Middle Brow Bungalow

The King of Limbs will eventually be appreciated.

 

Over my dead body...bryanMB is insanely wrong. There’s a reason our bangers and lace collab was in rainbows.

 

The voice of reason.

 

Hit the Bungalow Friday evening after work. Got there around 5:30 and found a spot right away at the bar.

Pros:
- Beer was excellent. Had the Bungalow (excellent lager, mild hoppy bite), Check the Charts (very herbaceous, funky), and Milk Eyed Mender (vanilla and cinnamon came through nicely).
- The mushroom pizza was fantastic and I echo the sentiments on great crust.
- Everyone was very friendly and I really like the atmosphere.

Cons:
- Service was initially spotty. Took a while for anyone to acknowledge me, got served the wrong size beer, and had to ask for the food menu a couple times. After that, service was perfect.
- The paper beer menu, the menu on the wall, and what was actually on tap didn't match in multiple spots.
- The weird "3% tip is included we believe in a fair wage" on the check...but then a spot for additional tip. It is unclear to me if this is meant to be an actual fair wage model included in prices or if I should be tipping at the standard American rate. I ended up tipping 20%.

Overall, a very good experience. The cons were all pretty minor service related items that should get ironed out pretty quickly. Great vibe, brews, and pizza.

 

I believe the 3% goes to the kitchen/busboys right? I thought that’s what I read

 

The handwritten paper menu on the wall feels quirky but you can't easily read it in the evening light, from right across the bar. It feels like all form and no function.

 

I have so many thoughts on this thread.

Couldn’t agree more. I had a fantastic time on Saturday. I’m not gonna say the beer blew me away, but it was solid. However the vibe just clicked. The staff was extremely friendly, and the pizza was dope. The mushroom fontina was phenomenal. I can’t reccomend it enough.mubfriend described it as “it taste like amazing French bread, but yet still pizza at the same time.” I loved the sea salt on the crust.

Overall, I absolutely loved the place and it’s a great addition to the neighborhood. I’ll be back many times.

Here’s why I get tribal. Yes, just about all pizza is good. But there are so many options for high quality pizza, it’s a total bummer when you walk in to a place/party and the option is Aurillio’s (I’ll die on the hill, and I grew up with it) or a pie that’s just passable. Sure it’s fine, but unless it’s the only place open making pizza at that exact time, there’s no reason to get “fine”. There are dozens of quality places within a few miles of your location at any time, there should never be a reason to compromise for “decent” in the chicago area.

No it won’t. Even live, the songs are a step down from everything else. There’s a reason they tried to re-mix it 19 times and it still never took.

My man.

 

I did not say this.

 

I keep forgetting to make this distinction clear, and I end up having to go back every time: I agree on the pizza thing; what I meant was that there are amazing versions of each pizza style, so I don't feel the need to take out my pitchfork if someone serves me NY or tavern instead of deep dish. A good pizza is a good pizza.

With that being said, I'm pretty picky within the styles, so no, I don't settle for crappy versions of any of them, either.


Also, I'm not a huge Radiohead guy (the Suspiria remake is dope and Yorke's soundtrack is too), but while I think King of Limbs is fine, In Rainbows is way better.

 

This is totally agree with. Deep Dish is far and away my least preferred style and will never order it if my own volition, but if I someone else does, or a party has Lou’s, Gino’s, or Peaquads, I’ll happily eat and enjoy it.

 

Yeah. My biggest pet peeve isn't the type of pizza, but undercooked cheese. I love some orange/brown on the top, instead of a huge sheet of barely-cooked white mozzarella.

Also, I saw a photo of one of the MB pizzas on IG last night, and it made me very hungry; looks delicious.

 

How many times do we have to tell you, Whalez for Tots is illegal....

 

Oh, I didn't realize it was for your other 501(C): Kegs4aHangoverCure.

 

Wait, are there tater tots on the menu at the bungalow or not??? I'm confused now.

 

Shoot an email to [email protected] or if yr in and it’s not crazy, ask for Pete or Polly.

Tots the food ain’t at the bungalow due to kitchen size, but tots (small humans) are always welcome.

And a big thanks to any of you that have stopped in. we got our system up and goin now and we got our Lithuanian farmhouse bubbling (is that a style?!?). Expect a lot more than 5 beers on tap in a few weeks. ✌️✌️

 

Last night was my first visit to the Bungalow and maybe it was that I knew 80% of the people there but I felt physically moved by the space. The warmth, the warm bread, the good beer, how nice all the servers, bartenders, Nick, and Bryan are, the place feels like home. Bungalow could not be a more appropriate name. I want to take all my friends there and stay there all day. Cheers guys, your place rules.

 

Had some time to kill yesterday for a few hours and met some friends at the Bungalow. They laughed when I got there and said this was their 4th time there in the last few weeks. Obviously, they love it there, and so did I.

The space was really bright and inviting. Staff were all friendly and attentive, but not overly so, which I like. The Sabro Crush was a really nice beer, packed with flavor at a nice low ABV (sub 5% IIRC). Perfect to start what was a long, slow burn in the city last night. We sat at the bar, which I love to do when it means I get to watch them prep food and do their thing for a pretty full house.

The food was incredible. Went with table bread, the sausage and olive pizza, and for dessert we did the prickly pear jelly & ricotta toast. Everything was just perfect and I can't wait to go back and explore the menu and beers more. Cheers Middle Brow. The Bungalow is something to be proud of, and it shows that you are.