BB's

Hey all...

Tried to partake of Shaw's lobster mania last night but they were, unfortunately, on a 2.5 hour wait when we got there and the casual Oyster Bar was locked into a private event. Soo....hungry and thirsty, we ventured across the street to the nearest place to eat and it was BB's -- the "gastropub" -- which I believe is being run by Jack Binyon -- or his heirs -- not sure which. They do serve the infamous Turtle Soup though.

It's a nice joint -- although it's an odd mix of modern Euro pub and "reminders" of the past -- there's an odd photograph theme that I couldn't quite get a fix on although there were some interesting images to view and there were 3 antique dress forms in the women's bathroom that sort of interfered with movement for the sake of decoration.

Anyhoo....the menu is not what I would consider a gastropub menu to be. More like bar food with more variety than the norm. They had several soups and salads, 5-7 solid sandwiches that when brought out did look pretty tasty and a variety of entrees, all around the $10-$15 range that were quite eclectic (everything from spaghetti with veal meatballs to a roasted lemon chicken and a full on Irish breakfast). For appetizers they didn't really have your typical bar food (fried everything, etc.) -- my dining companion had the "crispy olives" which he proclaimed to be really unique and delicious, served in a martini glass with dabs of a spicy tobasco sauce accompanying them and I tried their arancini -- which were cheesey and tasty although I didn't notice any of the prosciutto they had claimed was in mixed with the mozzarella in them. They had an excellent steak frites type special that my dining companion indulged in and it was a fine strip sirloin, cooked perfectly rare, accompanied by long skinny fries that were fairly tasty. $16. I went a different direction and had the Beef Stroganoff -- not sure why I wanted something that heavy last night but I was starving -- and it was really quite the tasty dish. Heaped with buttered egg noodles, the stroganoff sauce was very tangy and lovely and they gave you a side of sour cream if you wanted to gild the lily a bit -- although the sauce was very rich anyhow. Good sirloin chunks of beef -- very tasty and delicious and I was quite disappointed that I couldn't finish it all. Wanted to take it home but were having a celebratory night at a hotel and so there was no place to put the leftovers.

They had about 10 beers on tap--nothing out there but I did enjoy a couple of fine Stella Artois and my dc's guinness had an excellent head of foam on it. Maybe not enough to write his initial in it but it made him smile. Lots of bottled options and some specials being pointed in a card that came separately and what seemed like a decent wine list but I didn't examine it very closely.

Our server was not exactly stellar but friendly enough. She seemed unacquainted with the routine of being a server and we had a bit of an issue when the first two beers I ordered weren't really available (Bass and Smithwick). And the second thing was that the only booths available to sit in seemed to be in the smoking section, something that wasn't pointed out to us and I didn't think to ask about when we were sat. And then the smoke came -- and I just hate smoke. But...we were starving and my friend doesn't like fuss...so I put up with it.

But I liked BB's. I think it would be a perfect afterwork joint to grab a drink and some tasty eats and the prices seemed to be in line with other joints like it. I think I might like them for lunch sometime -- a good place to go and grab something with a pal in the middle of your day. It's definitely worth a try.

I know -- should have tried the Turtle Soup but when I saw that Stroganoff -- I figured that would be enough richness for me. Next time!


BB's
22 E. Hubbard St.
312-755-0007

I'm planning to go tonight - anyone else have any recommendations?

OP was written in June of 2007.

So my buddy and I went last night. I guess every Thr they have a live band but we opted to go more in the back dining area so it wasn't as loud.

We ordered the Fried olives which were interesting but I probably wouldn't order them again. They had a piece of indescript sausage in the middle and where battered and deep fried and came with a dipping sauce.

My buddy ordered the Halibut which was a piece of halibut wrapped in Proscuitto and then sauted or baked or something, I didn't really pay too much attention. He came in a white sauce with capers and my buddy liked it.

I ordered the chimichurri steak which was a skirt steak that came with a side of sauteed spinach, potatoe wedges, and chimichurri sauce. The best part of the dish was the steak itself. It was a very tasty, tender, and cooked well and a good deal for $14 or so. The potato wedges it came with there bland and slightly undercooked so if I ordered it again I would probably just ask for french frieds. The spinach was a bit on the greasy side and didn't seem to be seasoned by a little salt and pepper fixed that up. I could tell the spinach was fresh spinach though and not frozen. The chimichurri sauce was overly oily tasting so I didn't even eat it at all. The steak really didn't need a sauce anyways so that was fine.

I ordered 3 beers:
Trummer Pils, a leffe, and a chimay red. The first 2 beers were good but the chimay was pretty weak for some reason. My buddy ordered a magners cider which came in a larger bottle.

The food is very reasonably priced for river north(the place is across the street from shaws crab house) for what it is but the beer seemed to be a bit on the high side.

The chimay didn't come with the bottle and the glass it came in wasn't that full and it was $8 something and the Leffe was $6 something. The pils was $5 which would seem like a reasonable price but again the glass wasn't that full.

Overall I would go back for the food and maybe stick to 1 beer.