The Fountainhead

Last Sunday after a movie at the Davis we went past the newly opened Fountainhead on Damen and Montrose and decided to check it out. We were very impressed.
Service was swift and efficient. The server explained they had just opened, for now there were only draft beers but they planned to serve bottles soon. Fine. I had a Fat Tire Behemoth, the Mrs. a riesling. We both shared a Lagavullun 10 year-the liquor list was whisky only, scotch, bourbon. rye. The smoky smooth warmth of the Islay scotch was perfect on a damp cold afternoon.
The food was exemplary. The mussels in a wine butter sauce had a bit of cilantro and little squares of sausage that really hit the spot. We asked for and got extra bread to soak up the tasty sauce. The perfectly well-done frites had two dipping sauces, a red pepper and a garlic citrus aioli. Mac and cheese was nicely done with a smoky aftertaste, and the pork belly sandwich is my new favorite.
The bill was around $60 before tip. We considered it good value. It seems they are aiming for a kind of Belgian pub food experience with scotch and belgian style beer. Plenty of pork on the menu. We definitely want to go back. The server said they're going to have a roof top garden before the end of the summer.

The Fountainhead
1968-70 W. Montrose Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
773-697-8204

I am looking forward to trying Fountainhead, thanks for the review.

Can anyone confirm that the folks from Bar on Buena are behind Fountainhead? That's what I heard from a friend.

Yes,
Aaron the owner of Bar on Buena, is the owner and managing partner of Fountainhead. Robin who was the GM at the BOB is the executive chef at Fountainhead. She is a Kendall grad. They have also brought on Phil who worked for years at Sheffields and is the beer director now at Fountainhead. Good folks who really love what they are doing. It should do well in this neighborhood. I have heard it has been mobbed with the recent opening and a lot of press. Wish them all the best. 20 plus beers on tap, focus on German and craft with the beers and 100 plus on the whiskey list. They have a lot to offer.

I dropped by Fountainhead on Friday night and had an overall good experience as well. The place was packed, but the wait for a table was comfortable and shorter than we were told it would be (maybe 25 min after being told 45). As trpt2345 mentioned, they are going to have a wide variety of bottled beer (100+ different kinds from what I saw in the coolers behind the bar), but the draft list is also very impressive (about 30 types, many of which I've never seen on draft anywhere). Also, they've got a "beer engine" for serving cask beer as well. Between me and my companions we were able to sample about 8 or 9 different draft beers, and what most impressed me was that they weren't "out" of any of them. I often find that new places, or even any bar are out of 10-40% of what they have on the menu, usually the beer I want, but such was not the case here.

The food was very reasonably priced for the quality, all between $5-15, with large portions and an interesting variety of choices (flatbreads, sandwichs, apps, a few entrees). We also had the mussels, which while not as large and plump as I like, tasted great. I would also make the comment that there was not even close to enough bread served with this dish. We had to ask 4 times and wait 20 minutes for more bread, during which time the busboys tried to take the bowl of sauce about 15 times and we were forced to swat them away. We had a similar experience with the sausage and cheese spread plate. The sausages, cheese and accompaniments were tasty, but it all came with 3 tiny pieces of bread. Considering that there is no other way to eat the cheese spread without using the bread, it presents a problem. The last thing we ordered was the pork belly sandwich, which was also delicious.

I'll definitely be back, as I had a very good experience, and it should only get better as they work out the kinks, expand the menu and open an outdoor space.

Lancelac wrote: We had to ask 4 times and wait 20 minutes for more bread

Considering I saw plastic wrapped baguettes being readied for service you may have gotten lucky.

Fountainhead has a comfortable feel, burnished wood, sparklingly clean, knowledgeable staff, extensive whiskey, bourbon and beer list, including Porterhouse Oyster stout (shrug) on draft. Though $8 for a moderate pour of Beam on the rocks seems out of balance.

If I lived in the area I'd stop now and then, but based on one short visit I don't view it as a personal destination. I should note I did not have anything to eat, and the menu seems moderately interesting in a 'more pork the better' fashion and the rooftop deck could prove inviting.

Enjoy,
Gary

We were there on Friday as well. My first comment after sitting down was that the room was very loud. I thought prices were reasonable and selection decent for beer, wine and food. I had the "spicy salad" which was arugula, radishes, kalmata olives, parmesan and hard-boiled egg. I added the hanger steak to justify the three glasses of wine. Other folks at our table had the mac & cheese (reportedly bland), the hanger steak (chewy), burger (good) and a couple of things I didn't see. For our purposes (weekly Friday happy hour), it was perfectly fine. It seemed like the neighborhood was starved for something new because it was crowded for the three hours were there.

