finding Labor Day dinner in North Center

Last night my friend and I hopped off the bus at Irving Park and Damen, planning to try Mother Murphy's upscale Irish pub, which happens to serve a darn good roast chicken. Alas, it's closed Mondays. "No problem," I said, "there's a GNR around the corner." ("What the heck is that," my friend most certainly thought to himself.). Off to Laschet's we went. Closed. Resi's Bierstube for good potato pancakes and a great beer garden? Nope, closed. Hungry and a little frustrated, we walked over to The Globe pub and took a seat at the bar. Swarming fruitflies, impossibly bad bar service, and a very unpleasant musty aroma led us out the door before ordering anything. Walking passed Orange Garden (closed), we entered a place I know to serve bad food but in a pleasant outdoor seating area. O'Donovan's pub delivered exactly as expected: hockey puck style burger on a stale bun with limp, unsalted freezer fries.

Lesson: avoid North Center if you're hungry on Labor Day, or any Monday I suppose.

Ah, but do go to Greek Islands, where the gyros are especially crispy because of the reduced traffic. Delicious.

We had the same situation arise in virtually the same 'hood. To make a long story short, Customary Dining Companion called an audible, and we went to Hopleaf. Wonderful, as always - and though crowded, we didn't have to wait at all, had great service, and even found a parking space on Clark very close by. (to be truthful, I liked this suggestion WAY more than the place he originally wanted to try, anyway...)

Kennyz wrote:O'Donovan's pub delivered exactly as expected: hockey puck style burger on a stale bun with limp, unsalted freezer fries.

But on a Monday, isn't it only a dollar?

We wanted to eat lunch at Hopleaf on Monday, but they don't serve food until 5pm. That is a bad idea, IMO. Virtually nothing was open on Monday for lunch, or dinner for that matter, due to the holiday. We got some takeout falafel which was very good.