Off the Brown Line

I love the Brown line. I might be taking some out of town pals on a mini L tour. What are your favorite bars & restaurants in walking distance of ol' Brown?

Resi's Bier Stube if you don't mind German food/drink. Really, the garden is where it's at, but I love the bar, too. Having been to Germany this past summer, the food compares quite favorably, for the most part.

mtgl wrote:Resi's Bier Stube if you don't mind German food/drink. Really, the garden is where it's at, but I love the bar, too. Having been to Germany this past summer, the food compares quite favorably, for the most part.

I can never decide which I love more, Resi's or Lachet's. Luckily they make a nice two-fer.

Depending on time of day/actual goal of this journey, here are a few I thought of:

Paulina: Loba Pastry for good pastry and coffee (though not open very late)

Irving Park: Begyle and Dovetail breweries are just a block north on Ravenswood and can make an interesting 1-2 stop for beer drinkers. They serve very different types of beer: Begyle more in the new American brewery style and Dovetail catering to more traditional Germanic/eastern European types of beer.

Montrose: Margie's is right there if you are looking for something sweet.

Armitage - Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba

Wellington - Fish Bar, DMK Burger Bar, Andy's Thai Kitchen

Southport - Crosby's Kitchen, Fahlstrom's, Southport Grocery & Cafe

Damen - Aroy Thai

Western - Cafe Selmarie, Baker Miller, Spoon Thai, Bistro Campagne, Fork

For baked goods - bread and pastry - Floriole may be the best bakery in the entire city, and it's a short walk from either the Fullerton or Armitage stop (it's on Webster, halfway between the two).

An older article from Thrillist = https://www.thrillist.com/eat/chicago/c ... cta-l-stop

If you're venturing north, Kimball stop has hot dog station, subo and great seas a block away.

Kedzie stop has kabobi and Taqueria San Juanito.

And I know it's a couple blocks, but Victor bar and the sixth are a short walk from the Irving and Western stops

Dang a brown line food/bar crawl is a great idea

WhyBeeSea wrote:the sixth

A word of warning: Benjamin Schiller has left the building and, imo, this bar isn't even a shadow of what it once was. For me, no longer a destination.

As was posted above, I'd recommend GNR Aroy Thai, which is just off the Damen stop. Also, Bayan Ko, off the Montrose stop, for excellent Filipino-Cuban fare.

=R=

Aroy Thai
4654 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 275-8360

Bayan Ko
1810 W Montrose Ave
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 698-6373

Great idea for a thread. I don't know what kind of "cred" this place has around here, but I enjoyed a meal at Coda di Volpe, which is scarcely more than a block south of the Southport station.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:the sixth

A word of warning: Benjamin Schiller has left the building and, imo, this bar isn't even a shadow of what it once was. For me, no longer a destination.

Have you been since the new head bartender was brought in (announced a few months ago). Agreed otherwise, I used to go about weekly when it first opened and think it rivalled/surpassed every other cocktail bar I've been to in the city, including the aviary. I went for the first time in maybe 18 months this past fall and it was sad, to say the least.

Guyb wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:the sixth

A word of warning: Benjamin Schiller has left the building and, imo, this bar isn't even a shadow of what it once was. For me, no longer a destination.

Have you been since the new head bartender was brought in (announced a few months ago). Agreed otherwise, I used to go about weekly when it first opened and think it rivalled/surpassed every other cocktail bar I've been to in the city, including the aviary. I went for the first time in maybe 18 months this past fall and it was sad, to say the least.

I don't think so because information I found online indicates that he was hired in December of 2018 and my most recent visit pre-dates that. But if the bar is now like many of the other ones owned by that group, I'm bearish. Also, Schiller is an exceptional talent. His absence leaves some really big shoes to fill.

=R=

Good to know about the sixth. Always enjoyed having a drink or two there.

Happened to be on the brown line today so a few more ideas that I was

Western: budlong, spoon thai, genes for the rooftop if it's nice

Damen: band of bohemia (kinda), budakis

Montrose: Glenn's diner, fountainhead

Irving park: Steingolds, the globe

So many great tips for Brown Line drinks and eats! Great topic.

I'll put in a plug for Corridor Brewery and Provisions; very close to the Southport stop. Arguably one of the top breweries in Chicago. But if beer isnt your thing they have wine and a full bar too. The beer is amazing, though, especially their hazy ddh (double dry hopped) and Belgian style offerings, both of which have been awarded medals at the Great American Beer Fest.

The food is quite good with a great double griddled burger, house made fries, thin crust pizza with unusal inventive toppings, interesting salads. Very pretty room with bicycle theme and a vinyl soundtrack. Staff are super nice and welcoming. Im a regular, cant say enough good things about Corridor!

http://www.corridorchicago.com

There's certainly no shortage of options for you and your friends, as evidenced by all the great tasting options already suggested. Just a couple more, within a block and a half of a station, that are the best at what they do - possibly useful based on what the mood calls for:
- Nhu Lan Bakery bahn mi, 2612 W Lawrence (Rockwell stop)
- Spacca Napoli, 1769 W Sunnyside (Montrose stop)

WhyBeeSea wrote:Dang a brown line food/bar crawl is a great idea

Keep me posted if you want to put one together; it's been a long time LTH did something like this, no?

Pie Lady wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:Dang a brown line food/bar crawl is a great idea

Keep me posted if you want to put one together; it's been a long time LTH did something like this, no?

I've never partaken in an lth live event, but I'd come out for something like this!

In that case I can plan but if youse guys want to pitch in, I'd be glad to have assistance. They're a lot of fun. WhyBeeSea: what dates work might for you for an event like this?

Pie Lady wrote:In that case I can plan but if youse guys want to pitch in, I'd be glad to have assistance. They're a lot of fun. WhyBeeSee: what dates work might for you for an event like this?

Sounds fun. How about starting a new thread for planning on the Events forum . . . just to keep this thread focused on destination information?

Thanks,

=R=
for the Moderators

ronnie_suburban wrote:Sounds fun. How about starting a new thread for planning on the Events forum . . . just to keep this thread focused on destination information?

I can do that.

WhyBeeSea: feel free to PM me too.