mfk.

I really like Spanish cuisine.  I also like Seafood.  When a restaurant can combine the two, it is a total win.  I went to mfk., a Spanish Seafood restaurant recently and on paper, it was a total win.  mfk. is located on the border of Lakeview and Lincoln Park on the Lakeview side.  There are several restaurants located close and the sign is pretty easy to miss.  The restaurant is actually below ground and the windows are kind of small.  Walking in, there is a guy standing on a landing before the stairs turns to the dining room with a tablet to check diners in.  There is a two-sided bar on the left side of the dining room and two and four-top tables for seating and a padded banquette.  There is also a small counter between the bar and the open kitchen where I was seated.  I had a good view of both the kitchen and the dining room and it was cool to be able to watch the goings on.  The dining room was mostly empty when I arrived, but quickly filled up.  The entire space seats about 30 people.  The walls were white painted brick with some art on the walls and mosaic tile on the wall below the front windows.  The light was provided by hanging lights.  The space did look like a basement, which it was, but it also had a very Spanish feel.  I started things off with a cocktail called Ranch Water which started with Mezcal and had Lime, Orange Bitters, and was topped with Topo Chico (Mexican Sparkling Mineral Water).  It had the smoky flavor of Mezcal, but it also had a citrus flavor and was light and refreshing.

For the start of my dinner I started with a staple of Mexican and South American cuisine, Ceviche, but this ceviche was done a little different than the standard ceviche.  This was Suzuki Japanese Sea Bass with Avocado served with Squid Ink Tostadas and Lime on the side.  One of my favorite parts of ceviche is the tartness, and this ceviche was definitely tart.  The sea bass was very tender, the avocado was very creamy, and the black squid ink tostadas had a nice crunch to finish things off.  The lime was nice for extra tartness, but I ended up eating it on its own.

A standard of Spanish cuisine is the Tortilla Espanola, something that is a favorite of mine.  When I saw it on the menu, I knew that I had to order it.  A standard tortilla espanola is essentially a thick egg and potato omelet that is served cold. I knew, going into it, that the one that I was ordering was going to be a little different because it had more than eggs and potatoes.  It was actually very different.  The dish included, in addition to the Eggs and Potatoes, Salt Cod Brandade, and Frisee.  It was also served warm.  It was creamy, and salty (but not too salty), with the fish flaky.  While it was not the standard tortilla espanola (it was more a standard brandade with mashed potatoes), it was very good and I did enjoy it.

 For the entree, I had a Whitefish with Potato Veloute, Spinach, Fresno Chilies, Farro, and Sumac.  It was a very good dish with a lot of flavor and texture.  The whitefish was flaky, tender and flavorful, with the potato veloute adding a richness, the farro adding a chewy texture, and some spice from the fresno chilies.

I finished things off with a Basque Cake, a rich, sweet, and savory cake from the Basque region of Spain.  It has a crusty exterior with a pastry cream interior.  In this case it had a crushed almond topping and a crumbly interior.  It was salty and sweet, very rich, and a fantastic finish to a very good meal.  I really enjoyed my meal here.  The staff was very friendly and the food was very good, I will definitely return when I am in the mood for Spanish seafood. 

   

Sunday Dinner Club - Cassoulet

Most of my posts are about restaurants or events.  I will occasionally write a post about a specific food, but it is usually a single encounter or experience.  I will write today about a specific food item I had in two different contexts.  Every year, Sunday Dinner Club does a series of dinners featuring their Cassoulet, a hearty peasant stew with beans and 4 meats.  They also collaborate several times a year with Half Acre Brewing for a beer dinner.  One of these dinners featured their Cassoulet.  I actually went to both a Cassoulet Dinner in their space and the beer dinner at Half Acre Tap Room that featured their cassoulet.  The dinner in the SDC space featured an appetizer, salad, the cassoulet, and dessert.  The tap room just had the cassoulet and dessert, but everyone got four beers and it was at a lower price point.  The dinner at SDC space started with a Celery Root and Potato Pancake with Celery Leaf Creme Fraiche and Pickled Shrimp.  I really like Potato Pancakes and this was very good coming with a vegetal tang from the creme fraiche, celery root, and the pickled shrimp.  It was really good and I would have happily eaten one twice as large.  With the Half Acre Dinner we started with beer.  We were able to drink any of the beers featured on their tap list.  I started with a With With Belgian Single, but also tried the Pony Pilsener.  The Single was a little richer a little sweeter and had a better head than the Pilsener, but The Pony is a nice easy drinking beer that I would call a lawnmower beer, a nice relief on days when you are out doing lawn work.

