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98EXL

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So I have to go to Chicago for work for a week....well not really chicago, but Arlington Heights. Anyone know of good places to go eat/drink in the area? And the worse part is I won't have a car :(
 
Well to be honest with you, Arlington Heights is not really a walking town if you don't have a car. But you can always call for cab. Schaumburg is a nearby town that has much more to offer for food. I used to live up that way so here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Seafood/Cajun:
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
798 W. Algonquin Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Italian:
Maggiano's Little Italy
1901 E. Woodfield Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60173


Pizza (True Chicago Style Deep Dish):
Lou Malnati's
357 S. Barrington Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60193


Beef Sandwich/Hot Dogs:
Portillo's Hot Dogs / Barnelli's
611 E. Golf Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60173

Bar:
Fox & Hound
1416 N. Roselle Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60195

Steak and Seafood:
Wildfire
1250 E. Higgins Rd.
Schaumburg, IL 60173
 
I just PM'd you (as you know).

Maybe we can get some of the other local guys to meet up for dinner and a beer.

Chef Pauls, anyone? Ram?
 
Cheesefood said:
I just PM'd you (as you know).

Maybe we can get some of the other local guys to meet up for dinner and a beer.

Chef Pauls, anyone? Ram?


I might be able to go - depending on what day you're meeting up
 
He'll be literally 10 minutes from my office so meeting up and giving him a ride to/from won't be a problem. He said he's got some meetings so it may be a game day decision.
 
I have training from something like 7:30 to 3:30-4 ish

Is there some silly law that will prevent the purchase of beer on Sundays on my arrival? More importantly, I'm going to want to watch football on Sunday....whos down?
 
You can't buy beer before noon on Sunday, so it's not too bad. I can probably swing dinner any day but Thursday. Sunday might be tough
 
oh well that's good.....our flight doesn't come in until 10 something sunday at midway, and we have to get off, get in our taxi, and check-in, etc, so that's no big deal
 
98EXL said:
oh well that's good.....our flight doesn't come in until 10 something sunday at midway, and we have to get off, get in our taxi, and check-in, etc, so that's no big deal

Sunday day time is a no-go for me, I need to see the 'rents and do some work for them. Evening would be OK. Call me regardless, in case they cancel on me.
 
rdwj said:
You can't buy beer before noon on Sunday...
Not in Romeoville!:D :ban: 7:30am on Sundays, baby!

Keep that as a mental note if you need to stock up before the Bears' game and didn't plan ahead on Saturday. Dominick's and Jewel on Weber Rd. have full booze depts. and sell at 7:30am!

I'll be in Texas this weekend and won't be back until late Sunday night. I'm pretty open the rest of the week, though.
 
rdwj said:
You can't buy beer before noon on Sunday, so it's not too bad. I can probably swing dinner any day but Thursday. Sunday might be tough

rdwj, do you belong to the Urban Knaves of Grain? If so, are you going to the monthly meeting tomorrow evening?
 
srm775 said:
rdwj, do you belong to the Urban Knaves of Grain? If so, are you going to the monthly meeting tomorrow evening?


I am not a member. I've considered joining, but I have classes on either Wed or Thurs most of the year. I've actually looked at BOSS too.
 
rdwj said:
... I've actually looked at BOSS too.
After my move to Oak Forest becomes permanent, I plan to seriously look into joining them. Their meetings seem to be random at either member's homes or area brewpubs/beer bars.
 
Rhoobarb said:
After my move to Oak Forest becomes permanent, I plan to seriously look into joining them. Their meetings seem to be random at either member's homes or area brewpubs/beer bars.

Let me know if you do - I'd be interested in checking it out
 
so in addition to what's already been posted, any good pubs around
 
The burbs pretty much suck for good brew bars.

If you make it into the city, The Hop Leaf and Map Rooom are musts.
If you want a killer burger and some great brew (along with plenty of heavy metal): Kuma's Corner.
My little secret is Small Bar in Logan Square
I live walking distance to Kuma's and Small Bar.


www.hopleaf.com
www.maproom.com
www.kumas-corner.com - beer list on the website is pretty outdated.
 
rdwj said:
Is it in the SNIZZLE code that a SNIZZLE member may not partake in other club activities?

There won't be a SNIZZLE to worry about if all the members join those "cool kid cliques".
 
