dumpstermcnuggets wrote:Sigh, I've read a lot of bad online reviews about people who didn't care for Big Hurt Brewhouse

I don't know about the Brewhouse, but from what I've read I doubt there's any actual brewing going on there. Unless something's changed recently, the beer is brewed at Minhas in Monroe WI (more on them here). To put it delicately, Minhas is known as a producer of "value priced" beers which are rarely, if ever, lauded by beer geeks.

Big Hurt closed for a while and was being re-done, revamped, etc. As of this writing don't know if its open yet We tried Home Run Inn Pizza and liked it a lot. We also ordered the Caesar salad there and it was the best I've had in a long time (dressing on the side). We also like Big Guys sausage, Lavergne's, Bella Notte, Czech Plaza, Paisan's, Tonini's market pick up meals, Villa Nova pizza, Autre Monde, and Vesecky bakery. Near by but not in Berwyn are Freddies in Cicero, Al's in Cicero (the Uncle Bobbys special spicy pizza, Johnnie's beef in Elmwood Park, Blue Max Coffee house in Forest Park (Forest Park restaurants whole other story), and Katies in Oak Park, (again see Oak Park thread). Have not tried the Garage. Wanted to try Capri on Roosevelt have not done so. Not a fan of Novi's or Cigar and Stripes. Bodhi Thai seems good but I hate Thai food. Pete's on Ridgeland, I"d mostly go there for gyros.

Santander wrote:Awesome. Big Hurt had some "deep cleaning" closures and rehiring recently and I hope they've rebounded - it is a cool adaptation of an old bank building. We saw Big Frank himself there on one visit, and Da Coach on the second. The food is surprisingly solid but the beers (not brewed onsite) aren't great. There is a video slot room in the old vault.

Not sure about the switch up here, Big Hurt is out and 35 (Big Hurt's number) is in.

35 Sports Bar & Grill
6801 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 956-7174
www.35sportsbarandgrill.com

Open now and I don't expect too much of a change. Wasn't all that bad when it was The Hurt.

Had a nice brunch at...

Mission House Cafe
6818 34th St, Berwyn
(708) 476-6235



... after being disappointed again at the lack of promised brunch at...

Lavergne's Tavern
6546 W Windsor Ave, Berwyn
(708) 956-7405

We have visited twice and the brunch was not available. We have been eager to try their avocado toast since they won Best Breakfast in Berwyn. Might not try again.

Panther in the Den wrote:

Santander wrote:Awesome. Big Hurt had some "deep cleaning" closures and rehiring recently and I hope they've rebounded - it is a cool adaptation of an old bank building. We saw Big Frank himself there on one visit, and Da Coach on the second. The food is surprisingly solid but the beers (not brewed onsite) aren't great. There is a video slot room in the old vault.

Not sure about the switch up here, Big Hurt is out and 35 (Big Hurt's number) is in.

35 Sports Bar & Grill
6801 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 956-7174
http://www.35sportsbarandgrill.com

Open now and I don't expect too much of a change. Wasn't all that bad when it was The Hurt.

Correction: Opening on Thursday. What I saw was employee training.

I did not try Big Hurt before, reviews were bad. I will try it this time. I hope it makes a go of it.

Panther in the Den wrote:Not sure about the switch up here, Big Hurt is out and 35 (Big Hurt's number) is in.

35 Sports Bar & Grill
6801 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 956-7174

Opening tomorrow and the menu appears to have settled...

https://www.35sportsbarandgrill.com/menu/

Appetizers, sandwiches and desserts.

Some items look good, Jucy Lucy in the burger section, a nice variety of loaded fries, ‘Big Hurt’ mentioned several times in the name of items.

Noticed that a basketball was featured prominently on the facade flanking the number namesake but 35 does not have a place in Chicago basketball history.

The menu seems to have some Robert Nava touches. Anyone know if he is involved?

dukesdad wrote:The menu seems to have some Robert Nava touches. Anyone know if he is involved?

