Middle Brow Bungalow

Can’t wait to check it out!

 

1st- I'm pulling for these guys, more so after reading that article.
2nd- Steve Zissou looks years younger
3rd- I'm going to be hesitant to use a credit card at a place employing people "battling addictions". I like giving people the benefit of the doubt, but addictions can be ruthless and expensive...(unless these people are recovering truck chasers, that addiction I get).

 

I'm going to go check it out Saturday. A new spot in my neighborhood.

 

I hope ya’ll give us a chance, we got a lot of fun and interesting stuff planned for the space and the hopeful garden patio. We’re gonna start fillin those foeders soon and will have some fun stuff rippin out of em every few months. As well as some cool collabs coming at ya. Also the pizza is fuckin killer (bias BS aside).

As for concerns with credit & at-risk folk, we plan to have a work coordinator/social worker. There’s 50 other jobs & skills there for people that aren’t waiting a table. We’re conscience of at risk people and money and/or alcohol concerns. It’s esentially a bread bakery & coffee shop till noon. I assure you we wouldnt jeopardize our business, too much time and money was spent to arrive here.

 

Apparently it's a big enough concern that the news article was changed after my post with the "battling addiction" replaced by "at risk of gun violence."

 

There’s a long story there but it wasn’t you or I that got the headline changed. I believe it was mentioned and quoted out of context in the article. Again, we’re not going to jeopardize our business or put people with addictions issues in jeopardy to fall off the wagon. We’re trying to break the stigma, and help people out. People are people

 

I enjoyed my trip to MB on Saturday. Honestly, the beer wasn't the highlight for me and that isn't a bad thing. I enjoy eating more than I do drinking beer. The bread is probably one of the best loaves ive had in chicago. I think it may rival bavettes in terms of table bread. it was incredible. The pizza was good but really what made the pizza stand out was, again, the crust and dough.

The beer was solid. I enjoyed the Brett IPA and the Nelson hopped IPA but the food was what made the experience really good. I want to go back for brunch to try those toasts they have. I would also love to try their coffee. I will be back.

 

Got up to the Bungalow on Sunday and had a great experience. The bread with sardines is fantastic, if that's your thing. Loved the Nelson IPA on the menu. Ran into my friends having their morning coffee and reading the paper. Really cool vibe in there as it's not your typical brewery where you go for beer and that's it. You can show up for breakfast or read a book with a beer. Can't wait to kick it on the patio!

 

You don't have to defend yourself to this troll. Anyone that's not 70 should know of the fraud protections associated with their credit/debit cards. If someone is losing sleep about their physical card being compromised, their paranoia is overblown. You're far more likely to have a payment processor breached and your card/PII used by sophisticated fraudsters.

I went to Middlebrow this weekend. Really enjoyable bread. Nelson crush was terrific. I loved the margherita pizza, but not the sauce on it. It skewed too sweet for me. That patio is going to be awesome this summer.

 

Not to turn this into pizza-advocate but are you by any chance from the northern or western burbs originally? We didn’t exactly model the sauce on anything but we’re south side/suburban creatures raised on Aurelio’s & Palermo’s 95 so we lean a certain way on the sweetness of the tomatoes we buy. I have noticed the sweetness does waffle a bit so hopefully if you have another it won’t be so sweet. Thanks for stoppin in, again, we got like 5 or 6 of our 11 taps filled, we’ll have a lot more beer stuff goin in a few weeks.

 

This so brings back memories of my days living in Homewood, when my friends and I would argue about who had the better sauce between Aurelio's and Palermo's (I'm personally a much bigger fan of the former).

Either way, I'll have to try a pizza next time I'm in. A buddy and I stopped in on opening night, and as with many opening nights, the service had its flaws. Everyone was very nice, but a couple of our orders were forgotten and needed to be reminded. But again, that's something expected opening week, so I'm not holding it against MB. My friends did go on a Saturday evening, and found it to be extremely crowded, which I expect from the location (its funny how 6 years has changed things on stretch of Armitage). That will most likely be the thing that prevents me from going regularly, but good for the business.

I hope that Bungalow lager will be available year round though, as I'll be picking that up to go regularly.

 

Ya the waits are a bummer. We weren’t really expecting it or planning for it. It’s been crazy but you could have worse problems as a business owner. Hopefully the hype dies down on the shiny new toy or at the very least be easier in a couple months when we double the capacity with the outside (permit permitting). Bungalow is on now and forever. It will probably be the only beer that’s on year round.

Will there be guest taps? - Maybe one or two. Cider/mead and maybe a guest beer.
- Will you do any charity events? - so many it’ll be annoying
- What’s coming up on the beer release schedule (quad grain?!)? - we put the 4 grain our this weekend I think (I was at 2nd shift). But other beers, nothin too crazy just trying to get some standards goin but one I’m excited about is a a twist on a mild for fans of FW DBA.
- Are there going to be canned fish / beer pairing suggestions? In due time you bet ya.
- Are kids allowed for brunch? Kids all day, everyday. we got high chairs, colored pencils and even a kids table up front in the lounge with coloring paper.
- Is there / will there be to go beer? We always have our regulars to go in cans and plan to do some special releases as the months/years go.

 

-If I combined my desire to visit Bungalow with my obligations to take the wife out on Valentine's Day into one trip, how many of us will be happy the next day?

 

In the summertime, I will definitely walk up there in the morning for coffee in the mornings.

 

*scans response for the words “cobra” and “style”...

*doh*

 

I'm actually from Michigan so I wasn't baptized to any regional Chicagoland pizza affiliation.

I'm surprised all the sweetness was exclusively from the tomatoes. I think I generally like sauces that skew a little more herby or robust. That pepperoni was good quality. Should be a mandatory move if you opt for that pie.

 

I was baptized with Barraco's, Aurelio's, and Palermo's. Figuratively and probably literally if I asked my parents. I lean that way for sauce. This paired with all the bread/crust advocacy, not to mention a lot of respect for the social outreach/charity has MB moved to the top of my list for a visit next time I'm in town. From someone who works in the mental health field, thank you. The struggle for people of all walks of life to right the ship and make ends meet is very real.

 

Aurelio’s is objectively the best pizza.

That is all.