Cheesefood said:
There won't be a SNIZZLE to worry about if all the members join those "cool kid cliques".

How could a clique be any cooler than we already are? Impossible!
 
98EXL said:
kumas website makes the place look fun

Yeah, Kumas is definitely a fun place. I live about a mile from there. The bar is far from a dump and the room actually looks a little upscale. Yet it caters to the metal crowd. The burger menu for instance, every burger is named after a metal band. I'm a big fan of the Mastodon and the Iron Maiden burger. Of course, I love metal and burgers, so I can dig it. Metal is all they play there. There are a few tvs above the bar and whatever sporting events are usually on.

The beer list on the website is outdated as I mentioned in the previous post but to give you an idea, the beer menu lists all the good craft brews and then says "No Miller, No Bud. If you're gonna drink crap, its gonna be workingman's crap. PBR = $2". They also support a lot of the local breweries, so they have most of the Two Brothers and Three Floyds brews on hand and usually at least couple of things from them on tap. They have one of the better Belgian selections in Chicago as well.

If you like craft beer, A+ burgers, metal and sports, this is your bar. The only downside, if you go on a friday/saturday night, you'll wait a long time for a table, especially if the back patio closes up. No table reservations. Give your name when you get there, order beers and wait it out.
 
jvh261 said:
Yeah, Kumas is definitely a fun place. I live about a mile from there. The bar is far from a dump and the room actually looks a little upscale. Yet it caters to the metal crowd. The burger menu for instance, every burger is named after a metal band. I'm a big fan of the Mastodon and the Iron Maiden burger. Of course, I love metal and burgers, so I can dig it. Metal is all they play there. There are a few tvs above the bar and whatever sporting events are usually on.

The beer list on the website is outdated as I mentioned in the previous post but to give you an idea, the beer menu lists all the good craft brews and then says "No Miller, No Bud. If you're gonna drink crap, its gonna be workingman's crap. PBR = $2". They also support a lot of the local breweries, so they have most of the Two Brothers and Three Floyds brews on hand and usually at least couple of things from them on tap. They have one of the better Belgian selections in Chicago as well.

If you like craft beer, A+ burgers, metal and sports, this is your bar. The only downside, if you go on a friday/saturday night, you'll wait a long time for a table, especially if the back patio closes up. No table reservations. Give your name when you get there, order beers and wait it out.

that place sounds fcuking awesome!
 
98EXL said:
that place sounds fcuking awesome!
I'll have to check that out myself!

My fav in the city is Map Room. Out here in the burbs, there are some decent beer bars, but none are near Arlington Heights. The NW burbs cater to more of a frat-boy, yuppie wanna-be, "where's my McMansion?" crowd, IMO.

If you can jump on the train at the AH station, you can get to the bars in the city pretty easily.

The RAM is a decent brewpub, especially for a chain. But the best one nearest where you'll be is Lunar Brewing, which is ~ a 25-30 min. drive. It's a small, corner bar that looks like a place your grandpa would've hung out in to watch the game and drink Old Style. It's easy to drive right past the place and not notice it. No food at all except bags of chips and cheap frozen pizza, but the beer is worth the trip!
 
is there a train station in AH? I think I was sucking at google the other day when I was trying to figure that out....we aren't renting a car this trip....we got a big 'suite' instead
 
98EXL said:
is there a train station in AH? I think I was sucking at google the other day when I was trying to figure that out....we aren't renting a car this trip....we got a big 'suite' instead

Yes, but not close to where you're staying. The closest will be near Arlington Race Track.

I take offense at Rhoob's summation of the area. I don't think it's quite "frattish", very few places in the burbs are like that. Like anywhere else, the trendy bars are on the main streets but the little off-street dives are the locals faves. There aren't many great beer bars that I've discovered.
 
local dives are usually awesome, big trendy places are just Ok, IMHO
 
Map Room is a must for anyone visiting Chicago that knows their beer. The beer list there is staggering. No food but there is a pretty great Cuban place right up the street though. Done a Cuban sandwich / Map Room night many a time over the years.
I've also seen people just have pizzas delivered right to Map Room and no one seemed to mind. May want to check with your bartender to make sure its cool though. I've never done it myself.

The ham sandwich at Hopleaf paired up with a pitcher of Cane & Ebel though... tough to beat it. I need to get over there again soon.