I did see the donuts. Otherwise I don't see it.

From what I understand he has retired.

I did see the donuts. Otherwise I don't see it.

From what I understand he has retired.

Pot roast

Panther in the Den wrote:

Santander wrote:Awesome. Big Hurt had some "deep cleaning" closures and rehiring recently and I hope they've rebounded - it is a cool adaptation of an old bank building. We saw Big Frank himself there on one visit, and Da Coach on the second. The food is surprisingly solid but the beers (not brewed onsite) aren't great. There is a video slot room in the old vault.

Not sure about the switch up here, Big Hurt is out and 35 (Big Hurt's number) is in.

35 Sports Bar & Grill
6801 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 956-7174
http://www.35sportsbarandgrill.com

Open now and I don't expect too much of a change. Wasn't all that bad when it was The Hurt.

An arm of Italian beef chain Buona Beef is managing the 35 Sports Bar & Grill in Berwyn, a reincarnation of a Frank Thomas-inspired restaurant that has opened on the spot of the former Big Hurt Brewhouse. The bar and grill, which opened late last month, is owned solely by Frank Thomas, the White Sox Hall of Famer. Thomas also owns the restaurant’s site, with partners from the previous restaurant.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

We hit up Las Vegas Vietnamese food, and left thoroughly impressed. Immediately goes into the rotation. Only had the cell phone, the work cell phone at that, so I think I might leave some pics off. Looks like I got a few decent ones, at least.

Bright and airy space. Decent amount of room. Their previous incarnation was much smaller, and only four or five cheap tables. I'd guess triple the space in the new diggs.
Tables are each equipped with a caddy that holds plasticware and chopsticks. Bottle of sriaracha, too.

Spring Rolls:
2 big uns per order. Lots of greens, big, fat shrimp. The wrapper was perfect. Nice and chewy.


Grilled Pork Bahn Mi:

Choice of meat, or tofu. I didn't detect any pate, and I inhaled it before I could check. The jalapeno was kickin' so needless to say, I liked it. A LOT. I'm sure there are better examples, but this is in BERWYN. It's the only game in town, so it didn't even have to be this good to gain praise. Very decent showing, even tho I couldn't verify the pate.

Crispy Pancake. This. I want another one:

Super crispy outside, stuffed with bean sprouts, shrimp, and pork. Big plate of basil on the side, along with a fish sauce based sauce. This. This. I haven't had one of these in a while, but I'd swear there was a slick of butter - (even movie theater kind of fake-ish butter?) on the outside of this thing. I loved it. This plate, by the way was the size of my forearm.

Las Vegas Special Pho:

Tendons, tripes, brisket slices, and noodles. Jr. let us try it after he hoarded the bowl for a good 15 minutes and declared himself too full to move. There was plenty left over for the two of us. We didn't even finish it all. The broth was interesting as it should be. Not heavy with cinnamon, but some other spice I can't place. Not overpowering at all, but the "shock" of cinnamon in a bowl of soup wasn't really there on my western palate, if that makes any sense.

Grilled Chicken with rice plate:

The photo is ass, sorry, but this was nice. Standard Vietnamese sweet/salty/charry thing going on. Dark meat, too!

I wanted to try their egg rolls, but that would have been overkill. They had a few combo plates with egg rolls, but none of those combo places had the grilled chicken. I nudged the owner about this when he was taking our order, "Hey, none of these combo plates has CHICKEN with egg roll..." but he didn't get what I was hinting at. Since we got the grilled pork in the Banh Mi, I really wanted to try the grilled chicken...I won't bore you with how I was strategically trying to order a little bit of everything. Anyway, we really liked everything we tried, and as I said, this immediately goes into the rotation.

Wife 1.0's response when she saw the bill? "Tip very high, they need to know who we are!"
Panther, Santander, et al:
You will not be allowed to annex this one without a fight. You have Saigon Pho over there in Fopa anyway. I've been to that one three times, and none of those times did I leave as impressed as I did with my first visit to Las Vegas.

