Giving Poor Phil's its due.

As a new resident of Oak Park, I have been searching for watering holes in the area that care about beer. They are few and far between in this neck of the woods. The new Marion Street Market is stepping up nicely with its tap list and beer flights, but I had been curious about Poor Phil's. I looked at their website when I first moved to the village and was happy to see they had 36 taps, but unenthused about their use of them.

My wife and I went there last night for the first time and discovered that they are making much better use of their taps than their dated online menu suggests. They had four different saisons on tap from Southern Tier, North Coast, Three Floyd's, and Ommegon. In addition, they had lovely gems like Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, a fantastic west coast IPA. Add in they have cask ale (Arcadia Hop Mouth last night), and you have quite the sleeper of a beer bar in downtown Oak Park.

The food, you ask? It was fine. Nothing too exciting. Things could have been fresher/better prepared/etc., but I am not posting about Poor Phil's food, just their beer. If you take away the food and judge it on the beer merits only, it gets high marks. The waitstaff was pleasant and fairly well versed in their beers, not experts, but knowledgeable. It was a beautiful night and sitting out on the sidewalk sipping an assortment of well-crafted brews within walking distance of home was quite a treat.

Poor Phil's Bar & Grill
139 S Marion
Oak Park, IL 60302
708-848-0871

Your appraisal of Poor Phil's seems just. I've been going there for many years, and I usually find myself sitting there at least once every year. Although I feel the quality of the food has declined somewhat (they used to put more focus on seafood and oysters), it survives, due largely to its pleasant location and, no doubt, its brewed offerings.

Hands down for the best beer selection in the area, one of the best in Chicagoland. The food is hit or miss. We went tonight for a let's-not-cook-at-home-tonight-meal. My wife had the catfish po' boy. It was outstanding. My buffalo chicken po' boy was not worth ordering. I remember enjoying a tasty burger there last summer. Oysters are good. We had a couple of oyster shooters. My wife has a cold and was glad that we ordered it; it cleared up her nose. I usually get the lobster/crab salad which is worth coming back for. Basically, I navigate the menu to get their outstanding beer selection. A great place for beer and a place where the food is better than most bar foods.