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Revolution Brewing Company-food thread

Revolution Brewing Company-food thread
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    Post #1 - February 26th, 2010, 2:27 pm
    Post #1 - February 26th, 2010, 2:27 pm Post #1 - February 26th, 2010, 2:27 pm
    I didn't see a separate food thread for Revolution Brewing Company, if I missed it, feel free to re-locate.

    Been hearing quite a buzz about this place so had to check it out. I met my friend there last Thursday night, and it was packed! My apologies to the couple waiting for the 2 seats at the bar to open up--Logan Square is a rough and tumble neighborhood, you have to be aggressive if you want to secure your seating :twisted:

    After sneaking our way into the 2 newly vacated bar seats, my friend and I ordered our beers. He had been there before and became a member, so gets a slightly larger pour of beer in a nice hefty mug. He opted for their Cross of Gold and I tried the Bottom Up Belgian wit. Both were imminently drinkable and tasty (which might explains my friend's 4 hour stint at the bar the first time he went!). Our bartender was friendly with a litte edge (at one point, a man asked for a wine list and she pointed to the taps and said loudly, "do you even know where you are right now?", he took the dig quite well).

    We got the bacon fat popcorn to start, and I know I'm going to get some smacktalk for this, but I think they got our bacon to popcorn ratio mixed up. I swear there was half a pound of bacon on about 15 kernals of popcorn. I know, I know, who could ever have enough bacon. I didn't think it was possible either, and yet. Aside from that, it was really really good, the generous parm on top coupled with the fried sage leaves and the subtle bacony-tasting popcorn made me melt.

    I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with a honey jalapeno coleslaw on top with fries. The pulled pork was moist without being greasy or fatty, the sauce was minimal, but just the right amount and the coleslaw absolutely rocked! The poppy seed bun is AMAZING! Sorry for shouting, but I don't ever want another sandwich/burger/whatever that is not served on this bun. It is a gamechanger. The fries were good, really good.

    My friend had the workingman's burger, which was HUGE, and deelish, from what I understand.

    I also tried the Willie's Wee Heavy Ale, which has a crazy alcohol finish at first, but then settles in to a really flavorful brew. We tried the Mild, but were not really impressed, it had sort of a metallic finish that I didn't really dig.

    We both left with growlers of the Cross of Gold. Can't wait until we need them refilled so we can go and try more of their menu.

    The place is absolutely beautiful, with lots of little nooks and crannies to hang out in. Love the fact that the TV's are only on when games are on and the sound is off. A nice touch!

    Well done! I think there might be a revolution brewing here!

    Revolution Brewing Company
    2323 N. Milwaukee Ave.
    Chicago, IL 60647
    (773) 227-BREW [2739]
  • Post #2 - February 26th, 2010, 5:08 pm
    Post #2 - February 26th, 2010, 5:08 pm Post #2 - February 26th, 2010, 5:08 pm
    I was really looking forward to eating at Revolution Brewing, but after my meal last night, I am fairly certain I will not be back.

    This place feels like a north siders wet dream, but I get the sense that because they have to travel to Logan Square, it seems exotic (and the clientele is clearly not from the area).

    The food was absolutely average, and certainly not worth the hour and a half wait at six o'clock on a Thursday. The entire space feels like a chain, and the food is at best a step above places like Harry Carey's, with slightly more adventurous options like the over-hyped and completely pointless bacon-fat popcorn.

    Maybe my excitement to try Revolution has made me more critical of the place than I should be, but I was not impressed by a single thing that I ate. The housemade ham and sausage plate was probably the highlight of the meal, with interesting cuts, including a super-fatty pork belly, but everything else was just bland.