Website from the old location:
http://lasvegasrest.com/
New address:
6723 Cermak Rd, Berwyn, IL 60402

Oh, sweet! So good to hear they're back. I had no idea. Went there about two years ago at the old location, and really enjoyed it, but when I wanted to revisit earlier this year, it was gone. Didn't know they moved. It's nice not to have to drive all the way up north for a nice bahn mi or pho.

City Barbeque
7108 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 393-4719
https://www.facebook.com/CityBarbequeBerywn/
(Note the city mispelling in the link)
Locations in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio

At City Barbeque, we are 100% devoted to the craft of barbeque. We refuse to cut corners or take any shortcuts. All of our meats are smoked on-site at each restaurant, hand rubbed with spices, and take upwards of 18 hours to become pure barbeque perfection. Our employees prepare our sides throughout the day from scratch in the restaurant and give it the same attention they would give to their own family. This is barbeque in its truest form, created by people who are dedicated to doing it right.

Grand Opening November 4th
https://www.facebook.com/events/379454915819024/

Although Berwyn is reporting it to open on October 30th
https://www.facebook.com/events/1651403071538728/

City Barbeque features in-house smoked brisket, pulled pork, turkey, sausage, ribs, & chicken. Serving Competition Quality Food with Backyard Hospitality.

This is probably the ribbon cutting ceremony.

A nice addition to the Oak Park BBQ scene. There have been reports on a downturn in quality at The Garage.

The Garage Smokehouse and Bar
3202 Grove Ave, Berwyn
(708) 956-7274
Emphasis lately on the word 'Bar'.

Panther in the Den wrote:City Barbeque
7108 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 393-4719

A nice addition to the Oak Park BBQ scene.

Quit it!

New (at least to me) in the hood...



Conga Cuban Cafe
6836 Windsor Ave, Berwyn
(708) 317-4355
https://m.facebook.com/Conga-Cuban-Cafe ... 391378527/

Proudly proclaiming jibarito and other island items on the awning. Empanadas were also mentioned.

I think it was a nice little coffee shop prior. Buddha something???

A nice addition to the nearby...

Panchos Fusion
7329 W 25th St, North Riverside
(708) 447-2210
http://www.panchospuertoricannmexican.com/

... which does a passable job.

Looking forward to trying them out!

Panther in the Den wrote:City Barbeque
7108 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 393-4719
https://www.facebook.com/CityBarbequeBerywn/
(Note the city mispelling in the link

Haven’t been yet but noticed their interesting smoker setup driving by today...

Finally made it over to City Q. Actually probably going back for lunch today. Jr requested City BBQ for lunch on his MLK day off, and the wife gave it a thumbs up. We got a mailer coupon with a BOGO offer (up to $12.99) so we maxed it out after a discussion with the mgr who was extremely friendly, actually, all of the staff we came in contact with were top notch.

On the natch, I wanted to try everything they had in the store for my first visit, so we ordered the:
"Judge's Sampler" -
A 1/4 chicken and 1/2 slab of ribs plus pulled pork, beef brisket, 2 sides, 2 cornbreads and Texas toast. Sides: Mac& Cheese, Collard Greens

Half Slab O' Spares, and a side of Baked Beans w/brisket.


My Take:
The Q was better than I expected. The stars of the day were the brisket and spares. The pork was a lil dry, and the chicken was too. Neither were BADLY dry, mind you, but I'm guessing they were just held for a while. The brisket was nice and juicy, definitely smoked, tho not a heavy smoke flavor. The spares were a little on the salty side, but good tasty - nothing surprising in the rub, I'd order these again with confidence. Definitely smoked, tho not a heavy smoke flavor.

Fries? EXCELLENT, imo, but I've kinda been trying to ditch carbs, so, I might have been jonesing for carbalicious french fried goodness. These fries were pretty darned good.

