Prairie Rock Brewery

As I drove down Golf road I past chain restaurant after chain restaurant. When I turned into the parking lot I thought I had found an oasis. As I soon found out this was the same bland flavor that appeals to all chain restaurant dinners. This is a big brick building with a big open feel but I was surprised that they had a revolving door in the front. When I walked in they had a nice exposed brick feel with a few nick-nacks. I liked the concrete countertops and the stainless brew tanks but it was more dining space that bar space. Behind the bar they had a small chalkboard of beers with the liquor bottles as the main showcase. They had 6 BMC bottles on shelves incase you don't drink craft beer.

The beers were all served ice cold but even then they had a slight watery mouthfeel and none of the beers I had to have a second glass of. I ordered some pot stickers and a cheddar soup both were not very good. Everything was sugary sweat and bland with the soup tasting like lots of flour.

This place has all the blandness of a chain restaurant. I usually like to go back and try all the year round beers at one place but this place really had nothing to offer so I don't think I ever need to go back.

On our yearly trip from the Twin Cities to Purdue for annual home football game, we usually stop in Schaumburg for the night and eat dinner at Prairie Rock.

Generally have six or so beers on tap. The last couple of years they seem to have settled into the same beers with just one or two seasonals changing. My ratings for our first time in 2003 are all pretty high, but successive trips have gone down hill when I'm ordering drafts. Not bad, and as good as The Ram down the street if you're in town, which we've always had good look finding fairly cheap hotels for our roadtrips going through Chitown.

Food is what attracts us mostly. We order the beer cheese soup and four cheese pizza, and both are excellent. Only thing we've had there. If we stop, it's for this.

Overall, it is a beautiful pub in a old (or old looking) brick building with very high 2 or 3 story ceilings with large wooden cross beams. Restaurant lacks some ambiance but easy to talk and the service has always been good. Bar is small and smokey. On this recent trip, it was also a meat market--which might account for the beer change. When I was at the bar, only one other person was drinking beer and at least half of the drinks going out with Sex on the Beach, JaegerBombs and such. Young, dumb, and desparate for the most part. Left for the Ram just so I could stop listening to some schuck hitting on the obviously bored hot girl. And the smoke go to me, but I've become spoiled lately with smoke free bars.

Good stop in you're in Schaumburg, especially if you keep your expectations in check and sit in the restaurant.

OMFG, this place was Prairie Rock BC on steroids! It sat on the edge of a sprawling shopping area, not far from the local Ram Restaurant, right on the corner. It resembled the original place in the same way that a dirigible resembles a helium-filled red balloon purchased at the fair.

As I entered, the maitre d’ station was directly to the right with the washrooms directly to the left. The bar was marble-topped with copper sides and saddle stools. The masonry looked as though they had used recovered bricks, primarily the cream variety that is so prevalent in MKE. The brewhouse and fermenters were directly behind what passed for a back bar. Besides the cream brick, the place utilized a lot of blonde wood and light sandstone.

It all left me hard-pressed to describe the entire layout. It was on two levels, with the kitchen about halfway back on the first floor, aft of the bar area. I had to go on a scouting expedition to take it all in and I quickly realized its immenseness. The Prairie Room is a private dining/party facility in the basement! The first floor had a private room, off to the left, past the washrooms. The second floor also had its own private room, in addition to a sea of restaurant seating. There were a bunch of stairwells throughout the facility, putting me in mind of the “Secret Passageways” in Clue. Scoats would love the multi-colored mosaic that ran up the length of the central stairway.

Finally, as to the beer, they had the standards for this semi-chain brewpub, and their Smoked Porter and Vanilla Cream Ale were both outstanding, but by now, we should all know that I am going to give the nod to the hops. In this case, it was the Pale Rider APA.

Decor is standard for the area. Yuppies all around. Very high ceilings and everything is made of brick. It's pretty, yes, but also has a soullessness to it. A Pier One feel, where all of the little bits were carefully selected and focus group tested.

Beers were pretty good. Nothing to write home about (or to take home), but they were reasonably priced and easy-drinking, no underbrewed chemical taste or butteryness.

Waitress was nice but not very knowledgable. The food menu was quite varied and there were six beers to choose from. The food itself was average--my pasta tasted like it could have just as easily come from a chain restaurant like TGI Fridays. Not bad, but, once again, nothing to write home about.

