Friday 3rd of December 2010 03:44:18 PM

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Mitchell's...used to be Puffer's, the one bar in Bridgeport with a solitary good beer: Alpha King.
Held over from those days is a pre-printed chalkboard beer list above the bar, all macros save for FFF and Sierra Nevada. FFF Pride & Joy was on tap, but the rest of the tap handles were all macros. That about sums up the selection. A handful of good beers, with 75% filler. Not really a beer bar, but passable considering the location. In the area, Maria's, Skylark, & Simone's have a far better selection, but also draw a different crowd. This is a neighborhood sports bar.

The bar itself is a classic Chicago tavern, dark wood trim, vintage back bar, worn in tables and chairs. Flatscreens dominate, making this more of a sports bar. Service was adequate, the bartender mentioned that Alpha Klaus was a Porter.

Out of 50 beers, maybe 15 would interest the BA crowd. 5 Three Floyds: GBH, RtB, P&J, Alpha King, and Alpha Klaus ($10 special). Also Delirium, Skullsplitter, Bells Best Brown, Fin Du Monde, Stiegl Pils. The rest of the beer you can find at any other decent bar in Chicago. Sure that's great if you live a block away, but no great shakes to the rest of us. Not a beer list worth going out of your way for, or even considering with Maria's, Skylark, & Simone's nearby, unless you're headed to a Sox game.

Thursday 11th of November 2010 05:53:00 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

I have been to Mitchells (aka the tap) on several occasions. I came here because they serve Three Floyds. Im a big Three Floyds drinker and my options are pretty limited. I wasnt sure what to think at first but the place is pretty solid. They have a real strong Blackhawks fan base and they have more selections of beers than 99% of the bars I have been to. I come here a couple times a month and I feel more comfortable with each visit. Definitely in my top 5.

Monday 10th of May 2010 02:31:14 PM

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I managed to visit here on a Sunday evening when the north side b**eball team was on the ESPN national telecast. However, Mitchell's is an egalitarian and tolerant bar. The north side fans were clustered on the west edge of the bar, closest to the venue's largest flat-screen TV (subscribed to Comcast cable). The south side fans (whose club had lost that afternoon), were closer to the door. I seated myself in between, but closer to the south side fans.
I began coming to this address when it was "Puffers' Bar". From what I overheard, after the south side club won something colossal in 2005, and which the north side club hasn't won since 1908, the Puffers drew an offer from some other wanna-be bar owner. They felt this was the time to go out, and so they sold. But aside from whoever is the new owner, the venue has not greatly changed.
You can obtain a quality beer here, typically an import, but Three Floyds can be found here, as can Point (which is what I ordered), and it has two Samuel Adams beers, including the seasonal on tap.
It took a while for Mitchell's to warm up to me. I was generally ignoring the TV, and reading an English-language pamphlet I brought back from Japan. I did not attribute this to xenophobia. The peculiar combination of what was on TV, and what had occurred earlier that day is to what I attribute it.
But just the same, I can't give Mitchell's that high a rating for now. In succeeding trips to the south side, when I cycle back through Mitchell's, then I'll ponder if it can go higher.

Transit options: The #8 Halsted route is how to get the 'last mile'. It runs northbound [to Orange & Blue Line "L"s] until 1:00 am and southbound until 2:10 am. The #44 Wallace-Racine route is two blocks east of Halsted, but it ceases running at 11:35 pm on weeknights, and after 6:00 pm on weekends. The #35 35th Street route halts operation at 1:00 am.