Mac&Cheese. I'll try it again, but the wife and I were not impressed. Noodles were obv cooked at too low of a heat, so they were pasty. Not mushy and overcooked, but pasty, knaamean? I'll assume it was just an off batch. I'll definitely get it again to try, but I don't waste my time on mac&cheese that isn't great. They've got better sides, so it's not a huge deal for me.

Baked Beans - For the life of me, I don't recall much. (We tried it last weekend.) The fact that I don't remember them probably means there was nothing really notable, sorry. If we go today, I'll get them again..

Collard Greens - A tad salty on MY tongue, but I thought a very solid effort. Lots of pork, and iirc, a decent hit of pepper. I think their greens will be an automatic side for us.

Corn Bread - Mini loaf size. Less sweet and dense than most of the Chicago joints put out. I was an instant fan. My family's matriarchs all made lighter, more savory, cornbread than a lot of restaurants' versions I've encountered. It seems that most restaurants try to go over the top with richness and sweetness. Trust me, I like those too. But it was nice to try a version less sweet and dense. It was still on the rich side, but lighter than I expected.

Texas Toast was toasted frenchy bread. Garlic bread, I believe. Wasn't too greasy or anything. It was decent.

Very nice addition to the hood, here.

Panther in the Den wrote:

Santander wrote:Awesome. Big Hurt had some "deep cleaning" closures and rehiring recently and I hope they've rebounded - it is a cool adaptation of an old bank building. We saw Big Frank himself there on one visit, and Da Coach on the second. The food is surprisingly solid but the beers (not brewed onsite) aren't great. There is a video slot room in the old vault.

Not sure about the switch up here, Big Hurt is out and 35 (Big Hurt's number) is in.

35 Sports Bar & Grill
6801 Cermak Rd, Berwyn
(708) 956-7174
http://www.35sportsbarandgrill.com

Open now and I don't expect too much of a change. Wasn't all that bad when it was The Hurt.

Wow! That (35) didn't last long.

Very Soon Grand Opening!

El Nuevo Vallarta!
Sports Bar and Grill!
Seafood & Mexican Grill!

(That’s a long name!)
https://m.facebook.com/El-Nuevo-Vallart ... 486773582/

Started posting on Facebook around the first of the month.


Almost made it into 35 but the friend we were with preferred Home Run Inn.

Nothing on their website...
http://www.elnuevovallarta.com/

I had the City BBQ ribs...did not care for them but like the brisket. Sides are okay. They are a good addition to Berwyn. Had the jibarito at Conga Café. It was pretty good.
Have not tried Las Vegas yet but will do soon. Czech Plaza just reopened under new management. Will try that soon. At at Nuevo Poncitlan on 26th street just east of Taco y Salsa. We think they are better than Taco y Salsa. Also had a meal at Capri on Roosevelt and like it. Nice cozy atmosphere, good service. They are also putting a second place down in the Depot district where La Notte was. La Notte moved to Oak Park. Please report on any of these places.

We are pretty big fans of Las Vegas.

Nuevo Poncitlan: Haven't been there in about 5 years, but I remember it vividly. I had one of my top 5 skirt steaks there. Oddly enough, EVERYTHING else was horrific. I got the tampiquena, the skirt steak was phenomenal, the enchilada was hilariously bad. The wife ordered enchiladas, so she got an entire plate of those jokes (not happy.) Gucamole was off, steak tacos for jr were garbage griddle meat. Like I said, 5 years ago, I'm sure the entire staff has changed.

Tacos Y Salsa - go on Mondays for 99c tacos. This place has the consistency of the Himalayas. I normally go on Mondays, order a mess of tacos, an order of guac, and an order of grilled onions. (Don't be surprised if you run into Brendan from Big Guys in a jogging suit, chillin with his fam for a really decent dinner on the cheap.) I Like Tacos Y Salsa - once in a while, they'll be fantastic. Most of the time, it's a mom&pop type neighborhood joint.

I should probably go to Conga WAY more than I have. I've only been a few times, and that was right after they opened. Nothing excited me then, but I should definitely go there soon.

