Friday 9th of November 2007 12:21:54 PM

link

Stopped in here recently for the expressed purpose of giving it the once over for a review. The highlight was having JP Bam Biére on-tap, and reading the mish-mashed beer list. The list is seemingly random, import/domestic/styles are all jumbled together so that you have to scan through it all to find the good stuff.

Mystery "$3 House lager" was Leinie's..ehh. There were maybe 30-40 beers total from the bottle list. The list itself was fairly eclectic, but nothing out of the realm of most local beer stores. Lots of imports, ($11 Aventinus & Goudenband) with emphasis on country of origin (Tiger lager from Thailand for example). Sadly, not alot of local options. No Goose Island, 3 Floyds, or Two Brothers. They have Kelpie seaweed ale though.

Atmosphere was dull in the bar area, sort of a modern and sterile feel, with tv's and neon reflected on the marble bar.

Service was quick and friendly, I was the only one seated at the bar. Passed on the food, but noted there were several vegetarian options, a vegan burger, flatbreads, and jalapeno raviolis. Beer pairings were listed on the menu. A kangaroo burger was out of the question, so I quickly moved on.

Sunday 16th of September 2007 08:58:03 AM

link
The Hop Haus is not really in the part of downtown where tourists would necessarily find it. It's in the southern part of the gallery district which is in the River North neighborhood.

There are only a limited number of taps available here and the focus seems to be on bottled products. They do have a fairly interesting selection, ranging anywhere from a Schlenkerla Rauchbier to a Dogfish 90 Minute. You can easily find something here that you would like. The selection will not astonish you, but you should be able to get a beer here.

The menu here is heavily focused on burgers and sandwiches. The burgers are pretty good but not much better than burgers you can get elsewhere. They do have some more exotic options though (like Kangaroo). The menu is a bit less extensive than similar restaurants.

Sitting underneath the Brown/Purple El tracks, Hop Haus is a short 4 block stroll south from the Chicago stop. Clark Street Ale House is a short stroll east. Parking in this neighborhood is mostly street parking, with a few fairly expensive parking lots available.