Friday 4th of June 2010 04:28:17 PM

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Was in here tonight, not bad, pretty average for the area. Northdown & Green Lady are #1 for beer, #2 would be Four Moon and Village Tap. Pho's for Thai. They had an old Against the Grain tap still running from 4 months ago. >_>


reviewed on: 2010-06-04 16:28:17

I stopped in yesterday for a special event during Chicago Craft Beer Week. Metropolitan was pouring a 1/6 barrel of "IPL", an experimental one-off brew. From the brewer: "A single-hop beer using German Tradition Hallertau hops. By "single" we mean: a crapload of one kind of hops, added 3 different times during the boil."

So we got there luckily right before the keg blew. For the event, they were also handing out free samples of Dynamo, italian beef, and mini hotdogs. We opted for a few pizzas on the back patio. The crowd was laid back and the brewer was chatting with people. Decor in the bar room was local art on brick walls, worn-in wooden floors, an ornate wooden back bar, and a copper-surfaced bartop. It wasn't super busy, and the waitress came around once in awhile. Unfortunately a couple people were smoking outside, which wasn't cool as we were eating at the next table. Any other time, the patio is a really nice place to be though.

Selection here is ok, the usual suspects, craft staples like Two Hearted, Alpha King, Red's Rye, also locals like Half Acre and Metro. Lots of macro filler to the list. Didn't see much in the way of small-batch or seasonals besides the Metro IPL.

This is more of a neighborhood hangout, much like the Shire, Four Moon, Village Tap, and Coopers nearby. Head down to Lincoln/Diversey to Delilahs if you're looking for a major beer destination.

Sunday 7th of September 2008 09:42:02 PM

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I wound up here one Monday evening because a friendly alley cat we had been feeding for years died (in the backyard of the domicile here) and mom was too distraught to want to make anything for dinner.
There are a number of seemingly good taverns at the Belmont | Ashland | Lincoln intersection. Fizz is apparently aiming for the mid-range: i.e.: not a complete dive bar, but not something hoity-toity either. I was only on the first floor.
Fizz has specials every night of the week. On Mondays, the deals are the pizza buffet from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, and the "burger & a pint" for $6.00 deal all evening. The "pint" selections [16 oz.] are Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Blue Moon, and Miller Lite. Fizz has other good selections on draft. They include Magic Hat's #9 lager [$6.00], Harpoon I.P.A. [$6.00], & Rogue Dead Guy Ale [$6.00].
The cheeseburger was good. You get french fries with it. Those seemed to be institutional, but they were good.
The venue has lots of TVs, and DirecTV dbs, but I couldn't tell if it had any premium subscriptions. It _shall_ try to find an event on a cable | satellite channel if you have a good idea on which channel it is.
The venue itself looks as though it has been a tavern since the mid-1930s.
I had no delays or snags with the barstaff this night.
This venue would get a 3 1/2 star rating if I could give it. I will not give it the fourth star because, as you might have inferred from above, I thought its prices were a little above average. But you could give here a try. Ask what are its beer specials for that evening, and drink accordingly.

Transit options: This is a breeze compared with some of the other venues I have reviewed. The #77 Belmont runs 24 hours a day in both directions through this intersection. to get here: The #X9 Ashland Express runs from the Sheridan | Irving Park Red Line "L" station until 8:34 pm on weekdays. The #9 Ashland runs southbound from here until 1:48 am. (The last buses run all the way through to the 95th & State Red Line "L" station!) The #11 Lincoln | Sedgwick route runs only until 8:40 pm on weekdays & Saturdays, and 6:50 pm on Sundays