The salad served at the SDC space was pretty complex and different.  It was an Endive Salad, (a bitter green in the lettuce family) with Dates, Citrus, Raddicchio, Fromage D'Affinois (a soft cow's milk cheese similar to Brie), and a Citrus Shallot Vinaigrette.  It was bitter, sweet, tart, cheesy, and had a wide variety of textures from the crunch of the lettuces, to the chew of the date, to the creaminess of the cheese, it was a very good salad.  At Half Acre, we picked up our second beers around the time that we went for our cassoulet.  I went with one of their Nitro beers, the Shrub Tundra Coffee Brown Ale, the other beer was a Cape Dune India Pale Lager (IPL).  Most nitro beers are of the heavier types, brown ales, porters, and stouts.  I didn't think about this when I ordered it, although I did drink it and enjoy it.  It was very smooth and soft with a nice coffee flavor.  The IPL was a hoppy lager and kind of had a sharp flavor, but it was also pretty good.  Considering the timing of when I picked it, I think I would have preferred Cape Dune as my primary beer.

And then came the Cassoulet.  The recipe was the same for both versions:  Garlic Sausage, Duck Confit, Leg of Lamb, Bacon Sausage, Slab Bacon, Duck Gelee, White Beans, Duck Fat Croutons, and some amazing Dijon Mustard.  The presentation was different in both places.  At SDC, it was presented in a large round ceramic bowl which was served to us with the mustard spread along one side.  At Half Acre, we stood in line and were served our cassoulet in a rectangular fiberboard "dish" with the mustard spread along one wall.  The presentation was better at the more permanent place, as might be expected, but at the tap room we were more easily able to get extra mustard, which is a part that greatly contributed to the dish (There was an eyeroll moment with the mustard on a piece of sausage).

The cassoulet was fantastic, but the dessert, was just as good.  It was an amazingly light Chocolate Mousse with Honeycomb Candy and Salted Honey Whipped Cream.  The mousse and the whipped cream had similar textures and it was like eating a sweet cloud (with a good serving of crunchy honeycomb candy).The presentation at the SDC space was again better, but we got beer at Half Acre, in my case a Nitro Chocolate Camaro Chocolate Milk Stout which went very well with the mousse.  We may have gotten a larger serving at SDC, but with the beer that we were served, we were amply full at the end of the night.

Having said that, I did have one more beer to drink after finishing the cassoulet and mousse.  I hadn't had an IPA up until this point because I think the bitterness of the hops could affect my sense of taste (he says after drinking a strong flavored brown ale and stout).  I do like IPAs and there were a few on the draft list, but I decided to go for one that I had not yet tried, the Wicca IPA.  It was hoppy bitter, but with a 6% ABV, it was on the lighter side IPAs and it actually kind of reminded me of Daisy Cutter, which while also hoppy, they do not consider an IPA.

Both dinners were very good in their own ways and I left both very satisfied.  While the presentations were different, the atmospheres at both places were very welcoming and the food itself was fantastic.  I will definitely do this again.