I stopped in the first weekend it opened. I was impressed with the beer list--particularly the cask ales, which aren't so common. As noted above, it isn't standard bar food (can any bar open in Chicago with just fried foods anymore? Is there a new ordinance that they all have to be gastropubs?) The ingredients for the food are very high quality and what I had was tasty (portabella sandwich with aged Irish cheddar). My only issue was that service wasn't very good. They left the cheese of my sandwich and it was really difficult to get it taken care of. The friend I ate with went back and had similar problems with cold mac and cheese. Once they get the service issues straightened out, I think it'll be a solid place.

My friend recently moved in nearby, so I'll be back without complaint and enjoy the cask ale. Otherwise, I don't think I would put it in the regular rotation. I do think it's a great addition to the neighborhood--the neighbors seem to agree, whenever I walk by it's packed.

Popped in here last night. It's funny how much it looks like Longman & Eagle, except the lighting is brighter. I liked the voluminous beer list, not least because it gave me something to read... I ordered two things to eat. I thought the pate was quite nice, clean porky flavor and a slight crispy rind or shell, and although the pumpernickel it came with was pretty soft and Americanish, it made a perfectly fine combination with a little mustard. I also had a summer salad which was, to my mind, a near miss-- the combination of greens (out of the same old Earthbound Farms box), cukes, tomatoes, a blandish feta, watermelon and pickled radish was very fresh and summery. But it needed something to bring it all together and the alleged vinaigrette was hard to tell from water (at least once the very fresh watermelon had expressed a fair amount of it. I couldn't help but think that at the right restaurant, the dressing would have really zinged and made these ingredients more than the sum of their parts.

Still, it makes you realize that it's a nice day when a new corner bar almost in your neighborhood is aspiring to so much more than burgers and chicken wings. The next time I'm tempted to just go to the end of my block and grab something at Riverview Tavern, I'll try to remember to go to The Fountainhead instead-- although if I'm getting in my car for it, it may be tough not to just go to Longman & Eagle instead.

We were going down Damen today and on a whim stopped at The Fountainhead. Our second time there. The menu was slightly different this time, no pork belly sandwich. We got the pate, nice coarse texture. Mussels I had forgotten are spiked with some nice spicy bits of sausage, delish, and Mrs. Trpt got the mac and cheese. Along with a Duvel and a 12 year MacAllan it made for a pleasant late afternoon meal. There are now bottled beers to go with the tap brews. That stretch of Montrose from Ashland to Lincoln has some really good choices now compared to ten years ago, Mixteco, Glenn's Diner, Fountainhead, Julius Meinl, Apart Pizza, Taqueria El Asadero.

But back then it had Mimi's. Yeah, apart from that though, pretty sad. A number of places you'd have thought should be good in an old school way (LeSabre, Villa May) and weren't.

Mike G wrote:But back then it had Mimi's. Yeah, apart from that though, pretty sad. A number of places you'd have thought should be good in an old school way (LeSabre, Villa May) and weren't.

One of the worst experiences in a restaurant I ever had was at Le Sabre. I can't believe they still exist.

LTH,

Moderately busy Monday, garlicky pot of mussels with wee tiny bits of spicy sausage, tasty, but two-inches of sliced baguette is not sufficient for dipping, additional brought on request. Burgers, while not necessarily destination worthy, were rock solid. Pretzel roll hot from a turn on the grill, loosely packed juicy flavorful quality beef, light char from a well managed grill, fresh crunchy lettuce/onion/pickle on the side and crisp fries with a hint of richness that suggests The Fountainhead uses, at least a portion of, rendered beef fat in the frying mix.

Importantly, and getting more difficult to find, all four of our burgers were cooked as ordered, mine med-rare on the nose. $9 for hand-patted meaty done to order bar burger with fries and accompaniments, including ketchup, mustard, mayo in small cruets. Might be The Fountainhead burger is destination worthy after all.

Enjoy,
Gary

trpt2345 wrote:One of the worst experiences in a restaurant I ever had was at Le Sabre. I can't believe they still exist.

They don't, anymore.

I tried The Fountainhead for the first time last night. I'm not a drinker, so I only went for food. My husband and I started with oysters, which were fresh enough, but didn't enjoy any of the crisp coldness that makes them taste of the sea.

My husband had a steak, which was fine, although more medium than the medium-rare he ordered. I had a beet salad with steak on top - ordered medium rare. It came out with the steak cooked at least medium well, so I sent it back. It took a good 20 min. to get my replacement entree (my husband was already finished with his meal.) The salad was decent, if a little small, and the steak was OK, but cooked to medium (which I can handle, so I ate it as I was starving by then.) Not really a fun dining experience for me. The chef really needs to learn how to cook steak to proper doneness, and the wait was pretty inexcusable.

