Bar on Buena

I've never seen anything about this place here, so I thought I'd mention it. My first visit was tonight. And I was very pleasingly surprised. The service was excellent. I spoke with the manager/bartender Robin (could by Robyn - don't know). But she clearly ran the place with a gentle, yet firm, hand.

My first question was do you have a white wine other than Chardonnay? My experience has been so bad with white wines - Chardonnay or Chablis? Please. Kill me. She quickly gave me their wine list and there were good choices. Not many choices, but all respectable and reasonably priced by the glass. I chose a Veltliner that was good, but a little too warm. When I mentioned this to her, she quickly put the bottle on ice and said something about how when it gets hot out for a couple of days that the wine may get too warm. Very thoughtful. And when the wine was up to temp. she gave me a very generous pour of it. I really liked that touch. They were getting slammed at that point. But she made me feel as though I mattered. Nice.

Tonight was 5$ martini night. Fun to watch them try and keep up with orders. The martini list included tanquery and absolute. Good deal.

We only had the bruschetta, but it was very good. Turns out Robin (Robyn?) trained as a chef and worked at 160 Blue and for Carolyn Berghoff. She went to Kendall, but she seems a natural born chef.

The kitchen is located in the open - right by the bar and you could see them really cranking it out. Very professional. None of the cooks seemed to miss a beat. As an old time server, I was impressed. I truly enjoyed no back of the house/front of the house bullshit. They were working together, and it showed.

It has an outdoor garden. The menu is small, but varied. I liked this place enough to write, probably, my longest post ever. Please visit it if you can. It's not expensive, it's not yuppie, and it's a very charming spot.

Good job Robin (robyn?).

Barbara

Bar on Buena
910 West Buena
773-525-8665

Baronbuena.com

I was introduced to BOB by a friend of my wife who is a regular. Very nice beer selection in bottles and on tap. I have only had a burger, which was respectable. I have never been there on a weekend night, but during the week the crowds have not been to bad. I have a feeling with the location and outdoor seating this place can get a little annoying at peak times. If you are familiar with Duke of Perth you might recognize some of the bartenders, regulars, and kitchen staff.

They have really good spicy potato salad.

The only place Bar on Buena suffers sometimes is service. Not because it's bad, it's just stretched too thin. A friend of the wife's used to wait there and on busy nights, even when the place was full, they'd have only two, maybe three people on the floor and patio.

But yeah - good burgers, good beer and sweet potato fries! And it's off the beaten path as well.

Went to Bar on Buena with a friend last Thursday. It was pretty empty when we got there around 7, was fuller but not slammed when we left around 815.

Thursday is 25% off scotch and beer flights. I didn't partake, just had a solid gin and tonic. I intend to go back for one of the beer flights, though. They have a nice variety of domestic and international beers, some standards in the non-Miller category (Delirium, Youngs, Allagash) but some others I look forward to learning more about on a future visit.

My burger was quite tasty, if done slightly more than my requested medium. Good seasoning with the patty, smoked gouda and sauteed mushrooms topping it off. The sweet potato fries had a nice fresh taste but could have been a bit crispier.

Service was friendly and efficient. I'll be back soon. It's a nice midweek beer and dinner spot. For those looking to find a Valentine's Day spot that isn't suffering from typical holiday woes, perhaps this is your answer?

Just returned from several days of horrible all-inclusive food (overcooked lobster, fishy crab, generally overcooked steaks . . . you get the picture) but what a pleasant surprise was in store when I visited Bar on Buena for the very first time and had the burger, which was terrific. A half-pound burger, cooked medium rare as requested, served on a good quality sesame seed bun, topped with monterrey jack and diced serranos (my additions), and served with a piece of lettuce, some red onion, a few pickle slices and a pickle wedge.

The meat was a very tasty blend and plenty juicy, and the accompaniments were very good too, particularly the pickle and fresh serranos. The fries are pretty boring, probably frozen shoestring fries, but they were fried nicely. And a nice beer list and friendly service made for a solid welcome home.

Oh Bar on Buena! I haven't lived in Chicago for a while but when I did they were my local hang. Super friendly staff & when the whole runny egg on a good burger thing started they did it so well. Nice outdoor space on the sidewalk too that I could take my dog to. Just a great neighborhood place that I miss having....total chicago local kinda place with good food & nice beer/wine/drinks etc ....go there!

BR wrote:Just returned from several days of horrible all-inclusive food (overcooked lobster, fishy crab, generally overcooked steaks . . . you get the picture) but what a pleasant surprise was in store when I visited Bar on Buena for the very first time and had the burger, which was terrific. A half-pound burger, cooked medium rare as requested, served on a good quality sesame seed bun, topped with monterrey jack and diced serranos (my additions), and served with a piece of lettuce, some red onion, a few pickle slices and a pickle wedge.

The meat was a very tasty blend and plenty juicy, and the accompaniments were very good too, particularly the pickle and fresh serranos. The fries are pretty boring, probably frozen shoestring fries, but they were fried nicely. And a nice beer list and friendly service made for a solid welcome home.

The food at Bar on Buena has always been a bright note in an otherwise beige part of Uptown. I know that after the restaurant group which owns Bar on Buena and the Fountainhead hired Cleetus Friedman, he did some work on the Bar on Buena menu as well.

lodasi wrote:

BR wrote:Just returned from several days of horrible all-inclusive food (overcooked lobster, fishy crab, generally overcooked steaks . . . you get the picture) but what a pleasant surprise was in store when I visited Bar on Buena for the very first time and had the burger, which was terrific. A half-pound burger, cooked medium rare as requested, served on a good quality sesame seed bun, topped with monterrey jack and diced serranos (my additions), and served with a piece of lettuce, some red onion, a few pickle slices and a pickle wedge.

The meat was a very tasty blend and plenty juicy, and the accompaniments were very good too, particularly the pickle and fresh serranos. The fries are pretty boring, probably frozen shoestring fries, but they were fried nicely. And a nice beer list and friendly service made for a solid welcome home.

The food at Bar on Buena has always been a bright note in an otherwise beige part of Uptown. I know that after the restaurant group which owns Bar on Buena and the Fountainhead hired Cleetus Friedman, he did some work on the Bar on Buena menu as well.

Interesting -- I had no idea. This Zagat article discusses Friedman's involvement. Good to know.

Never eaten there but they do keep a solid tap rotation. I'll make sure to give the food a shot next time i'm around.

BR wrote:

lodasi wrote:

BR wrote:Just returned from several days of horrible all-inclusive food (overcooked lobster, fishy crab, generally overcooked steaks . . . you get the picture) but what a pleasant surprise was in store when I visited Bar on Buena for the very first time and had the burger, which was terrific. A half-pound burger, cooked medium rare as requested, served on a good quality sesame seed bun, topped with monterrey jack and diced serranos (my additions), and served with a piece of lettuce, some red onion, a few pickle slices and a pickle wedge.

The meat was a very tasty blend and plenty juicy, and the accompaniments were very good too, particularly the pickle and fresh serranos. The fries are pretty boring, probably frozen shoestring fries, but they were fried nicely. And a nice beer list and friendly service made for a solid welcome home.

The food at Bar on Buena has always been a bright note in an otherwise beige part of Uptown. I know that after the restaurant group which owns Bar on Buena and the Fountainhead hired Cleetus Friedman, he did some work on the Bar on Buena menu as well.

Interesting -- I had no idea. This Zagat article discusses Friedman's involvement. Good to know.

TBH I think they were just trying to change things up a bit. From the first time I ate there in 2007 until Cleetus' involvement, the food menu changed minimally. However, the quality of the food itself was never questioned.