         

Hopewell Brewing Company - Monday Dinner with St. Lou's Assembly

I really liked the last Monday Dinner at Hopewell Brewing (with Bang Bang Pie Shop) so I decided to do it again.  Their last session was with St. Lou's Assembly which is a "Meat and Three" in the West Loop.  I have not yet been to St. Lou's, but they have been at a few benefits that I have attended and I have really liked what they served.  A "Meat and Three" is a casual counter service restaurant where you choose your main course (meat) which then comes with three sides of your choice.  In the case of St. Lou's, the courses served are a step up from the standard meat and three.  Hopewell's Tap Room is a big open area with high ceilings, a street side wall that is all windows (covered with shades), tile floors, and large communal tables.  There is also a bar, but for dinner it wasn't used for seating.  After we checked in, we were given our first drink, a cocktail that they named the Saison 75.  It was a spin on the classic cocktail the French 75 containing Letherbee's Gin, Hopewell's Friends and Family Saison, Lemon, and Sugar.  It was sweet, tart, and very complex, with the flavors of both the gin and the saison coming through.  I wandered around and found a seat to my liking and sat, noticing the schwag we were given pre-dinner, a pin and a box of matches with St. Lou's logo.  Our menu broke things down into seven courses of which, the cocktail was first.  It appeared that most of the courses would be small, which is unsurprising considering most of the courses that a meat and three would make would be sides for their main course.  After I sat, I was joined by a small group across the table that included my State Representative, which made for some interesting conversations.

Our first beer and first course were essentially a very standard "gateway" beer served with a shooter.  The beer was Hopewell's First Lager (while I do like Hopewell's Beers, they do lose points for beer name creativity) which is a simple standard lager that is done very well.  The shooter was a Cheddar-Beer Soup made with the First Lager.  The shooter was thick with a nice cheddar flavor, some tartness from the lager, and a little heat from the Red Pepper Garnish.  It finished quickly, but I would have been happy with a bowl of it.

The next course didn't seem to be an obvious pairing, but it worked surprisingly well.  We started with a Very Nice Belgian Strong Ale (That is actually the name.  As I said, they lose creativity points for beer names).  Very Nice is very nice.  It is heavy and strong with a boozy and malty flavor and very good.  The food portion of the course was a (shucked) East Coast Oyster with Cucumber Relish, House Hot Sauce, and Beer Foam.  Served in a large ceramic spoon, the oyster was served with its liquor giving it a salty flavor which played well with the vegetal flavor of the relish and the vinegary heat of the hot sauce.  The flavors of the beer and the oyster contrasted quite a bit, but they cotrasted in such a way that they complemented the flavors well.

For the salad portion of the meal, we were served Endgrain Dark Lager, a lager with a red color and a bigger flavor than the First Lager.  As it was red and kind of had the flavor of a red, it went well with the salad that we were also served.  It was a Roasted Beet Salad with BBQ Carrots, Fennel, Taleggio, Cheese, Pepitas, and Celeriac Chips.  The salad was rich and both sweet and savory with a crunch to it.  It was kind of like eating a salad of vegetable chips which kind of struck me funny.

After several appetizers and small plates, we finally reached our entree course.  The beer side was The G.O.A.T. Doppelbock, a dark lager with a roasted malt flavor although not as heavy or thick as a stout or porter.  This was served with a Braised Short Rib, Celery Root Puree, Fregola, and a Foie Gras Emulsion.  The Short Rib was fork tender and sweet sitting on a bed of Fregola, a Sardinian Pasta similar to Cous Cous.  The Celery Root puree added a bitter flavor and the Foie Gras Emulsion added a rich and savory flavor.

After our meat, we were served the most complex and flavorful of our beers along with the first of our desserts.  The beer was a Letherbee Absinthe Barrel Aged Red IPA.  This was a very complex flavored beer,  with the barrel aging in an absinthe barrel and the hops, it almost had a gin flavor.  As gin is my favorite liquor, this was my favorite beer.  With the beer, we were served Banana Bread, with Creme of Banana Caramel, Streusel, and Allspice Whipped Cream.  The caramel was served over the banana bread and really amped up the banana flavor, the struesel was served in crumbs on the bottom and added a buttery flavor and the Allspice Whipped Cream added a spicy flavor both adding to the complexity of flavor of the banana bread and pairing well with the beer.