I've stopped by Prairie Rock a number of times but usually with only enough time to refill my growler. This time, it was for dinner.

We arrived at 8:00 or so on a Saturday and there was a decent crowd. I was concerned about bringing two 9-year-old girls but we were immediately asked if we wanted children's menus.

I went with the Pale Rider as an appetizer and my wife had the Light. She actually finished it so it must have been average enough for her.

I enjoyed the Buffalo Chicken sandwich while she had a wood fired goat cheese pizza and some salad. The salad was supposed to have avacado slices in it but didn't. Our server was into the kitchen and back again right away with a plate of avacado slices. I thoroughly recommend the Yukon Smashed Potatos. The girls had small pizzas that they ate quickly to get to the dessert. A build-your-own sundae with chocolate chips, cookie dough, sprinkles and vanilla ice cream.

My wife had Snickers cake for dessert while I had another Pale Rider. The bill was reasonable and the service was very good.

The brewery/restaurant is located in an old brick building just down the road from Woodfield Mall. The restaurant side was well lit but the bar area had subtle lighting and a number of flat screen TVs for watching football.

This will definitely be a regular stop when the family wants to hit Woodfield or IKEA. I'll go back, and not just for a refill.

Was in Town for business and folks from the office recc'd the place. I liked the decor which was pretty cool as some of the other reviews mentioned...I had their IPA which was pretty good and also samples their seasonal which was a Bock I believe. We tried the jerk wings which were GREAT! Had an above average burger too. We joined their mug club, which for $20 yielded a nice logo'd mug and their mug club tshirt. If I get back here, will go again as for three of us, the bill was very reasonable.

The building itself was rather nice, mostly brick with an exposed wood ceiling inside. The only complaint in that department is the neon signs they have in their windows. Although I liked the way it looked there were a few features that were a bit over done, like some oak barrels sitting outside, and the particular lit signs on the building. Although a bit trendy, still nice.

The food was good given the reasonable price. And our waitress was great, even knew a little more about the beer than I would have expected for someone who was only working there about 2 weeks (still no expert by any means).

The beer was hit or miss… I really liked their amber, and their vanilla cream ale (quite unique) but their hefeweisen was very disappointing, very bland, not the slightest bit cloudy, and served with almost no head.

I was here for a lunch last week, as I’ve not been here since I joined BA, I was looking forward to going back and doing a review. Well here goes:

This is a very attractive place from the outside & inside. The interior is very open and airy, lots of light. Two stories of drinking and dining space. There is lots of wood, copper accents and brick. The bar area is actually pretty small, which tells me they put more emphasis on food than drinking.

The service was fast and friendly, but was more food then beer orientated.

As far as I could tell, they have four regular beers (Light, amber, pale ale and a vanilla cream) plus 2 seasonals. The seasonal selections when I was there were a pilsner and a stout.

The menu is very extensive with about 4 pages of choices. They have offer everything from light appetizers to full blown meals. Prime Rib buffet on Fridays. Note that the beers were listed on the back of the last page, again, more of a eating place than a brewery. The food was very good and the portions seem well sized.

I like this place, but I would like to see a little more emphasis in the beer. Still, not a bad place to stop!

When we go, we sit in the bar. The bartenders are super-helpful, and they are very quick to serve you. The food is pretty expensive so we usually just split appetizers like the rocking ranch fries or quesadillas. Also the beer cheese soup is pretty good as well. It's a little to bright in there to seriously watch a ball game on the big screen TV during the day.

The beer selection is great, and I like the varying seasonals. The vanilla cream ale is yummy as is the coffee stout.

The only disadvantage is the lack of glassware, they beer in either modified pilsner glasses or frosty mugs. Anyway, its worth going: the bar is nice, \service is great, and the food is pretty good too.

I was looking forward to coming here for quite some time because it is a very cool-looking brewpub and reasonably recommended but I would have to say I was kinda disappointed overall. The food was just "okay", which at a brewpub is not necessarily unexpected as long as the beer makes up for it.. but it really didn't. The beer all seemed like watered down versions of their respective style and just not distinct or noteworthy at all. And the selection was small considering the size of the establishment and how many you would expect a brewpub of that size to offer. Perhaps if I lived closer to it I might be willing to give it another try.. but when there's so many better places to go it's just not worth going out of your way for.