Beer and a plate of tentacles

this is no ordinary brewpub food

Hi everyone!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’d considered doing a St. Paddy’s Day food piece for today (why not, right?), but considering all those specials will be over starting tomorrow, I figured that would have been somewhat useless. But even after today is over, most Chicagoans would never say no to sitting at a bar and crushing a few beers.

I’ve covered a lot of restaurant categories on the newsletter, but it surprised even me when I realized I haven’t covered a brewpub yet. And there was one that’s been on my list for ages; even if Davida and I weren’t planning on going out to celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day mayhem this past weekend, we thought we’d still go out for a bite far from the chaotic bar crawls of Wrigleyville.

Old Irving Brewing is located on Montrose just off the 94 highway exit.

The place is primarily known for its beer (naturally), which you can pick up all around town.

But it’s got an extensive food menu that you should really take a close look at. Yes, there’s wings, pretzels, and burgers, but if you read their descriptions carefully, you’ll notice subtle indicators that these items have been well-curated. You can see it in the types of sauces that dress the wings, like the giardinera ranch or the Valentina Hot, and the fact that the burgers come off a wood-fired grill.

And there is one really unique item from the brewpub’s entree section that really caught our attention, which of course, we had to check out too.

First of all, we did get a small pour of beer, a five-ounce pour of their classic Beezer ($3.50).

Beezer is a hazy IPA (6.9% ABV) which I’ve had many times now, and from the sip I took from Davida’s glass, it’s as good as ever. I’m not a beer aficionado by any means, but it’s definitely fruity, floral, and juicy, and always a pleasant drink. The bright flavor of the brew made me excited for patio season this year.

From what I could tell from nosing around online, some people are big fans of the mac and cheese at Old Irving Brewing, so we snagged an order of their pimento mac ($12).

There are options to add things like brisket or bacon, but I opted to tack on some pickled jalapeños for an additional $2. The sauce here is the glossy smooth type that clings uniformly to the noodles, with occasional large chunks of pimento strewn within. Because the mac is silky and rich, the pickled peppers are almost a must, as they break up the fat and the starch between bites.

Davida and I both liked that the noodles were of the small elbow variety. I’d say that the pimento mac might work better as a side (which is an option) rather than a large format plate, but if you’re looking for a saucy mac, this will definitely hit the spot. I’ll also add that Old Irving serves a monthly mac special, so be sure to look for that on the menu when you come visit.

Davida’s radar went off when she saw the description for the fried zucchini ($13.50), so I made sure to order a plate.

I think I’ve been conditioned by the frozen stick version of fried zucchini from dive bars for far too long, because I was in complete awe when these hit our table. These were thin planks of zucchini that were breaded and fried, and they came on top of a glorious oily pool of caper salsa verde and garlic-vinegar aioli. They were finished with a shower of Parmesan and Aleppo pepper, and they were unlike any other versions of fried zucchini I’ve ever had. That is to say, they were remarkable.

The strips were crisp, and all of the dressings were a combination of savory, bright, or rich, and the whole thing came off as surprisingly elegant for brew pub food. Forget what you think about when you think of fried zucchini. This is something else altogether in the best of ways.

I love chicken wings, and the selection of sauces at Old Irving is pretty impressive.

The entire standard lineup is Mole BBQ, Valentina Hot, Tokyo Hot, Spicy Honey Mustard, Giardiniera Ranch, Ghost Pepper Agave, Garlic Parmesan, or Umami. The last two I mentioned are dry rubs; I’m curious about the Umami flavor for next time.

Buffalo isn’t even an option, so the brewery sort of nudges you out of that comfort zone immediately. You can get an order of six wings for $13, or a dozen for $22.50 (we opted for the dozen), and if you want to split a 12-piece into two flavors, they’ll happily do so for you.

The six pictured above is the wing flavor of the week, which is Creamy Chipotle Tomatillo. The sauce is a blend of tomatillos and chipotles mixed with ranch and aromatics, and it’s flavorful but not over the top. Just think of it as a vaguely Mexican ranch and you have the right idea. The wings themselves are crisp and have a burnished hue to them, and it’s clear the kitchen knows what they’re doing when it comes to cooking them.

By the time you guys read this, the flavor will about be gone, as a new one replaces the previous one every Wednesday. You can keep up with the current flavor by following Old Irving Brewing on Instagram or by revisiting its online menu.

But if you want something akin to Buffalo wings, your closest option is the Valentina Hot, which hit that vinegary note but with that signature Valentina flavor.