The last course was technically the end of the dinner.  It was definitely the end of the beer.  We were served a digestif and a mignardise to finish things off.  Our digestif was a Fernet from Letherbee's.  Most people that know Fernet know Fernet Branca, the most common type.  It is based on grape distilled spirits and has a lot of herbs including Myrrh, Rhubarb, Chamomile, Cardamom, Aloe, and Saffron.  It has a bittersweet flavor that is very much an acquired taste and is very viscous (syrupy).  Letherbee's Fernet is thinner, smoother, and easier to drink and it was paired with a Lemon Tart Bite which was a nice, tart, one bite wonder to finish off a very nice dinner.  I enjoyed my food, drink and company.  I will definitely do the Monday Dinner Series again and I will definitely have to go to St. Lou's Assembly.  

   

Seven Lions - Restaurant Week

The last restaurant that I went to for Chicago restaurant week that was not a place where I have previously gone was the second restaurant in Master Sommelier Alpana Singh's growing restaurant empire.  Located on Michigan Avenue, across from the Art Institute, Seven Lions is a modern take on a classic supper club.  Done in shades of brown and using a lot of stone and leather, the space is large with banquettes on two walls as well as large semi-circular booths with a classic design.  There are also a few high tops close to the large rectangular bar located in the center of the dining room.  The dining room was only half full when I was there, but with the high ceilings and construction of the room, I have to imagine that it would be pretty loud if the room was full despite the fact that there is space between diners and they are not sitting right next to one another.  The floor is hardwood and the lighting is electric chandeliers.  There was also a mural on the wall closest to us of a classic and crowded city scene.  With lots of people, a bicycle, drawbridges, and a lot of buildings.  We were seated in a large booth with leather seats that could have easily seated six.  There was a wine pairing available for our dinner and, as Alpana Singh is a Master Sommelier, I am sure that it was fantastic, but I was not in the mood for wine on that evening, so I went with a cocktail.  Called the Cool Hand Luke, it contained Tito's Handmade Vodka, Cucumber, Lime Juice, and though it was not listed, soda I am sure because it had some fizz to it.  On paper, this sounded better than it turned out to be, Tito's is very smooth and Cucumber and Lime both go well with vodka, they just didn't meld especially well.  It wasn't terrible and I did drink it, it just wasn't my favorite drink.

I started my meal off with a Roasted Brussels Sprout and Squash Panzanella Salad.  When I think of Panzanella, I think of Bread, Tomatoes, and a Vinaigrette.  While this did have bread, it was unlike any panzanella that I have ever had.  It was very good, but it was different.  The main ingredients were Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Golden Squash with Bread, Glacier Gorgonzola, and a Sage Dressing.  It was crisp, fresh, and had a lot of flavor, with the gorgonzola providing a nice blue cheese start and the sage a nice herbal finish.

My entree was a spin on the classic pot roast.  It wasn't actually Pot Roast, it was Braised Short Rib, but it was presented similarly to how pot roast is presented.  It was served with White Bean Puree, which took the place of Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Tokyo Turnips, and Sassafras Jus.  The short rib was fork tender, juicy, and very flavorful.  The white bean puree, while it looked like mashed potatoes, had more of a savory flavor, and the sassafras jus added a flavor similar to root beer, which actually worked very well.

For my second cocktail, I went with something, that to me, sounded like a spin on a Moscow Mule (Vodka, Lime, and Ginger Beer).  Called Mr. Pink, it had CH Distillery Peppercorn Vodka, Ginger Beer, Strawberry Puree, Peach Bitters, and a Lemon garnish.  I took my first sip of this and my head exploded.  There was a lot going on and it was very good.  The peppercorn vodka gave it a strong peppercorn flavor, with the strawberry providing tartness, the ginger beer adding spice and the peach bitter adding a bitter peach flavor.  If I were to see this again, I would definitely order it again.

For dessert, we finished with a classic, Chocolate Espresso Tart served with Salted Caramel, Strawberris, Black Raspberries, and Whipped Cream.  It was bitter sweet and chocolatey with an undertone of strong coffee.  The whipped cream added some lightness and cut some of the bitter and the strawberry and blackberry added some fruit tartness.  It was a good finish to a classic style meal.  I enjoyed my meal here and the space is very nice.  The food, while not exceptionally groundbreaking, does taste pretty good and it is a good place for those who might be a little timid.     

