Had the pleasure of attending a family party at Sturdy Shelter over the weekend. It was a large…read moreparty of I'd say 80 people and ben was our server for the entire five hours. He was amazing. He quickly learned everyone's drink, preferences, and anytime the drinks were getting low. He would ask if we were ready for another and was very friendly and personable, and always had a smile on his face. He was flawless in his execution of serving such a large party. I highly recommend sturdy shelter because of Ben. The sturdy shelter has a really nice private room upstairs as well as plenty of space and they also have a really nice outdoor patio overlooking the river.

Checked out this newer brewery in Batavia. It has a lot of room inside, but even that isn't enough…read morefor the large groups, and parties. Sturdy Shelter has a pretty good variety. A good amount of choices, whether it's light or a strong one that will kick ass. They also have a food menu, with basics such as pretzels and snacks. For the most part it's good. It's located in an old building downtown that has a couple levels. The upstairs is often used for private events like parties. If it's not available then it's hard to get a seat anywhere. The seats at the bar fill up, and there's only a few tables. It's about $7 a pint. There's a few of the more stronger ones that cost more though. Best one we had the last time was the 3 Amigos Imperial Stout. Full bodied and thick as a brick too. There's notes of ancho chilis, cacao nibs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Also got something to eat. It's $8 for the Bavarian Pretzel. Helps to absorb the alcohol. They also have chips and salsa among the food options. Got to add it to the list of breweries that seem to be everywhere in this city. It's located on Shumway Avenue in a historic old building full of history. This is a popular place to have private events or whatever.

The food was okay but good service and great beer makes up for it…read more The French Dip was passable but the Kupfer Amber ale washed it all down very well. The los Pollos lager was a great finishing touch.

We visited on Father's Day and had a nice overall experience, largely because of the service…read more Everyone we interacted with was friendly, attentive, and helpful throughout the meal. The food was okay but did not really stand out. The cheese curd portion felt a little small, and the burger was fine but not particularly memorable. One thing that was hard to overlook was the strong air freshener scent when walking in. The same smell was in the bathrooms so it was just a bit off putting. I personally do not love that in a restaurant setting since it can compete with the smell of the food. Beer was also good! Overall, the service was the highlight of our visit. While the food did not wow us, we still had a pleasant experience.

Absolutely delicious dinner tonight and a wonderful atmosphere with great service! I had the…read moreSeabass with coconut rice and edamame and all kinds of yummy things in it. My friend had the brace pot roast with mashed potatoes and carrots, and it was better than homemade! The menu is always full of variety from simple to exotic. My favorite place in town!

So, I know the new kids in the block like this kind of thing to order from table and pay and…read morewaitress just plops food on table with all canned drinks no fountain drinks but honestly I didn't like that. I prefer more interaction with the people who are trying to earn a tip. But food was good 4 for food 1 for business profile So 3

With a meat-loving partner, I was especially happy that we both enjoyed Pig Minds Brewery. The Old…read moreFashioned was perfect for me. I appreciated that the server asked about my preferred level of sweetness. My partner enjoyed the great value beer selection, along with the fun nod to the Premier League beer he ordered. The Reuben and dumplings were both delicious and served piping hot. Our server was attentive without being intrusive, which made the experience even better. We'll definitely be back.

Visiting friends in town and we are all vegetarian so perfect spot . Both them and me agree that…read morethe food here is great if you're looking for vegan junk food this is the spot . The problem with this place is the service and how they operate . They clearly don't have a system of food runners , bussers and servers so they are doing it all and it shows with the long wait times to get place orders , get your tab , even get waters I had to ask a separate server for waters because of how long they took . You know the service is bad when you see everyone looking around for their server and looks of frustration . As im writing this someone complained saying can we just order online we've been sitting here and haven't been served. I would only come for the food but the service is so bad it makes this place really lack .

Checked out this brewery in Yorkville and got some local beers. Fox Republic has been here awhile,…read moreand benefits from being the only such place around it. It pretty much only has beers, but it also has a distillery next to it where you can get that stuff too. Has more of these than expected. There's some pretty cool flavors. Breweries like this are known for their limited hours and selections, but here neither is the case. It's actually got quite a bit to choose from. There's a few pretty interesting and unique flavors, too. A lot of these rotate so it makes people come back. It's about $7 a pint. We had a few of these. Best we had was the Mist Walker, a hazy IPA. This is a pretty strong one. Has a window into Home Run Hot Dogs. It's got a few including veggie dogs that are made Chicago style. Also is known for their stuffed pretzels. They let you bring in stuff. Great place to get locally made beers. It's actually open daily if you can even believe it. They're open longer on weekends.

This place had been on my list to try for awhile and finally made it out to Yorkville. I saw their…read moresour weekend on Facebook so made the trek out. As they had many options I wanted try, I opted for flights. They offer 4 5oz pours for $10. My faves were foxy sour beer nerdz and the case eagle. The Carmel apple was a miss for me. They also offer tequila seltzers and sodas. Friendly service and plenty of seating.

