 |
| From Blokes & Birds |
Grade: D+
Pub food. A lot can be said about it & the fact remains that it is one of the best & fastest ways to get a good meal at a descent price. British pub food is especially enticing in Chicago & if you don’t wan’t to do chain food like Elephant & Castle one would be more than willing to check out local Lakeview eatery Blokes & Birds Public House if anything for the name. The wood paneled front of the pub is only distinguished by a moustache placed between the two doors you are given to choose to walk in & a large sign above announcing its name. The excitement doesn’t stop there however as this pub just seems to keep trying until you have ordered every cocktail off there menu just to numb the pain.
Once inside Blokes & Birds you are treated to what should be a wood covered Valhalla. It is undoubtably a very large space and smack dap in the middle of those off centered doors is the host booth. Above that booth for some strange reason, only to be explained by the neighborhood, is a set of distracting televisions. There is also a large amount of space for where you can be seated & when you are you can almost feel a thousand miles away from the next person due to the fact that Blokes & Birds being so large its hard to ever see it filled, I have given up some nights just to see if it could happen to no avail. If one decides to go to the washroom here it almost feels like an excursion out to the badlands of Mad Max lore since the whole back room is devoid of tables or anything else & just has a view straight into the kitchen. Oh, & those bathrooms, well, they are off center to the left of the entrance & for some reason I have always run into a server right outside the door.
Blokes & Birds menus are a whole other thing. Its hard to not let ones mouth water with a food & cocktails list like this. Both expansive & seemingly well rounded it makes perfect sense that these fever dreams are not attainable. Cocktails are all dependent on who is running the bar & can come with a huge wedge of fruit to an overpowering amount of bitters in ones glass. While the quality & quantity of ones spirit of choice is not skipped out on its layering is sometimes clunky in measurement just like its garnish if it even decides to show up. The beer list here is expansive as well with a large amount of UK imports & a decent selection of local micro-brews. Thankfully beer cannot be ruined & while prices are slightly high, especially for some selections of Three Floyds, which includes Dreadnaught it is still nice to at least see an offering of something else besides their routine bottles.
Food, however, is a whole other thing that can barely be made up for & while filling, which is a basic tenant of food, it is not as creative as the menu would suggest. The small plates section of the menu is enough for one to salivate with daring options like Blood Pudding & Ceviche which both can go horribly wrong if not cooked properly & after what I ate I was not going to be a willing guinea pig for that fare. The Scotch Egg is breaded & sausaged to perfection but it is sadly also fried to a crisp. Zapped of all its flavor one must attack its accompanying sauce for any resounding notes of taste. The mac & cheese is nothing special, especially, when one can travel a few blocks & get some spicy panko breaded mac & cheese right at Schubas which is well known for there large offerings. The Shepherd’s Pie, a delight by any means only heightened by the fact that the lamb is slow cooked in a porter, is a large let down as it shouldn’t just be a small plate but an entree offering. Being served in a small ramekin would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that none of the veg is minced so while digging for the more than succulent lamb one is also confronted with whole porcini mushrooms & the like. The real atrocity of Blokes & Birds, though, comes from their burgers.
While there regular burger is a good, juicy, well cooked, delight, the atrocity known as the Foie Burger is the most disgusting & decadent thing one can ever eat. A patty of meat cooked to you choosing is served only with a whole piece of seared Foie Gras on top & on the side a cone of fries drenched in Truffle Oil. While the first bite or two may seem decadent & amazing as the fatty liver drips all over & mixes with the blood of the meat the taste quickly turns overpowering after the third or fourth bite. Since it is also a whole piece of Foie Gras, it is not de-veined, & when that bite comes it throws off the whole experience with a sinewy feel of uncomfortableness. All the while one has to also ingest the putrid aroma of chemically reproduced truffle oil which, also ruin the delightful fries they drown.
Blokes & Birds Public House has no doubt nabbed & great location & offers something rare in Lakeview with a late night cocktail offering out of a sea of Bro Bars reeking of stale sweat. Sadly their reach seems to be a bit too much & in the least menu wise which could use some decisive editing in offerings & price. The cocktails are good & while pricey compared to better & cheaper fare out of the area they are able to monopolize for the finer things. In the end one should, if stuck in the area, give Blokes & Birds a chance if for any reason the late night drinks but if you are not stuck in Lakeview or a surrounding neighborhood like Lincoln Park it should not even cross your mind as there are far better places in The Windy City.
Greenbacks: Look to spend around $35 or more for dinner & drinks.
Cocktails: Good but not great & expect to be different each time.
Dinning: Pricey & to be avoided unless starving.
Service: Friendly & accommodating.
Grade: D+