    The burger was overcooked and dry, and the sweet-potato cakes were flavorless and boring....like something your friend's mom (who's a mediocre cook) would whip up when she felt like making something "special".
  • Post #3 - February 26th, 2010, 5:52 pm
    Post #3 - February 26th, 2010, 5:52 pm Post #3 - February 26th, 2010, 5:52 pm
    I also went to Revolution Brewing last night for the first time and was really surprised that there was such a long wait (we went at 6:30 and waited about an hour). I agree that the bacon fat popcorn was dispropriately bacon-y, but I thought it was delicious anyways. My SO had the workingman burger and thought it was pretty good, even though he had to take off about half the carmelized onions on top. I had the mussels in the blue cheese broth. These were also quite good. The only thing is that I usually like how mussels in broth are a light entree and with the blue cheese in the broth, after awhile it felt a little heavy.
    I have been wondering about the pizza. The roaring fire in the pizza oven and interesting toppings made things look promising, but looking at the pizzas on other diners' plates, the crust looked thin, wet, and droopy. Has anyone tried the pizzas?
  • Post #4 - February 26th, 2010, 5:54 pm
    Post #4 - February 26th, 2010, 5:54 pm Post #4 - February 26th, 2010, 5:54 pm
    thomasec wrote:I was really looking forward to eating at Revolution Brewing, but after my meal last night, I am fairly certain I will not be back.

    This place feels like a north siders wet dream, but I get the sense that because they have to travel to Logan Square, it seems exotic (and the clientele is clearly not from the area).

    The food was absolutely average, and certainly not worth the hour and a half wait at six o'clock on a Thursday. The entire space feels like a chain, and the food is at best a step above places like Harry Carey's, with slightly more adventurous options like the over-hyped and completely pointless bacon-fat popcorn.

    Maybe my excitement to try Revolution has made me more critical of the place than I should be, but I was not impressed by a single thing that I ate. The housemade ham and sausage plate was probably the highlight of the meal, with interesting cuts, including a super-fatty pork belly, but everything else was just bland.

    The burger was overcooked and dry, and the sweet-potato cakes were flavorless and boring....like something your friend's mom (who's a mediocre cook) would whip up when she felt like making something "special".


    They struggle some with consistency, because some people have thought their burgers were excellent and at least by Yelp reviews others have had the problem you had, where it wasn't cooked to order and/or dry. I was in last Saturday and all three of the other guys ordered burgers (I believe two had the smokehouse and the other had the farm) and thought they were great.

    The pizzas I have had (the duck confit and the smokehouse) were both quite good, although the smokehouse had to be eaten with fork and knife -- all the pulled pork was toward the middle and there was no way that thin crust was going to be able to handle it. The duck confit pizza did have a better crust. My wife had the pork chops and thought they were very good as well. I had the Flemish stew when they brought it to the CBS Brewpub Shootout and that's pretty tasty as well.

    I'm not really sure what you were expecting in clientele. Sure looked like similar clientele as Longman & Eagle or Rocking Horse to me. Likewise I'm wondering what makes you feel like it's a chain, since there's none of the cheesy kitschy crap around that is so rampant in a chain. They usually don't even turn on the TVs.

    The wait times are truly absurd right now and I'd definitely recommend people wait until it slows down a little bit eventually (hopefully?). Not only is it a crazy wait time -- 90 minutes is actually on the shorter side for a table at dinnertime -- but due to the crush of people they can't keep a full complement of their beers on tap. People are drinking them as fast or faster than they can brew them. Being not so insanely busy might help their kitchen out too, because I have had a couple of wretched meals at a place that many on this site laud, and I think that my poor food there was probably due to the kitchen being unable to handle the crowds and thus leading to severe inconsistency.
  • Post #5 - February 26th, 2010, 6:54 pm
    Post #5 - February 26th, 2010, 6:54 pm Post #5 - February 26th, 2010, 6:54 pm
    I was a fan of the food I had at Revolution. My bacon popcorn was not overwhelmingly bacon. I thought the ratio of popcorn to bacon to Parmesan to crispy sage was just right. I had the mustard herb chicken sandwich. The chicken breast was meaty and perfectly cooked. The blue cheese potato salad was also good. My friends had the fish and chips and the workingman burger and they both enjoyed their food as well. I've tried a number of their beers with my favorites being the Anti-Hero IPA and the Eugene Porter.