I think we have found our new lunch spot for our Iowa trips. I regret that we have not stopped here…read morebefore. The pork Bahn Mi sandwich - what a winner! Obviously assembled by someone who appreciates food. The cucumber slices were just the right thickness - and an ample amount. The slaw, the pork, the cilantro, the sauce, the bun - it all came together for a delicious experience. And the onion rings were lightly battered with thick onions - superb. I didn't take a pic - but Rick enjoyed his brisket. Other customers were raving about the ribs the day we were there. We each had a Mud Run beer and pleasant conversation with the staff. I am seriously planning an extra trip to visit Mom just so I can stop to have a Mud Run lunch on the way.

The food is hands down phenomenal! We expect decent food, but we were just blown away after the…read morefirst bite. It's a good thing we don't live here because we'd hear daily. The food came out piping hot and every bite was heavenly.

Updated Review Once…read moreagain great beer and pizza. Crowded on a Saturday afternoon but with indoor and outdoor seating,wait times are not too bad. Service started out great but as it got more crowded,it was hard to get the servers attention to order another round of drinks or pay the bill. All in all,still a solid place to go when in the area as their wood fired pizza is great!

I was going to give it a 3 but then I realized it is a pizza and wings joint. They do both well…read more The fig pizza was tasty as were the sticky boneless wings. I would have like to see a FEW more items like soup, burgers, chicken sandwiches etc but the limited menu was tasty. Nice atmosphere. Good service. Fair prices. Will have to try the beer selection next time. That looked good too

Was craving a burger and a beer and with such a cool name, how could I not check this place out! I…read moresat at the bar around 5pm and it wasn't very busy. They played good music and wasn't too loud. You could easily carry on a conversation or , like me, continue listening to a podcast. By the time I finished, the place was completely full and a bit noisy, but not bad. I started out with a 10oz Birds of Prey Pilsner. It was very nice. Light and crisp and very easy to drink. I followed that up with Melodious Maibock and ordered the CBG burger with fries. I didn't have lunch so I dove right in and forgot to snap a photo. It was a very good smash burger. It was cooked well and I really liked the combination of pickled onion and caramelized onion. I didn't see it until later but you can add bacon. As much as I loved this burger, bacon would totally take it up a notch! I started chatting with the bartender about their different beers and decided to have the Super Melodious Jalapeño Maibock with the burger. It's soooo different, but in a good way. It paired so well with the burger. You get green bell pepper on the nose and a hint of it on the palate. When you swallow you get a little heat at the back of the throat. It was so good! Great bar. Great food. Great beer. Go check them out!

--Location/Parking-- Located in the heart of River North on…read morethe 2nd floor below the AMC theater. Parking is in nearby street parking on parking structures. --Ambience-- Cool middle bar setup with vinyl glossy wood tables. Great bar set up, but we chose the dining room table. --Service/Staff-- Bartenders were quick in getting the drinks out. Our server was great in letting us know what was on tap and when last calls was. --Products-- Got the neon on tap and my friends got the flight of beers. Good selection of beers to choose from --Capacity-- Inside the dining room can hold about 40-50 people and the bar area can hold about 25 people. --Overall-- Looking forward to return to try out their other items on tap.

Gotta check this place out. Good food good service ambience was nice. Definitely a place to go…read moreagain.

Great new location of a local brewery. It's mostly the same as far as the beer selection. Black…read moreLung opened a second location in Fox Lake, so you can pull up here in a boat, car, or whatever. Has quite a few beers on tap as well as meads. The prices are pretty okay on most things. Came in here recently and we got a few beers. It's about $8 a pint. There's stronger ones that are more expensive but still not that much though. Best one I tried was the Jam Session: Strawberry-Peach Crumble. This is a sour, a Berliner Weisse. Had a pretty good sweetness to it. The other one that was a favorite was the Galaxy 503, an IPA that's not too hoppy and has a sweet taste. Also they have mead and smoothies if you want something besides beer. The beer is good but there's a lot more. Has a pretty cool atmosphere. It only has beer and mead so there's no food menu. There sometimes will be food trucks on weekends.

Quick update in response to MaryBeth's review from July 17, since I was at the brewery at the time…read moreand saw the whole thing. Two young girls were repeatedly running in and out of the restrooms, slamming the doors, yelling, and disturbing other customers nearby. A staff member asked that the behavior stop. Instead of acknowledging the issue and correcting them herself, MaryBeth took exception to the correction and doubled down. I stayed long enough to see how it played out. Despite what she implies, no one was cited or charged with anything. The police responded, made it clear they were uninterested in the situation, and everyone went on with their day. People can certainly have different opinions about how the situation should have been handled, but this review does not accurately reflect what I witnessed. Most parents either wouldn't allow their children to behave that way in the first place or would simply correct them and move on. Writing a review that misrepresents what happened is another matter entirely.

A small brewery in a haunted place that is giving me a total home vibe you so know I'm all for it!…read more Right here was where it was at from the start as this was a was a kinda spontaneous adventure here and I must say I'm happy we came as they have one of the best sours I've had in their BOUJIE FRÜT as it was rich in berry taste as well as a bit tart definitely a really good beer along with the others in our flight we just enjoyed them on their very mellow patio! A good brewery will always have yummy food too and right here I must say they totally are doing that with their burgers if then we went with the bacon and guacamole burger and it was just what it should be cooker perfect and full of flavor with each bite of our burger goodness. The bartenders here were friendly and fast to serve everyone on a busy night which I can tell this place gets busy on the weekends as we were here early on a Friday and it was already getting packed. Overall this is a great local brewery with good food and beers it's the type of place I would frequent if I lived in the area!