I almost feel like I should start a new thread in the Something to Drink forum because for me, the Fountainhead has become a bonafide drinking destination. I love their beer list, and the whiskey list is 100% respectable. I've only eaten there a couple of times and have found the food to be fine, if unremarkable. But the beer list is great. The tap offerings are some of the most interesting in town and the bottle selection is very impressive, too.

The other night, during a 4-hour session with some friends, I enjoyed the following:

De Cam Oude Lambiek (25 oz bottle)
Kasteel Rouge (draft)
New Belgium Lips of Faith Kick (draft)
Founders Cerise (draft)

I also tried several others, of which the bartender happily poured me small, tasting samples (on each of my visits, draft samples have been offered consistently). I love this because as a relative neophyte to beer, I'm still finding my way and learning what styles I like and don't like. It's great to be able to try different brews without having to order full pours. More than a few of those samples have worked out great because in some cases I was able to steer clear of something I didn't like and in many other cases, I've ordered a full pour of something I enjoyed. There are a lot of styles represented here and because selections change with some frequency, the tastes are really helpful.

I find the space comfortable and relaxing. It's an easy place to spend time. The music is usually great, too. It's audible but not so loud that conversation cannot be had. Last week, because of their announced break-up, REM was played almost all night long, which was fun, too. This is a great spot and I'm really grateful to REB & RAB for introducing me to a place that has very quickly become part of my regular rotation.

=R=

I've been remiss in posting here but The Fountainhead is firmly in my regular rotation and I hit it a couple of times a month. The taps turnover with such regularity, there's always something interesting/new-to-me/delicious to try. A recent Sour Beer event described in this post resulted in many taps being taken over with high-quality, hard-to-find sours for much of the week. When I was there this past Wednesday, several were still available on tap.

Another fantastic current offering is a house-selected barrel of Elijah Craig 21-year bourbon. If you're a bourbon fan, you owe it to yourself to head over to The Fountainhead asap to check out this smooth and distinctive distillation. It's one of the most satisfying bourbons I've tried in many months.

While this place doesn't get as much attention around here as some others, there's still a lot to love about The Fountainhead.

=R=

The Fountainhead for drinks = outstanding! For food = hit or miss. I live very close by, so I've been in to the Fountainhead numerous times. I have never seen a burger that was not overcooked and dry there. But, I did have a pretty glorious braised beef sandwich. The fries are great. Tends to be crowded, though, and people seem to bring in small kids pretty frequently (which, in a BAR setting, I find annoying. Just my own opinion, no offense to the parents out there. Just a heads-up to others who may also find this annoying).

So, I give it a qualified thumbs-up. Just don't order a burger if you prefer it less than well-done (go to Bad Apple just a few blocks away if you want an truly outstanding burger). Go really early if you don't like crowds.

sarcon wrote:Go really early if you don't like crowds.

Or go later if you don't mind crowds but want to avoid the kids. Same would apply to the Bad Apple. We've gone early (to both Bad Apple and Fountainhead) a few times and there were definitely more families. As it gets later, the average age starts to rise.

sarcon wrote:The Fountainhead for drinks = outstanding! For food = hit or miss.

Yes, I concur. I wish I could say I loved their food. It's ok but it's not a draw for me like the beers and whiskeys are.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

sarcon wrote:The Fountainhead for drinks = outstanding! For food = hit or miss.

Yes, I concur. I wish I could say I loved their food. It's ok but it's not a draw for me like the beers and whiskeys are.

=R=

Agreed. I prefer to just drink up an appetite at Fountainhead and then hop over to Aroy, just a few blocks north, for Thai. Makes for a terrific 1-2 punch.
--Rich

Agreed that the food is not their strength. Some dishes have been excellent, though.

I've actually found that service is their true Achilles' heal. On my last visit, all of the dishes arrived within minutes of one another, despite our clear conversation with the waitress that we wanted them spaced out. Waitress was no where to be found when we wanted more drinks. After waiting a long time and getting pretty annoyed, but decided to just end the visit. We asked for the check and began another long wait. Finally we got up and asked another server to close out our bill. We left with a very bad taste in our mouth (figuratively speaking).

Jury's nearby has pretty good burgers too. I had the "gourmet" mac n cheese at Fountainhead, which was suitably moist.

PortPkPaul wrote:Jury's nearby has pretty good burgers too.

From what I understand, this once was true. Alas, no more. I had my one and only Jury's burger several months ago and it was a dense, previously frozen, food service hockey puck of a disaster of a burger. Eating a Jury's burger these days, with Bad Apple right across the street, is a huge mistake.
--Rich

The completely new rooftop bar at Fountainhead is nearly complete and scheduled to open in a couple of weeks. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it the other day and all I can say is "wow!" The upstairs space will nearly double the seating capacity. There's a 14-seat bar with 12 taps (4 of which will likely be exclusive to the upstairs space) and all sorts of table and bench seating too. GM Chris Kafcas has already put the finishing touches on the upstairs-only cocktail menu, which seems like it's going to be populated with lots of lighter, refreshing libations, including a few cool surprises. There's also a dedicated kitchenette upstairs (no open flame) from which an entirely separate menu of bar snacks will be served.

