The Shamrock Club (Pictures)

It was a strange day, today in the office - so I decided to treat myself to what I hoped would be a fantastic lunch at Topolobampo. There was one catch, though - I hadn't made a reservation. I telephoned Topolo to check on reservations and a hostess suggested I get there when the restaurant opened to the public at 11:30 a.m. So I disappeared from the office at 11:30 and 5 minutes later I was at the restaurant door - me and about 30 other people . . . all but me in "I'm from Arkansas" t-shirts, shorts, white socks pulled up to their knees, etc. - you get the picture. Disappointed, I turned around and walked away - not wanting to get caught-up in that scene.

I wandered about the neighborhood uncertain of what I wanted to eat, after having my principal plan shot down, and, eventually, I found myself standing at the corner of Kinzie and Wells St. . . . looking at the The Shamrock Club. I frequently walk past the Shamrock, and I've read/heard mention of it before, but I hadn't gone inside before today - when I ate lunch there.



Menu Board



Beer-battered Cod, Fries and Bottle of Bells Oberon - $7.75



I selected the 3-piece beer-battered cod with fries and a bottle of Bell’s Oberon for my lunch. The batter was light but flavorless, the cod was moist, the fries were institutional but okay and the Oberon was a good choice to wash all of it down. I was surprised at the reasonable price for the meal – considering the bar sells the bottles of Bell’s Oberon for $4. It was a good lunch in a comfortable environment – a Heinz 57 group of customers.

This wasn't the lunch I thought I'd be eating today - and Topolo and Shamrock as about as opposite as restaurants can be - but each serves it's market/clientele. I’ll be back, to both.

The Shamrock Club
210 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 321-9314

If you dine in the bar at the Frontera Grill you can always order off of the Topolo menu. I imagine a group of 30 at the door at opening might seem a bit hectic but once you sat down at the bar all would be forgotten. I rarely order off of the Topolo menu as I have a hard time not ordering the Milanesa.

I stopped once again at the Shamrock Club Monday of this week and had for lunch the Italian Beef Sandwich special: sandwich of well-seasoned/flavorful beef (sliced slightly thicker than we typcially see at an Italian Beef stand) with pretty good giardiniera, fries, and a pint of draught beer . . . for $6.75. The place does a brisk lunch business. It was cool/damp/slightly wet outside so the sidewalk seating/dining area was empty - but the restaurant was almost full inside at approx. 12:30 p.m.

Isn't that Steve Z chatting with Tony Bourdain?

seebee wrote:

Isn't that Steve Z chatting with Tony Bourdain?

Looks more like Cigarette Smoking Man from the X Files and a young Karl Rove.

I stopped at the Shamrock Club for lunch last Friday and as I was reading the “specials” board in the window the mother of one of the employees – the daughter of whom was the ‘spitting image’ of her mother – approached me and urged me to try the Summer Lobster Salad. How could I refuse? I’d tried the beer-battered Cod on another Friday visit, so I was game to try other fare.



The salad was chocked-full of a variety of crisp greens, fruit and a decent helping of lobster tail meat given the approx. $8.75 price of the lunch. (The salad looked much better 'up-close and personal' as compared to the view in the photo above, which suffers from too much sunlight.)



I took advantage of the nice weather during the visit to sit at a tabled outdoors. It was a table in the shade, the weather was beautiful and it was an excellent lunch, washed down by a bottle of Bell's Oberon ale - which was included in the price of the meal.

I'm amazed at the fact that a beer is included in the price of the meal! $8.75 for the lobster salad and a Bell's Oberon??? I might just have to head over there for a Friday lunch and play hooky for the afternoon!

Bill- Thanks for sharing your wanders of River North.

The GP wrote:I'm amazed at the fact that a beer is included in the price of the meal! $8.75 for the lobster salad and a Bell's Oberon???

I've been surprised, also, that a beer is included as part of the daily specials. Any of the domestic bottled beers, or a pint of domestic draught are eligible for the inclusion. Of course, for folks not wanting to have a beer at lunch, soft drinks or iced tea are included. Bell's Oberon is a June special beer at the Shamrock, selling, individually purchased, for $4 per bottle.

That stretch of Kinzie St., or the first half-block west of Wells St. to be exact, has developed into a continuous and comfortable sidewalk cafe environment including the popular outdoor seating/eating areas of both The Shamrock Club and Kinzie Street Chop House.

Bill-

You better hope that Bayless doesn't find out you're spurning Topo/Frontera for Shamrock. He is not someone you'd like on your bad side.

Stopping at the Shamrock has become a part of my weekly lunchtime rotation. Service is good, honest and familiar, and though not extensive the menu strikes me as a cut-above the neighborhood bar fare. A recent menu choice of mine was the lobster salad sandwich, on croissant, with a pint of Goose Island Summertime - offered at the price of $7.50. I enjoy having my lunch while sitting at one of the tables on the sidewalk, in front of the place.

Lobster Salad Sandwich, at the Shamrock

Oh, man. I had my gut busted today at Manny's for lunch (in a nice way, of course) and had planned to skip dinner. But the sight of that lobster sandwich is makin' me hungry.

I stopped for lunch today at The Shamrock Club and had one of the Wednesday sandwich specials: Turkey (on your choice of bread, mine was on wheat). it was a well-made sandwich - nothing skimpy about sandwiches here. A bowl of Chicken Enchilada soup was included with the special as was my pint of one of the bar's beer's of the month - Linenkugel Oktoberfest. Price tag: $7.75+tax. The soup had a rich and peppery, chili-like taste to the broth and there was a nice balance between pieces of white-meat chicken and vegetables (kernels of corn, black beans, bits of tomato). The Shamrock Club: A friendly, comfortable place where you can have a reasonably-priced and good lunch, and where you'll find an attentive owner and staff.

Bill - thanks to your legwork, Mrs. Davooda and I will definitely be trying the Shamrock Club on our next trip into the city. I really dig neighborhood joints that offer solid lunch options and value and this seems to fill the bill.

But I wanted to ask about something I noticed on the Shamrock Club menu - why do LTH-ers think hamburgers are advertised as "1/2 lb." and steaks advertised as "8 oz." when both indicate the same thing?

For me - as the King of Siam says - "this is a puzzlement."

Davooda

Davooda wrote:But I wanted to ask about something I noticed on the Shamrock Club menu - why do LTH-ers think hamburgers are advertised as "1/2 lb." and steaks advertised as "8 oz." when both indicate the same thing?

I think this is because burgers are typically listed as fractions of pounds (quarter-pounder, not 4 ouncer) and steaks are typically listed as ounces (12 oz strip as opposed to 3/4 pound strip). It just looks weird on Shamrock Club's menu because they are right next to one another, whereas in most restaurants, steaks would be listed separately and/or steak sandwiches would be listed without a weight.