 



    

Monteverde - Restaurant Week

My second previously unvisited restaurant that I dined at during restaurant week was the very popular Monteverde in the West Loop.  Run by Top Chef Runner Up and former Executive Chef at Italian fine dining restaurant Spiaggia, Sarah Grueneberg, it is a temple to housemade pasta, which ironically, was something that I did not have.  Monteverde literally means Green Mountain and, unsurprisingly the main color scheme is olive green.  The building in which it is located is a large blocky brick building with green awnings.  The main dining room is shaped like an "L" with the bar on the inside corner and the entrance on the outside corner.  The pasta making station is in the same area as the bar and there is a counter located right after you enter (the outside of the vertical part of the L) behind the host station where you could buy bags of dried pasta.  In the center of the top shelf, there were several volumetric flasks, a piece of scientific glassware to accurately measure or deliver a specific volume of liquid.  It appears, though, that they were just there for design because when I asked the guy manning the counter what they were used for, he had no idea.  There was a second dining room on the road side of the L that looked like it held the wine collection although I didn't go to get a closer look.  The dining furniture in our dining room was mismatched.  The tables by the windows looked to be heavy wood, there were several marble topped round tables in the center.  I sat on what looked like a long patio couch that had three two tops sitting in front of it and was very comfortable.

As soon as I was seated, I was given a Mason jar of Italian Breadsticks (called Grissini).  They were crisp, buttery, very long, very hard to stop eating once you started, and a nice start to what would be a very good meal.

There was a wine pairing offered for the Restaurant Week 3 course Prix Fixe, but I wasn't really interested in wine, so I ordered a cocktail.  Called a Sardinian Bandit, it started with Death's Door Gin, Mirto Judu (a Sardinian Liqueur made from the berries of the Myrtle Plant), Lemon, Absinthe, and Egg White.  It was sweet, tart, a little, bitter, with an herbal and berry flavor, and a light egg white topping.  

While the Restaurant Week menu was 3 courses, I wanted to get a broader view of their regular menu so I added another dish.  While I could have added a pasta dish, the pasta dishes are essentially entrees and I wasn't sure that I could comfortably eat two entrees, in addition to an appetizer and dessert.  As it was,  I decided on a very nice Hamachi Crudo, basically the Italian version of sushi.  It came with Tomato Chile Water, Avocado, Mint, Fennel, and Blood Orange.  The Hamachi, the Japanese name for Pacific Yellowtail, was thinly sliced, very tender, and had a great flavor.  The tomato chile water gave it a spicy brightness that finished with some sweetness from the blood orange.  The avocado was light and delicate while adding a "green" flavor to the dish.  While it was all good, I think the tomato chile water was what made it.

For my second appetizer, I went with Polpettine Fritte, Country Ham Croquettes with Red Eye Gravy.  The croquettes were crispy, filled with chopped ham and, I think, a little cheese.  They were all topped with a little hot sauce to enhance the flavor.  They were sitting in a bed of red eye gravy which seemed to be very similar to tarter sauce with coffee.  The gravy may have sounded a bit unusual, but it was good and went well with the croquettes.

My main course seemed to be one of those things that just shouldn't work.  It was a Skate Wing Schnitzel with Chanterelle Mushrooms, Kraut, Sesame, Roasted Beets, and Bacon.  Skate Wing is really good, but I ordered this because this seemed to be one of those things that just shouldn't work (Skate and Schnitzel). The sweetness from the beets and bacon tied well with the sweet and sour flavor of the kraut and the sesame kind of gave it an Asian flavor (which tied with the kraut).  The mushrooms added a sweet and earthy flavor and it all tied together to a very good sweet and sour German-Asian Mashup.