I think you should hit up Las Vegas.

toria wrote:... Czech Plaza just reopened under new management. Will try that soon. ...

Actually the management changed not too long ago (unless it changed again???).

What happened recently was they closed so they could put down new carpet and paint. It was also mentioned that the kitchen went through a deep cleaning (which is not visible). A TV is also coming to the back of the dining room.

New menus too.

Grand reopening coming on Thursday.
https://m.facebook.com/events/1995782337355661

We were there just Monday and I think it is better than ever. The broths and gravies have more flavor and their much lauded Breaded Pork Tenderloin was great!


... a new favorite for me.

... was even better than ever.

Panther in the Den wrote:

toria wrote:... Czech Plaza just reopened under new management. Will try that soon. ...

Actually the management changed not too long ago (unless it changed again???).

What happened recently was they closed so they could put down new carpet and paint. It was also mentioned that the kitchen went through a deep cleaning (which is not visible). A TV is also coming to the back of the dining room.

New menus too.

Grand reopening coming on Thursday.
https://m.facebook.com/events/1995782337355661

We were there just Monday and I think it is better than ever. The broths and gravies have more flavor and their much lauded Breaded Pork Tenderloin was great!

003481E4-D95E-413D-B33E-E6F170C186A0.jpeg

D2535EBB-E162-421C-8B36-90B9FDE7E199.jpeg

... a new favorite for me.

0B3BF727-F28A-4480-8548-62EBA3DC0BA6.jpeg

... was even better than ever.

Do they serve beer/wine or do they BYO?

zoid wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:

toria wrote:... Czech Plaza just reopened under new management. Will try that soon. ...

Actually the management changed not too long ago (unless it changed again???).

What happened recently was they closed so they could put down new carpet and paint. It was also mentioned that the kitchen went through a deep cleaning (which is not visible). A TV is also coming to the back of the dining room.

New menus too.

Grand reopening coming on Thursday.
https://m.facebook.com/events/1995782337355661

We were there just Monday and I think it is better than ever. The broths and gravies have more flavor and their much lauded Breaded Pork Tenderloin was great!

003481E4-D95E-413D-B33E-E6F170C186A0.jpeg

D2535EBB-E162-421C-8B36-90B9FDE7E199.jpeg

... a new favorite for me.

0B3BF727-F28A-4480-8548-62EBA3DC0BA6.jpeg

... was even better than ever.

Do they serve beer/wine or do they BYO?

They do have a bar.

Have recently been going to Nuevo Poncitlan and we really like it. Its just a modest place...comfy booths, good waitresses. We have only had tacos there, nothing else. We like it, and like it better than Taco y Salsa. I've had the steak taco and the tacos al pastor all good. Maybe a new cook? Its a "cheap eats" kind of place...but better than the other similar places we have tried in the Berwyn/Cicero area.

Panther in the Den wrote:They do have a bar.

Hmmm...
OP Boys?

zoid wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:They do have a bar.

Hmmm...
OP Boys?

I'm down.

The sauerkraut soup was good, as was the breaded pork tenderloin. The rye bread and apple strudel were also good. It may be better than before.

toria wrote:The sauerkraut soup was good, as was the breaded pork tenderloin. The rye bread and apple strudel were also good. It may be better than before.

The gravies were better. Pork Tenderloin awesome!

I’m in.

toria wrote:Have recently been going to Nuevo Poncitlan and we really like it. Its just a modest place...comfy booths, good waitresses. We have only had tacos there, nothing else. We like it, and like it better than Taco y Salsa. I've had the steak taco and the tacos al pastor all good. Maybe a new cook? Its a "cheap eats" kind of place...but better than the other similar places we have tried in the Berwyn/Cicero area.

I'm definitely hitting this place up again, soon. You might also wanna give that Torres mkt taqueria a try. It's only a few blocks East. VERY low key, but really decent food.

Maybe a teeny bit more expensive, but do you like Zacatacos?