Wednesday 2nd of July 2008 12:06:06 PM

link
Handlebar is just around the corner from my place, so I stop by quite often when I'm to lazy to cook... The vegetarian food is good (and I'm not a vegetarian!), and the beer selection ever changing. They do serve fish, though, and the seared Ahi tuna sandwich is one of my favorites. The Mac and Cheese with smoked gouda is good, too.

The beer garden out back features bicycle parking, but the beer garden itself gets crowded whenever the weather is decent. The indoor seating is limited, in particular if your group is bigger than 4-6 people.

Friday 9th of November 2007 02:37:33 PM

link
I've been here 6-8 times over the last couple years, and keep coming back.

Handlebar has become an oasis in the area, away from the increasing retail/new housing encroachment and trendy crowds. It is a fairly small place and can get crowded on weekend nights. The bar is small with good service, but it's smack in the middle of the restaurant, and is more service-oriented.

There is a great patio in the back with plentiful hop bines growing along a wooden fence. Various bicycle-related sculptures add a creative flair to the beer garden atmosphere. It's a pretty laid-back place, and the service reflects that.

Selection is good, there are 8-10 taps with a rotating seasonal bottle selection. There are small placards on the tables with the most current offerings. Alpha King is a standard, seasonals from JP, Brooklyn, and Goose Island, several others too. Hitachino Espresso Stout was there on my last visit.

Food can be hit or miss, depending on your tolerance for tofu/seitan. My fave dish here is the Black Bean Maduro, a smoky hot chipotle bean dish with fried plantains, pico de gallo, and cilantro. They do have Catfish tacos, so everything isn't strictly vegan/veg. Recommended for a lunch or dinner stop if you are on your way to the Maproom later.

Tuesday 13th of March 2007 08:26:09 AM

link
Handlebar is a pretty cool little bar that's west of Piece Brewpub on W. North. The taplist is not extensive, but there are some good beers available and Handlebar seems to like supporting some of our local breweries by keeping them available on tap.

The bottle list isn't extravagant, but there are some really solid choices for a beer to pair with your meal. The food options range from eclectic and very interesting (grilled catfish tacos) to somewhat normal pub fare (chili cheese fries). Their menu allows for a substitution of mac and cheese for a side on the sandwich options, and this makes some people very happy.

Overall, I wouldn't call Handlebar a beer destination (partly because of it's proximity to Map Room and Piece), but it is a really cool spot that you should check out if you're in the area. On a nice day, Handlebar could easily become the right angle on your Map Room/Piece triangle pub crawl.

Handlebar is accessible from both the Damen and Western Blue line stops. It is slightly closer to the Damen stop (head straight west on W. North Ave).