I've spent the last 10 or so years living between Chicago and the NW burbs and I don't hit the bars like I used to, but I don't think I've ever been in any burb bar that came close to measuring up. My burbs vs. city snobbery isn't too bad, but in the case of beers and bars, there is really no comparison. I did have lunch and a couple beers at the Ram in Schaumburg yesterday though. Only the third time I've been there, but it was pretty good. Had an IPA and their '71 Pale Ale (an APA with a bit of a Rye edge) with a club sandwich.

If you're in Wrigleyville, there is Goose Island-Wrigleyville and also the Gingerman on Clark. Gems in the midst of Miller Lite/Bud Light infested Cub bars.

I've always wanted to hit Lunar. I've never made it out to Walter Payton's Roundhouse either. There is another brewery out that way on the Fox River whose name escapes me right now. I need to just spend a good day out in that area and hit those spots. I can't wait for Two Bros. to open their brewpub out in Warrenville. Lots of good stuff going on in the area.

When is this get together anyway... I'm in Ohio 11/2-5 but I work in the NW burbs and commute to Chicago anyway so if the date fits, I should be able to pop in for a few sodas and salads.
 
When in Chicago, just know that there is a segment of the population that will try to sell you on the idea that Old Style is a local treasure. It's not!
 
rdwj said:
When in Chicago, just know that there is a segment of the population that will try to sell you on the idea that Old Style is a local treasure. It's not!

Quit with the Cubbie bashing!!!!
 
eh, I don't care for baseball at all really, so no worries there.

So I was thinking about this last night while watching the BC/VaTech game.....does Arlington Heights have any decent bars with TV's in them, preferably NFL Sunday Ticket? I need to watch my Skins play at noon
 
I'd imagine Fox & Hound in Arlington Heights would have the sunday ticket. You should call ahead though and make sure.

If you can make it into Schaumburg I know Alumni Club has all the games. I haven't been there in ages though, not sure what the beer/food/crowd is like. I never liked the place that much, but if you just need a place to watch your game this should do. Not sure if they still do it, but they used to give you a speaker for your table so you could tune in your game's sound as well.

I think the Bears are on at 3 and the Packers play on monday night, so I'd guess the sports bars will be a little dead this sunday for the early games. You should have no problem getting a table.

I have Sunday Ticket at the crib. No Seahawks game this week though, so I'll just be winging it from the couch.
 
Thanks for all the great info gentlemen, so besides Cheesefood, who's down for a mini-HBT gathering?

I'd imagine I'll be pretty bored all week
 
Cheesefood said:
... I take offense at Rhoob's summation of the area. I don't think it's quite "frattish", very few places in the burbs are like that. Like anywhere else, the trendy bars are on the main streets but the little off-street dives are the locals faves...

Okay, maybe 'tendy' is a better word, but that's what it is. I didn't know there were any off-street dives in S'burg. I thought they'd all been turned into Starbucks, Quizno's or car dealerships.

I'm up for any day except today (Monday). I just got back from Austin last night and have things at home that can't wait.

What about Wednesday night?
 
Rhoobarb said:
Okay, maybe 'tendy' is a better word, but that's what it is. I didn't know there were any off-street dives in S'burg. I thought they'd all been turned into Starbucks, Quizno's or car dealerships.

I'm up for any day except today (Monday). I just got back from Austin last night and have things at home that can't wait.

What about Wednesday night?

Wednesday is Halloween, my fave holliday. Unless we're talking about a post 9:00pm get together, I'm out. Besides, it'll be freakin' amateur night.
 
jvh261 said:
Map Room is a must for anyone visiting Chicago that knows their beer. The beer list there is staggering. No food but there is a pretty great Cuban place right up the street though. ...

Cafe Laguardia. That place is great. When I go to The Map Room, I usually stop there afterward for food. The last time my fiancee and I were at The Map Room on a Saturday afternoon, they actually had some hot appetizers by the door! We didn't have any b/c we were going to CL for dinner after we had our fill of beer.

Cheesefood said:
Wednesday is Halloween, my fave holliday. Unless we're talking about a post 9:00pm get together, I'm out. Besides, it'll be freakin' amateur night.

Holy sh*t, good point! Completely missed that.

What about Tuesday, then?
 
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