Beer of the Week: Half Acre’s Akari Shogun

Ever since Half Acre finished building its brewery in Northcenter, it seems they’ve been cranking. Exactly three years ago, they became the first brewer in Chicago to sell their beer in cans; they continue with a relatively new product, the Akari Shogun, which is considered an American pale wheat ale. Cheers.

Lahmacun at Pide ve Lahmacun

There are only a handful of Turkish restaurants in Chicago, and of those, only a few serve lahmacun. It’s essentially a thin, crispy pizza-like disc topped with ground lamb and beef. It’s one of only two things that are served at the tiny Pide ve Lahmacun on Irving Park Road, and the key to enjoying it is to use up those colorful condiments that arrive alongside.

Videography courtesy Todd Rosenberg Photography (@toddrphoto)

Beer of the Week: Brooklyn Brewery’s 25th Anniversary

We celebrate yet another Silver Anniversary this week, honoring Brooklyn Brewery’s fantastic, chestnut-colored lager, arriving in a large format bottle. The Hopleaf’s Michael Ropers says cheers to one of the nation’s most influential brewers.

Burnt Ends at Bub City

This resurrected concept from Team Melman and Lettuce Entertain You used to sit on Weed Street, in Lincoln Park in the late 80s (I fondly recall eating a mess of crawdads on a ream of newspaper after an Oingo Boingo concert at Metro in ’88). But the trend of slow-smoking pork and brisket was too much to ignore, and so, a few months ago, Bub City re-emerged as a River North honky-tonk, complete with live music, bourbon on tap and soon, a basement tiki bar called Three Dots and a Dash. Read More

Beer of the Week: Happy 25th, Goose Island

It’s hard to believe it’s been a quarter century since John Hall and his son, Greg, began brewing beer along Clybourn in Lincoln Park. 25 years later, the company is in someone else’s hands, but there’s no denying the impact and influence Goose Island has had on the Chicago beer scene. For this special anniversary ESB, Hall reunited with the old team to create one more special brew. Cheers to that.

The Gringa at L’Patron

I know, I know. We’ve been covering tacos, burgers and fried chicken WAY too much lately. It seems like every other opening in Chicago features these standards, albeit with a twist, in some form or another. But wait, there’s more. L’Patron (pronounced “El Patron”) is the latest taqueria to open in Logan Square, and the key here is that there’s a Topolobampo alum back in the kitchen. I do like their tacos – only if you specify you want them on homemade tortillas for .80 extra – but the Gringa is also an item worth checking out. As they say (way down) south, “Buen Provecho!”

(videography courtesy Todd Rosenberg Photography, @toddrphoto)