And then there was dessert.  I am always a sucker for a good Panna Cotta and this panna cotta sounded really good.  It was listed as a Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Winter Citrus.  The Winter Citrus was Blood Orange.  There were also Housemade Marshmallows and Graham Cracker Crumbs contributing which kind of reminded me of trying to eat a pie upside down.  It was sweet, with a slight tartness, a great vanilla flavor, and the graham cracker crumbs added a nice crunch.  This dessert finished off a great dinner here.  It was very friendly, the atmosphere was very welcoming, and the food was very good.  I will have to return one day so I can actually try the pasta. 

 

The Metropolitan Club - Chicago Restaurant Week

Friends joke that for me, Chicago Restaurant Week is like Christmas.  It takes place at the end of January and this year, ran for two weeks.  For restaurant week, several hundred Chicago restaurants create a 3 or 4 course prix fixe menu priced $22 for lunch and $33 or $44 for dinner.  While I will occasionally visit old favorites, I also like to use Chicago Restaurant Week as a way to try out restaurants that I have not yet visited.  The first place I started was The Metropolitan Club, a private club in Willis (Sears) Tower that is normally not open for outside diners.  As it is a private club where I would normally be unable to dine, I decided to try it out to see what I might be missing.  I did receive a note when making my reservation that it is preferred that men wear suit coats on the weekends.  As it was the weekend when we were dining, I saw that I would need to wear one of my jackets.  I have worn a jacket to dinner before, and will on a special occasion, generally I prefer not to and hoped that the restaurant was as special as it required it's guests to be and not just snooty.  In order to get to the club, it is necessary to go through security and then take an elevator to the 66th floor and an escalator to the 67th.  The entrance to the restaurant passes a hallway with what looked like private rooms, but walking into the restaurant dining room it felt very elegant.  The walls were windows looking out over the city, the floor was carpeted, and the lights were electric chandeliers.  We were seated in a semi-circular booth that was slightly elevated, but sat away from the windows.  Despite that, it was still a great view.  When we were seated, we received a wine list, a regular menu, and the restaurant week menu.  I was not interested in wine that night, so I decided on a cocktail from their short list.  It was called Tito's Lemon Chai which perfectly describes what it was.  It started with Tito's Handmade Vodka and added Chai Spice and Lemon Angostura Bitters.  It was pretty good with an herbal flavor and a nice bitter lemon finish.

We decided to mostly order from the Restaurant Week Menu, but to add an additional appetizer.  While we were deciding this we received a very nice Bread plate with French Bread served with Tapenade, Whipped Butter, and Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil.  The bread had a nice crispy crust and a soft interior and went well with all of the spreads.  Of the three, I think I preferred the whipped butter best.

Our first appetizer was our extra appetizer.  It was Foie Gras with Arugula, Blueberries, and Toast Points.  It was very rich and the fatty foie gras went well with the bitter of the arugula and the sweetness of the slightly dried blueberries.  It was all good, but we did need to ask for more toast points.  While we could have eaten everything without, it was better on bread.

My second appetizer was a favorite, Beef Carpaccio.  It was colorful, flavorful and very, very tender.  Served with the thinly sliced beef were Capers, Romano Cheese, and Truffled Olive Oil.  The beef was paper thin and almost melt in your mout tender, the Capers brought a slightly sour flavor, the Romano cheese, added richness, and the truffled olive oil added a funk that is indescribable unless, you have had truffles.  It is an acrid flavor/aroma that doesn't seem like it should be agreeable, but it is almost like catnip to cats.  It was very good and I would have been happy to have had twice as much.

The entree, on the other hand, I was surprised by its enormity.  I had Lump Crab and Pesto Gnocchi with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Toasted Pine Nuts, Romano Cheese, and Balsamic Reduction.  This was very good, very rich, very flavorful, and I ended up taking half of it home.  The gnocchi was very tender and the sun-dried tomatoes brought an intense tomato flavor.  The pieces of crab were large and brought a sweet seafood flavor which went well with the tomatoes.  The Romano cheese added some richness and the pine nuts added a little crunch.

