful basket of bar food and some local brews. read more