Another L.A. hounder looking for recs

[ozbuc]

Darling Wife and I will be visiting your great city with broad shoulders in a week or so to watch the Cubs beat up on the Dodgers. I am looking for recs for brewpubs and pub like food near Wrigley field and places with in walking distance of Red, Brown and Purple lines. I am looking for places that are less tourist and more of a locals kind of place. Thanks in advance for all recs given.

[jpschust]

Goose Island- very walkable. Great beers.

[BRB]

Best spot near Wrigley (it's one block away) is Irish Oak. It's a nice Irish pub with great food -- love their burgers, fish & chips and Shepherd's pie. Check out irishoak.com.

Farther north on Clark St. (2 miles north of Wrigley) is a wonderful pub called Hopleaf -- great food, great atmosphere and great beer. I love this place -- especially the mussels and frites. I actually think the easiest way to get there is the #22 Clark St. bus (uses the same transit cards as do the trains) -- less than a 10-minute bus ride from Wrigley. Check out hopleaf.com.

Be warned that Hopleaf is always crowded . . . Irish Oak is simply crowded after Cubs games.

[Pete Oldtown]

All three recommended so far are very good. I would add Duke of Perth, about a half-mile south of Wrigley on Clark. A great Scots pub with great draft beer and terrific food. On Wed. and Fri., they have all-you-can-eat fish and chips for about $10, and it's delicious. Great atmosphere and DEFINITELY a locals type of place.

About two blocks further south, turn right on Diversey and check out The Oyster Shell. A basement pit, but a fun bar full of regulars chowing down on platters of crab and so-so steaks.

But you really owe it to yourself to try Hopleaf. It's a bar/bistro based on Belgian ales instead of wine, and they'll match exotic ales to your food order. And the food is out of this world; I've never even heard a complaint about the place other than the volume. They give you a lot of good food for a very reasonable price.

[lbs]

It's called the Half Shell not the Oyster Shell.

And it has very good crab legs and a nice, albeit small patio.

If you are going to the Hopleaf on the day of the game and are planning on taking the 22 Clark be prepared for delays especially around the start and the end of the game.

[blondie60614]

I used to live 2 blocks from Wrigley- my favorites are:

Duke of Perth - irish pub, great fish fry
Mia Francesca - upscale (yet casual) italian restaurant with great outdoor patio

Other places:
Local Option - great spin on bar food- everything is cajun inspired (fish tacos, etc.) and wonderful
Dublins - Authentic, awesome food for a pub. In more of a touristy area, but the food is phenomonal. One of my favorites and open until 4am

[ozbuc]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions, our eating line up is now pretty much full with one exception A good German restaurant that can be easily gotten to by using the EL.

[blondie60614]

17 West at the Berghoff

[BRB]

Personally, I would skip 17 West at the Berghoff. It's in the middle of the business district and is now lacking in most of the character that once distinguished the Berghoff. I don't think you'll find good German food or any character. Instead, try one of the following:

Laschet's Inn - Brown Line "L" north from downtown, exit at Irving Park stop and walk 3 blocks west. Excellent food and great atmosphere. This would be my first choice.

I'm also a big fan of Resi's Bierstube, just less than a block east of Laschet's and across the street. Again, great charm . . . solid food.

Chicago Brahaus - Take the Brown line north past Irving Park to Western Ave. stop, walk east to Lincoln and then walk about a block north. Food is decent, not great, but this place is all about people having a great time. It's much larger than Laschet's or Resi's.

If you take the Red Line train from downtown, you can switch over to the Brown Line at Belmont to get to any of the above. From Belmont, Irving Park is less than 10 minutes and Western is just over 10 minutes.

-----
Laschet's Inn
2119 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60618

Resi's Bierstube Restaurant
2034 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60618

Chicago Brauhaus
4732 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

[ozbuc]

Thans to all for the great recs, I will try as many as time and money will allow. I will report back upon return.

[nsxtasy]

This topic has lots of recommendations of places around Wrigley Field:
www.chowhound.com/topics/373516

[ozbuc]

Hello good folks from Chicago, this is the report back from our trip to your beautiful city. First thanks for all the great recs, we tried some but due to circumstances beyond our control we couldnt do all. The ones we loved were Goose Island, Irish Oak, Duke of Perth and Ann Sather. Also we tried Clarks and Potbelly, thoses two were not that bad but probably wouldnt recomend. Thanks again and I hope to return soon.