    I have mixed feelings about the space. I thought the bar was fantastic with the carved wooden fists with stars in the wrists. The rest of the space is very "nice." It is very open and has a modern, trendy, and somewhat antiseptic feel that seems somewhat at odds with the "revolutionary" iconography in the logo and the names of many menu items (and the brewery name itself). It didn't help that they were playing some really insipid electronic music on one of my visits. It definitely feels more like a restaurant than a bar which I think is largely a function of the bar being in the middle of the room as opposed as in its own discrete space.

    Despite some modest reservations about the space, I'm thrilled that Revolution has finally opened its doors. I've enjoyed the food and beer, and as a neighborhood resident, I'm looking forward to eating and drinking there often.
  • Post #6 - February 26th, 2010, 9:27 pm
    Post #6 - February 26th, 2010, 9:27 pm Post #6 - February 26th, 2010, 9:27 pm
    Giallo wrote:I was a fan of the food I had at Revolution. My bacon popcorn was not overwhelmingly bacon. I thought the ratio of popcorn to bacon to Parmesan to crispy sage was just right. I had the mustard herb chicken sandwich. The chicken breast was meaty and perfectly cooked. The blue cheese potato salad was also good. My friends had the fish and chips and the workingman burger and they both enjoyed their food as well. I've tried a number of their beers with my favorites being the Anti-Hero IPA and the Eugene Porter.

    I have mixed feelings about the space. I thought the bar was fantastic with the carved wooden fists with stars in the wrists. The rest of the space is very "nice." It is very open and has a modern, trendy, and somewhat antiseptic feel that seems somewhat at odds with the "revolutionary" iconography in the logo and the names of many menu items (and the brewery name itself). It didn't help that they were playing some really insipid electronic music on one of my visits. It definitely feels more like a restaurant than a bar which I think is largely a function of the bar being in the middle of the room as opposed as in its own discrete space.

    Despite some modest reservations about the space, I'm thrilled that Revolution has finally opened its doors. I've enjoyed the food and beer, and as a neighborhood resident, I'm looking forward to eating and drinking there often.


    You almost had a limerick:

    Giallo wrote:the popcorn and bacon, just right -
    along with the beers that I've tried;
    the carved wooden fists
    with the stars in their wrists
    as a neighborhood resident, I'm looking forward to eating and drinking there often.

    That last line may need some work.
  • Post #7 - February 27th, 2010, 6:58 pm
    Post #7 - February 27th, 2010, 6:58 pm Post #7 - February 27th, 2010, 6:58 pm
    My Wife and I had dinner there last night for the first time and liked it quite a bit. I think expectations going in have a lot to do with what people think of the food.

    We had the Popcorn, Duck and Beet Bruschettas, Workingman's Burger, and Flemish beef stew. The popcorn was good, although the popcorn itself didn't taste especially baconey. Both bruschettas were great - especially the duck brushcetta. My wife had the burger and it wasn't overcooked at all. The beef used to make it was definitely good quality, and it was just a great juicy beefy tasting burger. The Flemish beef stew was ok, it was 3 good sized pieces of beef that had been braised in ale and balsamic served on a bed of mashed potatoes with green beans. I expected a stronger flavor from the braising liquid and it seemed like the beef should have been cooked more slowly at a lower temp - it wasn't tough, but also didn't really come apart as easily as I expected braised beef to.

    I didn't think the space was generic, a bit sparse, but the bar and the barrel stave walls are really nice. The brick walls do dominate, and it would be nicer if they had something on the walls. The crowd matched the location exactly - right between Cole's and The Logan Bar and Grill.

    To me it was a very good meal for a brew pub. Definitely not the Publican or Bristol, but a lot better than say Rock Bottom or the old Goose Island menu. Considering they've only been open for about a month everything seems to be coming together nicely and I imagine the food (which is already good) will improve as they iron out the details. Oh - and the beer is really good as well, although they've already run out of the Eugene. Hopefully they'll have that back soon.
    It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

    - Chris

    http://stavewoodworking.com
  • Post #8 - February 28th, 2010, 10:27 am
    Post #8 - February 28th, 2010, 10:27 am Post #8 - February 28th, 2010, 10:27 am
    My SO and I went to Revolution Brewery the week after opening and again last night. The food is OK. The beer is better.