For our desserts, we split them.  We had a Turtle Lava Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Strawberries, Blueberries, and Pecan Caramel Sauce and Drunken Cherry Tiramisu with Brandied Cherries and an Espresso Lady Finger.  While I ate most of the Tiramisu, I think I may have liked the lava cake more.  It was a rich lava cake with the classic turtle flavors of chocolate, caramel, and pecan, and fresh fruit and very nice vanilla ice cream.  I am generally not a huge fan of vanilla ice cream, but this was creamy with a nice texture and a great vanilla flavor.  The standard Tiramisu has ladyfingers dipped in espresso and layered into an egg custard with cocoa.  With this tiramisu, it had the coffee dipped ladyfinger, and egg custard, but the custard was brandied cherry flavored and contained a lot of brandied cherries.  While it wasn't bad, it did have a boozy flavor.

After dinner here, I will say that our service was fantastic and the view was fantastic.  The food though, while really good, was nothing I haven't had at several other restaurants (that do not require a coat).  While I am glad that I had the opportunity to try it out, I would say that the atmosphere does not lead me to want to return.           

Smylie Brothers Brewery

And the unplanned brewery tour continued with Smylie Brothers Brewery in Evanston.  This is the first brewery in Chicago, outside the city of Chicago, that I have gone to.  While there are many other breweries in the suburbs to visit, I am done with breweries for a while.  Located near the northern downtown part of Evanston, it is in a brick building with a large patio area that would be great for sitting in the summer, but not in January.  The inside is gray brick and black wood with a cement floor.  It kind of has a hunting lodge feel to it (although there is no taxidermy there).  There are several large communal tables, but there are also several two tops and four tops closer to the bar which is curved and sits close to the back of the dining room.  There is also a second level dining/drinking area that has a vintage bicycle sitting near the top of the stairway, but as I never went up there, I can't talk about how it looks.  The brewing area is off to one side of the dining area and is viewable through a large window.  The beers that they serve generally lean toward the sessionable with an alcohol content between 5-6% and a lighter flavor.  When I was there, they were making only one IPA and that was sold out.  They do make Belgian Strong Ales and do barrel aging for a stronger and more distinctive flavor.  As this was my first time here and I had not previously had much of their beer, I decided to do a flight.  I decided to drink two base beers and their barrel-aged counterparts, the Farmhouse Saison and its Gin Barrel-Aged counterpart and the Belgian Strong Ale and its Bourbon Barrel Aged counterpart.  All of the beers were good, but I liked the barrel-aged versions more.  The base saison was light in flavor (and the lighter color of the two beers) and wasn't as funky as many saisons tend to be.  The gin barrel-aged version added a nice herbal flavor similar to a good gin.  As there was no smokiness to it, I have to imagine that the barrel was made from a light wood and was uncharred.  The Belgian Strong Ale was richer and definitely had more flavor, considering the fact that it was 10.25% ABV, this is not surprising.  The Bourbon Barrel-Aged version was smoky and boozy and my favorite of the four that I tried.

The menu that Smylie Brothers puts out is similar to a smokehouse crossed with a bar.  There are a lot of sandwiches, burgers and pizzas, but there is also a lot of barbecue.  I was there for lunch and my trip home would take about an hour, so I wasn't really interested in anything heavy, although admittedly, seeing it on other people's plates, I did think that the barbecue looked really good.  I ordered a Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Tomato Soup with Sharp Wisconsin Cheddar, Gruyere, and Fontina Cheese and House Smoked bacon on Challah Bread, and Tomato-Basil Soup.  Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Tomato Soup is a total comfort food thing and this just stepped things up.  There was a lot of cheese with a gooey texture and a sharp and funky flavor and the bacon added a sweet, smoky, and porky flavor and a variation in texture.  The tomato-basil soup was creamy with a sweet tomato flavor and a nice basil finish.  It was good for dipping the sandwich in or on its own.

While I have been told that there are better breweries in Evanston (Temperance and Sketchbook), I liked Smylie Brothers and would be happy to return.  The food is good and I would like to try their barbecue and more of their beer which doesn't seem to rely on a single style.