I had a hard time deciding which wings I liked better. I think it’s just a mood thing, but I have a feeling if you like chicken wings it won’t really matter all that much, since one of the menu options will likely appeal to you. And you can order a side of ranch or blue cheese with your wings as well, both of which are thick, flavorful, and freshly made, no Hidden Valley mix here. I found myself not needing too much of the dipping stuff since the wings were great as-is.

You know, the smashburger trend has been wonderful, but there’s still something to be said about a thick pub burger ($19, comes with garlic fries).

This is eight ounces of wood-grilled ground beef cooked to your temp of choice, along with white cheddar, both crispy fried and caramelized onions, garlic-vinegar aioli, all on a brioche bun, nothing too complicated. You know there’s been some careful consideration when the menu lists the cuts of beef that go into the grind, and in this case it includes a blend of brisket, short rib, and chuck.

We asked for ours to be cooked medium rare, and the kitchen nailed it.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this might be one of the juiciest burgers I’ve ever eaten. The evidence is even right there in the photo; you can see the liquid seeping out of the cut side. It was also rested enough so that it didn’t all leak out even after I cut it in half for this photo.

This is a great burger, and I’ve quietly seen some mentions about it on Reddit as an under-the-radar sleeper. If you’re looking for a hefty burger with some freshly brewed beer, it doesn’t get any better than this.

And if you’re less of a massive single patty person, there’s also a double cheeseburger that has two four-ounce patties on it, done up “Big Mack” style (their spelling, probably to avoid a lawsuit), which includes American cheese, shredded lettuce, diced shallots, pickles, Thousand island, and a three-layer toasted sesame seed bun.

Here is the fascinating entree I was alluding to earlier: Old Irving Brewing sells a plate of wood-grilled Spanish Octopus for $28.

Wood-grilled octopus? At a brewpub? In Chicago?! Holy crap! It comes with whole crispy potatoes, and it’s dressed with garlic-vinegar aioli, lemon juice, oregano, piquillo peppers, and a green olive salsa.

Once we were done ogling the plate, we were happy to find that the octopus was cooked well. While it was still firm, it wasn’t chewy, and the suckers had become nice and crisp after being cooked over that live fire. Since octopus is so lean, dragging pieces of it through the oil from the green olive salsa and the fat from the aioli made each bite a little more balanced, and those potatoes had a hearty fried texture to them that gave the plate some serious substance.

This is quite a plate to be eating at a brewery. The other mains of brisket tacos, chicken fingers, and fish and chips seem less adventurous in comparison. So entertain your curiosities. Fuck it. Get the octopus. Live Party Cut-style.

I was totally ready to throw in the towel, but Davida kept longingly looking at the key lime pie option ($9.50) on the menu, so I figured why not.

I mean, she scored with that zucchini pick, after all. And as usual, she bet on a winner. This individual pie is made with a finely-crushed graham cracker crust and your usual key lime filling, but it’s just a solid version. The curd isn’t overly tart, but it’s also not noticeably eggy, either, and it’s smooth and well-executed. Oh, and those slices of dried out lime on top are pretty much for show; I tried eating one and did not enjoy the lime jerky very much.

Curious, I asked the server if the dessert is made in-house, since there’s only two listed on the menu. I’ve noticed that sometimes kitchens that are great at savory stuff can sometimes outsource their sweets, as an obligation to have desserts on the menu but offload the work. His eyes lit up when I asked, and he did confirm that the key lime pie was made in-house.

There’s plenty to be said about regular bar food, but I’d forgotten that food served at breweries can be pretty damn good too. Old Irving Brewing is no exception. If you’re not into beer, there’s also a cocktail menu to keep you company.

It’s also family friendly, as evidenced by the many tables with well-behaved kids, and despite being busy as shit on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, service moved remarkably smoothly. The crew knows what they’re doing. If you’ve only had Old Irving Brewing’s beer, you should make a point to go visit the brewpub too and get a plate of food. It reads as typical, but it’s anything but.

Old Irving Brewing
4419 W. Montrose Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 916-6421

Hours:
Sunday: 12 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Monday - Thursday: 12 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 12 p.m. - 12 p.m.

Kitchen Hours:
Sunday - Thursday: Closes 9 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: Closes 10 p.m.

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I’m still impressed at this whole octopus thing, though I am frequently late to the party, so I’m sure lots of you already knew about it.

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And with that, we’re off to a new week. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and if you haven’t snuck in a pint of green beer yet, I’m sure you might be able to find a place serving up one last pint. Don’t forget to look for corned beef sales at Jewel starting tomorrow. Love you guys.