But above all else, what really struck me was the level of financial commitment that's been put into this space. The build-out is astonishing, surpassing many (most?) outdoor bars I've visited in parts of the country where such spaces can be used year-round. Still, with a bevy of built-in heaters and a stone fireplace, it's clear that Fountainhead intends to use this space deep into the fall and early winter, too. The bar itself and the furnishings are beautiful, as are the large pergolas covering the bar and kitchenette. There are even bafflles, surrounding nearly the entire space, that rise a few feet above the seating. They should provide substantial separation between residents of the neighboring 2nd floor apartments and bar-goers.

I'm really looking forward to checking it out once they open.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:The completely new rooftop bar at Fountainhead is nearly complete and scheduled to open in a couple of weeks. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it the other day and all I can say is "wow!" The upstairs space will nearly double the seating capacity. There's a 14-seat bar with 12 taps (4 of which will likely be exclusive to the upstairs space) and all sorts of table and bench seating too. GM Chris Kafcas has already put the finishing touches on the upstairs-only cocktail menu, which seems like it's going to be populated with lots of lighter, refreshing libations, including a few cool surprises. There's also a dedicated kitchenette upstairs (no open flame) from which an entirely separate menu of bar snacks will be served.

But above all else, what really struck me was the level of financial commitment that's been put into this space. The build-out is astonishing, surpassing many (most?) outdoor bars I've visited in parts of the country where such spaces can be used year-round. Still, with a bevy of built-in heaters and a stone fireplace, it's clear that Fountainhead intends to use this space deep into the fall and early winter, too. The bar itself and the furnishings are beautiful, as are the large pergolas covering the bar and kitchenette. There are even bafflles, surrounding nearly the entire space, that rise a few feet above the seating. They should provide substantial separation between residents of the neighboring 2nd floor apartments and bar-goers.

I'm really looking forward to checking it out once they open.

=R=

Very excited about this - any idea what they mean by "a couple of weeks." Specifically, will it be open by the 15th-17th?

Commbrkdwn wrote:Very excited about this - any idea what they mean by "a couple of weeks." Specifically, will it be open by the 15th-17th?

I actually gave them a call about two days ago to ask if the roof was open. It sounds like they're waiting on permits, and aren't sure on a hard date, unfortunately. I'd cross your fingers and call ahead at this point.

Limner wrote:

Commbrkdwn wrote:Very excited about this - any idea what they mean by "a couple of weeks." Specifically, will it be open by the 15th-17th?

I actually gave them a call about two days ago to ask if the roof was open. It sounds like they're waiting on permits, and aren't sure on a hard date, unfortunately. I'd cross your fingers and call ahead at this point.

Exactly. There are a lot of moving parts. The space is not quite ready and permits are still an issue. And once open, I'm sure there's going to be a 'ramp up' period. There's no hard date but I was told "a couple of weeks." Definitely best to call first.

=R=

I was lucky enough to get an invitation to the soft opening of the rooftop this weekend. This is proof that if you ask enough annoying questions, occasionally it can work to your advantange. I was there on Saturday and even though it was bustling, the team seemed to be handling things very well. Everything we had was comped or nearly so. First round and food on the house, after that everything was half-price.


Looking out from the bar, facing southwest
That's actually the fireplace with the flower box over it.



Facing north, a view of the bar
The rooftop kitchen is at the very left edge of frame.



Salumi Sandwich & Slaw



Pesto Sandwich & 4 Grain Salad

We also had some beers, some whiskeys and a cocktail or 2. This is going to be a fantastic place to spend time. I believe it'll be officially open sometime this week but as was posted above, best to call first. See you there!

=R=

We were there Friday and yes will be nice to have a decent place to grab a a snack and glass of wine, Great Beer or Cocktail. this place will do the trick...Hope they open early for us day drinkers with kids...

I had a fairly middling dinner at Fountainhead a few weeks back. We started out with two enjoyable starters - the sesame broccoli was tasty Asian pub food, and the monkey bread was an amped up version of biscuits and gravy. Unfortunately those were the only highlights of our meal. Over cooked steak, over cooked burger (ordered medium, served well), and a ham sandwich that tasted like unseasoned pork tenderloin. We couldn't agree who had the worst entree.

I love the Fountainhead as a beer destination, and am excited about the new roof top, but I will relegate my dining choices to necessary snacking in the future.