Samantha has traveled as far as Vegas to eat at B&B and driven to Cleveland to go to Lola. Although she loves cooking, she loves the ambiance, service, creativity, and of course the wine of a dining out experience. Originality is something she looks for in a restaurant and has Check, Please! on her DVR so she can find new places to try. Samantha also writes Yelp reviews and tries to pinpoint what she looks for from a dining experience. Her boss even calls her a pretentious foodie!
I have such a huge love for food in general, it really is difficult for me to pick my favorite restaurant, food item, etc. Thus, I think I’d like to start with the restaurant that keeps me coming back, because to me consistency is really key. While I adore fine dining, I also like different types of places.
My favorite spot to keep going too and to take people to who haven’t experienced it is Chicago Brauhaus (yes, I realize this has already been on). First of all, it’s the first place I ever had beef tartare (Hackepeter) so it obviously holds a special place in my heart, but that place also has great food other than the raw meat (imagine that). I am going to Oktoberfest in September so perhaps I’d be in a better position to report on the authenticity after that, but I love all of their dishes (liver dumpling soup is a fave).
What makes this place so special, other than being one of the four places in the city that I know of that carries BBK Pils (delicious beer, nom nom nom), is the entire experience. It’s a very random group of people you’ll see, but you do see a bunch of German families in there. The band is awesome. I sometimes forget about my food and drink because I’m just soaking it all in.
What is just great is you see these little old women dancing and partying like they’re 21. People are all genuinely having a good time, and that enjoyment is contagious. I don’t think you could possibly not have a great time here! Anytime someone says how they aren’t impressed by German restaurants I always immediately ask if they’ve been here and, if not, make plans right away. It sets the bar (don’t get me wrong, Edelweiss is solid as well) for all German restaurants in Chicago.
I’ve gone with just my husband or a huge group of people. This is somewhere you want to take people who like German food or who like to have a good time. No one has ever asked for their money back.
Chicago Brauhaus
4732 North Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 784-4444
FYI they are building a hofbrauhaus chicago :) in Rosemont (just east of the convention center). Set to open around June or July last I read.
ReplyDeleteTake Care
Tschüss
Jeff
Maybe, see you there!