    First time visit was a Wednesday around 7. The hostess indicated there would be a 1- 1.5 hour wait and took my mobile number. Since there was no room at the bar, we went across the street to Cole's for a pre-dinner drink. 30 minutes later we get the call. My SO just ordered his second cocktail, so we indicated we would be there - but not immediately. As expected, when we returned we were at the bottom of the list, so we waited another 30 minutes or so. Just as we snagged some bar seats, we were called for our table.

    We ordered the cheese soup and sweet potato app, followed by duck confit pizza and fish-n-chips. The apps never arrived. Good for us because the entree portions were large - we really didn't need the apps. My first bite was all gorganzola and rosemary - the two flavors seem to fight each other. Once I settled into the rest of the pizza - it was more balanced. The pizza crust had a nice char. I tried my partner's fish and chips. The fish was fresh, nice batter coating, but greasy.

    Next time - meeting friends Saturday night on the babysitting clock. They arrived at 5:15 and were cited a 45 minute wait. We met them at 5:30 and they were already seated at the table. I heard good things about the burgers, so went with the workingman's burger with blue cheese potato salad side. It was a huge, tasty burger. Biting aged cheddar, thick bacon, (alot) of carmelized onions, good quality beef, huge bun. Cooked perfectly med-rare. 2 others at the table had the burger med, well done. They were also cooked to specification. The burger with the pulled pork was light on pork topping. And their fries were greasy. I didn't get a chance to try the cheese/ale soup but was told it was alot like melted cheese - less like soup. I love cheese - so that doesn't sound bad, just not what was expected.

    I'll go back Revolution Brewery and
    1) take the wait time with a grain of salt
    2) go for the beer and burger
    3) avoid fried foods
    Last edited by wendy on February 28th, 2010, 12:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #9 - February 28th, 2010, 12:29 pm
    Post #9 - February 28th, 2010, 12:29 pm Post #9 - February 28th, 2010, 12:29 pm
    I was there this past Wednesday as well and agree that they seem to quote long wait times just to be safe. We got there at 6:30 and were quoted an hour even though there were only a couple people in the waiting area and most at the bar were eating. Seemed like only 15-25 minutes later when we were seated.

    As for the food, we had all 4 bruschetta, the lentil bowl and the Flemish stew. The bruschetta were pretty good, though the duck confit was pretty dry. My stew was good, though I agree at the braising liquid didn't have a *ton* of taste. The beef was very tender, however. My dining companion enjoyed her lentils/veggies.

    I had an English Workingman beer, which I like a lot. It had a distinct coffee flavor, bordering on a porter but not quite as strong. Reasonably priced at $5 as well.

    I'd give the beer an A and the food a B after my first visit.
  • Post #10 - March 2nd, 2010, 2:03 pm
    Post #10 - March 2nd, 2010, 2:03 pm Post #10 - March 2nd, 2010, 2:03 pm
    I also went to Rev Brew last Friday night with 3 others. We got there at 8 and were quoted 2hrs for a table. We stuck around, ordered beers and popcorn and grabbed some ledge to the right of the bar. The bacon popcorn was good, if ony due to the large chunks of smokey bacon. I didn't know what to expect on the popcorn flavor, but it tasted pretty regular to me. We were seated after an hour, when the hostess realized our whole party was actually in the bar and not a phone call away, and sat us immediately. I appreciated this measure, instead of letting a table go empty for the 15-20 minutes it would take to get the next party in the door. What they don't know can't hurt them, I suppose.

    Anyway, we ordered the cremini and rapini pizza as an app to share; the crust had a good chew and there were plenty of whole roasted garlic cloves, which immediately won me over. I had the workingman burger with blue cheese potato salad- which was easily the best cheesy potato salad I've ever had. Sharp blue cheese, some diced celery, a touch of hard boiled egg, generously showered with pepper- I could have eaten only that. But alas, the burger was delicious as well, with flavorful caramelized beer onions that lived up to their name. A dinner compadre noted that his burger was actually perfectly medium rare, something he doesn't come across often.

