Friday 24th of April 2009 09:51:18 AM

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This was the first stop on the recent CTA pub-crawl. The Local Option has a good layout. There is a bar on your left that seats about 15. There are tables along the opposite wall and some more tables upfront near the large window. These open to the street and are a nice touch. There is more additional seating the rear room where the bathrooms are also located.

The bar has nice flat screen TVs for sports watching and is decorated with a bunch of beer memorabilia. Note that they seem to love old decorations from Miller High Life. A little out of place is the green neon sign from the band Journey....

16 very solid tap choices including among others, options from Goose, a couple from Surly, Gaffel Kolsch & a choice from Floosmor Brewing. Tap lines were immaculate and beer was served at the proper temp.

They have a large display of their bottle offerings (over 75 maybe closer to 100). Believe me, you will find something good to drink.

The service was fast, friendly and professional. They were very free with samples.

While the menu looked good, I did not partake this time, so I will update my review when I eat there again.

Great option in the De Paul - Lincoln Park neighborhood!

Sunday 2nd of December 2007 11:30:48 AM

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I'm not sure if I would have found this place without the help of emerge077. I'm certainly not sure that I would have believed the selection if not for reading his review.

Local Option has at least 20 taps, mostly pouring craft beer. There are a lot of bottles displaying what appears to be their available bottle list on the far wall of the front room. Most of these beers appear to be selections that I would enjoy drinking.

The food menu is interesting, giving you lots of choices. I had the steak tacos with a side of fried onion string things (a healthy choice) and they were both very enjoyable. I washed the tacos down with a large glass of Darkness (don't tell anyone).

Local Option is a 4 or 5 block stroll from Goose Island - Clybourn. On a cold or wet day it might be a less than fun walk. But on a nice day you should give it a shot and check out Local Option.

Local Option is only about 2 or 3 blocks from the Fullerton Red Line stop.

Sunday 18th of November 2007 06:46:48 PM

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This bar is tucked away on a relatively quiet street in Lincoln Park. It has a mostly glass facade, but once inside, there is alot of dark wood and candlelight.

The emphasis here is on sizeable portions of cajun food, and more recently, craft beer. There is a handsomely mounted metal-plated draft tower that holds 20 taps. A whimsical pink Delerium elephant stood on it's own pedestal, with a free-standing tap. Selection was well rounded with a few goodies tucked in there. Taps included: 2 Bros. Heavy Handed, 3F Pride & Joy, 2 Rogue, Left Hand Milk Stout, 3 Unibroue, Victory Hop Devil, Dupont, De Proef, Chimay White, and Monschof Schwarzbier. Around 2-3 tv's in the bar, and a couple craft neons. A very long shelf on the back wall held 100 or so bottled beers, mixed up import and craft options galore. Among them were: 5 2 Brothers, 5 Lagunitas, 3 Victory, 5 Unibroue, 3 Ska, Duvel, St. Bernardus 8 & 12, Hopf Dunkel Weisse, Schlenkerla Urbock & Helles, 3 Hitachino, 4 Brooklyn including IPA and Black Chocolate Stout. I was told their beer list was "in progress".

There were tables in the front room around the bar area (smoking area, 2 smoke eaters), and more booth seating in the back (non-smoking?). A chalkboard in the hall listed some food specials.
Jambalaya was my meal that night, it had large chunks of chicken, sausage, and shrimp, simmered with rice in a zesty cajun sauce. Cheesy jalapeno corn cakes were on the side.

Overall it was a nice experience on a weekday evening. Local crowd with some DePaul grad students thrown in. Staff was accomodating and friendly.