    I'm looking forward to trying more of their menu; I spied their tempeh reuben that looked too delicious to be made with fake meat.
  • Post #11 - March 2nd, 2010, 2:44 pm
    Post #11 - March 2nd, 2010, 2:44 pm Post #11 - March 2nd, 2010, 2:44 pm
    I went to Revolution last Thursday for lunch and the place was wide open. There were maybe 5 tables taken up and two guys at the bar. Nice space.

    I had the fish and chips - nontraditional fried scrod with good fries - not the typical thick "chips" or pieces of fried cod. I didn't find the fish overly greasy and the portion was very large. It came with a roast pepper remoulade (I used it all with the fish) and a small side of jalapeno slaw (ate this in about 3 bites). Overall I thought it was very good and the fries were great. The guy I was with had the smoke house pizza and he liked it quite a bit. We both had the workingman ales (low alcohol - 3.5% - it was lunch) and they were also pretty good.

    *needless, unrelated observations edited out
    Last edited by tyrus on March 2nd, 2010, 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #12 - March 2nd, 2010, 4:21 pm
    Post #12 - March 2nd, 2010, 4:21 pm Post #12 - March 2nd, 2010, 4:21 pm
    tyrus wrote:*needless, unrelated observations edited out

    tyrus,

    That's all in the eye of the beholder.

    Thank you for your contributions.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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  • Post #13 - April 20th, 2010, 7:24 pm
    Post #13 - April 20th, 2010, 7:24 pm Post #13 - April 20th, 2010, 7:24 pm
    We wound up here last Saturday night for the first time seeking later-night food after a concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Yes, not exactly right down the street, but took us about the same amount of time (in the opposite direction,) of our "usual" post-concert destination - Candlelite. Jonathan had biked down Milwaukee earlier in the day and wanted to check it out.

    We arrived shortly after 10pm and were told it would be a 1/2 hour for a table, which wasn't a surprise or a problem on a Saturday night. We ordered a couple of Working Man's Milds and after about 10 minutes, our table was ready.

    I liked the space, the efficient and friendly service, the beer, and our shared appetizer, which was a very fresh/crisp salad with arugula, apples, candied pecans and warm goat cheese croquettes.

    I had a tough time selecting an entree. There were two sandwiches available to my pesco-vegetarian self. One contained tempeh (not my thing,) and the other smoked, grilled tofu. I was mildly curious about the latter, but not enough to order it. It just didn't say "beer food" to me. I decided to go with a pizza and chose their "Puttanesca." I really disliked this pizza. Partly because my personal preferance is for crispy, thin crust pizza. This was soggy, bready, limp pizza. In addition, the ingredients weren't evenly distributed. It was more like a cluster of capers here, a wad of red onions there...

    Jonathan did like his Working Man's burger, which was not dry and done to his specified medium rare. Fries were average.

    In addition to the Working Man's Milds, we tried and enjoyed the Cross of Gold and Iron Fist Pale Ale. I think next time I'll try one of their Mussel appetizers as an entree. The version with white ale, celery, shallots, and Pale Ale sounds particularly appealing.
  • Post #14 - April 21st, 2010, 11:07 pm
    Post #14 - April 21st, 2010, 11:07 pm Post #14 - April 21st, 2010, 11:07 pm
    LauraS wrote:I had the mussels in the blue cheese broth. These were also quite good. The only thing is that I usually like how mussels in broth are a light entree and with the blue cheese in the broth, after awhile it felt a little heavy.


    --> "After a while, it felt a little heavy."

    This could be a motto for Revolution. I couldn't get potatoes without cheese mixed in. The burgers all had something interesting that added fat. I don't mind interesting ingredients. I don't even mind a few added calories here and there. But they seem to feel the need to add a sauce or a cheese to everything. What's wrong with mashed potatoes? Why would they need cheese? What's wrong with the burger that would require you to cover the flavor with egg yolk?

    And while I won't judge them for their Lincoln Park clientele, I was surprised at the staff. How do you manage not to hire anyone, um, southern european, let alone someone of color when you're that far west of Western? I'd think you'd have to be consciously selecting to get a front of the house staff that white. I felt like I was back in rural central Illinois. I'm renaming the place "Counterrevolution". Or maybe "Reaction".

    (Edited to say that despite the peevish things I wrote above, I did enjoy the food, and maybe most LTH-ers would be more concerned about that.)
  • Post #15 - April 22nd, 2010, 7:58 pm
    Post #15 - April 22nd, 2010, 7:58 pm Post #15 - April 22nd, 2010, 7:58 pm
    I live within easy walking distance of Revolution and have been there several times — though only during the day. The beer is certainly respectable. I've had the Workingman's, the Iron Fist, and one other one (the Anti-Hero, perhaps), and enjoyed them all.

    I found the food fairly disappointing. I sent a Farm Burger back the first time I was there because it was way overdone. To their credit, my request was handled quickly, efficiently, and without fuss, and I received another burger cooked to the requested medium. Still, it was only a slightly above average burger. I did enjoy the fries, however. (I can see potential in the burger, but it's not there yet, IMO.) Second time I ate food there I had fish and chips, which were fine but nothing exceptional.

    Hopefully the crowds will die down at some point so I can enjoy a drink there. For now, I'd say the food at Revolution's sister restaurant Handlebar is more enjoyable (I say that as a proud carnivore), as is Handlebar's more relaxed atmosphere.
  • Post #16 - April 23rd, 2010, 6:13 am
    Post #16 - April 23rd, 2010, 6:13 am Post #16 - April 23rd, 2010, 6:13 am
    ryanwc wrote:And while I won't judge them for their Lincoln Park clientele, I was surprised at the staff. How do you manage not to hire anyone, um, southern european, let alone someone of color when you're that far west of Western? I'd think you'd have to be consciously selecting to get a front of the house staff that white. I felt like I was back in rural central Illinois. I'm renaming the place "Counterrevolution". Or maybe "Reaction".

    (Edited to say that despite the peevish things I wrote above, I did enjoy the food, and maybe most LTH-ers would be more concerned about that.)


    I don't get it. You think they should be hiring Greeks, Italians and maybe a few Bosnians or Croats for their FOH ? You could tell by the complexions where the white folk were from ?
  • Post #17 - April 23rd, 2010, 7:05 am
    Post #17 - April 23rd, 2010, 7:05 am Post #17 - April 23rd, 2010, 7:05 am
    tem wrote:I don't get it. You think they should be hiring Greeks, Italians and maybe a few Bosnians or Croats for their FOH ? You could tell by the complexions where the white folk were from ?

    That was the joke I was making, yes. Do I really think so?
  • Post #18 - April 23rd, 2010, 8:01 am
    Post #18 - April 23rd, 2010, 8:01 am Post #18 - April 23rd, 2010, 8:01 am
    ah. a joke. i see.
  • Post #19 - May 26th, 2010, 2:24 pm
    Post #19 - May 26th, 2010, 2:24 pm Post #19 - May 26th, 2010, 2:24 pm
    I haven't had a better burger than this in a long time:

    Image

    Loosy-goosy construction, nice and salty, incredibly juicy, and cooked just as requested. 13 bucks (edit: I was incorrect. turns out the burger was 11, not 13) is a lot to pay, but the caesar on the side was generous and real, and the burger was huge. 2PM on a Wednesday and I have free wireless and 3/4 of the place to myself.
    Last edited by Kennyz on May 26th, 2010, 6:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
    ...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

    Fuckerberg on Food
  • Post #20 - May 26th, 2010, 2:32 pm
    Post #20 - May 26th, 2010, 2:32 pm Post #20 - May 26th, 2010, 2:32 pm
    Kennyz wrote:I haven't had a better burger than this in a long time:

    Image

    Loosy-goosy construction, nice and salty, incredibly juicy, and cooked just as requested. 13 bucks is a lot to pay, but the caesar on the side was generous and real, and the burger was huge. 2PM on a Wednesday and I have free wireless and 3/4 of the place to myself.


    $13--on the higher side for a burger...a bargain for office space (especially one with their own beer on tap)
    "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
  • Post #21 - May 26th, 2010, 2:36 pm
    Post #21 - May 26th, 2010, 2:36 pm Post #21 - May 26th, 2010, 2:36 pm
    boudreaulicious wrote:$13--on the higher side for a burger...a bargain for office space (especially one with their own beer on tap)


    True. I was going to mention the beer, but I thought I'd be violating the separation of threads. I'm not really digging or understanding how the separate eating and drinking threads are supposed to work.
    ...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

    Fuckerberg on Food
  • Post #22 - May 26th, 2010, 5:59 pm
    Post #22 - May 26th, 2010, 5:59 pm Post #22 - May 26th, 2010, 5:59 pm
    turns out I was charged 11 bucks, not 13 for the burger. editing post accordingly.
    ...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

    Fuckerberg on Food
  • Post #23 - May 26th, 2010, 7:50 pm
    Post #23 - May 26th, 2010, 7:50 pm Post #23 - May 26th, 2010, 7:50 pm
    Kennyz wrote:I haven't had a better burger than this in a long time:

    Image

    Loosy-goosy construction, nice and salty, incredibly juicy, and cooked just as requested. 13 bucks (edit: I was incorrect. turns out the burger was 11, not 13) is a lot to pay, but the caesar on the side was generous and real, and the burger was huge. 2PM on a Wednesday and I have free wireless and 3/4 of the place to myself.

    You don't mention the bun, but your picture intrigues me because in my opinion a good brioche bun is the perfect vehicle for a good burger, and it looks like it might be a good quality brioche bun? Am I right? In any event, how was the bun?
  • Post #24 - May 26th, 2010, 8:01 pm
    Post #24 - May 26th, 2010, 8:01 pm Post #24 - May 26th, 2010, 8:01 pm
    BR wrote:You don't mention the bun, but your picture intrigues me because in my opinion a good brioche bun is the perfect vehicle for a good burger, and it looks like it might be a good quality brioche bun? Am I right? In any event, how was the bun?


    Yes, brioche and very good, but I will say that even though the bun seemed sturdy, that was such a juicy piece of meat that it did shred through the bottom when I was a little more than halfway through. It was a messy but delicious lunch.
    ...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

    Fuckerberg on Food
  • Post #25 - May 26th, 2010, 8:08 pm
    Post #25 - May 26th, 2010, 8:08 pm Post #25 - May 26th, 2010, 8:08 pm
    Kennyz wrote:
    BR wrote:You don't mention the bun, but your picture intrigues me because in my opinion a good brioche bun is the perfect vehicle for a good burger, and it looks like it might be a good quality brioche bun? Am I right? In any event, how was the bun?


    Yes, brioche and very good, but I will say that even though the bun seemed sturdy, that was such a juicy piece of meat that it did shred through the bottom when I was a little more than halfway through. It was a messy but delicious lunch.

    I'll never be the one to complain about the juice soaking through the bottom of a good, buttery brioche bun. As far as I'm concerned, great burgers are supposed to "drool" down your arm as you eat them . . . it's a rule.
  • Post #26 - July 3rd, 2010, 11:06 pm
    Post #26 - July 3rd, 2010, 11:06 pm Post #26 - July 3rd, 2010, 11:06 pm
    The bacon popcorn was okay.

    Image

    I dunno, it was basically exactly what it said it would be: bacon, popcorn, parm and sage. Seemed like a really good idea but turned out being just okay, with the flavors of individual ingredients remaining pretty much distinct from one another, no meshing, and the dish itself remaining something I could make at home without much effort (not exactly a damning qualification, but, you know, not praise, either).
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #27 - July 4th, 2010, 4:20 pm
    Post #27 - July 4th, 2010, 4:20 pm Post #27 - July 4th, 2010, 4:20 pm
    I made my first visit to Revolution two Fridays ago. The bar was basically full, the rest of the seating about 1/3 occupied at about 4pm. Pretty dehydrated after a long day on the bike, I skipped beer and stuck to water. I ordered the beet and feta salad and the wings. The former was quite good--nice balance of flavors and variety of textures. I liked that the beet and kalamata got equal billing, romaine was more of a side note and the salad overall wasn't too salty (which seems to happen a lot when I have anything with olives and feta). I eat wings maybe twice a year; these were excellent--perhaps too saucy but had a solid, medium smoky heat and well matched with the blue cheese potato salad.

    I, too, have mixed feelings about the space. Since it wasn't full, I didn't get a full sense of the acoustics, but I bet it can get fairly loud at Revolution. I'm pretty crowd-averse, so I'll probably visit again only during off-hours.

    ryanwc wrote:And while I won't judge them for their Lincoln Park clientele, I was surprised at the staff. How do you manage not to hire anyone, um, southern european, let alone someone of color when you're that far west of Western? I'd think you'd have to be consciously selecting to get a front of the house staff that white.


    As a person of color, I pay attention to such details. I did note some (at least superficial) diversity among FOH staff. What was more homogenous--an observation perhaps indicative of the amount of time (or lack thereof) that I spend in these bar-restaurant-type places--was the amount of cleavage on display. :shock:
  • Post #28 - July 4th, 2010, 8:07 pm
    Post #28 - July 4th, 2010, 8:07 pm Post #28 - July 4th, 2010, 8:07 pm
    A few weeks ago, Revolution starting serving brunch 10-3 on Saturdays and Sundays.

    The brunch menu is small but well represented: toad in the hole w/cheddar ale sauce, cherry porter pancakes, pork belly sandwich, steak and eggs, pancetta biscuits and gravy.

    I'm a sucker for biscuits and gravy and I really enjoyed the Revolution take. The buttermilk/chive biscuits have a density more scone than light/buttery/fluffly. These biscuits may not appeal to traditionalists. The gravy is made with hot Italian sausage. Poached organic egg on top along with crispy house-curred pancetta and fried shallots (mmm, Durkee onion rings.)
  • Post #29 - July 5th, 2010, 3:39 am
    Post #29 - July 5th, 2010, 3:39 am Post #29 - July 5th, 2010, 3:39 am
    I suppose I'd have to try the burger, but the sides look nicely machined or rounded off and the burger looks like it's densely packed, flat on the top like a puck, as opposed to a hand-patted burger. Some places (like Sobelman's in Milwaukee) seem to be taking good meat and mass-forming and freezing it, packing it too dense so while it has a decent flavor, it has a rubbery consistency and pulls away when you bite into it rather than your teeth slicing through it.
  • Post #30 - September 29th, 2010, 10:32 am
    Post #30 - September 29th, 2010, 10:32 am Post #30 - September 29th, 2010, 10:32 am
    I visited Revolution Tuesday at 7 pm. The bar was packed but only about 1/3 of the tables were taken. We were seated immediately.

    Revolution offers 5 oz. beer 'samples' for $2 apiece--you can create your own flight, or figure out which flavor you prefer. The Oktoberfest is now on tap, and is worth a shot.

    I had the fish and chips: a generous portion of ale-battered scrod served atop a mound of small fries. By the time I got through much of the fish to access the fries, however, the latter had lost their crispness. While the fish helped keep the fries warm, it also helped them retain moisture. Still, the fish was good and worked well with the roasted pepper remoulade served alongside. The jalapeno slaw was a tiny serving, and was nothing to write home about.

    My companion had the Flemish beef stew, featuring garlic cream cheese mashed potatoes. I had a taste of the mashed potatoes--seriously rich! This dish seems like a good choice for dinner after a 50-mile bike ride.

    With 2 beers each, entrees, no apps and no dessert the tab came to $60 with tip. Not horrible, but not a great value, either. I'm not writing it off, but it ain't at the top of my list.

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